M A I N   N E W S

Must defeat terror, PM to world leaders
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

Yekaterinburg (Russsia), June 16
Participating in back-to-back SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) summits here, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for greater global cooperation to defeat terrorism and reform of international financial institutions.

Delivering his first speech at an international forum during his second term as the Prime Minister, he told the SCO Summit that terrorist crimes today were transnational in nature, adding “it is imperative that we genuinely cooperate with one another and on a global scale to resolutely defeat international terrorism.’’

India, along with Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia, participated as an observer at the summit of the SCO, a six-nation regional grouping that brings together Russia, China and the Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

This was the first SCO summit at which an Indian Prime Minister participated since the SCO leaders decided to include observer countries in full-format discussions at their last summit in Dushanbe.

The 76-year-old Prime Minister, during his hectic engagements in this Russian city, later attended the first BRIC Summit along with the Presidents of Russia, China and Brazil.

In a joint statement adopted by the BRIC leaders, the four nations strongly demanded reforms of international financial institutions to reflect changes in the world economy. “The emerging and developing countries must have a greater voice and representation in international financial institutions, and their heads and senior leadership should be appointed through an open, transparent and merit-based selection process.’’

On the global economic situation, the BRIC leaders emphasised that the poorest countries had been hit the hardest by the financial crisis. “The international community needs to step up efforts to provide liquidity for these countries. The international community should also strive to minimise the impact of the crisis on development and ensure the achievement of the millennium development goals.’’

The four nations called for strengthening coordination and cooperation among BRIC states in the field of energy, including among producers and consumers of energy and transit states, in an effort to decrease uncertainty and ensure stability and sustainability. They also underlined the need for a more democratic and just multi-polar world order based on the rule of international law, equality, mutual respect, cooperation, coordinated action and collective decision-making of all states.

The BRIC nations condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that there could be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere or for whatever reasons.

Russian Diary

The Kerala connection

On his first overseas visit in his second term, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has his trusted team of officials from down South in tow. National Security Adviser MK Narayanan, TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to the PM, and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon are all there in Manmohan Singh’s delegation. It surprisingly does not include any Central minister.

The buzz is that the PM has immense faith in his time-tested lieutenants, all of whom incidentally hail from Kerala.

Speculation is already rife that Menon too may be accommodated in the PMO or given another important assignment on his superannuation at the end of July. Remember he superseded nearly a dozen seniors to become Foreign Secretary during Manmohan Singh’s first term. And topping the list of probable contenders for the Foreign Secretary's post is another Keralite--Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao.

A perfect holiday destination

For an Indian it’s difficult even to pronounce the name of the city but Yekaterinburg is considered the 3rd capital of Russia. It was nearly 300 years ago when the city was founded on the eastern slopes of the Urals mountains on the banks of the beautiful Iset river. A sprawling city with a population of a million and a half, Yekaterinburg has more than 600 monuments of history and culture. A powerful industrial and research centre, Yekaterinburg is the largest transport hub in Russia with an extensive network of railways, two airports, two private terminals and the Metro. With its unique geographical location on the border of Europe and Asia and multi-continental cuisines, a holiday in Yekaterinburg will not be a bad idea after all for an Indian tourist. But then one big problem is that it is not well connected by air from India.

New role

Exactly 7 years back, he was arrested by Delhi Police on the charge of spying for Pakistan, today journalist Syed Iftikhar Gilani is part of the media delegation accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on board the Air India aircraft on the visit to Russia. Gilani, the son-in-law of Kashmiri separatist leader Syef Ali Shah Geelani, works for The Kashmir Times and regularly contributes to some Pakistani newspapers. His arrest, when the NDA was in power at the Centre, had led to nationwide protests by various journalist organisations. He was eventually released three months later when the authorities realised that that there was no evidence against him.

Quiet excursion

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur and his daughter Upinder paid a quiet visit to the site where Russia's last tsar and his family were killed over nine decades ago. Accompanied by SPG men, they appeared moved after seeing the Church of Spilt Blood that has now turned into a centre of pilgrimage. A Russian guide told the visitors of the events on that dark night of January 17, 1918, when the Bolshevik Guards called the tsar and his family to the cellar and shot them. Legend has it that the bloodthirsty executioners had a tough time eliminating the tsar’s wife and her four daughters and a son as they were wearing heavy jewellery in their corsets. “Bullets bounced off them and they had to finally bludgeon them to death,” narrated Elena, a Russian guide.

— Ashok Tuteja