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Russia puts Grozny offensive on
hold MOSCOW, Dec 11: Russia seems to have postponed, at least for the time being....more
UNGA adopts treaty UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11: In a major effort to combat international terrorism, the United Nations...more Iranian President attacks Pak’s policy on Afghan DUBAI, Dec 11: Just a day after Gen Parvez Musharraf concluded what he described as a successful..more Pak has 2 new missiles under development WASHINGTON, Dec 11: Pakistan is developing two new nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles.....more |
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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, Dec 11: After three years under suspicion as a spy for China....more
Lankan poll observers to put voter-relay system COLOMBO, Dec 11: Independent poll observers in Sri Lanka have found a simple way of circumventing rules that bar them from polling stations in the upcoming presidential election — using voters to report any irregular happenings. .....more Nepal ruling party wins KATHMANDU, Dec 11: Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s centrist Nepali Congress party won two out of the three seats up for grabs in parliamentary by-elections, officials said late last night. ....more Prominent Tamil COLOMBO, Dec 11: Marisanton Alias David, a prominent Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Plote leader from Mannar was shot dead by suspected LTTE rebels last night. .....more |
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Russia puts Grozny offensive on hold as talks continue MOSCOW, Dec 11: Russia seems to have postponed, at least for the time being, the military offensive against Chechnya’s capital Gronzy as talks are underway between the Kremlin and Chechan president Aslan Maskhadov’s representatives. The five-day ultimatum to civilians to leave Grozny was to expire today. Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he had received two Deputy Prime Ministers of Chechnya during the past few days. The two were sent by Mr Maskhadov to hold parleys with Kremlin, according to Novosti News Agency. Mr Putin told the visiting Chechan leaders that Mr Maskhadov must publically denounce terrorism in all its forms, release all hostages and hand over those accused of causing destruction of many residential areas in Moscow and other Russian cities to the law enforcement bodies. The Chechan response is awaited, it is learnt. A top general in the Interior Ministry meanwhile has hinted that the russians would opt to by-pass Gronzy and move towards the foothills in Southern Chechnya where rebels are concentrating after having been driven out of the main Chechan cities. General Vyachslav Ovechinnikov told Novosti that the pamphlets dropped on Chechan capital warning its civilians to leave within five days had not declared that federal troops would launch any operation on the expiry of the deadline. Voice of Russia quoting sources in Gronzy said the rebels last night blew up some of the chemical explosives depots there, endangering the lives of civilians remaining in the embattled city. Kremlin had yesterday offered talks with rebel leaders regarding the evacuation of civilians. It had also requested Mr Maskhadov to allow civilians to vacate the capital. As a goodwill gesture, Russian troops did not attack the headquarters of Mr Masdakhov when the Government troops wrested Shali village from the rebels. Kremlin still hopes to work out a deal with Mr Masdakhov, dubbed the Kremlin boy by some of the Chechan warlords. DPA adds: Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu was preparing to fly to the region today to personally take charge of the organisation of safe corridors out of Grozny and the transport of civilians to secure zones, Russian news agencies reported. Moscow estimates that some 15,000 civilians remain in the beleaguered capital, but Chechen sources say as many as 45,000 including the elderly and disabled remain in the city faced with the threat of annihilation as "terrorists". Buses were waiting in the corridors to carry the remaining population to safety, news agencies said. The Russian Government had appealed yesterday to rebels in Grozny to allow the evacuation of civilians. Mr Shoigu said it was not the continuing Russian air strikes that stopped them leaving through a designated escape corridor, but rebel forces under Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov. "If you are a man, Mr Maskhadov, let these people go," interfax quoted the minister as saying at a press briefing yesterday in moscow. The minister said he was prepared to negotiate "with anyone, whether devil or demon" to ensure the safe passage of civilians from Grozny. On the eve of Russia’s threatened attack on the Chechen capital, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday dismissed European Union warnings issued at the EU summit in Helsinki. "We will achieve our goal of annihilating terrorism on Russian territory," Mr Putin said on starting a visit to the Uzbekistan capital, Tashkent. "We do not consider any change necessary to the tactics we have chosen," he was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. Doubts have emerged within the Russian political establishment over Russia’s threatened military action. Breaking a virtually United Front of support for the campaign, the influential Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov said the danger to civilians meant the operation was no longer a "fight against terrorism". "Will everyone be able to get out? and are those that don’t manage to be annihilated?" Mr Luzhkov was quoted as saying. The Chechen leadership later denied claims that civilians were being held as human shields, and that fear of Russian bombs and lack of transport accounted for the fact that only a handful of people were reported leaving the city. (UNI) |
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Indian defence system needs reorganisation: Gen Malik PARIS, Dec 11: India’s higher defence system needs to be reorganised to optimise the armed forces’ capabilities in the changing nature of conflicts, Army Chief General Ved Prakash Malik said here today. Both from the professional point of view and the economic point of view, certain amount of reorganisation is required, Gen Malik, who is here on a week-long visit told PTI in an interview. General Malik, leading an high-level military delegation, came here last Monday and met senior French officials including Defence Minister Alain Richard as part of the growing Indo-French defence co-operation. The Indian Army Chief, also had talks with the French Chief of Defence Staff Gen Jean Pierre Kelche about the ongoing reorganisation of French forces. The Indian side was told that the restructuring involves more of optimising the capabilities of the French armed forces rather than making it a mere administrative process. Gen Malik visited Frances joint operational centre in Paris, and the special operations command and the air defence and operations centre at Taverny. He also visited the infantry school at Montpellier, the Air Forces base at orange and the Naval action force at Toulon. Asked about creating an institution like Chief of Defence Staff, based on the model of Western armed forces, in India, to effectively utilise all the three services during situations like Kargil, the Indian Army Chief said it is for the Government to decide. However, Gen Malik underscored the changing nature of conflicts and the narrowing down of the gap between tactical, strategic and operational levels which requires an effective co-ordination through which defence activities can also be economised. On the Kashmir situation, he said there has been an increase in the proxy war waged by Pakistan, especially after the Kargil episode. We have been effectively tackling it by deploying more forces and by forming new strategies, he said. During his week-long visit, the Army Chief also visited Neuve Chapelle in the North of France and laid a wreath at the Indian War Memorial dedicated to over 9,000 Indian soldiers who died in France during the First World War. Gen Malik also held meetings with Jean-Bernard Ouvrieru, special representative of the French Defence Minister and the Chiefs of the Three Services. (PTI) |
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Iranian President attacks Pak’s policy on Afghan DUBAI, Dec 11: Just a day after Gen Parvez Musharraf concluded what he described as a successful visit to Iran, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has strongly attacked Islamabad’s policy on Afghanistan and said it would be a shame for the people of Pakistan to compare themselves with India and Bangladesh, which were democracies. "Afghanistan is truly being oppressed, and the improper policy of Pakistan, which wants to solve the problems through war in Afghanistan, is doomed to fail. It is a policy that is the source of crimes in Afghanistan", Mr Rafsanjani said at Friday prayers at Teheran University. He said, "everyday a lot of people are losing their lives (in Afghanistan) due to disease, hardships, genocide and destruction". Kuna quoted Mr Rafsanjani as saying that Pakistan must return immediately to civilian rule, which ended on october twelve when Gen Musharraf overthrew the Nawaz Sharif Government in a bloodless coup. "It would be a shame for the people in Pakistan to compare. Themselves with India and Bangladesh where they have democracy", he said. Mr Rafsanjani, who served as President for two terms between 1989 and 1997, still influences Iranian politics as Chairman of the Expediency Council, which serves as the consultation arm of Iran’s supreme leader Ayotullah Ali Khamenei. His comments came amid reports that he intended to run for Parliament as an independent in the February elections. He also criticised Islamabad for failing to bring the killers of iranian citizens in Pakistan to justice. "I hope that after the visit by Gen Musharraf, the significant problems that exist between US and Pakistan would be solved", he added. Gen Musharraf, during his two-day visit to Iran, held talks with Ayotullah Khamenei and Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. No meetings were held between the Pakistani military ruler and Mr Rafsanjani. Ayotullah Khamenei also did some plain-speaking during his meeting with Gen Musharraf, asking him to curb the spate of sectarian violence in which several Iranian citizens have lost their lives. Tensions have emerged between Iran and Pakistan over the Afghan developments where Teheran accuses Islamabad of providing support to the Taleban regime. (UNI) |
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Pak has 2 new missiles under development WASHINGTON, Dec 11: Pakistan is developing two new nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles in addition to its unknown number of such weapons, a US-based Non-Governmental Think Tank has said. The Heritage Foundation in its annual US and Asia Statistical handbook, said Pakistan is developing the Ghauri-3 and Shaheen-2. It said that Ghauri-1 is believed to be the North Korean Nodong and Shaheen-1 is possibly M-9 from the People’s Republic of China. Islamabad has, says Heritage, an unknown number of nuclear-capable M-11 shortrange missiles from China. It gives Pakistan’s missile strength as follows: 18 HATF-1 shortrange missiles unknown number of HATF-2 shortrange missiles unknown number of indigenously produced HATF-3 shortrange missiles unknown number of nuclear-capable M-11 shortrange missiles medium-range nuclear-capable Ghauri-1 tested in April 1998 medium-range Ghauri-2 tested in April 1999 intermediate range Ghauri-3 under development short-range Shaheen-1, and intermediate range nuclear capable Shaheen-2 under development. Although American officials automatically describe Pakistan as an ally, Heritage says that Pakistan has no security alliance with the US, but it has a friendship and non-aggression treaty with China (1960) and extensive nuclear and missile cooperation with Beijing. (PTI) |
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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, Dec 11: After three years under suspicion as a spy for China, computer scientist Wen Ho Lee was arrested and charged with removing nuclear secrets from highly secure computers at the Los Alamos Weapons Lab. There was still no proof that he passed information to China or any other country, officials said. The Taiwan-born scientist, whose two decades of work at Los Alamos included weapons design, was charged in a 59-count indictment yesterday, which Assistant US Attorney Robert Gorence read as Lee appeared before a federal magistrate. The magistrate scheduled a hearing for Monday to consider the prosecutor’s motion to detain Lee, who was taken into custody at his home outside Los Alamos, about 145 km from Albuquerque. Lee was fired last March for security violations after being the primary focus of a three-year FBI investigation into the alleged loss of nuclear weapons secrets to China in the 1980s. Lee, 60, has steadfastly maintained that he never provided secrets to anyone. And investigators have been unable to link him to espionage involving China or any other country. But his dismissal in March fed a growing controversy in Washington over alleged Chinese spying at the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons labs, specifically Los Alamos, where a half century ago the first atomic bomb was created. (AP) |
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Lankan poll observers to put voter-relay system COLOMBO, Dec 11: Independent poll observers in Sri Lanka have found a simple way of circumventing rules that bar them from polling stations in the upcoming presidential election — using voters to report any irregular happenings. "We will put in place a unique voter-relay system where voters, working for us as volunteers, would go into polling booths at intervals of every half or one hour and report what is going on inside," said Godfrey Gunatillake, Chairman of Paffrel. His organisation has monitored every election in Sri Lanka for the past 10 years. Though independent observers like Paffrel or the people’s action for free and fair elections are legally barred from entering polling booths, senior presiding officers have always provided access. But last week, the acting Election Commissioner W M B P Dassanayake, under pressure from a Skittish Government, informed private polling monitors including Paffrel that they would not be allowed into booths. President Chandrika Kumaratunga and opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe from the United National Party (UNP) are the main contenders in the Presidential race on December 21. There are a total of 13 candidates in the fray. Ms Kumaratunga’s ruling People’s Alliance (PA) is opposed to poll observers and had asked the acting Election Commissioner to exclude both local and foreign observers, although their presence was jointly requested by the other candidates. The ruling party’s general secretary D M Jayaratne, who is also the Agriculture Minister, asserted that local monitors, particularly the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), were not impartial during the recent provincial council polls. However, at a cabinet meeting, the Government decided to dispell fears of vote rigging and permit foreign monitors. Commissioner Dassanayake has sent requests to 15 countries. A total of 22 foreign observers — from South Asia and Non-Governmental Organisations — have so far accepted the invitation, officials said. They are expected to arrive here after December 16. Executive Director Kingsley Rodrigo said Mr Paffrel hoped to enlist and train at least 10 voters per polling station to report back on irregularities in the polling booth. "What we want them to do, while casting their vote, is to look around and see whether all the polling agents are there, whether there are police officers present and whether the process is smooth," he explained. Paffrel and CMEV are the two main local monitors, with a third organisation, the Movement for Free and Fair Elections (MFFE), working together with Paffrel in a joint exercise. Mr Rodrigo said Paffrel has separately invited foreign observers and so far, 25 people from Europe and Asia — mostly lawyers, human rights activists and retired judges — have confirmed their acceptance. They include five from Europe, 10 from South Asia including members of the Calcutta Bar Association and 10 from the Bangkok-based Asian network for free elections. "We wanted some observers from the United States but were unable to do so due to funding problems and also due to the Christmas holidays," he said. The CMEV was also hoping to get 25 foreign observers. While foreign observers invited by local monitors would also not be permitted inside polling booths, Mr Rodrigo said foreign observers sponsored by the Elections Commissioner are likely to get access, as in the past. "This time however we are going to strongly object to the Commissioner, as he has no right to allow any person inside polling booths other than election officials, voters and agents of candidates," he said. Paffrel has mobilised 8,000 volunteers drawn from various NGOs — including Sri Lanka’s biggest community service group, Sarvodaya — to cover more than half the 9,000 polling booths across the island. Apart from vote rigging, there are fears of widespread violence, not uncommon in Sri Lankan elections. There was unprecedented vote rigging and intimidation during the Wayamba or Northwest provincial council elections earlier this year which was won by the ruling party. Earlier this week, the Government accused independent election monitors of inflating figures of poll-related violence. Sri Lanka’s Media Minister and Government spokesman Mangala Samaraweera told reporters on December 7, that the poll monitors, particularly the CMEV, and a section of the media were trying to embarrass the Government by exaggerating the violence. "This is being done by them on behalf of Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe in a desperate move to find reasons for his evident defeat in the presidential elections," Mr Samaraweera said. So far three people have died and police have reported 300 complaints — assaults, intimidations, damage to property — from different political parties in the run up to the closely-fought presidential poll. The CMEV has also reported more than 300 incidents, while paffrel said it received 169 complaints. "We normally check and recheck these figures. We only consider written complaints, not ones made by phone," Rodrigo said. He said the situation was less explosive than in the run-up to the last 1994 election when 20 people, including UNP presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake were killed. Last week, Paffrel said in a statement that the highly personalised nature of the campaign conducted by the two main candidates, Kumaratunga and Wickremasinghe, was taking the two main parties on a course of bitter confrontation. "We are deeply apprehensive that this together with other ugly features of the campaign such as the type of posters being displayed and attacks on party offices can exacerbate rivalries and endanger the peaceful conduct of the election," it said. (IPS) |
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Nepal ruling party wins 2 seats in by-elections KATHMANDU, Dec 11: Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s centrist Nepali Congress party won two out of the three seats up for grabs in parliamentary by-elections, officials said late last night. "I am personally happy and satisfied with the outcome of the by-elections," 75-year-old Bhattarai said in a statement read over state radio. Nepali Congress party candidates retained the Morang one seat and took the Jhapa six seat in East Nepal from the rival Communist Party, the Himalayan Kingdom’s Election Commission said. Nepalis voted on Thursday in three parliamentary by-elections, the first polls since Mr Bhattarai Rode to power in general elections in May. The Nepali Congress party has 112 seats in the 205-member lower house of representatives while the opposition Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party controls 69. Smaller parties share the rest. (REUTERS) |
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Prominent Tamil leader shot dead COLOMBO, Dec 11: Marisanton Alias David, a prominent Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Plote leader from Mannar was shot dead by suspected LTTE rebels last night. The rebels went to his office in Mannar at 2010 hrs and shot him at point blank. His body guard Suhanthan was seriously injured and was admitted to hospital. The 34-year-old Tamil leader had joined Plote in 1992 and was a close confidant of party leader and parliamentairan D Sidharthan. (UNI) |
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