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Five burnt to death in renewed Gujarat flare-up
The grisly bodies were discovered a day before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee makes his first visit to the state since the religious bloodletting erupted late in February. Police said the remains of the five were found on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, the state's main commercial city, adding to more than 800 people, mostly Muslims, who have already been killed in the wave of violence. "So far from investigations, we have come to know that people of this village were not involved in the incident. At around 2-2.30 a.m (local time) some people from elsewhere torched the houses. Here, there are two minority families and they were attacked. They burnt two houses," said Vivek Sahay, Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad rural. Four people suffered burns and were in hospital, he said. Another man died in Umbhrat town, 70 km south of Ahmedabad, when police opened fire to break up Hindu-Muslim clashes. Last week, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said peace was returning "very fast" to the state following the eruption of the deadliest communal bloodshed in a decade. While the worst of the mayhem occurred at the end of February and the beginning of March, the state has continued to simmer with sporadic killings and arson attacks. The violence has spread to rural areas where there is little security presence. Vajpayee has said he will travel to Gujarat to take "personal stock" of the situation. Gujarat is ruled by Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party which also heads the ruling federal coalition. Both the state and federal governments have been heavily criticised by opposition parties for failing to act swiftly to stop the carnage, charges they have denied. Some 100,000 people, mainly Muslims, are sheltered in relief camps in the state. Many have lost their homes in arson attacks or are too terrified to return for fear of being targeted by their Hindu neighbours, relief workers say.(ANI) India and South Korea to boost bilateral relations Go
to top "I am very glad we are here, we would be cooperating not simply in trade and commerce but also have consultations on various issues which are currently so much a matter of international concern," Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters in Seoul after the first meeting of India-South Korea joint commission. An agreement to establish the joint commission at the foreign ministers' level was signed in 1996 during the visit of then President Kim Young-sam to India. Prior to the joint commission meeting, Singh held wide-ranging discussions with his South Korean counterpart Choi Sung-hong, including the developments in West Asia. Choi said both sides agreed to further boost trade relations between the two nations. "There is no disagreement, all agreements because you know, between India and Korea, there is no issus at all. Only issue is to, how to further improve or further strengthen our relations through further expanding economic and trade exchanges," he said. Choi apprised Singh of the progress on talks for reunification of the two Koreas. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's special adviser Lim Dong- won has left for North Korea to hold crucial parleys aimed at taking forward the reunification agenda. The two leaders also discussed ways to jointly combat international terrorism. At present bilateral trade worth 2.3 billion US dollars is tilted in favour of South Korea. India attaches considerable significance to its relations with South Korea which is its fifth largest investor. Slowdown of the Korean economy since the 1997 financial crisis has affected fresh investment flows. In recent years, South Korean business groups like Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, LG, Dalmiya Communications and others have expanded their operations in India. In 2001, India exported goods worth 999.39 million dollars to South Korea and brought in imports worth 308.50 million dollars. This figure is up by 7.40 per cent as compared to 2000. India and Korea also agreed to work closely in the regional forum, Association of South East Asian Nations, where both countries are dialogue partners. Earlier in the day, Singh also called on President Kim Dae- jung.(ANI) Palestinin envoy condemns "state terror"Go
to top Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is under siege with Israeli forces surrounding his headquarters in the city of Ramallah. Israel has reoccupied a string of West Bank towns and villages since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent tanks to Ramallah on Friday, two days after a suicide bombing in Netanya killed 25 Israelis at the start of the Jewish Passover holiday. Al-Hasan, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday, apprised Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of the latest situation in Gaza. "There are individual terrorists and there are state terrorists. What Sharon (Israeli Prime Minister) is doing is state terror. We consider that any act against civilian targets is a terror act. Also, when Israelis send F-16s and Apache, American aeroplanes, to kill civilians in Gaza that is state terrorism which is dangerous than individual (terrorism)," Al-Hasan told reporters after the meeting. Israel has pursued its military drive despite pressure on Sharon from many world leaders and the United Nations to end it, although the United States has said it understands Israeli action. Israel says it wants to isolate Arafat and halt suicide attacks. Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to kill or expel Arafat and dismantle his Palestinian authority. Al-Hasan expressed satisfaction over his meeting with Vajpayee. "Our discussion, from our point of view was very important, very fruitful, very supportive. We hope that we will see in the next few days the outcome of the meeting," he said. At least 1,148 Palestinians and 403 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian revolt began in September 2000. Meanwhile, street rallies slamming Israeli military actions against Palestinians took place in the capital and in Kolkata. In New Delhi, nearly two dozen activists of All India Students'
Association protested carrying portraits of Arafat and shouting
anti-Israel slogans.
The protestors later burnt cutouts of U.S. President
George.W.Bush and Sharon.
In a similar protest in Kolkata, activists of the Socialist Unity
Centre of India (SUCI) and Forward Bloc demonstrated in front of
the American Centre.
Protestors condemned the "nexus" between the U.S. and the
Israelis.
"We want to protest against this heinous attack on Palestine by
Israel with the active help of U.S. imperialists. We believe
that the attitude of the Indian government is also condemnable,"
said Manik Mukherjee, member of the SUCI.
Activists later burnt effigies of Sharon and Bush.
New Delhi was an early supporter of the Palestinian cause. But
lately, the Vajpayee government has also been fostering closer
ties with Israel as the two countries battle Islamic militants in
their regions.
Arafat has visited India twice in the last two years and has in
the past asked India to use its influence with the United States
and Israel to stop attacks on Palestinian areas.(ANI)
Beer bar owners continue strike
Go
to top Nearly 65 hotels under the aegis of Association of Hotel and
Restaurant Owners have joined the strike protesting against 300
per cent hike in excise and licence fees for liquor permits by
the state government. The Maharashtra government has hiked the excise tax for the
liquor outlets from 161,000 rupees to 500,000 with effect from
April 1st.
In addition to the excise fee, the license fee was also raised.
Rahul Limaye, a bar restaurant owner, termed the hike as
"shocking". "Nobody expected this kind of hike. Everybody was prepared that
everything is going up, so a marginal hike everybody was
expecting definitely. But this was something shocking," said
Limaye. He said their business will be badly affected by the government's
decision. Manjit Singh Sethi, president of the Bar Owners Association, said
they would continue with their strike till the government revised
its decision. "All of a sudden they have come down so heavily on us. In some
remote areas, such as Bivanju, Ullasnagar, Dombivalli, can the
people bear the 35 per cent hike ? How and from where do we
recover it ? Can government give us some alternative from where
do we recover?," said Sethi. There are nearly 9,070 permit rooms in the state and the liquor
industry contributes 19 billion rupees to the state
exchequer.(ANI)
30 countries join Kerala film festival
Go
to top The eight-day festival, organised by the Chalchitra Academy, is
showcasing 149 films from countries such as Argentina, Hungary,
U.S., Japan, Finland, Germany, China, Iran and hosts India.
More than 10,000 delegates are attending this festival which also
depicts cultural heritage of the participating nations.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan, chairman of the Chalchitra Academy, said
film festivals play an important role in popularising parallel
cinema. "In a festival, normally even in a big festival, you do not get
to see more than a dozen outstanding films. This festival I must
say is boasting more than a dozen very good films," said
Gopalakrishnan. Gopalakrishnan said there was an earnest attempt to boost what
was termed as "Third World Cinema," as Hollywood was taking a
major share of the industry's revenue from these countries.
Leading film personalities also got together at the venue,
Nishagandhi auditorium, to discuss the issue "Women as Actresses
in Indian Cinema" at an open forum.
Ann Quirena, film director from Belgium, said the response from
the audience was immensely encouraging.
"I liked the Indian audience a lot and there are quite a lot of
people in the theatre and they react very spontaneously and they
are talking a lot---discussions are going on after the films and
it's quite interesting then," said Quirena.
The Golden Crow Pheasant alongwith a prize of 25,000 dollars will
be awarded to the best feature film and the best director will be
given the "Silver Crow Pheasant" with a cash prize of 6,250
dollars.
For the first time, a cash prize of 2,083 dollars will be awarded
to the director of a film that is voted by delegates as the best
entry in the competition.
The Indian film industry, which churned out 1,013 films last
year, is considered to be among the fastest growing sectors.
Revenues from films, television and music are projected to double
to 293 billion rupees by 2006, according to a report prepared for
the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.(ANI)
Statute review panel for decentralisation
Go
to top It also stressed on decentralisation and "democratisation" of the
administrative system.
In its final report which was released here on Wednesday, the
panel said while improving the nature and institutional response
of administration to the challenges of democracy was imperative,
the system can deliver the goods "only through devolution,
decentralisation and democratisation".
It said: "A de facto enumeration of services that can be taxed
exclusively by the states should get priority from policy makers
with a view to augmenting the resource pool of the states".
Headed by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, the Commission suggested
that for development districts should be considered as a basic
unit of planning.
It added that functions, finances and functionaries relating to
the development programmes should be placed under the direct
supervision of elected bodies at district levels. (ANI)
VHP should mind its own business, says an angry Abdullah
Go
to top The VHP's general secretary (international) Pravenbhai Togadiya
had also charged that the state government had been conspiring
with the jehadi elements to throw Hindus out of from Jammu. An obviously hurt chief minister stated: "I don't now on what
basis they want me to quit." According to him, VHP leaders don't
even know the kind of situation in the state and yet they make
comments. "It is better that they mind their own business,"
Abdullah, who met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New
Delhi, further said that the "people sitting on the fence can
always watch the fun, but we burn ourselves in this fire every
day." He expressed the opinion said "these leaders should be sent to
the border to have a feel of the situation.'' Wiser by the
experience, they will never again comment on Kashmir, "leave
alone seeking my resignation." He added that absence of any
communal clash in Kashmir has apparently contributed to their
discomfiture (ANI).
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