Tuesday, June 8, 1999
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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LoC well defined, says
India Splits: Cong for change in statute |
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Rajiv killers’
execution stayed
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Faleiro elected CLP
leader BJP to observe June 23 as Kashmir
Day
Trust to help Kargil victims set
up Cong to project Sonia as PM High court notice to Vikas Yadav
PTV telecast banned in Delhi
CID questions Jaya, 2 others |
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LoC well defined, says India NEW DELHI, June 7 — India’s tough stance towards Pakistan, that there can be only one agenda for the proposed Foreign Minister level talks the Kargil situation — and there is only one solution to the problem — Pakistan should "undo" the armed intrusion — is prompted by the response it has got from the international community, especially the western powers. On Friday evening, the Foreign Secretary, Mr K. Raghunath, met a large number of envoys and discussed with them the situation in Kargil. The meeting which lasted over several hours gave the Foreign Office the impression that the international community, while agreeing with India’s stand on the LoC, wanted Pakistan to stop the hostilities. The need for India to let the intruders withdraw behind the LoC was also emphasised by certain envoys. Prior to this meeting, on May 28, Mr Raghunath had met representatives of the European Union troika — a three-member body representing EU States comprising envoys of the current and next presidency states and the Ambassador of EU to India. During this meeting, the EU gave a demarche to the Government of India which largely supported India’s position. While not directly criticising Pakistan, by implication the EU demarche disapproved the Pakistani action of crossing the LoC. There was a plea for restarting the "Lahore process". The talk of "safe passage" emanated during this discussion. Meanwhile, in Washington last week, Chairman of the US Congress House International Committee, Mr Benjamin Gilman, shot off a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on June 4 in which the displeasure of this key body of the Capitol Hill was conveyed. The letter expressed "alarm and regret" over the Pakistani action "across the LoC in Kashmir". "Pakistan has nothing to gain by permitting the fighting to continue and much to lose by prolonging the crises. I urge you to instruct Pakistan’s military forces to withdraw and to end its support to the current fighting", Congressman Gilman wrote. This letter came close on the heels of a letter despatched to New Delhi and Islamabad by President Bill Clinton and the phone calls made by the Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright. Washington is mounting pressure on Pakistan to stop the hostilities. Implied, however, in these moves is the concept of the "safe passage". Meanwhile, opposition to the "safe passage" is mounting in New Delhi especially from retired services’ officers who are quite vocal about it. Casualties are mounting on both sides. It remains to be seen how the military leadership reacts in the days to come. The official spokesman of the government today termed it as "extremely dangerous" Pakistan’s persistent efforts at questioning the validity of the LoC. Reiterating his earlier statement made on June 4, an official spokesman said: "We find Pakistan spokesman focusing on LoC of Jammu and Kashmir with a view to raising doubts about it. It is an extremely dangerous step for the maintenance of peace and security. There was never any ambiguity about delination of the LoC or location, which flows from the Simla Agreement which is the cornerstone of India and Pakistan relations." "Military
authorities of both countries have meticulously delinated
the LoC on authenticated maps and also exchanged. This
has been described in detail in the LoC delination
agreement", he added. |
Splits: Cong for change in
statute NEW DELHI, June 7 — The Congress today committed itself to initiating a debate on an amendment to the Indian Constitution to make it obligatory for MPs or MLAs leaving a party to seek a fresh mandate instead of splitting it on the basis of one-third support. The party spokesman, Mr Kapil Sabil, today said that the Congress would take an initiative in this regard after the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and would approach all political parties for the amendment. "The party would initiate an amendment in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution by which the legitimacy of a defection pursuant to a split would be tested only through a fresh mandate rather than the one-third criteria presently applicable," he said. Mr Sibal said the verdict in the Goa Assembly poll was in response to the "innovative and constructive commitments" which were in the party’s manifesto. He said the Congress was committed to keep the size of the new Goa Ministry to 15 per cent of the total strength of the Assembly. Since Goa had a 40-member Assembly, the strength of ministers would be six. Similarly, he said, all elected MLAs would be duty-bound to declare their assets when elected and thereafter on an annual basis. Mr Sibal indicated the party would enforce this aspect in states where the Congress was ruling. He said the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi had thanked the people of Goa for the verdict and the party workers who worked for it. Meanwhile, Mr Ashwani Kumar, a member of the AICC media committee, today said that the performace of the Congress in the Goa elections was a "clear affirmation and popular acceptance of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s political leadership". He said the results had
"convincingly demolished the opposition campaign of
calumny against the person and leadership of Mrs Sonia
Gandhi". |
Rajiv killers’ execution
stayed NEW DELHI, June 7 — The Supreme Court today stayed the execution of Santhan, Murugan, Nalini and Arivu found guilty and sentenced to death in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case till July 19 pending their review petition filed in this court. The four whose death sentence was confirmed by the apex court were to be executed on June 9. A review petition had been filed by the four prisoners and the stay application came up for hearing before the vacation Bench comprising Ms Justice Sujata Manohar and Mr Justice V.N. Khare. The court stayed the execution till July 19 when the Bench which decided their case would be available to consider the review petition. Earlier the jail authorities at Salem and Vellore, where these four are lodged at present, had fixed June 9 for the execution of the death sentence against the four after a three judge Bench confirmed death sentence on the four. The Vacation Bench directed the Supreme Court registry to "immediately send" the stay order to the Superintendents of special prisons at Salem and Vellore. The review petition would now be listed on July 19 for consideration before a three-judge Bench comprising Justice K.T. Thomas, Justice D.P. Wadhwa and Justice S.S.M. Quadri. Eight years after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a LTTE human bomb, the Supreme Court on May 11 had confirmed the death sentence awarded by trial court to the four, commuted death sentence of three to life imprisonment and acquitted 19 others. All 26 accused were awarded death sentence by the trial court for participating in the conspiracy which led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991, when he was about to address an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. Of the four sentenced to
death including the couple Nalini and Murugan, except for
Nalini rest were LTTE activists. |
Rules of war can’t be
imposed FLIGHT Lieutenant K. Nachiketa is back home after eight days as “Prisoner of War” (PoW) in Pakistan, but his colleague Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was allegedly shot dead after capture bringing home the fact that international rules of war cannot be imposed on an unwilling state. A series of international conventions and protocols agreed to by almost all states are supposed to govern armed conflicts and wars between countries, but experts say it’s for member nations to “voluntarily obey these rules and guidelines, they cannot be imposed.” “Unlike municipal law, international law cannot be enforced. The civilised world has to voluntarily agree to the UN charter and the relevant conventions and protocols. They cannot be imposed,” says Dr K.K. Panda, Professor of Political Science, Delhi University. International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which includes the 1949 Geneva Convention on humanitarian rules to be observed during armed conflicts, is applicable even in cases of a “war-like situation”, says Ms Savita Varde Naqvi of the South Asian Regional Headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) here. Thus “if it was proved beyond doubt that the Indian Air Force pilot Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was shot after he baled out, then it is a clear violation of the IHL as it is meant to protect non-combatant soldiers in armed conflicts,” says Ms Naqvi. The status of Prisoner of War is governed jointly by Article four of the third convention and by Articles 43 and 44 of the additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949. The general principle is that, “Any member of the armed forces of a party to a conflict is a combatant and any combatant captured by the adverse party is a Prisoner of War.” Significantly, the protocol does not accord the status of Prisoner of War to spies and mercenaries. Former Air Chief S.K. Mehra also maintains it was not a usual infiltration but a clear occupation of Indian territories south of the LoC and a deliberate effort to realign the LoC. Former MP Syed Sahabuddin maintains that the development in Kargil was “not a revolt or a war of liberation or a jehad...this is invasion by Pakistan and the intruders deserve to get a bloody nose”. Both the ICRC and Dr Panda maintain that the Prisoners of War are protected by several international rules. “The 1907 Hague rules gave the definition of Prisoner of War for the first time which was subsequently broadened by the Geneva Convention of 1949,” he says noting that under those definitions, “There was nothing wrong” in Nachiketa being treated as a Prisoner of War in Pakistan. Accordingly, the
Prisoner of War shall be entitiled to be assisted by one
of his fellow prisoners, to be defended by a qualified
attorney of his own choice, to call witnesses and, if he
thinks it necessary, to employ the services of a
competent interpreter. — PTI |
Faleiro elected CLP leader PANAJI, June 7 (UNI) — Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro was today elected as the Congress Legislative party (CLP) leader after day-long deliberations among the newly elected party legislators. Announcing this to reporters at a press conference here this evening, Congress Working Committee member Manmohan Singh and AICC General Secretary Madhavrao Scindia said, "the party would stake claim to form the government immediately." Mr Faleiro said he would meet the Governor tonight. The two Congress
observers said that Mr Faleiro was elected the CLP leader
as a consensus was arrived after one-to-one meeting with
the MLAs and subsequently a resolution was passed at the
CLP meeting authorising party Presisent Sonia Gandhi to
decide the leader. Mr Singh said as per the directive of
Mrs Gandhi, he and Mr Scindia had decided in favour of Mr
Faleiro. |
BJP to observe June 23 as
Kashmir Day NEW DELHI, June 7 — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today decided to observe June 23 as Kashmir Day throughout the country. The decision to observe June 23, which is the martyrdom day of late Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, as Kashmir Day was taken at a meeting of the party’s central election and campaign committee which was presided by the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, the BJP spokesman, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, said, adding that the party President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, also attended the meeting. Kashmir Day was being observed with the objective of informing the country about the background of the Kashmir issue and the efforts of Pakistan to organise a proxy war in the state, Mr Naidu said. When asked if the BJP was going to make Kashmir an election issue, Mr Naidu denied saying that the party has always been observing June 23 as Save Kashmir Day as the founder of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Dr Mukherejee, had passed away on that day in Kashmir. Mr Naidu further said the campaign committee meeting also decided to hold Lok Sabha constituency-level conventions from June 20 to August 8 which would be attended by central leaders of the party. In the course of 50 days, almost every Lok Sabha constituency would be covered, Mr Naidu said A list of 30 senior leaders including central ministers has been prepared who would be going to attend the conventions. The convention would review the arrangements for the elections, he said. The party’s Parliamentary Board is meeting in the capital tomorrow evening at the residence of the Prime Minister,Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Naidu said. The board would review the political situation in the country and the understanding reached with different political parties. The results of the Goa
Assembly elections would not have any impact on the Lok
Sabha poll, Mr Naidu claimed saying that the BJP had been
able to improve its number of seats in the Goa Assembly. |
President honours 22 scholars NEW DELHI, June 7 (PTI) — Twentytwo scholars including two women were honoured today for their contribution to the growth and popularisation of ancient languages including Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. The scholars were given certificates of honour by President K R Narayanan at an impressive investiture ceremony held at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. While 15 scholars were awarded for their contribution to the growth of the Sanskrit language, three scholars each in Arabic and Persian and one in Pali/Prakrit were honoured at the ceremony attended by Vice-President Krishan Kant, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Koshalya Walli, the only scholar to have received D.Litt degree from Jammu University till date and Zaibunnisa Begum of Department of Persian at the Osmania University, Hyderabad, were honoured for Sanskrit and Persian respectively. Other awardees for Sanskrit are: C Srinivasa Sastrigal, Devarshi Kalanath Shastri, Kalyan Datt Sharma, Martand Chidambar Dixit, Nelamperoor Sukumaran, Parasuram Ghanapathi, Ramyatna Shukla, Sureshachandra Govindlal Kantawala, Acharya Shaligram, Shiv Shekhar Misra, Acharya Shobhakant Jayadeva Jha and Waman Balkrishna Bhagwat. While one of the recipients of Sanskrit awards, Hemanta Kumar Gangula was not present, the award for late Acharya Sripada Subrahmanya Ghanapati was received by his wife. The award for Arabic was given to Mohd rahatullah, Mohd Sultan Mohiuddin and Syed Ziaul Hasan Nadvi and for Persian it went to Pritam Singh and Syed Mohd Fida Abbas Rizvi. Heramba Nath
Chattopadhya Shastri received the award for Pali/Prakrit.
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Trust to help Kargil victims
set up NEW DELHI, June 7 — The Rajya Sabha MP and former Sadar-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Karan Singh, has decided to set up a trust with a personal donation of Rs 10 lakh to help the victims of the Kargil operations. In a statement issued today, Dr Karan Singh said while the disabled personnel and the next of kin would receive grants from the Central and state governments, it was a public duty to supplement this effort so that the widows, orphans, elderly parents and the disabled persons themselves received maximum support. "To help raise
funds for the purpose, my wife and I are launching a
trust with a personal donation of Rs 10 lakh", he
said adding that a board of trustees would oversee the
work of the trust. |
Cong to project Sonia as PM CALCUTTA, June 7 (PTI) — Senior Congress leader and CWC member Pranab Mukherjee today virtually made it clear that the party would project Ms Sonia Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate in the coming Lok Sabha poll and said stability would be the main election plank of the Congress. In every Lok Sabha poll, the Congress projected someone as its prime ministerial candidate. This time also the party would do it although Ms Gandhi was not in favour, but she would be the natural choice for prime minsiter, Mr Mukherjee told a press conference here. Stating that her foreign origin would not be a major issue in the coming election, the AICC general secretary, however, said when it was raised by the political opponents the Congress would have to address it. During last year's assembly poll in the three states as well as in Goa, the issue did not make any impact, he said. Mr Mukherjee, who was
here in connection with the release of a video cassette
entitled "Election '99 — Replies to Questions
by Pranab Mukherjee", also said there was no need to
change the Constitution to bar those who were not
citizens by birth to prevent them from occupying highest
offices in the country. |
High court notice to Vikas Yadav NEW DELHI, June 7 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today issued notice to Vikas Yadav, son of Jantantrik Bhahujan Samaj Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP D.P. Yadav, on a Delhi police petition seeking cancellation of his bail in the Jessica Lal murder case. Justice S.K. Mahajan directed Vikas’ counsel to file reply by June 16 when the matter would be taken up for hearing. Mr Vikas’ bail, granted by a city Metropolitan Magistrate on May 28, was challenged by the police on the ground that it had prima facie suspected his “involvement” in the crime. The court also directed counsel of Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, Alok Khanna and Amit Jhingan, three other accused granted bail by the Magistrate earlier, to file replies by the same date. “We have reasonable suspicion of his (Vikas’) complicity in the crime,” standing counsel S.S. Gandhi submitted before the Vacation Bench. Special prosecutor S.K. Saxena earlier submitted that the investigation in the case had come to a “standstill because of two bad orders — one from a Manipur court and another from the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court here.” Mr Gandhi, while moving
the petition for cancellation of the bail last week, had
said the probe so far had “revealed” that prime
accused Manu Sharma, the son of former Union Minister
Vinod Sharma, and Vikas were frequent visitors to Bina
Ramani’s Tamarind Court restaurant where model
Jessica Lal was allegedly shot dead by Manu on April 30. |
Tihar inmates’ gesture NEW DELHI, June 7 — Prisoners lodged in Tihar Jail have donated Rs 3.21 lakh to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for soldiers engaged in flushing out Pakistan-backed infiltrators in the Kargil sector. The Director General of Prisons, Mr Ajay Aggarwal, said about 10,000 inmates, expressing concern and anguish over the Kargil development, had collected the amount from their personal savings and offered to donate blood for the soldiers. The cheque would be presented to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, by the DG (Prisons) accompanied by a few inmates “in a day or two.” The DG (Prisions) said
the inmates while expressing willingness to donate blood
had even volunteered to go to the border and join the
security forces in the operations. |
PTV telecast banned in Delhi NEW DELHI, June 7 (UNI) — Delhi Police Commissioner, V.N. Singh today banned the telecast of Pakistan Television (PTV) by cable operators in the capital. The order which follows the recent banning of the PTV by the Centre, will be effective from tomorrow for a period of 60 days. The order also prohibits all PTV telecasts on cable networks which are likely to instigate people, disturb public tranquility, public morals and breach of peace in the entire NCT of Delhi. It says there had been a
marked increase in the telecast of anti-India programmes
by PTV and in addition to denigrating the country and the
armed forces, the PTV had incited communal discord. |
CBSE class X results NEW DELHI, June 7 — Secondary school girls in the Chandigarh region stole a march over boys in this year’s Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) class X examinations, though, the national average, thanks to good showing by boys in the Chennai and Guwahati regions, was skewed in favour of the boys. In the Chandigarh region, the pass percentage of girls stood at 78.4 per cent compared to 77.7 per cent for boys passing in the examination. Boys have outshone girls in the CBSE class X examinations, the results for which were announced here today. However, in the Chandigarh region, girls have fared better than boys. The overall pass percentage of boys stood at 64.6 per cent compared to 64 per cent of girls, a difference of 0.6 per cent. The overall lead of boys over girls was due to better performance of boys in the Chennai region. In the other four regions — Ajmer, Delhi, Guwahati and Allahabad — also, girls have fared better than boys. There is an increase of 1.2 per cent in the overall pass percentage of boys and girls this year as compared to last year. As against 63.2 per cent last year this year the overall pass percentage is 64.4 per cent. Boys and girls from the Ajmer region topped the performance list with 83.3 per cent, followed by Chennai (81.8), Allahabad (79), Chandigarh (78), Delhi (48.8) and Guwahati (42.7). In the Chandigarh region, 52,828 students appeared for the examination — out of which 6183 students were from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, 5323 from Government schools, 1965 from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and 3112 were private candidates. There is an improvement of 1.4 per cent in the overall performance of boys this year (64.6 per cent) as compared to last year (63.2 per cent). On the other hand, there is a meagre 0.8 per cent improvement in the performance of girls this year (64 per cent) than last year (63.2 per cent). This year, a total of 4,50,340 candidates were registered as against 4,20,301 candidates last year, an increase of about 7.1 per cent. As compared to the pass percentage of regular students, 68.9 per cent, the pass percentage of private/patrachar candidates remained at a meagre 35.30 though there is a 4.1 per cent increase in their pass percentage this year as compared to last year’s 30.2 per cent. In all 67,395 candidates have been placed in compartment this year as compared to 58,286 last year, an increase of 1.2 per cent. The number of candidates placed in compartment in the Chandigarh region was 6272. As in the past, Delhi
topped the list of number of unfair means cases this year
with 42, followed by Guwahati (16), Chandigarh (10),
Allahabad (5) and Ajmer (1). There was no case in the
Chennai region. |
CID questions Jaya, 2 others CHENNAI, June 7 (PTI) — AIADMK Chief Jayalalitha was today questioned by the Tamil Nadu police at her residence here to ascertain the basis for her allegation that the government itself had planted the explosives detected and defused recently in three cities in the state. The police said separate Crime Branch-CID teams also questioned two other political leaders, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president K. Jagaveerapandian and Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) general secretary S. Peter, Alphonse, MP. The founder president of the Puthiya Tamizhagam, a Dalit minority party, Dr K. Krishnasamy, MLA, will also be questioned. At Ms Jayalalitha’s residence, four officers led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police K. Muthukkaruppan questioned her for a quarter of an hour, but they refused to talk to mediapersons waiting in front of Ms Jayalalitha’s residence. Meanwhile, Ms Jayalalitha assailed the DMK government for causing a summons to be issued under Section 160 of the CrPC for her examination as a witness in the explosives detection case. In a statement here, she
said she had been receiving “reports” from the
people that the bombs had actually been planted by the
government itself to tarnish the image of the minorities.
Unable to bear her criticism, Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi was trying to “throttle” her
freedom of expression by sending investigators to her
house. |
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| Anti-AIDS vaccine being
developed COIMBATORE: An indigenous vaccine for AIDS is being developed by using traditional resources available in the country, the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Mr Dalit Ezhilmalai, said here on Sunday. The project, which is in initial stage, would be a combined effort by the National AIDS Control Organisation, Department of Bio-Technology and Indian Council for Medical Research, the minister said. — PTI Crocodile
farm faces closure Dishari award
for Nana Patekar Largest Stone
Age axe found Mesolithic sites
found near Kannur ‘INS
Hosdurg’ decommissioned Robbers beaten
to death |
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