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| Bali bomb survivors, families, recall day of loss BALI, INDONESIA, Oct 12: Heads bowed and weeping, Australian and other survivors of last year’s bomb attacks on Bali....more Progress
on Sikkim will BEIJING, Oct 12: Welcoming the removal of Sikkim as a separate country from China’s official website, experts have.....more Musharraf
completes 4 ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Checkmated at home by the year-long stalemate over his Constitutional powers and pressed hard....more China wants resolution on bigger un role in Iraq BEIJING, Oct 12: China wants the United Nations to pass a new resolution on Iraq to give the world body a bigger...more |
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Bali bomber says no regrets, death welcome JAKARTA, Oct 12: The convicted mastermind of the Bali bombings, now on death row in an Indonesian jail, has no regrets over the killing of 202 mostly .....more Six
Christians killed in JAKARTA, Oct 12: Six Christians have been killed, and more are feared dead, in attacks by unidentified armed men on three villages in Indonesia’s ....more Blast
hits central BAGHDAD, Oct 12: A large explosion hit a hotel used by US security personnel in central Baghdad today. .......more Israel
researching HAMBURG, Oct 12: Israeli intelligence services were ordered two months ......more |
Bali bomb survivors, families, recall day of loss BALI, INDONESIA, Oct 12: Heads bowed and weeping, Australian and other survivors of last year’s bomb attacks on Bali island and hundreds of grieving relatives today paid tribute to the 202 people killed. Voices from a choir of Australian and Indonesian school children drifted over the families at a Christian service on a limestone escarpment overlooking Kuta Beach, where Muslim militants blew up two nightclubs on this day a year ago. About 800 survivors and relatives attended the memorial service, the majority from Australia, which lost 88 citizens in the worst act of terror since the September 11, 2001, strikes on the United States. In all, 22 countries lost people. Australian military chaplain Richard Thompson gently urged families to try to accept their suffering. "If we live as victims the terrorists have beaten us and we are in danger then of spending our future living in anger and frustration. Such a life lived in anger and frustration does not honour the memory of our loved ones," Thompson said. Australian Prime Minister John Howard and senior leaders from Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, were also present. Chief Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to fight terrorism and said Indonesia would never rest until it had caught all those behind the bombings. About 40 people have been captured and 20 sentenced, including three people sentenced to death. "These diabolical men and their brand of evil simply has no place in our society. They belong in our darkest dungeons, locked away deep beneath our children’s playgrounds. History will condemn them forever," said Yudhoyono, ending his remarks with a verse from the Koran to light applause. Indonesia has warned that Muslim militants were planning more attacks in the country and had built two bombs but insisted the mainly Hindu enclave of Bali was safe for the mourners. Police with automatic rifles and sniffer dogs patrolled the area. Indonesia has blamed the bombings on Jemaah Islamiah, the southeast Asian militant group with links to Al-Qaeda. Security experts say it is only a matter of time before Jemaah Islamiah strikes again in Indonesia or elsewhere in the region. In the sombre atmosphere of the Garuda Wisnu Cultural Park, about 20 minutes drive from Kuta and bordered by towering limestone blocks, Howard spoke of the "terrible hatred" of the perpetrators and the need to fight terrorism. Giant copper and bronze statues of the Hindu God Vishnu and the Garuda bird, a symbol of freedom, provided the backdrop as Australian military chaplains presided over the open-air service. It included elements of Islam and Hinduism. A simple wooden cross stood behind the alter. Some Australian football players who lost friends in the attacks had the number 88 — the number of Australian victims — Sewn into Jerseys. Some relatives clutched photos of loved ones. The service ended when prominent Musician John Williamson sang "Waltzing Matilda", a much-loved australian song written in the late 19th century. Other events will run during the day, finishing with a small Balinese ceremony at the bomb site at 11:08 PM. (1508 GMT), the exact time that many holidays on the Lush island paradise were brought to an end one year ago. For many, the emotion of returning has been raw. "I will never find closure because these criminals killed a lot of people, hurt my body and my family," said Perth roofing contractor Peter Hughes, arm coverings on to protect burn scars. Many victims have been drawn to the site where the Sari club was once a beacon to good times but is now a shrine, only to start sobbing, or to paste photos of dead loved ones on a board that stretches the length of the empty lot. Dozens of wreathes have been laid. Across the road, the names of the 202 dead have been recorded on a memorial. Indonesia is not making October 12 a day of remembrance, saying such events have been held. President Megawati Sukarnoputri did not come for the ceremonies. Indonesia lost 38 people, most of them Balinese, while 23 Britons, nine Swedes and seven Americans died. The blasts also shattered the tourist industry in one of Asia’s travel gems. (AGENCIES) |
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| Progress on Sikkim will enhance
Sino-Indian ties: Experts BEIJING, Oct 12: Welcoming the removal of Sikkim as a separate country from China’s official website, experts have termed it a "logical step" by the new leadership here to deepen political trust and understanding, and resolve pending issues with India. "This is a logical step taken by the Chinese side following the meeting between Premier Wen and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in June," former Chinese Ambassador to India, Cheng Ruisheng said. Hoping the step would further promote political trust and understanding between India and China in the 21st century, he said Beijing was taking a "step-by-step" approach on the Sikkim issue adding "China might also make a cartographic correction of its maps to show Sikkim as part of India". Commenting on China’s decision, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue described Sikkim issue as a question left over from history and suggested a "gradual" approach. "We think that one should respect history and take into consideration practical factors on this question. We hope that it will be gradually solved with the development of the relations between China and India," Zhang said. Expressing satisfaction over the "smooth" development of India-China relations after Vajpayee’s visit, official sources here hoped the "fruitful" meeting External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha had with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly Session last month, would accelerate the process. The sources also noted that Chinese Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo would also visit New Delhi later this month in his capacity as the special representative to attend the first meeting of the vexed border issue. The first meeting of the special representatives on the border issue will take place in Delhi on October 23. "The scheduling of the first meeting of the special representatives is a notable achievement as it has been set up in less than four months after the Prime Ministerial visit," an official source commented. A South Asia expert Professor M A Jiali said the important consensus reached between Wen and Vajpayee during their first meeting and this week’s meeting in Bali showed that Sino-Indian relations were moving in the right direction and that prospects for bilateral ties looked "very good." (PTI) |
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Musharraf completes 4 years in
power ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Checkmated at home by the year-long stalemate over his Constitutional powers and pressed hard by the international community to crackdown on foreign and domestic militant groups, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf completes four years at the helm today by barely managing to stave off a serious challenge to his rule mounted by political parties. In contrast to the popularity earlier enjoyed by him in the international community for his commitment to crackdown on Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Jehadi groups at home after 9/11, Musharraf now appears to be coming under increasing pressure from the international community to crackdown hard on the resurgence of Taliban on the Pak-Afghan borders and Jehadi groups on the Line of Control. Unlike last year, Pakistan has now been accused of encouraging cross border terrorism both by India and Afghanistan. Also, Musharraf, who had two crucial meetings with US President George W Bush in less than four months this year faces pressure to send Pakistani troops to Iraq to help the US forces stabilise the volatile political and military situation there. With domestic public and political opinion firmly opposing, Musharraf is in a quandary on sending troops to Iraq and hopes for a UN or organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) resolution to provide some kind of mandate to commit troops. Today Gen Musharraf’s rule enters the crucial fifth year without effective resolution of political stalemate or a timeframe to cleanse Pakistan of any foreign and domestic militant groups, while he appears to have exhausted all avenues to stabilise his rule. The deadlock on the political front is expected to continue with Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali saying that his Government will continue to hold the sittings of the Parliament without the presence of opposition. He cited the example of Bangladesh Parliament, where the Government is functioning despite the boycott by the opposition. Life has not been same for Musharraf after he held polls at the end of his three year military rule last October as the pro-military Government headed by Jamali failed to end the deadlock over the legality of his Presidency and his Constitutional amendments, which greatly eroded the General’s legitimacy and power base. Contrary to expectations before last year’s polls that a friendly and pliable democratic set up would be in place, all most all the political parties united to oppose Musharraf’s continuation as President and Chief of Army, declining to budge despite year-long efforts to break their backs with heavy pressure from the intelligence and security agencies. Parties like the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) headed by self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto which won 80 seats in the national assembly last year was reduced to around 50 seats later as its elected members defected to Government ranks under pressure to support Jamali. But despite this the Government’s efforts to see the opposition accept Musharraf’s consitutional amenments has not materialised. On the political front, he finds himself pushed to a corner in the face of a united opposition against his adamancy to hold on to the post of the Army Chief while continuing to be the President. Despite the defection of 30 members of former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party to the ruling ranks and other efforts, the Government has failed to acquire two thirds majority in the Parliament and four provincial assemblies to enable passage of his controversial amendments. Musharraf now appears to have been effectively checkmated as the six party Islamist alliance, Muthahida Majlis Amal (MMA), hitherto considered as friend of the military, has taken a stuck to his stand that Musharraf quit as Chief of Army by December, 2004. Despite the year-long wooing by Jamali, the MMA declined to give up its opposition to Musharraf’s continuation as Chief of Army, fuelling speculation that sections of Army top brass backed them. The MMA refused to give in despite assurances by Musharraf to quit the post after the situation stabilised in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The political deadlock also fuelled speculation that Musharraf may opt for mid term polls to end the stalemate. Four years on the General’s Rule appears to be on a drift, awaiting a major breakthrough on the political front to put it back on course. (PTI) |
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China wants resolution on bigger un role in Iraq BEIJING, Oct 12: China wants the United Nations to pass a new resolution on Iraq to give the world body a bigger role in rebuilding that country, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told US Secretary of State Colin Powell today. In a telephone conversation ahead of a meeting between US President George W Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao at a regional forum in Bangkok, Li and Powell discussed Iraq and the north Korean nuclear issue, the official Xinhua News Agency said. "It is necessary for the United Nations to pass a new resolution (on Iraq) and help the country to restore sovereignty as early as possible," Xinhua quoted Li as saying. "The resolution should make the United Nations have a bigger role in the Iraq issue. China expects relevant parties to narrow their differences and reach consensus soon," Li said. Powell said last week he would be contacting several foreign ministers over the weekend to muster support for a new UN resolution on post-war arrangements in Iraq. The United States wants other Governments to contribute more troops and money to help run and rebuild Iraq, but is resisting calls by some nations to shift authority to the United Nations or to Iraqi politicians more quickly. On North Korea, Li and Powell said they hoped upcoming talks including Russia, South Korea and Japan would not be derailed, Xinhua said without elaborating. China has said it wants another round of six-party talks to take place by the end of the year to try to resolve a dispute over North Korea’s nuclear programme. The United States and other countries are urging North Korea to abandon the programme, but the communist country says it wants a formal pledge from Washington it will not be attacked. (AGENCIES) |
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Bali bomber says no regrets, death welcome JAKARTA, Oct 12: The convicted mastermind of the Bali bombings, now on death row in an Indonesian jail, has no regrets over the killing of 202 mostly foreign tourists and is not afraid to die. In an interview published today, the first anniversary of the October 12, 2002 attack, Muslim militant Imam Samudra said he believed he had done God’s will and would die a martyr. "The death penalty would mean nothing, except strengthening my faith. The faith that I have is in the promise of God to get into heaven," Samudra told the Pikiran Rakyat newspaper in an undated interview which made no mention of the anniversary. "Jihad (the holy war) outside jail is pleasant, but it does not mean that jail is unpleasant. In jail someone will gain a greater understanding of his faith," he said. "I am sure that I was...Put into jail not because I have violated the laws of God. On the contrary, because I’m doing what he and his Prophets had asked." Samudra, who was sentenced to death by a Bali court last month, said he believed he was fighting a war against the "enemies of God" and Muslims around the world. He is one of three key bombers sentenced to death for the Bali blasts, which authorities blame on an Al-Qaeda-linked southeast Asian militant group called Jemaah Islamiah. Another key bomber has been given a life sentence. In all, about 40 people have been arrested over the blasts and so far some 20 have been tried and handed sentences. (AGENCIES) |
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Six Christians killed in Indonesia violence JAKARTA, Oct 12: Six Christians have been killed, and more are feared dead, in attacks by unidentified armed men on three villages in Indonesia’s central Sulawesi province, police said today. The attacks, near the town of Poso some 1,600 Km (1,000 miles) northeast of Jakarta on Saturday night, come a day after the killing of two Christians and the burning of a Church and about 30 houses in another village by gunmen, according to police. The latest attacks on mostly Christian villages near Poso have raised fears of a resurgence of religious violence in the region where some 2,000 people have died in clashes since 1999. About 85 percent of Indonesia’s 210 million people are Muslim. The rest are mostly Christian, Hindu and Animist. The attacks have come after months of relative calm in Sulawesi. The area was wracked by violence in 2001 and 2002 and became a training ground for many Muslim militants. "There were six people killed and nine injured in three villages...All of them Christians," Rudy Tranggono, Deputy Poso Police Chief, told . Police earlier said four villages were attacked. "There was no damage to houses or Churches in the villages," Tranggono said, adding that the identity of the attackers was not known. But an official at Poso district hospital, Sugianto Kaimudin, said he had received at least 14 injured people from the attacks yesterday. He said three of the dead were brought to his hospital. One had been shot and two were hacked to death with machetes. Wayan Miscaya, a nurse in the emergency department, said he was told by villagers that a total of eight people had been killed in the attacks. (AGENCIES) |
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Blast hits central Baghdad hotel-witnesses BAGHDAD, Oct 12: A large explosion hit a hotel used by US security personnel in central Baghdad today, witnesses said. The witnesses said they saw a car ablaze at the Baghdad hotel. Ambulances rushed to the scene and there appeared to be several casualties, they said. (AGENCIES) |
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Israel researching how to strike Iranian nuclear sites: Report HAMBURG, Oct 12: Israeli intelligence services were ordered two months ago to study ways of knocking out more than half a dozen nuclear sites in Iran, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported. In a story for publication Monday, the magazine said a Mossad team in Jerusalem had drafted "scenarios" in which raids would be flown by F-16 fighter-bombers that destroy the sites "simultaneously and completely". Mossad experts considered the logistics "extremely difficult" but believed the obstacles could be overcome "technically" by means of low-level flight and suitable preparations, said the magazine, quoting "international experts". Spiegel said Mossad was not concerned with the "enormous political fallout" that such raids would cause, since this was an issue for Israel’s political leadership. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was considering such a breach of international law because of information that Iran was on the verge of becoming a nuclear power, thanks to expertise and material provided by Pakistan and north Korea, the magazine reported. It said intelligence indicated that enrichment of uranium to weapons grade was reaching the final stage "in two locations". The Israelis claimed to know of three other Iranian nuclear facilities that were "completely unknown to the international community". (DPA) Use of force cannot ensure Israel security: Russia MOSCOW, Oct 12: Expressing serious concern over the recent developments in west Asia, Russia has said that Israel can not ensure its security by use of force against Palestinians. "The three years of fierce confrontation have revealed that Iisrael cannot be made secure solely by use of force," Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday. "Disproportional use of force, heavy weaponry and aviation yields no other results but increased casualties among civilian population," it said and urged resumption of dialogue between the two sides. "It is necessary to ensure resumption of a political dialogue between the leadership of Israel and the Palestinian authority," it stressed. The leaders of both sides, must fulfill the mutual commitments undertaken in the framework of the "road map" plan for peaceful settlement developed by the quartet of international mediators, the statement pointed out. The Foreign Ministry regretted the large-scale military operations by Israel, conducted on October 9-10, in order to stop arms smuggling into Palestine. (UNI) 3 dead as 4 Indonesian villages attacked JAKARTA, Oct 12: At least three people have been killed in attacks by armed men on four separate villages in Indonesia’s central Sulawesi province, officials said today. The attacks, near the town of Poso some 1,600 Km north-east of Jakarta last night, come a day after the killing of two Christians and the burning of a Church and about 30 houses in another village by unidentified gunmen, according to police. The latest killings have raised fears of a resurgence of religious violence in the region where some 2,000 people have died in Muslim-Christian clashes sine 1999. They have come after months of relative calm in Sulawesi. The area was wracked by violence in 2001 and 2002 and became a training ground for many Muslim militants. An official at Poso’s main hospital told he had received three dead and 14 injured people from the attacks yesterday. "Of the three dead, one was because of a gunshot and the other two because of cuts," said Sugianto Kaimudin. A Poso police officer confirmed the attacks on four villages, but he could not give details of casualties or who was involved. (AGENCIES) Israel begins withdrawing troops from Rafah GAZA, Oct 12: The Israeli Army began withdrawing troops from the Rafah region in the South of the Gaza strip, Israel radio reported today. The withdrawal comes after several days of violent battles in parts with at least eight Palestinians killed. According to the report, the troops pulled out of the region before dawn. The soldiers had destroyed several tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza strip in the region in the past days, official Army sources said. The Palestinians allegedly used the tunnels to smuggle weapons. (DPA) Taiwan to cut ties with liberia in another lost war with China TAIPEI, Oct 12: Taiwan will sever diplomatic ties with Liberia in yet another lost diplomatic battle with rival China, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister said today. "We will soon announce the severance of official ties with Liberia," said Foreign Minister Eugene Chien. He said China has threatened to boycott a 250-million-dollar budget needed to finance a UN peacekeeping force in Liberia to force the African nation to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. "We have been fighting a very tough battle. Our officials in Liberia have worked very hard to try to retain our relations with Liberia, but all of their efforts are in vain," said Chien. (DPA) |
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