Russia, France introduce separate draft resolutions on Iraq

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26: Challenging the new US resolution on Iraq, Russia and France have introduced their separate draft proposals eliminating most of the tough language which they fear could authorise Washington to launch a military strike against Baghdad even as President George W Bush said a new resolution must have "consequences."

With the UN Security Council being sharply divided on approving the strong US resolution on Iraq, Russians and French appeared more interested in using their watered down drafts as negotiation chips to persuade us to change the wordings that support a military attack if Iraq obstructs UN inspections.

Firing an opening salvo before a new round of talks in a divided UN Security Council, Russia circulated its own draft resolution which eliminated all references to "material breach" and "serious consequences", language which could ignite a military attack if Iraq onstructs inspections.

The French draft too drops "material breach" phrase. However, it links serious consequences to the inspectors reporting back that they are being obstructed. That would mean a second resolution for authorisation of the military strike against Iraq.

Council diplomats, coming out of closed-door consultations, said more members appear to favour French draft. French diplomats also appeared happy with the response they got for their draft and termed it is a good compromise.

However, after meeting visiting Chinese President Jiang Zemin, American President George Bush said he could not accept a weak resolution on Iraq, adding "... There must be consequences."

The US responded to the new texts by formally submitting its resolution to the Security Council to ensure it remains the basis of discussion.

American Deputy Ambassador James Cunningham formally introduced a resolution last evening calling for tough action against Iraq while stressing that Washington wanted the vote by the end of the week. The move would allow the American resolution to be put to vote first if there are multiple drafts.

After four hours of close-door negotiations, Council diplomats admitted that serious differences remain over how tough the Iraq resolution should be but said the members preferred negotiations to reach a consensus on one draft.

Both Russian and French drafts do not favour broadening the powers of the inspectors to give them unfettered access to eight Presidential palaces which together occupy about 12 square miles of space.

At the UN, Cunningham said US was not seeking authorisation for military action but only wants to send a strong message to Iraq and strengthen the inspections regime so that inspectors have some chance of success.

US diplomats distributed a paper giving list of past resolution and statements in which phrase "material breach" was used arguing that their resolution is only building on the past ones and that "material breach" had been used several times and is not something new they have introduced.

China’s ambassador Wang Yingfan said his country has problems with the "material breach" and its position was closer to the French approach.

Intense negotiations are expected to continue over the weekend but the council would hold another round of consultations only next week. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Oct 26: Russia, which had earlier indicated that it would ratify Kyoto Protocol by November this year, today said it would decide on it within a year raising speculation that it was adopting wait and watch approach after the United States refused to ratify it.

"We have sent the protocol documents to different ministries for their assessment, as if we decide to ratify it, various domestic laws too would have to be amended and so it will take at least three months to one year to decide over ratification," Nikolai N Pomoshnikov, First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia told reporters.

Accepting that Russia too was facing adverse climate change impacts, Pomoshnikov said "there are floods and avalanches and some warming but the long-term impacts are still not clear and so there is a need to understand the implications of climate change."

He informed Kyoto Protocol will be discussed at a special Goverment meeting to be convened next month and then will be sent to the Parliament for approval.

Russia also anounced it will hold world conference on cimate change in Moscow between September 29-October 3, 2003.

"It will be basically a scientific conference to understand not a political one where, scientists, stakeholders, businessmen and diplomats will discuss the kyoto protocol," Yu A Izrael, Chairman of the International Organising Committee said.

The Moscow conference will focus on future of the UN framework convention on climate change and the problems of the current and future protocols to the convention as well as possible alternatives to these and the increasing role of developing countries in solving the problem of climate change, Israel informed.

The Moscow conference on climate change will also discuss Kyoto Protocol and its development, UNFCCC, regional and global climate change - its data and monitoring, climate models and evauation of their reliability, extreme climatic events, and climate change predictions.

It will also study the environmental, social and economic consequences of the climate change after the pre-industrial, adaptation and vulnerability, criteria of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and mitigation of the human induced impact on the climate system through economic approaches.

However, Izrael stressed that "there was no special connection between the Moscow conference and Russia ratifying the Kyoto Protocol". (PTI)

Musharraf plans power transfer in early Nov

ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: As the stalemate over the formation of a coalition Government by pro and anti-Musharraf political parties continued, the military regime has finalised plans to transfer power to newly elected political leaders during the first week of November.

President Pervez Musharraf gave approval to the transfer of power plan during a high-level meeting here yesterday, Pakistan news agency NNI quoted officials as saying.

At the endless meetings between leaders of the top political parties, the Government has decided to convene the first session of parliament on November 4 and planned to hold the election for Speaker and Deputy Speaker on November 5 followed by election for Prime Ninister’s post on November 7, officials said.

The submission of nomination papers for the leader of the house will complete on November 5.

According to the transfer of power plan controversial Chief Election Commissioner Irshad Hassan Khan would chair the first session of the Parliament and administer oath to the newly elected members of the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the post-counting polls process, which came under severe criticism form the political parties for its tardy progress, was further slowed down due to stay orders by the courts over the nominations of women and minority members to national and provincial assemblies.

While the Lahore High Court, which issued a stay order on Thursday, withdrew it yesterday, Sindh High Court issued a stay order, admitting petitions questioning the poll results.

The poll process could be completed only after the nomination of 60 women and 10 minority seats to be allotted to parties based on the percentage of the votes polled by them to the National Assembly.

The stalemate in Government formation continued as the Musharraf-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Qaide Azam (PML-Q), thought to be the front-runner with 77 seats, appeared nowhere near forming a Government.

PML-Q leader Sujat Hussain had to beat a hasty retreat from his meeting yesterday with leaders of the six religious party alliance, Muthahida Majlis Amal (MMA), as its leader Moulana Shah Ahmad Noorani told newsmen in his presence that the alliance would support the PML-Q only if it accepts MMA’s Prime Ministerial candidate Maulana Fazlur Rehman as the leader of the coalition.

"Hussain said that any coalition should be headed by PML-Q as it has won the highest number of seats," Noorani told reporters.

A few hours later Noorani had a "fruitful" meeting with Mukdhum Amin Fahim, the leader of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto-backed Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, (PPPP), which emerged second with 63 seats. Fahim himself had two meetings with US Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell this week during which he was reported to have been persuaded to form a Government with PML-Q to prevent the MMA from coming to power while Bhutto was scheduled to visit Washington shortly.

But the major obstacle for PPPP was that general Musharraf was not willing for Bhutto’s return, who was confined to self-exile due to the threats of arrest in corruption cases.

Fahim also met Bhutto’s jailed husband Asif Zardari yesterday when the later made a brief appearance in the court in a connection with a case.

Both MMA and PPPP expected that a "tangible" coalition would emerge by early next week. (PTI)

World leaders voice relief at end to
Russian hostage crisis

PARIS, Oct 26: World leaders today voiced collective relief that the Moscow hostage crisis was over and regret for the loss of life, though they saw it as an urgent call for a solution to the drawn-out Chechen conflict.

Many expressed understanding for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of force that left 67 of the captives dead and were unanimous in stressing terrorism could not be condoned for any cause and required a firm response.

French President Jacques Chirac also voiced his "deep relief" and "deep solidarity" with Putin, who refused to cede to the hostage-takers’ demands to withdraw troops from Chechnya.

"It’s a tragedy but we narrowly avoided extreme warlike violence," said French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, while Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin said it showed the need for a political solution in La Rgely Muslim Chechnya.

"Terrorism feeds on crises and uses them, as we have seen in Afghanistan, as has been the case in relations between India and Pakistan, and as is obviously the case in the Middle East," De Villepin said.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he was happy that most of the hostages, including two Germans, were safe, but said "the hostage-taking in Moscow again underlines that terrorism can never be justified and that we cannot allow it to threaten our societies."

European Commission President Romano Prodi said: "This tragedy shows, once again, the fragility of our modern societies in the face of terrorism."

Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer likewise conveyed in a statement "sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims among the hostages, to the Russian authorities and to the people".

But he stressed: "This tragedy underlines the necessity urgently to find a political solution to the Chechen conflict."

"Restoring the rule of law and ensuring respect for human rights, also by the Russian military, is essential in this respect," he said.

Schwimmer again offered help from the Strasbourg-based rights and democracy body where Russia, a member, has been regularly called to task over its two offensives in the last decade to crush separatists in Chechnya.

Russian special forces rescued some 800 hostages when they stormed the theatre today though the operation cost the lives of more than 90 captives and at least 50 of the Chechen rebels.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon praised Putin’s "courage and firmness" for staging the "perfect military operation" to end the three-day stand-off.

"It is a perfect example that all civilized countries should follow because there can be no compromise with terrorism," Sharon said.

China, fighting its own battle to put down ethnic Uighur Muslim separatists in the Xinjiang region, similarly lauded Putin, saying that under his leadership Russia would "continue to maintain social harmony and stability". (AFP)

Find Chechen "terror network": Russian Interior Minister

MOSCOW, Oct 26: Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov ordered a wide-ranging security operation today to uncover a Chechen "terrorist network" following the seizure by a rebel commando of more than 800 people at a Moscow theatre.

"We have every reason to believe a terrorist network exists in the Moscow region," Gryzlov’s spokesman quoted him as telling a meeting of senior police and security officials, Interfax said.

Gryzlov maintained a high-security regime in the Russian capital after the bloody ending of the hostage crisis at the theatre where the entire audience and cast of a hit musical were seized Wednesday.

At least 67 of the hostages were reported dead after authorities ordered security forces in ahead of a deadline set by the rebels, who had threatened to start shooting their captives if Russia did not pull their troops out of the breakaway republic. He also ordered heightened checks in the Moscow metro, in tall buildings, in warehouses of dangerous materials, schools, hospitals and airports.

He urged his officials however to take measures to present racist actions by Russian youths directed at citizens of caucasian origin. (AFP)

UN imposes sanctions on Jemaah Islamiyah

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26: The United Nations has imposed sanctions on the Southeast Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) for its links with Al Qaeda and Taliban and has asked all countries to freeze the terror organisation’s accounts and other assets.

The decision to impose sanctions on JI, suspected of causing the Bali bombing two weeks ago, was taken by the special committee set by the UN Security Council for the purpose, a UN statement said.

The UN sanctions require all countries to freeze financial resources, including funds derived or generated by any undertaking owned or controlled by JI and to ensure that they are not used by the terrorist group, it said.

In addition, nations must prevent the supply, sale and transfer of all arms and material - along with any form of military training - to the named individuals and entities.

Australia, US, Japan, Singapore and Philippines had formally requested the UN to have the JI group added to the list which includes about 220 individuals and 90 groups.

The US has already designated the JI as a "foreign terrorist organisation" and imposed terrorism sanctions against it.

Jemaah Islamiyah’s goal is to build an Islamic state in Muslim areas of Southeast Asia, where some 250 million people are spread over Southern Thailand, Malaysia, the Southern Philippines and Indonesia.

It is thought to operate cells across the area and has been tied to several plots and attacks over the last two years, including a 2001 foiled plot to bomb the US, British, Australian and Israeli Embassies in Singapore. (PTI)

Putin says intl terrorism enemy of mankind

MOSCOW, Oct 26: Declaring that international terrorism was common enemy of the whole mankind, Russian President Vladimir Putin tonight asked for forgiveness for not being able to save all hostages held by Chechen rebels in a Moscow theatre for 57 hour.

"Forgive us, we were not able to save everyone," Putin said in a short televised address to the nation.

Officials said that more than 90 hostages and 50 Chechen rebels were killed when Russian crack commandoes stormed the theatre in an operation. Over 750 captives were freed safe.

Putin also thanked the global community for expressing solidarity with Russia in facing the hostage crisis. "These days we together lived through horrible test," he said.

"We are grateful to our friends in the whole world for moral and practical backing in our fight against the common enemy. This enemy is strong and dangerous, inhuman and cruel. Its name is international terrorism. As long it is not crushed, no where people in the world can feel themselves secure. But it must be defeated. It would be defeated," Putin said in an emotional address.

"We managed to do almost impossible by saving the lives of hundreds and hundreds people. We proved that Russia cannot be forced to kneel," Putin said taking pride in valour displayed by the security forces. (PTI)

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