The sacked security chief of the Afghan eastern Nangarhar province, Haji Mohammad Zaman, who was forced to leave the country on Saturday, has blamed powerful elements in the interim government for attempting to sabotage the forthcoming Loya Jirga and create anarchy in the country. "I did not want bloodshed for the sake of power, therefore I decided to leave the country," the sacked security chief said, who was escorted out of the country by US forces on Saturday night. Before leaving Jalalabad, Haji Zaman said he had talked to the interim government head Hamid Karzai on telephone and informed him about the situation. "Hullo? Hamid? Haji Zaman. Lookee here, I'm gonna get out of town, but I just wanted to tell you..."
"Oh, you are? Good. See yah. G'bye."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 03:39 pm ||
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Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei here on Wednesday said that the U.S. is seeking to impose an international dictatorship on all countries, particularly on the justice-seeking nations. Ayatollah Khamenei, referring to recent events in Palestine, lambasted Washington's indifference to the fact that the sentiments of world peoples have been hurt by the crimes being committed by the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine. Oh, Gawd! Let us not bruise any sentiments!
"The stances of the Islamic Republic towards America's logic of force and hegemony is quite clear. A nation and a government that have led a revolution in the name of Islam and national identity and independence, will never submit to U.S. bullying policies," the leader said. And a nation and a government that were created based on the dignity and freedom of the individual dismisses your carping. We fart in your general direction. So there.
Sorry. I'm just not very good at generating vitriol.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 03:48 pm ||
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The Election Commission announced that "large numbers" of people had turned out to cast votes in favour of Gen Pervez Musharraf in the presidential referendum on Tuesday. The results announced by the Election Commission till filing of this report, were well over 90 per cent in favour. Ninety percent! Wow! Those folks must really like Perv. I'll bet he's so flattered...
The Chief Election Commissioner, Justice (retd) Irshad Hasan Khan, who visited Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar in the day, announced the first result here at 11:30pm. He said that wherever he and other Election Commission members had gone they had seen large numbers of voters at the polling stations. "How large were they, Irshad?"
"Very large. Larger than large."
The CEC said it was a matter of great satisfaction for him that the voting had taken place in an orderly and peaceful manner and no report of any untoward incident had been received from any part of the country. Did they jug Qazi again?
There were reports of rigging as the presiding officers were seen stamping the ballot papers and stuffing the ballot boxes. No. That'd never happen. Come now! In Pakland? Musta been mistaken...
It was an electoral exercise where voters lists were not used. Everybody who claimed to have attained the age of 18 was welcome to cast his vote whether he had his identity card or not. Well, as long as they had honest faces, what was the harm? It's all for the best, isn't it...?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:45 pm ||
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The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and its components PPP and the PML(N) said on Tuesday that the nation had refused to give Gen Musharraf a mandate to stay in power by effectively boycotting the "farcical referendum" after which the general should honour his commitment of stepping down so that electoral process could be started to put the country back on the democratic track. He got 90 percent of the guys who showed up. He ain't gonna step down because you didn't show up to say "no."
ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan has started contacts with leaders of the alliance constituents to hold an emergency meeting and devise a future course of action to meet the requirements of the post-referendum situation. "What are we going to do now, Ollie?" Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal President Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani advised all parties not to think of any resistance movement nor destabilize the government in view of the sensitivity of the situation facing the country. He warned that people's confrontation with the army could lead to a situation which had dismembered Pakistan. Perv got 90 percent. If they screw with him for the next six months or so he'll kill them and nobody'll turn a hair. If he wants to, he can kill the religious parties and the hand-in-the-till parties now.
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan claimed that reports he had received from all parts of the country showed that the nation had responded to the alliance's boycott call and rejected the referendum. They could have gone to the polls and voted "no" and then the result might have been 80 or 85 percent. See what happens when you stay home and sulk?
"The people have given their verdict. Now we'll see whether Gen Musharraf honours his word (that he will step down in case he is rejected by the electorate)", the ARD chief said. Since he wasn't, he won't. But he might shoot some people. This is his big chance, and he won't have it again.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:56 pm ||
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Thousands of Pakistanis turned up enthusiastically on Tuesday at all the polling stations in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf cities to cast their votes in a peaceful and organized manner. By the time this report was filed almost 4,000 votes had already been cast in the polling booth in Al-Khobar only. In Jeddah, this number had already crossed the eight thousand mark. In the early hours of the day, the rush at the Jeddah polling booth was so intense that the authorities had to request the Saudi police to control the mob. The voting pattern was indeed more than anticipated by most analysts. Very few people had thought that the turnout would be this high. "You like me! You really like me!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 02:26 pm ||
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Hours after the Opposition-led censure motion on Gujarat was defeated in Parliament, leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, and the person believed to be the ultimate cause of the situation in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, made public appearances in the violence-hit state, displaying contrasting moods. Modi and making Sonia and Congress look good. This is her moment to shine...
Sonia Gandhi was restrained but confident, having won the moral battle, though losing the vote in the final tally, and Modi was defiant and blustery, triumphant over the NDA's performance in the trial of strength and his party's continued support. Kind of a cartoony bad guy, in fact.
Modi dared his critics to have him dismissed, and said he had found the debate in Parliament "disappointing". The opposition was probably disappointed, too, that he wasn't even censured, much less sacked.
He also criticised the Opposition for attacking Prime Minister AB Vajpayee by exploiting the situation in Gujarat. With 800 dead citizens, there's a lot there to exploit.
Though both talked of the need of the hour â picking up the pieces in Gujarat â Sonia Gandhi said it should be through harmony between the two communities and Modi said he wanted it without the interference of outsiders who were tarnishing the state's image. Modi even had a personal message for Sonia Gandhi in his speech: Stop meddling with Gujarat, or else, "you may be the loser". He means hordes of brownshirts might show up at her rallies and beat people up. Maybe if they take a train, somebody'll set fire to it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 02:44 pm ||
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Police opened fire to disperse a mob setting afire a house in a locality of Baroda where stone-pelting and stabbing were also reported while a shop and an autorickshaw were set ablaze in Ahmedabad today as fresh violence hit the two Gujarat cities following relaxation in curfew. In Baroda, at least four persons were injured, two of them in stabbing incidents, at Karelibaug and Navapura areas this afternoon, police said. Police opened fire and burst teargas shells to disperse a mob setting afire a house at Navapura, police said adding around 16 people were detained in this connection. Stone-throwing incidents were reported from Kodiyal locality and a bakery was set on fire by mob in Surti bazar area. Looks like Modi's got that situation well in hand. No need for any kind of censure there...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 02:54 pm ||
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A day after the Government warded off the opposition challenge in the Lok Sabha on the Gujarat issue, state BJP MPs met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee after which a top leader ruled out removal of Chief Minister Narendra Modi declaring that the next assembly polls in the state would be fought under his leadership. "Let the voters fling fruit if they wish, but we're stickin' with Narendra. Whadda they know, anyway?"
State BJP President Rajendrasinh Rana told reporters after an hour-long meeting the MPs had with Vajpayee that the Gujarat issue did not figure during their talks which revolved round the developmental issues especially those pending with the Centre. "Rajendrasinh, would you move the elephant to the other side of the living room, please? I gotta vacuum there."
"What elephant, m'dear?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 03:12 pm ||
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Thirteen military officers, including the army chief of staff, were killed in Tuesday's helicopter crash in northwestern Tunisia, an official said Wednesday. The crash occurred at at Mejez El Bab, 60 kilometers west of Tunis. The aircraft was carrying army officers who were returning from an inspection mission in the Kef region, 170 kilometers west of Tunis near the Algerian border. This is somethinggoing around, isn't it? And we don't really get a lot of newsout of Tunisia normally...
"Uh, no thanks. I think I'll grab a taxi..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 03:06 pm ||
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Yasser Arafat is reportedly refusing to hand over two senior figures holed up within his Ramallah command center to British and American jailers. Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine involved in the assassination of late cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi, and Fuad Shubaki, mastermind of the Karine A weapons smuggling plot, remain inside the compound at this time. If they hand them over to outside parties they might not let them go when Yasser wants to use them again. On the other hand, it's such a neat way of drawing the Americans and the Brits into the whole mess.
Israeli and foreign journalists outside Arafat's compound continue to wait for the transfer of Saadat and Shubaki and four more Palestinian convicts into American and British custody. Hope they're not holding their collective breath. Yasser's inside trying to think up a reason not to do it that doesn't sound too stoopid.
The four others were involved in the assassination of Ze'evi in Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel last October. They're relatively small fry. They can be replaced cheaply enough. Use once and throw away, y'know?
Israeli military sources said Arafat changed his mind at the last minute and is now refusing to hand over the two senior figures, Israel Radio reported. Further evidence of his increasing senility? Or just his usual reflexive perfidy?
Guess he couldn't think of any reason not to that sounded rational. Jerusalem Post reports:
The transfer of the six Palestinians prisoners from Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's compound to a Jericho prison is underway. The transfer paves the way for the Palestinian leader's release from Israeli confinement, possibly by nightfall, a Palestinian official said this evening. Bleh. Shouldn't have done it. I'll bet GW still pulls Dad's finger... Now the PA can start working on springing them at some time in the relatively near future, probably as a concession in return for the cessation of a presently-undefined horrible action.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:32 pm ||
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Two Palestinian policemen left the Church of Nativity today, a day after twenty-six gunmen and civilians walked out of the compound. One of the policemen was injured earlier in a fire fight with Israeli troops. The other policeman had fallen ill. Sick of being under seige, was he? Or of going without groceries?
The men were escorted by priest who handed them over to IDF troops. Did he go back inside? Why?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:17 pm ||
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The stand off between IDF troops and Palestinian fighters occupying Hebron's Alia Hospital has been resolved. Troops had surrounded the hospital and were prepared to raid it in order the capture the fugitives. The army said Tuesday that only one of the fugitives was on their most wanted list. The situation was dissolved early Wednesday when the army allowed to let the fugitives leave while arresting the one fighter who was on their most wanted list. No worry. They'll get 'em next time, if they don't explode first.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:21 pm ||
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During their 48 hour incursion into the West Bank city of Hebron, the IDF arrested over 150 Palestinians suspected of being involved in terror activities. The IDF seized dozens of weapons, explosive devices and combat gear. So many crazed killers, so little time...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 01:23 pm ||
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Five soldiers and 25 civilians sustained injuries in a grenade attack followed by exchange of fire between the soldiers and snuffies at Surankote, Poonch. The injured were rushed to hospital where Showkat Hussain and Safder Shah died. Police said soldiers killed two hard boys in the shootout.
Reports from Varmul said two psychopaths were killed in an encounter with the security forces near Bandipore. Two securitymen were injured while a house was destroyed in the incident.
The police recovered bodies of two village defence committee members. They were abducted on April 27 by Unidentified Gunmen®.
Crazed killers forced entry into the house of Raja Bano, a NC activist, at Qaimoh and shot the place up, causing injuries to her and to another lady. They were hospitalised. The ladies, y'see, are less likely to be armed.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/01/2002 03:24 pm ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
