US stand on Chechnya dubious: Russia

NEW DELHI, Dec 24: Russia today termed the US stand on Chechnya as dubious and said talks were on between Moscow and New Delhi for jointly combating Islamic terrorism.

On the one hand, they (Americans) have declared Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden as their enemy number one while on the other, they are depicting the russian military campaign against the terrorists in a wrong way, spokesman of the Russian Federation’s Embassy Igor Kondratski told reporters here.

He said the Russian forces were being looked upon as liberators by the common people of Chechnya and the troops were not only crushing the terrorists but also rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by the ultras.

The spokesman said Russia was holding regular consultations with India as both countries were facing the problem of terrorism sponsored by foreign countries.

The people who are fighting in Chechnya are the same who fought in Kashmir and Kargil. Our Governments are discussing ways and means for jointly combating the problem, he said.

He said both India and China have expressed full support to the ongoing Russian efforts to restore normalcy in Chechnya.

The spokesman said Laden was directly involved in Chechnya and terrorists from Afghanistan, Pakistan and several Arab and Slavic countries were operating in the area.

In another two to three weeks, the whole resistance will be crushed, the spokesman added. (PTI)

100,000 Venezuelans to spend Christmas homeless

CARACAS, Dec 24: More than 100,000 Venezuelans will spend the Christmas holidays out in the open or in temporary shelters after their homes were destroyed last week in the coastal cities and villages devastated by massive flooding and mudslides, officials have said.

Army and civil rescue officials said 80,000 residents have been evacuated from the hardest-hit areas of vargas state and they are now located in temporary accommodations. A total of 150,000 were made homeless by the catastrophe but officials said thousands found housing with relatives in other parts of the country.

Estimates of those killed in the floods and mudslides range up to 30,000 based on the region’s total population and the urban neighbourhoods inundated. More than 1,500 bodies have been officially accounted for.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Julio Montes, said the Government would selectively rebuild areas devastated by the floods, but other areas would be unrecoverable. Rebuilding would cost up to 1 billion US dollars. On Wednesday, montes said that Venezuela has set aside 775 million dollars for rebuilding vargas state.

Venezuelan authorities plan to permanently relocate 20,000 to 50,000 people away from the uninhabitable coastal areas to other locations in the country’s interior. The Government will build tens of thousands of new homes for the Evacuees, officials said.

In a sign that Venezuela is beginning to recover from the worst flooding in a hundred years, authorities announced that the international airport will reopen on Sunday. The airport was closed at the end of last week to normal traffic and was turned into an operations centre for rescue efforts.

Numerous flights with humanitarian aid yesterday arrived. The United States flew in two water-purification plants and 21 technicians on a huge C-5 galaxy transport plane. The two units can provide drinking water for 15,000 people per day. Two more US water purification plants are expected. (DPA)

Iraq accuses US, UK of preparing to attack it

NEW DELHI, Dec 24: Iraq today accused the United States and the United Kingdom of preparing for another military attack on it within two months and said Baghdad was gearing itself to meet any eventuality including a war.

We are not ruling out another war. We prefer living with dignity than surrendering ourselves under any foreign rule, Iraqi Ambassador Salah Al-Mukhtar told reporters here.

Reiterating his country’s outright rejection of the United Nations Security Council resolution of December 17, Mukhtar said the responsibility to avoid the future war and ensuring peace in the Middle East fell on the international community. If public opinion of the world does not favour for a peaceful situation we are capable of defending ourselves.

Although Iraq has suffered severe losses in its military strength including destruction of its arsenal and chemical weapons, the envoy said our Army is still one of the strongest armies in the world. We have fought as many as 28 national armies since 1990.

He said the Security Council resolution was adopted despite abstention by three permanent members Russia, France and China as United States and Britain want to prepare ground to attack US on the pretext of this resolution. But this will not come before two months.

The resolution sought deputing weapons inspectors to Iraq along with vesting power on the world body to have supervisory power on Iraq’s military activities and governmental expenditures. This is utter nonsense and is worse than the colonial system. (PTI)

Tackling child labour
Out of carpet factories and into school

KATHMANDU, Dec 24: Rekha Yogi, 11, might never see the Nepali carpets displayed in plush department stores in the West. But she knows what the little labels attached to the beautifully-woven rugs mean.

The mark, a friendly-looking face, has enabled her to go to school, write poems and live a seemingly normal childhood - full of prayers, pictures, picnics, and happy paintings.

Three years ago, the girl from a remote village in western Nepal was rolling balls of wool while her parents worked at the looms in one of Kathmandu’s numerous carpet factories.

"Her hands were chapped and dirty, she was unkempt and malnourished when she arrived here," says Gaura Satyal, Warden of the Rehabilitation Centre, where Rekha has spent the past three years learning to read and write, vocational skills like making handicrafts, and to compose poems - one of her favorite pastimes.

The bright, airy dormitories, cheerfully decorated classrooms are far removed from the dark, dank surroundings of the carpet factory where she worked long hours for 100 rupees (about 2 dollars) a month.

One of four rehabilitation homes operated by Nepal Rugmark Foundation, ‘Hamro Ghar’ or our home houses around 50 children displaced from carpet factories. The youngest is seven. The oldest 15.

The foundation, established in 1995 as a result of the joint initiative by carpet entrepreneurs, child rights activists and donor organisations, issues rugmark labels to licensees in the country to be affixed to carpets produced under a system that seeks to control child labour.

Rugmark is an international trademark system for the promotion of child labour-free carpets and socially and environmentally acceptable trade. In return of the label, carpet importers pay one per cent and exporters pay one quarter per cent of their trade volumes to the foundation which in turn uses the funds to run homes and education programmes for former child labourers.

"There are many organisations working for children in Nepal," says Bijaya Sainju, general secretary of Rugmark Foundation Nepal. "but this is a long term, viable project because there is money coming in from the carpet sector itself. You don’t have to rely on donors or projects."

At present, ten per cent of total carpet exports from Nepal have Rugmark labels. "We hope other importers and exporters will follow suit," says Sulochana Shrestha, president of Nepal Rugmark Foundation and the proprietor of a medium-sized carpet factory.

"As consumers become more and more conscious in the West, they want to know the story behind the products. Current trends indicate that in future it will be sound business to sell ethical products," she adds.

At the foundation’s recently concluded third general assembly, letters of appreciation were given to the top three importers and exporters of Rugmark labelled carpets.

Owing to the international Rugmark network which has its presence in Canada, Germany, India, Nepal, Pakistan , Luxembourg, Netherlands and the United States, the Nepalese carpet industry is regaining a foothold in the international market.

Earlier, the industry — one of Nepal’s highest foreign exchange earners — suffered a huge blow when exports fell due to the refusal of western buyers to import carpets on the grounds of child labour.

Despite the country’s constitutional provisions, the Labour Act 1991 and the Children’s Act 1992, assuring the protection of children’s rights, the number of child workers in Nepal remains huge. There are only 11 Government officials to inspect child labour throughout the country.

Of Nepal’s 22 million people, 9.5 million are children under 16 years of age. Statistics indicate that there are approximately 2.6 child labourers in the country. Eighty-five per cent are engaged in the agricultural sector, 73,000 work in the carpet industry, 31,000 in domestic employment, 3,700 are children of the streets, 26,000 live on the street, 19,000 are child porters and 10,000 work in restaurants in Kathmandu.

Low income and extreme poverty leave no choice for kids but to work to support large families. Organisations like Rugmark are striving to generate public awareness for better conditions, fairer wages, and the right to lead a normal life.

The foundation has rescued about 270 carpet children like Rekha, out of which 73 are reunited with their families ensuring their education. The rest are being rehabilitated in four NRF rehabilitation centres.

"It’s only a drop in the ocean," says Gaura Satyal who is concerned about what will happen to the children after they reach the age of 14 — the age they have to leave the homes.

"The majority come from extremely poor families trying to make ends meet. Once they return home they find themselves in the same situation."

Yog Maya Pun Magar, one of the children rescued by the foundation from a carpet factory, urged the foundation not to send such children back to villages where there was no work, or income.

At the foundation’s general assembly, she implored Rugmark to educate such children up to the high school level before letting them fend for themselves.(IPS)

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