States block progress on global justice – Amnesty

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Governments are blocking progress on human rights by refusing to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) or by shielding their allies from justice, human rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Releasing its annual report, Amnesty said 2009 was a landmark year for international justice because the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Bashir, due to be inaugurated on Thursday after being re-elected president last month, is the world’s only sitting leader to be indicted by the Hague-based ICC.

“There has been progress in terms of international justice but governments are either holding themselves above the law, for example, by not signing up to the ICC or shielding their political allies when it’s holding them to account,” Amnesty’s interim secretary-general, Claudio Cordone, told Reuters.

The African Union’s refusal to cooperate with the ICC warrant — with exceptions such as South Africa and Botswana — was an example of governmental failure to put justice before politics, the rights group said.

Cordone urged states, particularly G20 nations, to prove their commitment to “global leadership” by fully signing up to the ICC. Of the G20, seven have yet to do so: the United States, China, Russia, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Cordone expressed confidence the United States would eventually become a member of the ICC, saying Amnesty had been encouraged by some strong statements in favour of human rights and accountability by President Barack Obama.

“If we’re serious in delivering that, one obvious signal would be that they finally join the ICC. In that sense I’m confident that will happen but it may still take a long time and persuasion on the part of many people,” he said.

Cordone said the ICC should expand its cases beyond Africa, where it is investigating crimes committed in Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic and Kenya as well as Sudan.

“It’s true they’ve been limited to Africa so we would expect the court to investigate other areas whether it is Colombia, or so on, to show it is truly impartial,” Cordone said.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Cordone said the United States had started 2009 “positively” with Obama ordering an end to the CIA’s secret detention programme and the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques”.

But by the end of the year, Guantanamo Bay was still open despite Obama’s promise to close the prison camp within one year, while a prison on Bagram airbase in Afghanistan still held detainees in violation of international standards.

“There has been hardly any accountability for violations during the “war on terror”,” Cordone told a news conference.

Amnesty said the U.N. Human Rights Council had shown bias against Israel, while the U.N. Security Council had shielded Israel from scrutiny after Israel’s 2008-2009 military assault in the Gaza Strip.

It said Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, were still ignoring a call for accountability by the Goldstone report into the offensive, and that international pressure was needed.

Amnesty also highlighted what it said was the U.N. Human Rights Council’s “paralysis” over Sri Lanka, which last May declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and an end to a 25-year separatist war.

“Despite evidence of war crimes and other abuses by both the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers in the final phases of the conflict, last year the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution effectively drafted by Sri Lanka which applauded the defeat of the Tigers,” Amnesty said.

“The government only this month has announced a commission of inquiry, but this can have no credibility given the government’s long history of sham inquiries.”

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Factbox: Key risks to watch in Kyrgyzstan turmoil

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Following last week’s uprising in Kyrgyzstan, the main questions remain whether violence rises and how the United States, Russia and China react to turmoil in a country where all have interests.

World | China | Russia | Kyrgyzstan

The United States leases the Manas airbase to support NATO troops in Afghanistan. Russia also leases a base, while China has a long border with Kyrgyzstan and will be concerned for the growing number of Chinese residents and businesses there.

A Russian official has said Moscow alone should have a base in Kyrgyzstan.

Domestic strains appear to be the main reason for the uprising.

VIOLENCE OR STABILISATION?

Around 80 people were killed in the uprising that forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee to his southern stronghold, and Bakiyev is now hinting he may attempt to go into exile.

The new leadership, led by former opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva, looks to be in control of the security forces, some of whom fired on opposition demonstrators last week.

The self-proclaimed government at first offered Bakiyev safe passage abroad should he resign but on Monday said it was planning a special operation against him after he warned that any attempt to seize him would lead to bloodshed. It now says it wants to put him on trial.

However, on Tuesday Bakiyev hinted he could leave the country if the interim government guarantee his safety and that of his family.

What to watch:

– Does Bakiyev yield, or does the self-proclaimed government move against him? Does he have sufficient support to attack in Bishkek or control areas in the south where he has his power base and will hold rallies this week? So far, outside powers look to be abandoning him.

– What happens with the security forces? So far, they look to have switched loyalty to the new leadership. Is this the case across the country, particularly in the south? What happens to commanders involved in shooting opposition demonstrators?

– Does looting continue and is it put down? So far, mining businesses and the minority Jewish community have been targeted. Does it target Chinese businesses in the capital, as some previous violence has? If so, how would China react?

– The Ferghana Valley in the south, where Bakiyev has his power base, has been the scene of ethnic violence in the past, and there are some signs that tension surrounding the ethnic Uzbek minority may not be far below the surface.

SUPERPOWER POLITICS

The United States and Russia are at loggerheads, although neither publicly acknowledges this.

Washington’s priority will be keeping its Manas base open while a Russian official with President Dmitry Medvedev’s delegation said last week Moscow wanted it closed.

A senior White House adviser on Russia told reporters in Prague: “This is not some anti-American coup. That we know for sure, and this is not a sponsored-by-the-Russians coup.”

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has denied Russia played a part in the turmoil, but a Kyrgyz opposition leader, Omurbek Takebayev, said: “Russia played its role in ousting Bakiyev.”

So far Russia is the only country to recognize the interim government officially — although Medvedev warns the country is on the brink of civil war.

On Wednesday, a visiting U.S. diplomat said Washington was willing to help the new rulers, putting additional pressure on Bakiyev to go into exile.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved a $50 million aid and loan package for Kyrgyzstan hours later.

What to watch:

– How overt is Russian support for the self-proclaimed government, not to mention pressure to close the base? Does Russia offer military support?

– Does the uprising worsen broader Russia-U.S. relations just as Washington hoped they were improving?

– Do other countries — particularly the United States and China — ultimately recognize the self-proclaimed government or continue to support the ousted leadership?

– How does China react? Analysts say it had lent money to the ousted government. Does it shift to the new rulers, perhaps sweetening relations with a new loan, or support Bakiyev tacitly or overtly? Does it make any comment on the U.S. base?

AFGHANISTAN WAR

The United States has cut back flights through Manas, which officials it has been central to the war effort in Afghanistan, allowing round-the-clock combat airlift, airdrop, medical evacuation and refueling.

Pentagon officials say they have other options to Manas, although they are more expensive, and the base is not in itself essential.

U.S. officials say only around 20 percent of their supplies into Afghanistan go by air, with 30 percent transported overland through former Soviet states and 50 percent by road through Pakistan, a route which is vulnerable to attack on both sides of the border.

What to watch:

– What happens to the base? The new rulers talk of shortening of the five-year lease rather than outright immediate U.S. departure. Is it able to operate fully?

– Does the dispute prompt Washington to rethink its strategy of relying heavily on transport through the Russian sphere of influence?

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT

Kyrgyzstan’s economic problems are seen as a big factor in the uprising. Recent energy tariff increases have been unpopular and many people are angry about alleged government corruption and recent privatization deals. The self-proclaimed government says it badly needs financial aid.

As much as 40 percent of gross domestic product is estimated to come from remittances from Kyrgyz workers in Russia, Russia’s Uralsib says.

Foreign investors are mainly Russian and Chinese, with little Western interest outside the small gold mining sector. Canadian mining company Centerra Gold and London-listed Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd, both of which operate in the country, have seen their shares fall.

South African gold miner Gold Fields said groups of villagers had seized one of its camps, one of a series of attacks and looting episodes against businesses.

Kyrgyzstan has no significant oil and gas reserves, although Russia’s Gazprom is involved in exploration.

What to watch:

– How long does the crisis last? Analysts say there is already little Western interest in investing, but that buying insurance at present would probably be impossible, potentially prompting delays in any planned ventures. Does looting continue or do the police step in?

– Does Russia or someone else provide financial aid, or does the U.S. agree to pay more for its base?

– Most analysts say the uprising does not mean other central Asian states are less stable, but might investors view events as a sign of heightened regional risk and charge higher premiums for investing in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and elsewhere? (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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China buys air defense systems from Russia

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Russia has delivered 15 batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to China, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, under a contract analysts said could be worth as much as $2.25 billion.

World | China | Russia

China is a major buyer of Russian weapons, and the two countries say they are trying to forge a strategic partnership, though senior Russian officials are privately concerned about an increasingly assertive China.

Russia has delivered 15 S-300 batteries to China, Interfax news agency quoted Igor Ashurbeili, director general of Almaz Antei which makes the missiles, as saying.

“We have implemented a contract to deliver to China the newest system S-300,” Ashurbeili said. He gave no details about the value of the deal. A spokesman for the plant was not immediately available for comment.

In Russia’s armed forces, an S-300 battery normally consists of four truck-mounted installations, each with four missiles held in metal tubes.

Analysts said the contracts to deliver the S-300 to China were signed in the mid-2000s and that each battery usually costs about $120-$150 million. That indicates the value of the Chinese contract was about $1.80-$2.25 billion.

“The price for one S-300 battery varies between about $120 million and $150 million,” said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head at the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.

MORE ADVANCED SYSTEM

The S-300, known in the West as the SA-20, can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft. The missiles have a range of 150 km (90 miles) or more and travel at over two km per second.

Russian arms exports rose to a post-Soviet record of $8.5 billion last year, with Algeria, India and China accounting for two thirds of deliveries. Syria, Venezuela, Malaysia and Vietnam accounted for another 20 percent of deliveries.

Moscow has said it plans to fulfill a contract to supply the S-300, nicknamed “the favorite” in Russia, to Iran, unnerving Israel and the United States.

The possible sale to Tehran of the S-300, which could protect Iran’s nuclear facilities against air strikes, has become a sensitive issue in Russia’s relations with Israel.

Russia has a more advanced air defense system, known as the S-400 “Triumph,” and Ashurbeili said the country’s armed forces were expected to receive the third battery of these “any day from now.”

A senior Russian general said last year that Moscow was now developing a fifth-generation, surface-to-air missile, the S-500, which would be able to implement the tasks of both air and space defense.

Officials have said that the new system would be capable of engaging ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of 5 km (3 miles) per second.

(Editing by Diana Abdallah)

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China buys air defense systems from Russia

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Russia has delivered 15 batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to China, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, under a contract analysts said could be worth as much as $2.25 billion.

World | China | Russia

China is a major buyer of Russian weapons, and the two countries say they are trying to forge a strategic partnership, though senior Russian officials are privately concerned about an increasingly assertive China.

Russia has delivered 15 S-300 batteries to China, Interfax news agency quoted Igor Ashurbeili, director general of Almaz Antei which makes the missiles, as saying.

“We have implemented a contract to deliver to China the newest system S-300,” Ashurbeili said. He gave no details about the value of the deal. A spokesman for the plant was not immediately available for comment.

In Russia’s armed forces, an S-300 battery normally consists of four truck-mounted installations, each with four missiles held in metal tubes.

Analysts said the contracts to deliver the S-300 to China were signed in the mid-2000s and that each battery usually costs about $120-$150 million. That indicates the value of the Chinese contract was about $1.80-$2.25 billion.

“The price for one S-300 battery varies between about $120 million and $150 million,” said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head at the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.

MORE ADVANCED SYSTEM

The S-300, known in the West as the SA-20, can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft. The missiles have a range of 150 km (90 miles) or more and travel at over two km per second.

Russian arms exports rose to a post-Soviet record of $8.5 billion last year, with Algeria, India and China accounting for two thirds of deliveries. Syria, Venezuela, Malaysia and Vietnam accounted for another 20 percent of deliveries.

Moscow has said it plans to fulfill a contract to supply the S-300, nicknamed “the favorite” in Russia, to Iran, unnerving Israel and the United States.

The possible sale to Tehran of the S-300, which could protect Iran’s nuclear facilities against air strikes, has become a sensitive issue in Russia’s relations with Israel.

Russia has a more advanced air defense system, known as the S-400 “Triumph,” and Ashurbeili said the country’s armed forces were expected to receive the third battery of these “any day from now.”

A senior Russian general said last year that Moscow was now developing a fifth-generation, surface-to-air missile, the S-500, which would be able to implement the tasks of both air and space defense.

Officials have said that the new system would be capable of engaging ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of 5 km (3 miles) per second.

(Editing by Diana Abdallah)

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China’s heir-apparent pitches Russian alliance

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The man widely seen as China’s next leader told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday the world’s two most powerful emerging market economies should help each other increase their weight in global affairs.

China and Russia say their trade and political relations are better than ever, though senior Russian officials are privately concerned about an increasingly assertive China along Moscow’s vast and largely empty southeastern border.

Vice President Xi Jinping, seen as the frontrunner to succeed President Hu Jintao in 2013, told Putin Beijing wanted the power of key developing nations to be recognised.

“We consider that in the process of the deep transformation of the world order, the interests of China, Russia and other developing countries must be taken fully into account,” Xi said.

“Russia and China must become strategic props for each other in the future on all questions which have a strategic interest for Russia,” he told Putin at the start of talks in Moscow.

Analysts said the visit to Russia — which will include a meeting on Wednesday with President Dmitry Medvedev — was aimed to acquaint Russia’s leaders with a potential successor to Hu.

“Xi Jinping is considered to be one of the candidates to replace Hu Jintao so it is a very important visit, to get acquainted with him and to understand the aims of the man who could be the next ruler of China,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the magazine Russia in Global Affairs.

Russia has called for the group of emerging market powers known as BRIC — which also includes Brazil, India and China — to be given more say in world affairs, though China’s economy is bigger than the other three put together.

FUELLING THE DRAGON

China, the world’s fastest growing major economy, has in recent years sought to secure long-term oil and gas supplies from Russia, the world’s biggest energy producer, which has been battered by the economic crisis.

China’s economy grew by about 8.5 percent to $4.76 trillion last year while Russia’s economy shrank 7.5 percent to $1.25 trillion after a 10-year economic boom, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Russia is a keen buyer of Chinese manufactured goods, though Moscow is worried that its former Soviet role as a supplier of technology and arms to Beijing has largely vanished as China’s own industries overtake Russia’s.

Russia also sees China as an important partner in efforts to limit the influence of the United States on issues ranging from Iran’s nuclear programme to reducing reliance on the dollar.

“We have always supported China on the most sensitive questions, including on the problem of Taiwan,” Putin said. Xi said Russia and China should work to prevent the dominance of a single power, shorthand for U.S. influence.

Xi’s talks in Moscow will include discussions about trade, investment, energy and the development of the sparsely populated regions of Russia’s Far East, Russian officials said.

But behind the warm phrases of support for closer ties, many Russian policy makers are increasingly anxious about China’s rise as a world economic and political power.

“The growing economic imbalance — China has already overtaken Russia on all parameters — cannot but provoke concern, even if China tries to demonstrate its benevolence,” said Lukyanov.

China was Russia’s second most important trade partner last year after the European Union, though bilateral trade tumbled 29 percent to $39.5 billion from $55.9 billion in 2008, according to Russian customs statistics.

Bilateral trade fell as the economic crisis undermined demand for metals, oil and gas, Russia’s main exports, but this is expected to recover this year.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Paul Taylor)

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Internet emerges as one of the biggest threats to endangered species

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, March 22 (ANI): Conservationists have warned that the Internet has emerged as one of the biggest threats to endangered species.

According to a report by BBC News, the findings were presented at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha.

Campaigners say it is easier than ever before to buy and sell anything from live baby lions to polar bear pelts on online auction sites and chatrooms.

“The internet is becoming the dominant factor overall in the global trade in protected species,” Paul Todd of the International Fund for Animal Welfare was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

He said that thousands of endangered species are regularly traded on the internet, as buyers and sellers take advantage of the anonymity – and vast global market – the world wide web can offer.

Those trying to police illegal sales say the size of problem is almost impossible to estimate.

They say the US is the biggest market, but that Europe, China, Russia and Australia also play a large part.

AT CITES, several proposals to give endangered species more protection were defeated.

On March 21, delegates voted to ban all international trade in a rare type of Iranian salamander, the Kaiser’s spotted newt, which the World Wildlife Fund says has been devastated by the internet trade.

But more high-profile attempts to ban trade in polar bears, bluefin tuna and rare corals have all failed, leaving environmental activists dismayed, the BBC reported from Doha.

A proposal from the US and Sweden to regulate the trade in red and pink coral, which is crafted into expensive jewellery and sold extensively on the web, was defeated. (ANI)

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Reassessing Nehru

November 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Forty-five years after Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, has history done him justice? Regrettably not. In surveys that rank India’s best prime minister, he is placed below his daughter, and on some occasions he figures third. This is preposterous. Only three worthwhile books on him have appeared after his death: Hiren Mukherjee’s, The Gentle Colossus, S. Gopal’s three-volume biography and M.J. Akbar’s Nehru: The Making of India.

Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundations of a democratic, secular, pluralistic India. He established the atomic agency and the planning commission. The IITs are his gift. The great dams and steel plants have Nehru’s imprint on them. From 1947 to 1957, he was a prominent Asian world statesman. Was he a great man? I share Isaiah Berlin’s definition of greatness. “to call someone a great man is to claim that he has intentionally taken… a large step, one far beyond the normal capacities of men…permanently and radically alters the outlook and values of a significant body of human beings…his active intervention makes what seems highly improbably in fact happen.” Nehru fulfills every aspect with distinction.

Now we come to his record as foreign minister. The Nehruvian foreign policy framework has stood the test of time. No Central government has thought it necessary or desirable to jettison it. Why? Because no government or party has come up with an alternative foreign policy. Take non-alignment. Nehru has been denigrated on this issue, but here are some facts. Its membership now consists of nearly one hundred and twenty countries. The observers include China, Russia, Canada, the US, Japan, Germany, France and several more. The agenda today is obviously different from what it was in the ’40s, ’60s or ’90s. The NAM has to re-invent itself to deal with new issues, terrorism, Muslim fundamentalism, globalisation, environment, drug trafficking, and global migration.

Now, about the relevance of NAM. At a superficial level, critics say the Soviet Union has disappeared, and the Warsaw Pact has packed up. The Cold War is over. Why do we need non-alignment? Quite right. However, one is entitled to ask how is NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) relevant? NATO continues to expand, right up to the border of Russia.

On two important issues Nehru’s judgments and assumptions were off the mark. By taking Kashmir to the UN Security Council he converted a domestic matter into an international one. India approached the Security Council under chapter VI of the UN charter. Chapter six applies to peaceful settlement of disputes. So, we recognised that there was a dispute. This is a case of political innocence in a state of rare purity.

What Jawaharlal Nehru should have done was to go to the Security Council under chapter VII of the charter which specifically addresses itself to “acts of aggression”. We were shouting from rooftops that Pakistan has committed aggression, so why no state that in the approach letter to the Security Council?

The main offenders were Mountbatten, Attlee and Noel Baker — an India baiter if there was one. Some Indian officials are not free from blame either, but history has not found a place for them. Since 1947, Indian diplomats have spent nearly 20 per cent of their time on the Kashmir issue. Nehru even agreed on a plebiscite. It took all the ingenuity of the foreign service to bury the idea.

The decision to go to the Security Council was not Nehru’s alone. The Cabinet approved. The Cabinet members included Sardar Patel, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. However on matters of foreign policy, Nehru was accepted as the expert. Sardar Patel reluctantly acquiesced. Actually, at a meeting convened by Mountbatten on Kashmir on February 21, 1948, the prime minister and home minister expressed divergent views. “Nehru said that it had been an act of faith by the government, at a time when the situation was rapidly deteriorating, to make a reference to the Security Council in the first place. If this faith was now proved to be misplaced, the consequences would have to be borne by those who made the reference.”

Sardar Patel did not mince words. He observed that the PM in particular “had great faith in the institution of the UNO but the Security Council had been meddling in power politics to such an extent that very little of this faith was left. He pointed out that it had been the Governor-General who had induced the government of India to make a reference to the UNO in the first place”. Kashmir, to this day, is being used by Pakistan to pillory India.

Jawaharlal Nehru had an idealistic and romantic view of Sino-India relations. Both countries parroted the same vaporous language “the two countries have not gone to war for 2000 years”. How could they? Geography made it impossible. Communication did not exist. Buddhism reached China due to the efforts of great scholars and not great armies.

The 1962 war came as a devastating blow to Nehru. The Sino-Indian House he built collapsed in a few days. He himself conceded that “We have been living in a make-believe world”. It was his grandson who put Sino-Indian relations on the right track in 1988.

I am a Nehruvian. As prime minister I would give Jawaharlal Nehru 85 out of 100. As foreign minister, 60 out of 100. It is my firm belief that one man should not be both prime minister and foreign minister — the foreign minister should take some of the load off the PM. Even Chou En-Lai, who was PM and foreign minister from 1949 to 1958, finally shed the foreign ministry.

Was Jawaharlal Nehru the only statesman who made mistakes? Did not Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Mao make even greater mistakes? And in fact, they all had blood on their hands. Not Jawaharlal Nehru.

The writer is a former Congressman and foreign minister.

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MI5 ropes in teenage hackers to combat cyber terrorism

September 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 20 (ANI): British intelligence agency MI5 has hired many teenage hackers for its new secret operation to combat cyber terrorism.

At least 50 new computer-savvy hackers, including many teenagers, have been roped in the newly formed Cyber Operations Command, and they had to sign the Official Secrets Act, the Sunday Express reports.

The Act forbids them from telling their parents or girlfriends what they do in the windowless basement area in the Security Service building beside the Thames, the report adds.

The teenagers, most of whom are of Asian-origin, are subjected to the same high level of background security checks used to clear other intelligence staff.

The paper quoted Lord West as saying that these are “youngsters who use their talents to stop other hackers from closing down this country”.

MI5 head Jonathan Evans has reportedly told his staff to combat cyber warfare, which has been traced to China, Russia and Pakistan.

The hackers of Cyber Command, which works closely with the Pentagon, have also intercepted messages from terrorists in Belmarsh maximum security prison.

According to a report, British Security Minister Evans has revealed that over 1,000 hits were made on computers in Whitehall during the summer.

A confidential MI5 report also warned 300 banks and accounting firms that they “are already under cyber attack” from Chinese state organisations, the paper says. (ANI)

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Patil meets Putin to discuss trade ties, terrorism

September 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Moscow, Sep 4 (ANI): President Pratibha Devisingh Patil’s meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday focused on the issue of terrorism and strengthening of economic relations between the two countries.

Patil, who is on a five-day visit to the country, discussed bilateral issues with Putin.

The two leaders were in complete agreement that the world community has to respond to the terror threat for peace and stability in the region.

In her address, Patil said that the two countries shared old ties, based on shared interest and deep mutual trust.

“India greatly values its strategic partnership with Russia which is founded on shared interest and deep mutual trust between two countries and on common vision to see the establishment of the multi-polar world. And this order should be based on the principles of international look, in the internal matters of state,” she said.

Patil appreciated the strong support Russia had extended on vital issues including nuclear energy, defence and military cooperation.

Russia sees India, a stanch ally of the erstwhile Soviet Union during the Cold War era, as an important partner to expand Russian influence in Asia, though Moscow and New Delhi have bickered over delays to the delivery of Russian military hardware.

Earlier in the day, Patil held a meeting with Dmitry Anatolievich Medvedev, Russian President and attended the ‘Year of India’ celebrations at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Russia is keen to double trade with India to $10 billion by 2010 and thus cement Indo-Russian relations despite trade with India lagging far behind Moscow’s economic ties with the European Union and China.

Russia is aiding in the setting up of two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in south India as part of a deal signed in 1988. Later Russia agreed in 2008 that it intended to build four more reactors at the site. By Pankaj Choudhary (ANI)

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Enhancement of India, Russia trade ties

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Moscow, Sep 3 (ANI): President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has expressed a desire to enhance bilateral trade ties with Russia.

While addressing a gathering of expatriate Indians and some prominent Russians during the course of her five-day visit, Patil said, the only area where India-Russia relationship is lagging is in the field of bilateral economic cooperation.

“When I look at our relationship, if there is anywhere I feel we are lagging behind, it is in the field of bilateral economic cooperation. For two economies with GDP’s of this size, economic structures that only point to our strong complementarities, close political ties, at all levels of government and strong desire of political leadership of both the sides to foster closer ties, India-Russia bilateral trade and investment ties remain much too modest,” Patil added.

Acknowledging the work done by the expatriate Indian community towards enhancing ties between both the countries, Patil said, “All of you have been working in some capacity or the other with India-Russia collaborators projects. It is your work that has provided the building blocks to the India-Russia strategic partnership.”

Reportedly, Russia is keen to double the trade with India to 10 billion dollars by 2010 and cement Indo-Russian relations despite trade with India lagging far behind Moscow’s economic ties with the European Union and China.

Russia sees India, a staunch ally of the erstwhile Soviet Union during the Cold War era, as an important partner to expand Russian influence in Asia, though Moscow and New Delhi have bickered over delays in the delivery of Russian military hardware.

Russia is aiding in the setting up of two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at Kudankulam as part of a deal signed in 1988. Russia agreed in 2008 to build four more reactors at the site. By Pankaj Choudhary (ANI)

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North Korea-US nuke talks likely in September

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington/Seoul, Aug.26 (ANI): US special envoy Stephen Bosworth is said to have accepted an offer from North Korea for nuclear talks and is expected to visit Pyongyang next month.

According to South Korean media reports, the reported invitation comes after Pyongyang was said to have proposed a summit with South Korea over the weekend, though Seoul denied the report.

The US and South Korean governments reiterated their insistence Monday that the isolated North – often called the “hermit kingdom” – must give up nuclear weapons.

The JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, reported Tuesday that Bosworth had accepted the invitation from Pyongyang and would travel to North Korea next month for talks. The report cited a “senior diplomatic source in Washington.”

The U.S. delegation will likely visit South Korea, China and Japan in early September and then head to the North, according to the source.

The trip was to be announced officially in early September, immediately before their departure to Pyongyang, the diplomat added.

According to the source, Washington has decided to send Bosworth to Pyongyang as key obstacles in U.S.-North relations have been removed.

Two jailed American reporters were released earlier this month and former U.S. President Bill Clinton confirmed the stability of the Kim Jong-il regime, the source said.

Pyongyang has long sought direct negotiations with Washington about its nuclear program and other issues, hoping to boost its international profile.

The U.S. has said it is willing to talk bilaterally to Pyongyang, but only within the framework of six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

Separately, North Korea and South Korea also agreed Tuesday to hold talks about arranging reunions between families separated by the long-running conflict on the Korean peninsula. (ANI)

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G-5 mulls alternative currencies for trade

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

L’ Aquila (Italy), July 9 (ANI): Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Wednesday said the Group of Five major developing economies meeting in Italy deliberated over the use of alternative currencies to settle trade among themselves.

“There was some discussion at the use of alternate currencies, not so much as reserve currencies. Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suggested that we should consider using our own currencies to settle our own trading accounts with each other. The Chinese Foreign Minister also said that was a long-term issue of reserve currencies,” said Menon.

China, Russia and to a lesser degree India had expressed an interest in the talks between G-5 and G-8 leaders due on Thursday including debate on seeking long-term alternatives to the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.

Discussions were also held to seek new vehicles of growth in world economy.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh laid stress on the need to make the poor bankable, which provided with skills and jobs, could create the demand and the consumption that actually could help to pull the economies forward.

“G-8, there will be a discussion on new sources of growth in world economy. So there was some discussion around the table on where these new sources of growth would come. PM’s own feeling was, that for country like ours, which has a young population, the challenge is really to make the poor bankable.

In the sense that if they are given the skills and jobs, they can create the demand and the consumption which actually could help to pull these economies forward and bring growth into these economies, and that would be an enormous source of growth,” said Menon.

The G-5 also held discussions on the need to reform financial institutions of international governance.

“There was also considerable discussion on the need to reform international, not just financial institutions, but also the institutions of international governance. This is a recurrent field.

Prime Minister spoke of it, so did Lula, so did all the other speakers, so did the Chinese representative, President Hu Jintao was represented by Tai Pin Ko, and he also spoke of this. It also comes out very clearly in the G-5 declaration that there is a very strong statement about the need to do that,” Menon said.

Leaders of the G-5 nations also said the world’s richest nations had greater responsibility to address climate change.

With only five months until a new U.N. climate pact is due to be agreed in Copenhagen, the G-5 called on developed nations to reduce their aggregate emissions by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Mexico even came up with the proposal of setting up a ‘Green Fund’, that is a multilateral fund that is to be structured in a manner that everyone contributes to keep check on emission levels.

“The green fund is a multilateral fund which Mexico has suggested, but contribution to this fund would be on the basis of several criteria. For example, the Mexican President has spoken about the criteria of historical responsibility that is, what is the total emission that has gone into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial age by specific countries? Secondly, what is the current level of emissions? That would be given a certain weight.

Level of development of a country, therefore what is the overall GDP of the country? What is the per capita income of a country? That would also a certain weightage given to per capita emissions of a country,” said Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on climate change issues.

“You would make some allowances for least developed countries, of countries which are small and developing states, which have very specific requirements. But the fund is to be structured in a manner that everyone contributes, that is the Mexican proposal,” Saran added.

Leaders of the world’s richest and main developing nations meet on Thursday to try to find common ground on global warming and international trade, with the poorer countries seeking concessions.

Indian negotiators said developing countries first wanted to see rich nation plans to provide financing to help them cope with ever more floods, heat waves, storms and rising sea levels.

Temperatures have already risen by about 0.7 Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution ushered in widespread burning of fossil fuels, and Italy’s prime minister said everyone should share the burden of tackling the problem. (ANI)

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France wants to expand G8 group

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), July 10 (DPA) French President Nicolas Sarkozy is pushing for an expansion of the Group of Eight (G8).
“The G8 are no longer representative enough to manage the economic crisis,” Sarkozy said Thursday in L’Aquila, Italy, after the close of the second day of the summit of the world’s seven leading industrialised democracies plus Russia.

Major emerging economies including China and India must be brought in for permanent membership, Sarkozy said. France, which takes over the rotating G8 leadership in 2011, intends to create a G14 group, he said.

“It’s unavoidable,” he said. “We must include these countries in discussions from the very beginning. There’s no way around it.”

Sarkozy expressed support for similar efforts to expand the UN’ most important decision-making body, the Security Council. He wants the permanent members to include Germany, Japan and India.

The suggestions are not new. The current permanent members, who have the power of veto over any Security Council resolution, are the World War II victors: China, Russia, the US, France and Britain. Other large contributors to the UN including Japan and European countries are pushing for equal clout.

Sarkozy questioned the continuing dominant role of the US dollar as the global currency.

“The world cannot continue to use just one currency” as its common denominator, he said.

Most of international commerce is calculated in US dollars, and the dollar dominates international financial markets.

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CIA chief to persuade Pak to allow India a greater role in AfPak

June 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, June 22 (ANI): The United States’ Central Intelligence Agency chief, Leon E Panetta, will visit Pakistan soon in a bid to persuade Islamabad to let New Delhi play an important role in the US-led counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Though US Embassy declined to comment on the matter officially, The Nation’s diplomatic sources revealed that Panetta, in line with US AfPak policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, would discuss these proposals with Pakistani authorities during his upcoming visit.

According to sources, Pakistan had previously resisted US pressure to agree to give a free hand to India in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, however, insisted on a bilateral mechanism evolved by Islamabad and New Delhi to fight terrorism jointly, they added.

Since the US AfPak policy envisages a greater role of regional powers in counter-terrorism efforts, Pakistan has stepped up its attempts to woo the support of major powers other than India, including China, Russia and Iran.

Pakistan attempted to get the support of China and the Russian Federation at the recent SCO summit held in Moscow, defense analysts said.

They also viewed the daylong visit of the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to Russia on Sunday as a significant development in this regard. (ANI)

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Sri Lanka praises UN Human Rights Council resolution

May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Colombo – Sri Lanka’s state-run media Thursday praised a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution adopted in Geneva as an endorsement of the government’s policy of “routing terrorism” in order to rebuild the nation.

The UN Human Rights Council Wednesday praised the government for its commitment to human rights and offered support to Sri Lanka’s humanitarian efforts in resettling an estimated 300,000 civilian refugees back in their homes.

The resolution, tabled by Sri Lanka itself and other nations, including Brazil, China, Cuba and Egypt, also allows the government to let aid agencies’ have access to camps for the internally displaced “as may be appropriate.”

“It was a strong endorsement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government’s efforts at routing terrorism and the successful handling of the world’s biggest hostage crisis,” Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who led the Lankan delegation to Geneva, was quoted as saying by the state-run Daily News Thursday.

During the war against Tamil rebels, which formally ended on May 19, the government and state media referred to the hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians in rebel territory as “hostages.”

“This is a clear message that the international community is behind Sri Lanka in its endeavour to rebuild the nation to provide our citizens with equal opportunities,” Samarasinghe said.

Twenty-nine countries, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia voted in favour of the motion while 12 countries voted against and six abstained.

A bloc of Western nations, whose counter-proposal was defeated, wanted full access for aid groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies.

They also wanted an investigation into alleged human rights violations during the fighting which erupted during the last three years in which the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were crushed.

During the fighting, the government had been accused of denying aid agencies access and using heavy weaponry against areas with a dense civilian population.

The LTTE were said to have prevented civilians from escaping the crossfire and that they were used as human shields.

According to UN figures, more than 8,000 civilians were killed during the final clashes between government troops and rebels. (dpa)

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Sri Lanka hails countries that supported UN resolution

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Colombo – Sri Lanka, reacting to the UN Human Rights Council adopting a resolution in Geneva commending the government for its commitment to human rights, hailed countries supporting the motion.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, speaking on state-run television, said the resolution adopted Wednesday with a comprehensive majority was a strength to the country.

Twenty nine countries – including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia – voted in favour of the motion while 12 countries voted against and six abstained, Samarasinghe said.

The resolution, tabled by Sri Lanka and nations including China, Cuba and Egypt, allows the government to let aid agencies have access to camps for the internally displaced “as may be appropriate.”

A bloc of Western nations, whose counter-proposal was defeated, wanted full access for aid groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies.

They also wanted an investigation into alleged human rights violations during the fighting which erupted during the last three years in which the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were crushed.

According to UN figures more than 7,000 civilians were killed, but there has been no independent evidence to confirm who was responsible for the killings during the clashes between government troops and rebels.

Some 300,000 people have been displaced by the fighting and are living in camps, and the UN agencies, international and local NGOs and the ICRC has been demanding unimpeded access to these camps, but the government has allowed in only a selected number of aid workers.(dpa)

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Sri Lanka hails countries that supported UN resolution

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Colombo – Sri Lanka, reacting to the UN Human Rights Council adopting a resolution in Geneva commending the government for its commitment to human rights, hailed countries supporting the motion.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, speaking on state-run television, said the resolution adopted Wednesday with a comprehensive majority was a strength to the country.

Twenty nine countries – including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia – voted in favour of the motion while 12 countries voted against and six abstained, Samarasinghe said.

The resolution, tabled by Sri Lanka and nations including China, Cuba and Egypt, allows the government to let aid agencies have access to camps for the internally displaced “as may be appropriate.”

A bloc of Western nations, whose counter-proposal was defeated, wanted full access for aid groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies.

They also wanted an investigation into alleged human rights violations during the fighting which erupted during the last three years in which the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were crushed.

According to UN figures more than 7,000 civilians were killed, but there has been no independent evidence to confirm who was responsible for the killings during the clashes between government troops and rebels.

Some 300,000 people have been displaced by the fighting and are living in camps, and the UN agencies, international and local NGOs and the ICRC has been demanding unimpeded access to these camps, but the government has allowed in only a selected number of aid workers. (dpa)

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Russian arms exports to increase by $800 mn in 2009

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Moscow, May 27 (RIA Novosti) Russian arms exports are expected to increase by $700-$800 millon in 2009 despite the global credit crunch and considerable fall in arms purchase by India and China, state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Wednesday.

“Rosoboronexport sells an additional $700-800 million (worth of weaponry) every year. Despite the crisis, 2009 will be no exception,” Valery Varlamov, a senior company official, said.

The arms export monopoly sold $6.75 billion worth of arms in 2008. It said its defence order portfolio was worth $27 billion.

“We could have signed deals worth a total of $50 billion, but we did not do this, and settled for $27 billion. We believe this figure is realistic,” the official said.

Combat aircraft have a 50 percent share in sales of Russian weaponry, followed by air defence systems, military equipment for ground forces, and naval equipment.

“At present combat aircraft lead the sales of Russian arms with a 50 percent share of a total. Whoever dominates the skies, wins on the ground,” Varlamov said.

The official reiterated that Russia exports weapons to about 80 countries.

“The amounts and types of the contracts vary from small arms ammunition to combat aircraft, and we do not shy away from small contracts. We have business ties with about 80 countries,” he said.

Varlamov confirmed that the Chinese and the Indian share of Russian arms exports decreased to 16-18 percent last year and could dwindle even further.

But Russia is expanding its presence on other markets, including in the Middle East and in Latin America.

“We are increasing our arms exports by penetrating the markets of other countries,” Varlamov said, adding that the US remains Russia’s key competitor in global arms sales.

In military-technical cooperation with India and China, Russia has shifted focus to joint development of weaponry and defence technologies, he said.

Russia and India, in particular, have developed the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, and agreed to jointly develop a medium-haul military transport plane and a fifth-generation fighter jet.

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UN’s Ban urges North Korea to resume talks

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Helsinki – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged North Korea to return to six-party talks with South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Japan and repeated his criticism of a nuclear test by Pyongyang the day before.

Ban said he “deplored” the “flagrant violation” by North Korea of a United Nations Security Council resolution from 2006 that the country should not conduct nuclear tests.

He said he supported a UN Security Council statement issued after an emergency session Monday and other condemnations by other world leaders that criticized the test, saying the UN security council “took a very decisive measure.”

On possible sanctions or other measures, he said “this is what the security council will decide” after North Korea on Monday conducted a second nuclear test.

Ban urged Pyongyang to “refrain from taking any further measures which will deteriorate the situation, which will create tensions in the region.”

He said: “The only viable option at this time for North Korea to remain as a responsible member of the international community is to return to dialogue table,” both with its neighbour South Korea and within the framework of the six-party talks aimed at getting North Korea to scrap its nuclear programme.

Ban’s remarks were made at a joint news conference with Finnish President Tarja Halonen during a visit to Finland.

The two leaders also discussed the United Nations’ key climate talks in Copenhagen in December where countries are to seek to make proposals on the reduction of CO2 emissions and touched on other conflicts including Sri Lanka, Sudan and Somalia.(dpa)

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British foreign minister to interview Amartya Sen

April 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, April 19 (IANS) Britain’s foreign minister will be in a high-profile ‘conversation’ with Indian Nobel-laureate Amartya Sen before the world’s press Monday but organisers can’t say what they will be talking about.

More than 50 journalists from 26 countries have signed up for the Monday morning event that will mark the launch of the London Book Fair.

Coming from countries as diverse as Croatia, China, Russia, America, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Iran, the journalists have been told only that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband will be ‘interviewing’ Sen, a leading international economist.

‘We don’t know what they’ll be talking about… could be the economy,’ a Foreign Office spokesman guessed.

A spokeswoman for the London Book Fair thought the conversation – or interview – could be about ‘books’.

Miliband, who left his Indian hosts mildly miffed by referring to Kashmir in a January speech, said in a short statement that he was ‘delighted to be taking part in this conversation with Amartya Sen’.

Sen, the Lamont University Professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard University, flies in from the US, where he has been speaking to packed audiences about ‘Capitalism and Confusion’.

Sen said: ‘I am looking forward to the conversation with David Miliband, and later in the day with (writers) Vikram Seth, Nandan Nilekani and Ramachandra Guha.’

Lord Neil Kinnock, Chair of the British Council, the cultural diplomacy arm of the British government, added: ‘I am very pleased that the British Council has been able to bring David and Amartya together at the London Book Fair.

‘We are part of the biggest festival of Indian literature ever outside the sub-continent and I am proud of the British Council’s role in making this happen.’

Alistair Burtenshaw, group exhibition director, The London Book Fair, said he was confident that Sen will be ‘greatly impressed by the diversity and range of publishing innovation being showcased in London’.

Sen will also give the London Book Fair’s keynote speech at the prestigious Chairman’s Breakfast, entitled ‘India in the Modern World’.

Some 50 leading writers, translators, critics and academics as well as 90 publishers working in 15 Indian languages are set to attend the April 20-22 fair – the largest ever festival of Indian writing in Britain.

The writers include Javed Akhtar, Amit Chaudhuri, Namdeo Dhasal, Ramachandra Guha, Jaishree Misra, Daljit Nagra, Anita Nair, Bhalchandra Nemade, Nandan Nilekani, K. Satchidanandan, Shankar, Vikram Seth, Pavan Varma and Sunil Gangopadhyay.

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