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Asia-Pacific Daily Report June 2, 2004

Afghanistan Five aid workers including foreigners gunned down in Afghanistan's northwest Unidentified gunmen reportedly killed five aid workers, including three foreigners, in Afghanistan’s northwestern province of Badghis today (Wednesday, June 2). According to provincial governor Azizullah Afzali, suspected Taliban fighters ambushed a vehicle carrying five aid workers belonging to the international nongovernmental organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Qadis district, some 37 miles (60 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Qala-e-Naw that left two Afghan men, a Belgian woman, a Dutch man and a Swiss man dead. Provincial police chief Amir Shah Nayebzada told reporters that the attack took place at 04:00 pm (1130 GMT) on a remote road in Khair Khana area of the Qadis district, some 310 miles (500 kilometers) west of the capital Kabul. An MSF spokesman in Kabul confirmed that a car carrying its employees was involved in an incident, but declined to give details. Haji Latif Hakimi, who claimed to be a Taliban spokesman, told Reuters News in the neighboring western city of Herat, located some 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Qadis, that the Taliban had carried out the attack. He added that they would continue to target foreign aid workers who were allegedly using the cover of aid while working for the Americans who are against them. The attack is particularly alarming for aid workers who have operated relatively safely in northern Afghanistan. The incident underscores the growing trend of violence that seems to be spreading from southern and eastern regions to other regions across the country. http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/3b795b05f1788e7c85256ea7005a908d?OpenDocument http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/afghan.killings.reut/index.html http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/03/content_1504736.htm http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5325785

India Naga rebels from northeastern Nagaland state express reservations about new government The Isak-Muviah faction of the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in northeastern Nagaland state in India today expressed reservations on whether it should visit New Delhi for talks with the new, Congress Party-led government. “Let the government first clarify its stand. The proposed visit by our leaders would now depend on New Delhi’s stand,” said senior NSCN leader Phunthing Shimrang. The announcement came after the new government had said that it would protect the integrity of state territory in its recently announced policy in the Common Minimum Program. Previously, the NSCN said, after the surprise victory of the Congress Party in the April-May Indian elections, that it was determined to carry through the peace process and would visit New Delhi. The NSCN was scheduled to meet with former Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee in February this year, but the talks were postponed after the national elections were called. Although the NSCN engaged in landmark formal peace talks with New Delhi last year for the first time, a main sticking point is the NSCN’s demand to expand Nagaland state to include areas dominated by the Naga ethnic groups in neighboring states, which is vehemently opposed by its neighbors. The group entered into a ceasefire with New Delhi in 1997 and the two sides have held several rounds of talks abroad, such as Switzerland, Malaysia and Thailand. Officials in neighboring Manipur state warn of unrest if the state loses territory to Nagaland. In 2001, at least 17 people were killed in protests in Manipur after New Delhi agreed to expand the ceasefire with NSCN beyond Nagaland state territory. Since the landmark peace talks last year, reports of violence from Nagaland have markedly decreased. More than 25,000 people have been killed since the 1947 Indian independence in Nagaland, which borders Myanmar.

http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=20339

Bangladesh and India hold border talks; Strike hits northeastern Manipur state following killing of minister Bangladesh and India held talks on cooperation on countering rebel activity along their common border today. The talks were held between Bangladesh Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan and new Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and Indian National Security Adviser JN Dixit. It was the first high-level meeting between members of India’s newly-elected government and foreign officials. “Issues like terrorist activities on both sides need to be addressed seriously,” said Khan. His comment raised hopes of a breakthrough on India-Bangladesh border relations. India and Bangladesh have long accused each other of harboring rebel camps on each other’s territories. In May, the neighbors failed to agree on a proposal to conduct joint operations to hunt down rebel camps, after Bangladesh reportedly denied the existence of rebel camps on its soil. Earlier this year, India conducted joint operations with one of its other northeastern neighbors, Bhutan. Bangladesh-India relations are generally cordial, but it has often been marked by border disputes. Meanwhile, a general strike was called in the northeastern state of Manipur on Monday (May 31) to protest the government’s decision to extend the state's disturbed area status, which gives the military greater powers in running the state, which was declared after militant attacks on the state Electricity

Minister T Phungzathan over the weekend and state Urban Development Minister Nanda Kumar Singh last week. Both were reportedly unhurt. There have been recent rebel attacks on the homes of state ministers in Manipur. Today, a relative of state Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ph. Sanajit, was abducted and killed in Chandel district by suspected rebels, while a paramilitary officer was shot dead by suspected rebels at a market in the border town of Moreh. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister of nearby Tripura state, Manik Sarkar said today that this government was not in favor of extending a six-month ceasefire with the rebel National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), which was signed with the state and the former Indian government under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 15. “We want the insurgents to come overground and lay down arms within six months,” said Sarkar. More than 4,000 people have died in Tripura following the outbreak of ethnic violence in 1980. There are about 30 rebel groups and 200 ethnic groups in India’s northeast region. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=44665 http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news/php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=44585 http://www.webindia123.com/news/m_details.asp?newscode=55513&catcode=ENG3&subcatcode=

Indonesia Human Rights Watch criticizes Jakarta for decision to expel International Crisis Group head Today the leading rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), criticized the Indonesian government’s decision to expel Sidney Jones, a political analyst and director of the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Indonesia. HRW says that Jakarta’s decision “raises concerns about the country’s crackdown on critical observers ahead of the July 5 presidential election,” a statement from the group reads. Jones says that she was issued an expulsion order by the government yesterday and Indonesian immigration officials say that she was asked to leave due to visa violations. However, Jones has said that she may have been forced to leave because of her recent criticism of Indonesia’s military and intelligence agencies. The Belgium-based ICG opened its office in Jakarta in 2000. The group’s president, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, says that “this will do far more damage to Indonesia’s reputation than the ICG’s. This is a sad day for those hoping for better from Indonesian democracy.” Jakarta has also placed 20 international and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on a “watch list.” HRW says that Jones’ forced departure appears to be “directly related to her critical reporting on Indonesia.” The ICG has criticized Jakarta on human rights violations in the troubled provinces of Aceh and Papua as well as on the governments’ response to militant groups in Indonesia. The chief of Indonesia’s State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Gen. Abdullah Hendropriyono, last week said that Jones’ reports were inaccurate and biased. He has accused the group of 20 NGOs of endangering national security leading up to the presidential elections on July 5. Jones has also been a director of HRW’s Asia Division. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3768521.stm http://abcnews.go.com/wire/world/ap20040601_2382.html http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/e17db2777c51038ec1256ea70031cb8a?OpenDocumen t

Nepal King Gyanendra reinstates former premier Deuba as Nepal's new Prime Minister Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was today reappointed Nepal’s Prime Minister by King Gyanendra. The king had sacked Deuba in October 2002 saying that he failed to end the Maoist rebellion in the country and for not holding elections. Gyanendra took over executive powers, and since then, tens of thousands have marched in the streets to protest the monarchy and for the restoration of democracy. Yesterday, opposition political party leaders failed to come up with a name for a new prime minister, despite a deadline set for yesterday afternoon by Gyanendra. There has been mixed reactions to Deuba’s reinstatement. CNN reports that Nepali officials hope that the king’s reinstatement of Deuba today is a sign that the country may be moving back towards a democratic government. Girija Prasad Koirala, chief of the Nepali Congress, one of the opposition political parties, says that: “It was a surprising move by the king, who once again ignored the demands of the people." In comments to the media shortly after his reinstatement, Deuba said that his number one priority would be to establish peace in the country, Kantipur Online reports. “I will try to establish consensus with all parties to form a government. I will try to establish peace in the country as soon as possible and hold general elections.” After Deuba was let go in 2002, Gyanendra appointed two promonarchy prime ministers. The latter, Surya Bahadur Thapa, resigned three weeks ago under pressure by protesting opposition political party members. At the time of his resignation, Thapa said he chose to do so in hopes that his resignation would clear the way for the parties to meet with the king. The parties did meet with the king on May 20 however, the meeting did not provide any breakthroughs. Deuba has been prime minister twice before and is also the head of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) Party. He is expected to be sworn in tomorrow. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/nepal.pm/index.html http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=12535 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3768551.stm

Pakistan Top police chief in Pakistan’s southern Karachi city transferred, after rioting claims 25 lives The police chief of southern Karachi city, Asad Malik, was transferred today after three consecutive days of violence claimed about 25 lives. The strife began on Sunday (May 30), after a cleric of the majority Sunni sect was shot dead, and was followed by the bombing at a crowded mosque of the minority Shi’ite mosque, which killed at least 20 people the next day. Three more people have died in clashes with police after about 10,000 Shi’ite mourners gathered in the city yesterday and destroyed vehicles and property to protest the apparent suicide bombing. Thousands of security forces were deployed to the city to prevent sectarian clashes, after both attacks sparked riots by both Sunnis and Shi’ites. Two other police chiefs of towns were also replaced. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf yesterday pledged to curb sectarian violence in the country.

Today, only scattered violence was reported in the city, as many businesses and schools shut down. Although Karachi has a long history of sectarian violence, the month of May was the worst in recent years. At least 61 people have been killed and 195 others wounded in terrorist incidents in the city in May alone. On May 7, 23 worshippers were killed in a suicide bomb attack in a Shi’ite mosque in Karachi. On May 25, 2 were killed in a parcel bomb blast in Karachi, while 1 person was killed and 25 others injured in twin car bomb attacks near the US consulate on May 26. Observers say that new trends in the attacks, especially suicide bombings which are usually rare, indicate that Sunni militants may be using attacks on Shi’ites as part of a broader campaign to undermine Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his support for the US-led war on terror. Pakistan Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq said today, “There is no sectarian fighting. But the whole purpose behind this is that there should be a Shi’ite-Sunni clash. This is a very well-calculated strategy, which is being implemented by terrorists.” He added that the violence was “al-Qaeda-related”, which was previously denied by the Pakistani Interior Ministry. Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian violence, which has usually been relatively low-level, is believed to have killed up to 4,000 people in the past 15 years in Pakistan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/3770069.stm http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040601/ap/d82uava00.html http://www.dawn.com/2004/06/02/local4.htm

Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger rebels warn of consequences of continuing violence in Sri Lanka’s east Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels yesterday warned that the country was headed for “a period of calamity and destruction” after the murder of a Tamil journalist who was killed by gunmen near Batticaloa, 303 kilometers (190 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. The rebels blamed the government and elements opposed to the Norwegian-brokered peace process in the country. “Sri Lankan security forces and the militants who are assisting them must realize the consequences. These actions are bound to lead the people of this island to a period of calamity and destruction,” the LTTE said in a statement. Local officials however, say that the killings may be linked to a rift within the LTTE. More than 15 people have died in a wave of violence in the east since April 25. The rebels had warned in early May that a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in 2002 was in danger following the violence. Peace talks were stalled in April last year, after the Tigers dropped out, complaining that the government was too slow in implementing many of its promises to the rebels made in previous rounds of talks. However, the ceasefire has largely held. Last week, Norwegian special peace envoy Erik Solheim visited Sri Lanka but failed to get both the government and rebels to agree on a date and venue for fresh peace talks. In other news today, local officials said that the delay in restarting peace talks has hampered reconstruction work in war-torn areas. T. Rajanayagam, a civil administrator in rebel-held Kilinochchi, said that almost 70 percent of development work had stopped due to the halt in the peace process. Meanwhile, Xinhua reported that major international donors meeting in Brussels today warned that the some US$4.5 billion dollars pledged in aid to Sri Lanka at a donors conference in

Japan last year was in jeopardy unless the government and rebels took action and resumed their negotiations. http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/9f9f1fb1f9e40653c1256ea7004652f2?OpenDocument http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/6b081af5a9070aaa49256ea7000be87d?OpenDocumen t