Majority of indians feel Vajpayee’s good influence on nation

WASHINGTON, Dec 5: A majority of Indians feel Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has good influence on the nation and have cited terrorism as a "very big problem" facing the country.

Results for India from the 2002 global attitudes survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, released yesterday, said 84 per cent of Indians have an unfavourable opinion of Pakistan while just five per cent talked in favour of that country.

The global attitudes project conducted personal interviews with a random sample of 2,189 Indians from September 12 to 21, 2002. The questionnaire was administered in five diffferent languages or dialects. The error margin is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

By nearly 10-to-one, more Indians are dissatisfied (83 per cent) than satisfied (9 per cent) with the way things are going in their nation, the survey said.

Nine-in-10 people in India (90 per cent) cite terrorism as a very big problem in their country, far more than any other nation except Bangladesh (92 per cent).

Three-quarters of Indians (74 per cent) say Vajpayee is having a good influence on the nation, making him one of the most popular national leaders in the 44 nations surveyed. Just 18 per cent say Vajpayee is a bad influence.

By an overwhelming 85 per cent to two per cent margin Indians say the military’s influence on the nation is good and not bad. Among the citizens of other major nations, only Americans (87 per cent to nine per cent) and Pakistanis (84 per cent to nine per cent) are as universally favourable toward the armed forces in the country.

Almost 84 per cent of Indians have an unfavourable opinion of Pakistan, while just 5 per cent give their neighbour to the West a favorable rating.

Pakistanis hold similar views of India (80 per cent unfavorable, 6 per cent favorable), but Bangladeshi respondents feel far more favourably about India (53 per cent favourable, 39 per cent unfavourable).

Four in 10 (41 per cent) respondents in India cite health concerns as among the most important in their lives. Along with Russia (40 per cent) and South Korea (42 per cent) this is the highest rating in any nation outside of Africa.

The image of the United States in India is generally favourable, with a slim majority of Indians (54 per cent) viewing the United States favourably, while 27 per cent view the US unfavourably.

In India, where Mumbai’s thriving "Bollywood" aims to rival Hollywood, more dislike American music, movies and television than like American culture by nearly two-to-one (46 per cent to 24 per cent), the PEW’s global attitudes survey said. (PTI)

India asks Israel to stop violence against Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 5: India has asked Israel to immediately stop violence against innocent and unarmed Palestinians and asserted that there can be no justification for terrorism on any grounds.

"We call for immediate cessation of violence, whether on account of military activity or act of terror against innocent and unarmed civilians", Indian Ambassador V K Nambiar said during a debate on the Middle East situation in the United Nations General Assembly.

New Delhi also denounced terrorist attacks on Israel resulting in heavy loss of innocent lives, asserting that there is no moral justification for terrorism on any ground whether political or ideological or religious.

"India believes that all acts of violence and terrorism have to be abjured in absolute terms," he told the 191-member assemb failed to understand the limitation of a "UNI-dimensional policy based on military approach without recourse to a concomitant political approach."

"It’s policy of military blockades, curfews and restrictions imposed on Palestinian areas has resulted in economic deprivation, dislocation of normal life, loss of freedom and, most important, demoralisation of the Palestinian population."

This, he told the Assembly has resulted in continuing acts of violence and retribution against Israeli forces and civilians.

"The continuing deterioration in the situation in Middle East calls for a political solution", Nambiar said adding that preoccupation with election, both in Israel and the Palestinian authority, is no "sufficient reason to lose momentum on developing a political framework."

In this context, he supported the efforts of the "quartet" comprising the United States, Russia, European Union and the United Nations, and initiatives like that of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah and those adopted by the Arab League in Beirut in March last to resolve the issue.

"We share view with many others that the conflict can only be resolved through negotiations. We call upon all sides to desist from violence as demanded by the recently adopted Security Council resolution," Nambiar added. (PTI)

Myanmar’s former military ruler dead

BANGKOK, Dec 5: Myanmar’s former military dictator Ne Win, who ruled his country for 26 years, died today while under house arrest. He was 91.

He died at the lakeside villa in Yangon where he was kept in confinement with his daughter since March 7, reports from Yangon said quoting family members.

They said the General’s death would be received with euphoria by the common people who had seen the once prosperous country brought to ruin by Ne Win during his long rule. He has been held responsible by many for running the economy to ground.

He dragged the country from near prosperity to poverty during his 26 years in power.

The General was put under house arrest after his three grandsons and son-in-law were arrested on charges of attempting to overthrow the military Government. The four were sentenced to death in September, but they have appealed the verdict.

Ne Win led Myanmar’s struggle for independence from Britain which was achieved in 1948 and he seized power in a bloddless coup in 1962.

He retired from politics in 1988, just before an uprising for democracy triggered by his misrule and which brought to political prominence Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of independence figure Gen Aung San.

A superstitious man, Ne Win, had once during his rule ordered the issue of banknotes in 45 and 90 kyat denominations as the numbers were divisible by his lucky number nine. (PTI)

Saddam hints at showdown with US

BAGHDAD/CAIRO, Dec 5: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein hinted that a showdown with the United States seemed increasingly likely as United Nations Weapons Inspectors took a break from their work today for a Muslim feast to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

"Your patience is nice, my dear comrades, and the patience of the great Iraqi people through you, but your fury and revolution are also great when need be," he said.

"Each time has an act and each action must have a reaction," Saddam told high-ranking officials and key baath party members who came to the presidential court on the feast of Eid-el-Fitr.

Saddam said the inspectors would discover that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq would give the United States no pretext for starting a war, he said, adding that Baghdad stood by its decision to allow the return of the Weapons Inspectors in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan accused UN Arms Inspectors of being spies for the US and Israel and said Washington was determined to strike Iraq regardless of the outcome of the inspection operations.

Speaking to BBC radio today, Ramadan described American policy as "childish".

"If you are listening to their telly statements by American officials at many levels, President Bush and his Vice-President and his Foreign Minister and their media is kind of beating war drums. This gives you an impression the Americans are looking for aggression. By American logic, the war is unavoidable," he said. He suggested that independent observers oversee the work of the UN weapons inspectors.

"We think that the work of the inspection team must be under the observation of all media ... We are now thinking of calling for some independent experts to check by themselves inside the inspection sights after the team has left," Ramadan told bbc today.

The spying accusation was the most scathing by such a high-level Iraqi official since the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) teams and experts from the Vienna-based international agency for nuclear energy, launched a hunt for prohibited weaponry in Iraq nine days ago.

So far, the UN teams have scrutinised at least 15 sites including one of eight presidential palaces inside Baghdad and the country’s defunct nuclear, biological and chemical warfare programmes.

Ramadan labelled Tuesday’s search of Al-Sojud presidential palace as a "provocative act".

Hours before Ramadan’s remarks, head of UNMOVIC team greek Dimitri Perricos shrugged off accusations that the UN experts were directly linked to the US and Britain.

"Our point of reference is the Security Council and the international community beyond it," he told a press conference.

Perricos and IAEA Chief Inspector French Jacques beaute flew today to New York and Vienna respectively after they set in motion the modus operandi of inspection teams, whose personnel will rise to 100 towards the end of 2002.

The other inspectors are expected to resume their work on Saturday. (DPA)

UK to host Miss World in shadow of Nigeria deaths

LONDON, Dec 5: Ninety-two beauty queens willZ compete at the weekend in a Miss World contest hurriedly shunted to Britain from Nigeria after a media article on the pageant there sparked riots killing more than 200 people.

"It is going to be a beautiful show. Our conscience is clear," Miss World organiser Julia Morley told Reuters ahead of Saturday’s gala event at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Though the show is already a sell-out and will be beamed to 142 different nations, enthusiasm has inevitably been dampened by last month’s grisly sectarian conflagration in Nigeria.

Muslim opposition to the pageant boiled over after a journalist wrote that Islam’s prophet mohammed would have approved of Miss World and possibly married a competitor.

The ensuing Muslim-Christian riots killed more than 200 in the northern city of Kaduna, forcing the shocked Miss World contestants to run for the safety of London.

Organisers will not be including any commemoration of the dead on Saturday in an effort to distance the 52-year-old competition from the violence.

"The unfortunate deaths had nothing to do with these young girls. It was a journalist who started the riots. Miss World was not even in that city," Morley said. "We have a global show that is always being cited by people to jump on their bandwagons."

While agreeing journalist Isioma Daniel was to blame, the UK-based Miss World Organisation also condemned the "Fatwa" or Islamic religious edict declared by a Nigerian State Governor against her. Even before the riots, this year’s Miss World was dogged by controversy with calls for a boycott over the case of Amina Lawal, sentenced to die by stoning under Islamic law in Northern Nigeria for bearing a child outside marriage.

Saturday’s show, due to run from 1400 hrs local time (1930 hrs Ist) (1400 gmt) to 1639 hrs local time (2200 hrs Ist) will include a reference to lawal. "We know now that she is not going to die, but her case will come up in some way on saturday," Morley said without giving details.

With Nigerian politics dominating the event, less attention has been paid this year to the contestants in a pageant which still has a massive global following despite long going out of fashion in its home, Britain, since the rise of feminism.

Betting was suspended after the riots. Before that, Miss India Shruti Sharma, a Sociology Graduate, was favourite, at 10-1, to take the crown — with its 100,000 pounds ( 157,400) in prize money —from 2001 winner Agbani Darego from Nigeria.

Miss England Daniella Luan, a biology student, was second favourite, while the representatives of Barbados, Colombia, Germany, Norway, Russia and Venezuela were joint third.

"After it got unpleasant with the riots, we felt it wasn’t right to go on taking bets," said Romaine Snijder, of UK bookmakers William Hill.

The beauty queens may have been forgiven for thinking they jumped out of the frying pan into the fire when they flew back to Britain on November 24 to protests from enraged feminists. Writer Muriel Gray, for example, said if the pageant went ahead "these girls will be wearing swimwear dripping with blood."

But protests are nothing new at an event once dubbed a "cattle market" by critics but now emphasizing brains as well as beauty for the age of political correctness. Feminists stormed one 1970s show to pelt host, comedian bob hope, with flour. (AGENCIES)

Nepal Govt, political parties react
cautiously to Maoist offer

KATHMANDU, Dec 5: The Nepalese Government and major political parties of the country have reacted cautiously to the call by Maoists to start peace talks, saying the guerillas should first prove the reliability of their offer.

"His majesty’s Government will seriously study the legality and reliability of the statement issued by the Maoist leader Prachanda" before taking any action, Minister for Information and Communication Ramesh Nath Pandey said.

The Government’s scepticism came as some 1000 Maoists attacked police stations and Government buildings in Southern Nepal today killing three policemen. Twenty guerillas also died in the firefights.

The Maoists proposed peace talks and formed a high-level dialogue committee for the purpose after a meeting of the politburo of the outlawed Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), its president Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Nepali Congress spokesman Arjun Narsingh said the Maoists’ latest offer was positive but the rebels must "prove its authenticity by implementing it".

"We should take it positively if the Maoists offer is genuine and not a part of their political strategy. The Nepali Congress believes that the Maoist problem must be resolved through peaceful negotiations," he said.

The CPN-UML hailed the guerillas’ decision to halt attacks on political workers and development infrastructures but said they should put it into practice.

"The Maoists have in the past intensified their violent activities while at the same time issuing such a statement. Thus, we must be very careful about their real intention," party’s standing committee member Ishwor Pokharel said.

Last year, the guerillas had unilateken a four-month cease fire and launched a series of attacks on Government offices, Army barracks and police posts after three rounds of talks with the Government.

The Army was then mobilized across the country to fight the rebels and a state of emergency decalred.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has demanded that the upper house of Nepal’s Parliament be summoned as it was the only representative body remained in the country.

"The meeting of the upper house will help resolve the present crisis by seeking consensus among all the political parties," he said. (PTI)

China sentences 2 Tibetans to death for bombings

BEIJING, Dec 5: A Chinese court has sentenced to death two ethnic Tibetans accused of setting off a series of bombs in the southwest of the country near Tibet, a court official said today.

An intermediate court in Tibetan-populated Garze Prefecture, in Sichuan province, convicted the men on Monday on charges of detonating bombs, promoting independence for Tibet and illegally possessing guns and explosives, the official said.

Tibet and nearby areas have been hit by sporadic bombings linked to pro-independence forces fighting what they see as Chinese occupation of the region since the People’s Liberation Army marched in and imposed communist rule in 1950.

The official said the court had imposed a straightforward death sentence on one of the men, who was identified in Chinese as Luorang Dengzhu.

The other, identified as Ahan Zhaxi, was given a death sentence suspended for two years. Such sentences are usually commuted to life in prison.

"I do not have any details about their respective cases," the official said.

A statement from the Tibetan centre for human rights and democracy, based in Dharamsala, India, decried the verdicts and asked the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to intervene.

The rights group, which gave the men’s names as Lobsang Dhondup and Trulku Tenzin Delek, also known as Angag Tashi, said they were falsely accused. "Trulku accused the court of false allegations and unfair trial proceedings and shouted ‘long live his holiness the Dalai Lama’," it said

Police subsequently gagged Trulku Tenzin Delek, a respected and senior teacher, and dragged him away, the group said.

The semi-official China news service said police captured Luorang Dengzhu as he tried to flee after a blast that injured several people on April 3 in a square in the Sichuan city of Chengdu.

Police found pro-independence leaflets scattered at the scene, it quoted a local newspaper as saying.

Investigators later blamed Luorang Dengzhu and Ahan Zhaxi for a string of similar incidents in Garze’s Kangding county in which one person was killed and another seriously injured, it said.

Kangding was the site of a blast that injured three people last year and was linked by a New York-based Tibetan rights group to a crackdown on a Buddhist Temple and Academy nearby.

Chinese authorities tightened controls over temples in 1996 after four bomb explosions, a London-based group has said.

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived in exile in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama has pursued a non-violent campaign for greater autonomy, rather than independence, for many years and has said he is ready to begin talks with Beijing.

But Chinese officials say he is insincere and demand that he stop campaigning for independence, cease separatist activities and acknowledge that Tibet and Taiwan are Chinese territory. (AGENCIES)

US says has solid basis to say Iraq has weapons

WASHINGTON, Dec 5: The United States today said President George W Bush has a "solid basis" to say that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction despite the inability of UN Inspectors to find them so far.

"The President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it," said White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer.

UN Inspectors thus far have been unable to find evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs in Iraq and Iraq has heatedly denied possessing them and accused the United States of seeking a pretext for war.

Fleischer said the United States has intelligence information proving Iraq has such weapons programs. (AGENCIES)

Truck mishap leaves 16 Eid festival makers
dead in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Dec 5: At least 16 people were killed and three critically wounded today as a truck transporting cement went out of control and plunged into a dry ditch in northeastern Bangladesh, local police said.

The accident happened in dense fog on a national highway near Jamalpur town 270 km northeast of the capital Dhaka.

The dead belong to Muslim families who had boarded the cement loaded truck for going to their ancestral homes to spend the Ramadan end Id-ul-Fitr Islamic festival.

Among the dead are four women and three children, police said. All the bodies were recovered from the ditch five metres below the highway. (DPA)

Sombre Eid for Iraqis under sanctions, war threat

BAGHDAD, Dec 5: Struggling under UN sanctions and faced with the threat of a US attack, iraqis put on a brave face as they marked Eid Ul-Fitr today, saying the Muslim festival brought good cheer.

But scratch the surface, and many voiced indignation at the crippling trade sanctions — imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait — and at what they see as an attack on their national pride from the arms searches UN Inspectors have just resumed.

"We are not scared of a war. We are used to it, since I was young, first there was the war with Iran, then the Gulf war," said Wazeera Jassem, 30, a school teacher. "Despite this we grew up and got jobs, and we live our life and celebrate Eid."

But she poured scorn on the UN experts’ hunt for banned biological, chemical or nuclear weapons inside one of President Saddam Hussein’s palaces earlier this week.

"Can you believe this? no sane person looks for rockets inside a bedroom or a trash can," Jassem said.

Despite the outward appearance of festivities, for war-weary iraqis there was little true cheer this year on Eid El-Fitr, a three-day celebration in the Muslim world that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"Before the embargo, everything was better: Economically, socially and psychologically," said one woman sitting with two friends in a Baghdad park. "We hope there will be a solution to rid us of this."

But many ordinary Iraqis believe the arrival of the inspectors will do little to avert war.

"Whether they come or not is the same, they will not change anything," said Thayer Shlash, who was five years old when his republican guard father Majeed was killed in a western strike on a presidential palace in the 1991 Gulf war.

"There are no weapons here, they search, they leave and then they come back, and they still found no weapons," Shlash said. (AGENCIES)

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