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In nod to China, Bush bluntly warns Taiwan WASHINGTON, Dec 10: US President george w bush bluntly warned taiwan president chen shui-bian against changing the status quo with China . .....more Indian-American woman wins San Francisco dist attorney polls SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 10: Kamala Harris, a San Francisco lawyer has won the San Francisco’s district attorney election with a wide majority, .....more Bush
rejects N Korea’s WASHINGTON, Dec 10: In a blunt rebuff to North Korea’s proposal to freeze its nuclear facilities in exchange for US concessions, President George W ......more Karzai
seeks quick KABUL, Dec 10: Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed to delegates to this weekend’s Loya Jirga to reach a quick agreement on a new Constitution .....more |
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COLOMBO, Dec 10: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is a banned outfit in India, has reportedly urged the four-party Parliamentary ....more Pakistan’s
Herald NEW DELHI, Dec 10: A leading news magazine of Pakistan, which recently had India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim on its cover, has ....more UN
predicts 9 bln UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10: The human race could have 9 billion people by 2300, Japanese will live to 108, and Africa’s population will explode while .. ....more Experts
raise doubt SILICON VALLEY, Dec 10: Experts are questioning the US claims about North Korea’s atomic abilities, warning a showdown based on dubious . ....more |
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In nod to China, Bush bluntly warns Taiwan WASHINGTON, Dec 10: US President george w bush bluntly warned taiwan president chen shui-bian against changing the status quo with China in tough words delivered in a meeting with chinese premier wen jiabao. Bush’s comments were a warning to Chen not to hold a referendum on the island alongside a march Presidential election, plans for which have sparked anger and fear in China that Taiwan is creeping toward independence. "We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo, and the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose," Bush said yesterday, seated with Wen in the Oval office. His statement marked a nuanced hardening of the usual US line that Washington does "not support" independence moves by the island, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province that must one day return to the fold. Wen, who came seeking reassurances the United States would do something to rein in Taiwan, welcomed Bush’s comments. "We very much appreciate the position adopted by President Bush toward the latest moves and developments in Taiwan, that is, the attempt to resort to referendum of various kinds as an excuse to pursue Taiwan independence," said Wen, who is no. 3 in the Chinese Communist Party hierarchy behind President Hu Jintao and Parliament Chief Wu Bangguo. Taiwan said it saw no change in US policy toward the island. "the United States’ basic stance is the same as in the past. It maintains the ‘one China’ policy is against any side making a unilateral change in the status quo and wants a peaceful solution," Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien said. Taiwan’s president said after Bush’s comments he supported maintaining the status quo with China, but added that a planned referendum alongside elections was aimed at avoiding war with the mainland. Bush’s remarks raised eyebrows among Taiwan backers. Neoconservative gary schmitt of the Washington-based project for the new American century group said the Bush policy was muddled and "the long-term impact of what the Bush administration is doing will in fact fuel the very crisis they are trying to avoid." Schmitt added the result was "not nearly as catastrophic as it might have been." A White House spokesman insisted there had been no change in policy on Taiwan, which Washington supplies with arms and Bush vowed in April 2001 to do "whatever it took to defend." a senior official said Bush was dropping the "ambiguity." Tensions have escalated across the Taiwan Strait since November when the island’s Parliament passed a law allowing referendums, considered by China a cover for separatists trying to split the island democracy from the Communist mainland. Wen said he would seek peaceful reunification with Taiwan as long as there was a "glimmer of hope." China has warned that moves by Chen toward independence could lead to war. China also showed flexibility on the hot-button issues for the United States: Its massive trade surplus and the yuan currency, which US officials say is kept artificially low to help Chinese exporters at the cost of American jobs. Wen said trade relations between the world’s most-populous nation and the most powerful had improved, but admitted "problems do exist," citing the massive trade surplus with the United States, which US officials say could hit 120 billion dollars this year. "The Chinese Government takes this problem seriously," Wen said. He presented a proposal aimed at addressing US concerns about the trade gap that called for increasing US exports to China and consultations when disputes arise. Bush told Wen he wanted to see Beijing make "concrete progress" toward a more flexible exchange rate for the yuan, virtually pegged for a decade at near 8.28 to the dollar. The White House said China also had agreed to hold talks on the yuan currency in beijing in January. It acknowledged the transition to a free float would be complex and take time. China has resisted, saying it is studying yuan reform but that a revaluation now would rock its fragile banking system. Both men played up the importance of relations, which have warmed steadily since China backed the US war on terror after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. Earlier, Bush feted Wen with a formal welcoming ceremony on the south lawn of the White House, complete with a fife and drum corps in American revolutionary uniforms. US officials said the pageantry was unprecedented for the Bush White House for anyone below the rank of head of state. (AGENCIES) |
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Indian-American woman wins San Francisco dist attorney polls SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 10: Kamala Harris, a San Francisco lawyer has won the San Francisco’s district attorney election with a wide majority, becoming the first Indian-American woman in the country to land a top prosecutor’s job. With 100 per cent of precincts reporting, Kamala, a political newcomer, won 121,293 votes or 56 per cent of the vote yesterday, unseating the two-term incumbent district attorney terence Hallinan, who received 44 per cent of the votes. A political protege of the outgoing San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Kamala is also the first female district attorney in the city’s history. Addressing her supporters, Kamala, the 39-year-daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, thanked her mother for her success. "My mother raised two daughters in Berkley, where she fought for civil rights. She raised us in an environment where women were strong and giving back to community was important," she told a jubiliant crowd. Meanwhile, supervisor Gavin Newsom, 36, beat rival Matt Gonzalez to become the new Mayor of San Francisco. Newsom will replace outgoing Mayor Brown, who can’t run again because of term limits. Democrat Newsom, a chosen successor of Mayor Brown, got 53 per cent of the vote compared to green party’s Matt Gonzalez’s 47 per cent. During the campaign, Kamala repeatedly slammed Hallinan for being too soft on crime, and for managerial problems in the district attorney’s office that have contributed to a huge backlog of cases pending trial. She also criticised his contentious relationship with police after the investigation in a scandal involving the chief’s son. Kamala had been relatively unknown at the outset of the campaign and published polling numbers never showed her above 19 per cent. She was a respected prosecutor in Alameda county for eight years before leading Hallinan’s career criminal unit in San Francisco between 1998 and 2000. She is on leave from the San Francisco city attorney’s office. Hallinan and Kamala were forced into yesterday’s runoff after neither won a majority in November. (PTI) |
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Bush rejects N Korea’s offer to freeze nuclear programme WASHINGTON, Dec 10: In a blunt rebuff to North Korea’s proposal to freeze its nuclear facilities in exchange for US concessions, President George W Bush has rejected the offer, saying Washington’s goal is to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in a "verifiable and irreversible way." "The goal of the United States is not for a freeze of the nuclear programme," Bush said after his talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the White House yesterday. "The goal is to dismantle a nuclear weapons programme in a verifiable and irreversible way," he said, adding "that is the clear message we are sending to the North Koreans." A senior Bush administration official also indicated yesterday that early resumption of the six-party talks, hosted by China, on North Korea in January may not be possible because Washington and Beijing have not yet reached an identity of views. Briefing reporters about Bush-Wen talks, the official said: "President Bush noted the ongoing US commitment, rather steadfast commitment, to a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear weapons issue through diplomatic means, and to thank the Chinese for the role they have had in doing it. "The President wanted to emphasise that he is not interested in a freze; He is interested in the complete, verifiable and irreversible end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme," the official said. (PTI) |
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Karzai seeks quick accord on Afghan constitution KABUL, Dec 10: Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed to delegates to this weekend’s Loya Jirga to reach a quick agreement on a new Constitution with a strong Presidency to guide the country to its first elections next year. Speaking to reporters at his heavily fortified Presidential palace in Kabul today, Karzai also repeated that he would not stand in future elections if the Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, opted for a Prime Minister as well as a President. A draft Constitution will be presented to delegates at the meeting starting in Kabul on Saturday. It calls for a strong Presidency with powers critics say border on the dictatorial. "In countries where there are no strong institutions, where the remnants of conflict are still there, we need a system with one centrality, not many centres of power," Karzai said. "My wish from Loya Jirga representatives is that they work for national unity, the national benefit, and establish a consolidated national governing regime and stable conditions in the country." He pointed to the example of Sri Lanka, a country experiencing a feud between the President and Prime Minister. The Jamiat-e-Islami faction of powerful Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a rival of Karzai, is keen to see a Prime Ministerial system with fahim in the post. Karzai said he would not stand for election if there was such a system. "If there is a Presidential system, then I would be a candidate," he said. The Loya Jirga had been expected to last several weeks, but Karzai said he hoped it could be concluded in a week to 10 days as every extra day cost the country 50,000 dollars. It was supposed to start today, but officials say it was postponed due to difficulties faced by some of the 500 delegates in reaching Kabul from remote parts of the country. However, some sources say Karzai has been working harder than expected to convince delegates to back the already published draft constitution. Critics say the draft was drawn up in a hurry without a adequate process of popular consultation. But Karzai said the Loya Jirga would have the right to decide on changes. The draft seeks to unite a war-torn nation under the banner of Islam, but Islamists say its religious stipulations are too vague. In an interview with yesterday, US special representative Lakhdar Brahimi predicted a "difficult" debate. "But I hope that ultimately they will come out not only with a Constitution but with a Constitution that will take the people of Afghanistan forward," he said. Brahimi also said that if the Government and its US-led backers managed to improve security around the country it would be possible to hold Presidential polls, supposed to be held in June, "by the end of next summer". If not, he added, they should be further delayed. Guerrillas fighting to restore Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban rulers have denounced the assembly as a "charade" staged by US occupiers. They have threatened to step up attacks ahead of the meeting and said anyone attending deserves to die. US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said yesterday he expects the Taliban and allied militants to do their best to disrupt proceedings. But he said the assembly would go ahead with authorities "very focused" to ensure security. (AGENCIES) |
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COLOMBO, Dec 10: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is a banned outfit in India, has reportedly urged the four-party Parliamentary Tamil National Alliance (TNA) at a meeting yesterday to buildup relationship with India and to campaign for a "favourable Indian stance" towards Eelam. "Since India is our neighbour and a regional power, any Indian misgiving about the LTTE is detrimental to the peace process," the state-run daily news quoted LTTE’s political wing head S P Thamilselvan as telling to TNA Parliamentarians at the meeting in the rebel-held Kilinochchi district yesterday. Trincomalee district Parliamentarian of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), the main constituent of the TNA, R Sampanthan, told local reporters after its lengthy meeting in Kilinochchi that the TNA always wanted to maintain its friendship and goodwill with India, "but it would request India to refrain from making comments that would embolden the communal elements in the south." "Such comments from India would damage the legitimate claims of the Tamil people," the LTTE peace secretariat quoted Mr Sampanthan as telling the reporters gathered there. The LTTE leadership and the TNA Parliamentarians have discussed about India, a couple of days after the LTTE’s London-based Chief Negotiator, Anton Balasingham has stated at a public martyr’s day speech in London that the Tigers did not want to fall out with India by provoking it. The TNA, which has got the full backing of the LTTE, has 15 seats in the 225-seat Parliament of Sri Lanka. Urging India to change its foreign policy to extend its hands of friendship with Sri Lankan Tamils and to build up close relationship with the LTTE Mr Balasingham said the organisation would "continue to consider India as our friendly force". "We want a healthy relationship with India. We will not act in anyway prejudicial to India’s geo-political, strategic and economic interests. We want to establish friendly relations with the Government of India. As such we are seeking a radical change in India’s attitude,’’ Mr Balasingham had said. Observing that there cannot be any lasting solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka without the involvement of the LTTE Mr Balasingham had said if India wished to play a significant role in the current peace process then she should not treat the LTTE as a hostile force. "Both sides have made mistakes in the past. Let us put the past behind us and look forward. We urge India to adopt a new, creative approach and initiate friendly relations with our organisation," (UNI) |
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Pakistan’s Herald magazine threatened for Dawood story NEW DELHI, Dec 10: A leading news magazine of Pakistan, which recently had India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim on its cover, has been threatened by the Pervez Musharraf regime for being "anti-army" and working against the "national interest," according to a human rights body. The new york-based human rights watch, an international human rights watchdog, stated that President Pervez Musharraf had reportedly threatened Pakistan’s monthly news and current affairs magazine the Herald, which carried a cover story on fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in its November issue. Gen Musharraf is reported to have threatened Mr Amir Mir, senior assistant editor of the Herald, at a November 20 reception for Pakistani newspaper editors. The Pakistan President condemned the Herald for being "anti-army" and working against the "national interest" and argued that the time had come for the Herald and Mr Mir to be "dealt with", the human rights watch said. Gen Musharraf’s comments reportedly included specific references to articles written by Mr Mir for the magazine, it said. However, sources said the Herald was being singled out among other things, for its cover on Dawood Ibrahim. In an open letter to Gen Musharraf on December 2, the human rights watch charged the military Government with becoming increasingly intolerant of press freedom in Pakistan. It said the human rights watch is concerned about continued concerted attempts by the Pakistani Government to "muzzle the press". The letter said two days after Gen Musharraf threatened Mr Mir, unidentified persons set ablaze the Herald writer’s car outside his house. It further said Mr Mir later received a message purporting to be from the Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) claiming responsibility for the attack and warning that this was "just the beginning" "General Musharraf should publicly disassociate himself from the comments about the Herald and order an investigation into the attack on Amir Mir’s car," Mr Brad Adams, the Executive Director of the Asia Division of the Human Rights Watch, said in the letter. "Instead of creating an environment hostile to the press, it is the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to protect journalists," he said. The human rights watch also raised the case of Rasheed Azam, a journalist and political activist from Khuzdar in the Baluchistan province, who was arrested on charges of sedition in August 2002 for publishing a photograph of the Pakistan army personnel beating a crowd of Baloch youth. The letter said Azam was abused and tortured, including beatings while hung upside down and sleep deprivation, by members of the Pakistani military. Azam remains in jail after his bail application was rejected by the District Judge, it said, adding his colleagues have filed a bail application in the Baluchistan High Court that awaits hearing. The human rights watch said it had written a letter to Gen Musharraf about Azam on October 10 this year, but has received no response till date. Since Gen Musharraf’s 1999 coup, the letter said the Pakistani Government has systematically violated the fundamental rights of members of the press corps through threats, harassment, and arbitrary arrests. Many have been detained without charge, mistreated and tortured, and otherwise denied basic due process rights, it said. The Government has sought to, and in several cases succeeded in, removing independent journalists from prominent publications, the human rights watch said, adding the arrest of editors and reporters from local and regional newspapers on charges of sedition is becoming increasingly commonplace. It urged gen musharraf to demonstrate a commitment to genuine press freedom by releasing journalists arrested on trumped-up charges, and to bring to an end the use of coercion, intimidation and torture in his dealings with the national and regional Pakistani print media. "It is time for Gen Musharraf to show the world whether he is a reformer — or no different from other military rulers," Mr Adams said in the letter. "How he deals with press freedom is a big test. As of now he and his Government are failing," he added. "While your Government has consistently claimed that the press in Pakistan enjoys unprecedented freedom, independent monitoring groups such as Reporters Sans Frontihres (RSF) have documented the steady erosion of press freedom under your Government. In October 2002, Pakistan was ranked at 119 out of 166 countries in the RSF press freedom index. By October 2003, this ranking had slipped to 128," the human rights watch said. "Your failure to allow freedom of expression as required by international law has become yet another symbol of the lack of rule of law in Pakistan, which is fundamental to the promotion and protection of human rights," it added. (UNI) |
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UN predicts 9 bln people by 2300, many of them old UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10: The human race could have 9 billion people by 2300, Japanese will live to 108, and Africa’s population will explode while Europeans could become a dwindling species, the United Nations predicted. In its first projection of how the world’s population will have evolved in three centuries from now, the UN population division forecast an increase from the current 6.3 billion people to about 9 billion, providing the trend toward smaller families continues. But if fertility levels in the developing world remain at today’s levels, the global population would reach 244 billion in 2150 and 134 trillion in 2300, according to the report, "World Population in 2300." "It’s like the titanic with an iceberg ahead," said Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division. "You sink because the rates are so low or you simply grow too rapidly because the rates are too high. Either way you have to change course." Even small changes could make a huge difference, he said. The 9 billion estimate is based on a two-child family but one-quarter of a child more per family could boost the population in 2300 to 36.4 billion. "It’s like if you are too obese you could die," Chamie said. "But if you are too light and you start wasting away you could die because you are underweight. It’s the same with population, being too large, too small, growing too rapidly or too slowly." The projections for three centuries in advance are the most distant forecast ever given by the United Nations. But Chamie maintained policymakers struggling with climate change, agriculture production and immigration needed long-term projections to take corrective action. People in rich countries will live much longer. Americans, Swedes and Japanese can expect life expectancies of more than 100 years on average. And in China people are expected to live until 85, Chamie said. The good news, according to Chamie, was a trend toward smaller families seen in a variety of nations. He noted that two children were the norm in such countries as Iran, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. "Men and women are attaining some control over the number and spacing of children," he said in an interview. But in Europe, Japan, Australia or Canada, the families are too small. The report warns that at current levels of 1.4 children per family and no increase in immigration, there would only be 232 europeans in a 100 years for every 1,000 today. Russia, Italy and Spain would only have about 1 percent of their current size if they did not increase the number of children by 2300. And the population in all of Germany would be down to the current size of Berlin, Chamie said. Some nations, like Italy, are taking remedial steps and offering more than 1,200 dollars for the birth of a child. The United States is nearly alone among industrial nations in seeing an upward trend, in part due to immigrants, who have more children in the first generation and what Chamie calls native optimism with "people thinking the future is brighter." The United States has 295 million people today and projections are for a doubling to 523 million by 2300. In Africa, the population will double to 2.3 billion people, from 13 percent of the world’s people today to 24 percent in 2300, assuming treatment for aids is widespread. Latin America and the Caribbean will remain about the same or decline slightly. And Asia is expected to decrease, from 61 percent of the world’s population to 55 percent by 2300, the report said. (AGENCIES) |
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Experts raise doubt about US claims on North Korea SILICON VALLEY, Dec 10: Experts are questioning the US claims about North Korea’s atomic abilities, warning a showdown based on dubious evidence could further damage trust, a media report said today. The Bush administration has asserted in recent months that North Korea possesses one or two nuclear bombs and is rapidly developing the means to make more, raising anxiety about a nuclear arms race in Asia and the possibility that terrorists could obtain atomic weapons from the North Korean regime. According to current and former US foreign officials, the administration’s assessment rests on meager fresh evidence and limited, sometimes dated intelligence, the ‘Los Angeles Times’ newspaper reported. "Outside the administration, and in some quiet corners within it, there is nothing close to a consensus that North Korean scientists have succeeded in producing atomic bombs from plutonium, as the CIA concluded in a document made public last month," the paper said. It said independent specialists and some US officials are also skeptical of administration claims that North Korea is within months of manufacturing material for more weapons at a secret uranium-enrichment plant. It said interviews with more than 30 current and former intelligence officials and diplomats in Asia, Europe, and the US provide an in-depth look at the development of North Korea’s nuclear programme as well as the behind-the-scenes debate over how much danger it poses. The US has failed to find the North Korean plant that the Bush administration says will soon start producing highly-enriched uranium, the officials said. North Korea’s attempts to reprocess plutonium recently hit a roadblock, raising "new questions about its technical capabilities." China rushed 40,000 troops to its border with North Korea last summer after the US warned that the regime of Kim Jong Il might try to smuggle "a grapefruit-size" quantity of plutonium out of the country. There have been no signs of smuggling," the paper said. The doubts about US intelligence are emerging as the administration engages in a diplomatic battle over its demand that North Korea dismantle its nuclear programme and open the country to Inspectors. In what some see as a bid for backing from the other parties — China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea — the United States has portrayed North Korea as a global threat. "Its language is reminiscent of administration rhetoric before the Iraq war, as is the worry in some quarters that the United States is exaggerating the danger to galvanize world opinion against another regime in what President Bush termed an `Axis of Evil’," the paper said. Even officials and specialists who question the administration’s latest conclusions acknowledge that there is ample evidence that North Korea is trying to develop atomic weapons. However, they say that walking into another confrontation based on dubious evidence could make the danger seem more rhetorical than real and could further damage trust in US intelligence. (PTI) |
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Strong quake shakes Taiwan, no casualties reported TAIPEI, Dec 10: A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the richter scale rattled eastern Taiwan today, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, the weather bureau said. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 12:38 PM local time (1008 Hrs IST), was about three Km (two miles) west of Cheng Kung in Taitung county on the island’s southeast coast, at a depth of ten Km, the central weather bureau said in a statement. Taiwan’s Interior Ministry said the Taitung county government reported no damage except mobile phone service outages. Tremors could be felt as far as the capital city of Taipei, near the island’s northern tip. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract microchip maker, said it saw no immediate damage at its main facilities in northwestern Taiwan’s Hsinchu. Workers were not evacuated and no power outage occurred, a TSMC official said. Flat computer screen makers au optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics also said their manufacturing plants were operating normally. Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin. One of Taiwan’s worst recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6 on the richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings. (AGENCIES) Voyeur web site Jennicam to go dark after 7 years SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 10: One of the darlings of the web and a pioneer of electronic exhibitionism — Jenni of Jennicam fame — is turning off the lights after seven years. Jennifer Ringley, 27, became a Quasi-celebrity when she installed video cameras in her room at Dickinson college in Pennsylvania in April 1996 and launched Jennicam.Org. Over the years the cameras have followed the redhead’s every movement 24 hours a day, from brushing her teeth in the nude and snuggling with her partner dex to playing with her numerous cats and watching TV. Now, her web site has a notice saying it will be closing on Dec 31. While ringley did not provide a reason on the site or respond to an e-mail query yesterday afternoon, it appears that her undressing may be her undoing. A spokeswoman at online payment company paypal confirmed that they were closing her account because the frontal nudity on her web site violates the company’s acceptable use policy. While MTV’s real world was already a TV hit and on the internet personal journals were popping up and porn companies were early adopters of web cameras for live action, "Jenni," as she was affectionately known to Netizens, was one of the first to turn the camera on herself in an online social experiment. Ringley, a self-described former computer geek who works at a non-profit social service agency in the sacramento, California, area, says in her mission statement that she wanted to create a "window into a virtual human zoo." "I keep jennicam alive not because I want or need to be watched, but because I simply don’t mind being watched," she wrote. "What you’ll see is my life, exactly as it would be whether or not there were cameras watching ... As a chronicle, a long-term experiment, the concept becomes clearer." (AGENCIES) Jealous wife in China smashes TV in row over Miss World HONG KONG, Dec 10: A jealous wife in China threw a chair into the family’s TV set when her husband ignored her because he was transfixed by the Miss World contest, a news report said today. The woman was furious when her husband stared and stared at the beauty queens on stage when she brought out a meal for him at their home in Tianjin in northern China on Saturday evening, the south China morning post said. He only paid attention to her when she threw a chair at the television and smashed it, the newspaper said. The Miss World contest on Saturday was staged on Hainan island in southern China, the first time in its 53-year history that it had been held in China. It was screened on a delayed-live broadcast across the country. (DPA) Syrian President condemns Israel as terrorist state DAMASCUS, Dec 10: Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday accused Israel of practising state terrorism and said it had ignored Syria’s peace initiatives, Syria’s official news agency, Sana, reported. "Israel practises terrorism in its most violent shape, state terrorism, while it labels others terrorists," Assad said at a banquet honouring visiting Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. "It ignores all the calls we initiated in which we pronounced our willingness (to make) the just and comprehensive peace." Assad’s comments came after he called early this month on the United States to revive peace talks between his country and Israel, which have been stalled since 1999. Israel replied by saying that if Syria were serious about resuming negotiations, it would end its support of militant groups. In turn, assad said Israel’s "policies of escalation and extremism" destabilize the middle east. Israel and the United States have also named Syria itself as a state sponsor of terrorism. Last night, Assad also accused Israel of refusing to carry out its peace pact commitments and instead of escalating its aggression against the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab States. On Iraq, Assad reiterated his call for ending the US-led occupation of the country as soon as possible, Sana said. "We emphasize our call for the need to end the occupation in the fastest way and for Iraqis to be able to administer their own affairs through a Government that is elected by all walks of Iraqi society, that enjoys sovereignty over its land and people, and that lives up to its responsibility in restoring security and stability and preserving the unity of the people," Assad said, according to Sana. Assad also called on the United Nations to take part in the reconstruction of Iraq, Sana said. (DPA) |
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