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Prices soar as truckers' strike enters second day

          New Delhi, Apr 15: The nation-wide indefinite strike by truckers, demanding stable fuel prices and fewer levies, entered the second day on Tuesday, threatening to cripple the country's delivery network. The strike called by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the largest truckers' union with 2.7 million vehicles, has raised fear of shortages and hike in prices of perishables such as vegetables, fruits and milk. (Contd)

Syria in for US sanctions

          Washington, Apr 15: The United States may impose sanctions on Syria for its alleged support for members of Saddam Hussein's former regime, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and backing of terrorism, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said. "We will examine possible measures of a diplomatic, economic or other nature as we move forward," Powell told reporters on Monday at the State Department.

           Powell echoed Bush's remarks and said Syria should not allow any one of the 55 senior Iraqi officials wanted by US forces to enter the country. "We are concerned that Syria has been participating in the development of weapons of mass destruction, as President Bush noted, specifically chemical weapons," Powell said.

           Meanwhile, Syria strongly denied allegations that it was aiding the remnants of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime or developing its own weapons of mass destruction.

Iraqis believe Saddam is alive (Go To Top)

          London, Apr 15: A large number of Iraqi citizens believe that Saddam Hussain is alive and planning to stage his return, a British newspaper reported. The US officials were also not confirming about the fate of Saddam Hussain and actively looking for Saddam and his sons, said the report.

Post-war Iraq set-up talks begin (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Apr 15: US officials have started meeting representatives of exiled Iraqi opposition groups and local tribal and religious leaders in an attempt to establish a new government in Iraq. The talks began on Tuesday at an airbase outside the southern city of Nasiriya after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. But one of the country's main Shia groups, the Iranian-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), boycotted the meeting in protest against the US role. Several thousand Shia Muslims opposed to the talks have been demonstrating in Nasiriya, shouting "No to America, No to Saddam".

Diesel, petrol to cost less (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 15: Prices of diesel and petrol have been reduced after a prolonged spell of hike. This comes in line with the global softening of crude prices. State-owned oil firms on Tuesday decreased retail selling price of petrol and diesel by Rs 1.08 and Rs 1.18 per litre, respectively. These would be effective from midnight.

          Petrol would cost Rs 32.49 per litre in Delhi as against the prevailing Rs 33.49 a litre while diesel prices have gone down from Rs 22.12 to Rs 21.12 per litre, official sources said. Diesel prices in Kolkata declined from Rs 23.51 to Rs 22.52 per litre. In Mumbai, the fall was of Rs 1.18 per litre to Rs 26.70 while in Chennai, diesel prices slipped from Rs 24.65 per litre to Rs 23.55 per litre.

          During the last three months, petrol and diesel prices had gone up by around Rs 5 per litre each, reflective of volatility in the international markets which were uncertain about the impact the Iraq war would have on crude supplies.

Woman killed in Pak shelling (Go To Top)

          Jammu, Apr 15: A woman was killed and two villagers were injured when Pakistani troops shelled Indian positions at Naushera sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Pakistani rangers targeted forward posts and civilian areas with mortar fire forcing Indian troops to retaliate. A woman identified as Shakuntla Devi was killed and one of the injured identified as Vikram was rushed to a hospital in Jammu. Eyewitnesses said that the intense firing across the Line of Control went on for some two hours.

           Exchange of mortar and small arms fire between the two sides was also reported in Balakote, Balnoi and Sagra areas in Poonch district. The troops have been firing across the Line of Control since Monday afternoon. Firing stopped at night but resumed on Tuesday. Pakistani and Indian troops regularly exchange fire across the Line of Control.

Landmine blast kills seven Bihar cops (Go To Top)

          Patna, Apr 15: Seven policemen were killed and two seriously injured in a landmine blast triggered by the banned Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in Nawada district of Bihar on Tuesday. Police said the Naxals triggered the blast on Fatehpur- Govindpur road of the district when a police patrol was passing through. The injured cops were admitted to government hospitals.

No Baisakhi for these Punjab farmers (Go To Top)

          Amritsar, Apr 15: The farmers living in the border belt of Amritsar are in dire straits. They have been harvesting unripe wheat crop to arrange fodder for their animals. They have faced a loss of three consecutive crops because of occupation of their fields by the army for defence purposes. "Baisakhi went bad this time. We've had no crop and are left with no money. Our animals are left with nothing to eat", said Mukhtiar Singh, a farmer. The administration has compensated the farmers for the loss of the first wheat crop only and that too in three to four instalments.

          The spirit of Baisakhi festival is to celebrate the arrival of the harvesting season when the farmer returns home with his crop. But for these farmers, their condition beats the purpose. These farmers have had to give up their land since landmines are laid there at the border area.

Launch of new Kashmiri alliance threatens JKLF split (Go To Top)
-by Trevor Barnard

          London, Apr 15: Last week's launch of the International Kashmir Alliance (IKA) has sparked a row within the ranks of the Yasin Malik faction of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), culminating in expulsions and counter-expulsions of senior figures. The row has been simmering for a long time over differences on the policy to be followed in pursuit of the organisation's stated aim of Kashmiri independence. On the one side is the view espoused by London-based Barrister Majid Tramboo, who is known to be close to Yasin Malik yet considered to be biased towards the Pakistani stance on Kashmir; on the other is the philosophy expressed by Shabir Choudhry, a long-standing JKLF activist who has in recent years been largely concerned with the organisation's diplomatic affairs and is a prolific writer on Kashmiri matters.

          The Tramboo protagonists accuse Choudhry of being pro-India. Choudhry denies this, saying that he is neither pro-India nor pro-Pakistan. His argument, which is endorsed by fellow-members and officers of the JKLF (UK and Europe), is that it is wrong to put all the blame for the Kashmiri problem on India, that Pakistan's actions and failures must also be attacked. The temperature of the dispute rose earlier this year at a session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, when JKLF and like-minded delegates attacked Pakistan's policy on development of the Mangla Dam in Azad Kashmir. And it was in the light of the mounting dispute that those like-minded delegates met several times in Geneva and gave birth to the IKA, with a "pro-active, pro-people" agenda, aimed directly at Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control. This brought the simmering row to a head.

          On Sunday, Abbas Butt, who is president of JKLF (UK and Europe) and financial advisor of the IKA, wrote to Tramboo, accusing him of bringing the JKLF and its ideology and ethics into disrepute, and expelling him from the organisation. On Monday, Canada-based Farooq Papa, in the role of "spokesman and convener of the JKLF Central Diplomatic Bureau" issued a press release declaring that the Supreme Revolutionary Command Council had decided to expel both Butt and Choudhry. The release carried a Srinagar address.

           This cross-expulsion is curiously reminiscent of the situation in the mid-1990s when Ammanullah Khan, the founder of the JKLF, expelled Yasin Malik, on the ground that he was not following the organisation's militant policy, only to be counter-expelled by Malik, who claimed to be the rightful chairman of the organisation. Since then, the two factions have operated separately.

           Choudhry told ANI that the Supreme Revolutionary Command Council did not exist, and the so-called expulsions of himself and Butt were unconstitutional. Both he and Butt propose to continue operating in their JKLF roles and to work for the IKA in furthering its aims. The other elected officers of the new alliance also propose to continue.

Prices soar as truckers' strike enters second day (Go To Top)

          (Contd) The union's demands include an end to frequent hikes in diesel prices, immunity from a planned value added tax, repeal of an order to scrap 15-year-old trucks and the fixing of minimum freight rates. The transporters in the Capital said the strike was total and the services would resume only after their demands were met.

           Delhi has evoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to prevent a shortage of essential items. In Chennai, the scene was no different from the rest of the country, with majority of local unions participating in the strike. Meanwhile, in Ahmedabad the prices of essential commodities contined to sour. The movement of essential commodities like vegetables, fruits and medicines suffered badly in the state.

           The last time the truckers staged a strike in 1999, freight movement was badly hit in many parts of the country and vegetable prices soared. The state-run railway also carries freight but trucks are preferred as costs are lower.