Nepal’s sacked Premier seeks dialogue with King

KATHMANDU, Mar 12: Nepal’s sacked Prime Minister, just freed from house arrest, urged King Gyanendra today to begin talks with political parties to solve the Himalayan nation’s crisis following his power grab last month.

Sher Bahadur Deuba, 58, was sacked and placed under house arrest on Febuary 1 by King Gyanendra, who said the Prime Minister had failed to control an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt that has killed thousands of people.

In the first comments after being freed from house arrest yesterday, Deuba asked the King to remain only a constitutional monarch.

"The King should enter into dialogue with political parties and give all executive powers to a new multi-party Government," Deuba told in an interview at his Red Brick House.

"That Government should hold talks with the Maoists to end violence which is key to fresh national elections," said Deuba, sitting cross-legged on a sofa and drinking lemon tea.

Already faced with a long running Maoist revolt, Nepal plunged into turmoil after Gyanendra assumed powers, detained politicians and suspended civil liberties.

He said the steps were necessary to crush the Maoists who have been fighting since 1996 to replace the monarchy with a Communist Republic in the Hindu kingdom tucked between China and India.

Nepal has had no elected Parliament since Deuba, a three-time Premier, dissolved it in 2002.

Gyanendra’s surprise move to fire Deuba came after the rebels refused talks to end their revolt.

In the past they have demanded an Assembly to draft a new Constitution to decide the future of monarchy before a vote in the mountain nation where many still consider the King an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, one of the trinity of Hindu Gods.

The rebels have also refused to talk to the King and sponsored a nationwide blockade last month to protest against his move, disrupting supplies and travel across Nepal for two weeks.

A cheerful Deuba said the Maoists, who deserted talks in 2003, could return to the negotiating table if Gyanendra and mainstream parties agreed to discuss their demand.

"If there is a national consensus for a conditional constituent Assembly the Maoists might agree to negotiations," the bespectacled leader said without elaborating.

Deuba said the King could not crush the revolt without help from political parties pitched against the monarch now.

"All warring political parties should forge unity and launch a peaceful agitation for the restoration of democracy," he said.

"The King must also release the chiefs of other political parties from house arrest and free all detained activists immediately."

Party officials said the chief of the Nepali Congress Party and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the head of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), Madhav Kumar Nepal, were still under house arrest and hundreds were in detention or on the run.

The Government has not given their number but has freed nearly 50 activists amid pressure from the international community including key arms suppliers, India and Britain, who have stopped military supplies.

Deuba’s phone line has not been restored and he has been unable to contact other party leaders on the crisis.

Big protests have not been possible in Nepal due to heavy security and police have crushed smaller rallies.

"But I will personally participate in the on-going protests," Deuba said. (AGENCIES)

India, Russia to upgrade defence cooperation: Saran

MOSCOW, Mar 12: India and Russia have agreed to carry forward their bilateral defence cooperation and make efforts to upgrade it, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said after his two-day Moscow talks.

"We discussed bilateral defence cooperation and reached agreement that we should carry forward this cooperation," Saran told reporters before leaving for St Petersburg on the last leg of his three-day Russia visit.

In Moscow, Saran had wide-ranging talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and first deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loschinin on the whole Gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues.

"Our relations are no longer of a client and vendor, but are of partnership. The Brahmos project is one such example and we have agreed to make efforts upgrade them through more such projects," Saran said.

He recollected that during his India tour in December last, Russian President Vladimir Putin had visited Brahmos cruise missiles complex.

Energy cooperation was also one of the key bilateral issues discussed by Saran in Moscow.

"Russia has welcomed Indian investments in its energy projects and talks are proceeding. We have already announced desire for considerable investments," Saran said, adding Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has already twice visited Moscow to discuss India’s energy security.

Saran, who visited Russia for the first time for Foreign Secretary-level consultations, said India and Russia have agreed to maintain momentum of high level visits given by President Putin’s highly successful India visit in December last. He indicated that India visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Russia visit of President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh are on the cards.

Saran said India and Russia are moving closer to resolve vexed visa issue and a consular agreement is in the pipeline. "Russia has expressed desire to promote commercial and investment activities and we are working on visa and consular agreement to facilitate business travel and tourism," he said.

Saran briefed his Russian interlocutors on India’s vision of regional developments, including the situation in Nepal, Afghanistan and relations with Pakistan.

Saran cautioned that suspension of democracy in Nepal poses a ‘danger to the very existence of monarchy’.

"The security is an important issue, but a political process can only resolve the problem of Maoist extremism," saran said urging King Gyanendra to lift emergency, restore multi-party democracy and release political detainees.

"On Pakistan I pointed at several positive developments. There has been remarkable development of cross-border movement of people, people-to people contacts. We have issued close to 10000 visas (to Pakistanis). The decision on Srinagar- Muzzafarabad bus service is yet another CBM," Saran said. But he cautioned that Confidence Building exercise could suffer a set back if islamabad backtracks on its commitments not to allow use of any part of territory controlled by it for terrorism aimed at India. (PTI)

US decision on protocol "violates" detainees’ rights: HRW

NEW YORK, Mar 12: The Bush administration’s decision to withdraw from a protocol governing diplomatic disputes has "violated" the rights of foreigners detained in America and could endanger US citizens held abroad, an international human rights watchdog has warned.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) can hear disputes between countries who are parties to the optional protocol of the Vienna convention on consular relations, including cases brought by states on behalf of people detained in foreign countries who have been denied access to their nation’s consular officials.

According to a decision by the Bush administration this week, the ICJ, or world court, will henceforth have no power to hear cases brought by countries on behalf of detained non-citizens in the United States, the human rights watch (HRW) noted.

Americans in the custody of foreign countries who have been denied access to their country’s embassies will also not have access to the ICJ, it observed.

"This decision not only violates the rights of foreigners living in the United States, it could also endanger Americans abroad," said Jamie Fellner, Director of the US programme of human rights watch.

"It’s a huge mistake for the United States, for practical reasons as well as legal and moral ones."

The Vienna convention on consular relations, a treaty which the United States ratified in 1969, requires Governments to allow detained foreigners to meet representatives of their embassies.

The optional protocol to the 1969 treaty, also ratified by the United States, gives the ICJ jurisdiction over disputes under the treaty. Indeed it was the United States that proposed giving the ICJ such a role, during negotiations in 1963 to finalise the terms of the optional protocol.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed the UN this week that the United States is withdrawing from the optional protocol just days after President George W Bush indicated to courts in Texas that they must abide by the ICJ’s avena decision, which was made while the US was still a party to the optional protocol, the human rights watch said.

In that ruling, the ICJ told US courts to hear the cases of 51 Mexican nationals on death row who were denied the right to talk to their consular officials.

"We were pleased that the Bush administration said it would abide by the ICJ’s earlier ruling," said Fellner.

"But the decision to withdraw from the protocol creates new fears that foreigners facing the death penalty in the United States will have their rights violated and states acting on their behalf will have no place to turn to look for a remedy. It’s a matter of life and death."

In the past, the United States has used the optional protocol to the Vienna convention to protect its citizens abroad. After 52 American hostages were taken in Iran in 1979, the US sued Iran in the world court using the protocol, and the court ruled in favor of the US, the watchdog group noted.

Now, if an American overseas is arrested and not allowed access to US consular officials in that country, the United States will not be able to hold that country accountable in the world court, it said. (PTI)

Manila suspects pesticide poisoning behind deaths

SAN JOSE, PHILIPPINES, Mar 12: Philippine doctors said today they suspected pesticide contamination as the possible cause of food poisoning that killed dozens of children in a remote village.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said test results that could show the cause of death of 27 school children on the Central Bohol island will be announced on Monday as Government toxicologists ran more tests on food, blood and vomit samples.

"Our working diagnosis was organophosphate poisoning," Harold Gallego, the chief doctor in the Mabini town hospital told . "Most children brought here responded to atropine phosphate, an antidote for pesticide poisoning."

He said symptoms shown by the children, aged between 6 and 13 years, who fell ill after eating cassava fritters and balls, were consistent with cyanide and pesticide poisoning.

But, those poisoned by cyanide would not react to atropine phosphate, said gallego. Sodium nitrate and sodium thiosulfate are normally given to victims of cyanide poisoning.

Initial tests made by experts from the Philippine rootcrop agency tend to back the doctors’ theory because samples of cassava found at the kitchen where the snack was prepared and cooked showed a lower level of cyanide.

"We concluded that the poison (cyanide) in the cassava is low, and it can be eaten, so it is not the cause of the death of the children," said chemist Cynthia Budoy.

Law enforcement agencies also began a separate investigation, conducting autopsies on two dead children and gathering evidence like traces on cooking oil canisters and other materials at the kitchen where the cassava snacks were cooked.

Villagers have buried 18 of the 27 children at a public cemetery, including two grandchildren of one of the two women who cooked and sold the snacks to the children.

The rest will be buried tomorrow.

Villagers said would avoid cassava until authorities find the cause of death.

"I won’t allow my children to taste any cassava again," said Josefina Mano while giving soup to her two sons in a hospital ward in Mabini town. "From now on, I will personally prepare their snacks."

Three of Mano’s children were hospitalised.

But Mano’s neighbour, Esterlita Asan, said her family would still continue to eat cassava, a staple among most poor families on Bohol island.

"I don’t believe the cassava is poisonous," she told . "Since I was a child, I have been eating cassava because we don’t have enough rice. There must be something else that poisoned the children." (AGENICES)

China gives financial support to red tourism development plan

BEIJING, Mar 12: The Chinese Government has initiated steps to provide funding for the "red tourism" development plan which would "instil faith in the communist leadership and boost development in rural areas."

Under this, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the State Development Bank signed an agreement here yesterday to provide financial support for "red tourism."

"China’s "red tourism" campaign promotes revolutionary history before the founding of the people’s republic on October 1, 1949. The Government hopes that the programme would shore up support for the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as well to hasten economic development in rural areas.

According to the agreement, the two organisations will design and develop "red tourism" programmes and improve investment in the projects.

Rural areas with abundant "red tourism" sites lag behind the rest of the country in economic development. With the financial support from the Government, they can improve infrastructure and make long-term strategic plans, deputy Director-General of CNTA, Gu Chaoxi said.

The development bank will provide technological support loan for key regions as well as different provinces and cities. The bank will also provide policy loans to support state-owned companies to enlarge their capital volumes. The bank will also support tourism project construction and the merging of big companies.

The programme, launched by the general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, at the end of last year, is designed to be implemented in two phases. (PTI)

Countries adopt resolutions to fight for women’s equality

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12: On the final day of a meeting to press for women’s equality, countries adopted resolutions calling for more action to eliminate sex trafficking, help women reverse the AIDS pandemic and push for the economic advancement of women.

The meeting ended yesterday on a sour note as the 45-nation Commission on the status of women considered the US-sponsored draft on women’s economic advancement. Unhappy with amendments from Cuba and South Africa, including one that mentioned women’s reproductive rights, the United States withdrew its backing. The vote went ahead anyway and the document was adopted by consensus.

"Our negotiators had been working in good faith believing that they were bending over backward trying to accommodate the issues of other countries," US Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey said. "We were flexible beyond the point that almost seemed reasonable."

There was also a minor embarrassment for the Americans - Sauerbrey tried to withdraw the document from consideration because of all the changes, but did not realise the rules prohibited her from doing so because amendments had been made.

The vote capped a contentious two-week meeting where hundreds of delegates from around the world gathered to reaffirm the platform for action adopted at the 1995 UN Women’s Conference in Beijing to achieve equality for women.

In the first week, the United States had tried to amend a document reaffirming the Beijing platform to say it did not create any new human rights, including a global right to abortion. (AP)

Russia is for Syria withdrawal but without threats

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12: Russia advocates a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, including intelligence units, despite having abstained on a Security Council resolution demanding the pull-out.

But Moscow is reluctant to take punitive action against Syria if it does not pull out quickly, its UN Ambassador Andrei Denisov told yesterday.

"I don’t know if that makes sense," he said.

Terje-Roed-Larsen, a special UN envoy, will meet Syria’s President Bashar-al-Assad this weekend and press for a timetable to withdraw all troops from Lebanon.

However, UN officials said he could not give Syria an ultimatum or threaten punitive sanctions the Security Council might not approve.

"I’m looking forward for a good dialogue and of course I expect that we will get commitments and timetables for a full implementation of resolution 1559," Roed-Larsen said in Amman yesterday after talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Mulki.

That resolution, adopted on September 2, calls for all foreign troops to leave Lebanon and for the disarmament of militia, such as the Hizbollah group, backed by Syria and Iran, which controls the south. But six out of 15 Council members abstained in September, an indication that punitive action in case of non-compliance would be difficult.

The United States is demanding Syria complete its withdrawal before Lebanon holds Parliamentary elections in May.

Denisov said it was "reasonable" for the troops to withdraw before the may elections. "But we think there is no need to fix any timetable. It is better to encourage them to act expeditiously."

He said Russia abstained on the resolution in September because "we were not sure that was the most constructive and positive way to solve that problem." But he said moscow was "committed to the resolution."

"We support withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence units are part of the withdrawal," he said. "We are convinced that it must be done non-stop manner and must finish."

UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, had offered Roed-Larsen Moscow’s support in a telephone conversation.

Lavrov said in Moscow that a Syrian withdrawal "should be gradual and should not undermine the ethnic or religious situation in the region," according to the Interfax news agency.

"This is especially important in light of the upcoming Parliamentary election in Lebanon, which we hope will be held without outside interference," Lavrov was quoted as saying.

Syrian troops have pulled out of northern Lebanon and some left the Beirut area. Lebanon’s Defense Minister has said the first phase of the withdrawal plan, which calls for a Syrian pullback to the eastern Bekaa Valley, will be completed next week.

Syrian forces first entered Lebanon in 1976, early in the civil war. Their numbers have declined to 14,000 from a peak of 40,000, but they had never before abandoned the north. (AGENCIES)

China to undertake clinical test of AIDS vaccine

BEIJING, Mar 12: Eight volunteers will soon receive the phase-one clinical test of China’s self-developed aids vaccine, signalling a major progress in research into the prevention and control of the deadly disease.

However, no further details of the AIDS vaccine research programme was provided by the official Xinhua news agency.

At the same time, it reported that China has completed the drafting of regulations on AIDS prevention and control.

"The draft of the regulations has been sent to various sides for comments and advices," said Shao Yiming, a member of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top advisory body.

The draft regulations have outlined the principles and policies for China’s battle against the deadly epidemic, and also explicitly defined the roles and responsibilities of various Government departments in AIDS prevention and control, shao, a senior expert with the sexually-transmitted diseases and AIDS division of China disease control centre, said.

"The draft regulations stipulate that any Government Department or Medical Institution failing to fulfil their due responsibilities in aids prevention and control shall be subject to administrative punishment and even legal penalties," he said.

"We must grant aids patients and HIV carriers a powerful legal weapon to defend their legitimate rights and interests," he said.

China reported its first AIDS case in 1985 and now has an estimated 840,000 HIV carriers and AIDS patients. However, unofficial figures say the number of HIV/AIDS patients in the world’s most populous nation is much more. (PTI)

Tsunami will not derail IT spending in Asia: Study

WASHINGTON, Mar 12: The Asian IT market will primarily be driven by the boom in India this year, a new IDC study said.

Evaluating the repercussion of last December’s Tsunami on the economy and IT spending of India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the study found that the it spending momentum in the region will not be "derailed".

It said the impacted economies represent 8.1 per cent of the it spending potential in Asia-Pacific, but with acceleration well above the average 5.7 per cent annual growth projected by IDC for 2005, their role in the region is significant.

Ms Anna Toncheva, an economist in IDC’s IT markets and strategies, said the economic impact of the Tsunami would not be enough to derail momentum in the IT market in the region in 2005.

"We will see a minimal short-term slowdown in it spending in these countries, compensated for by a further acceleration in the near term (18-24 months)."

"The anticipated overhaul of the overall economic development strategy of these countries, with an emphasis on the non-manufacturing sectors of the economy, will shape the it spending profile of the region in the near term," she added. (UNI)

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