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20.3.09
The State Department confirmed Thursday it is sending a senior diplomat to a Moscow conference on Afghanistan next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Iran will also attend the meeting and U.S. officials do not rule out interaction with Iranian officials.
The Shanghai group, made up of Russia, China and four Central Asian states, was founded in 2001 and has been widely viewed as a vehicle aimed at countering U.S. influence in the region.
Thus the invitation for the United States to attend the Moscow gathering next week, among several other non-member countries, is being seen as a conciliatory gesture toward the new U.S. administration.
At a news briefing, State Department Acting Spokesman Robert Wood said the United States will be represented at the March 27 meeting by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon.
Wood said the United States welcomes the opportunity to join Shanghai group members in a conversation about how to stabilize the Afghan situation.
"The reason why we think it is important to go to this conference is because it is about Afghanistan and how the international community can try to better the situation on the ground, to better coordinate our activities, see what types of things we can do together to make things better for the people of Afghanistan," said Robert Wood. "So we view it as important, even though we are not a member, we are not an observer, we were invited and look forward to attending and hopefully we can get something constructive out of this."
In addition to Russia and China, the Shanghai group includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran has permanent observer status along with India, Pakistan and Mongolia. Afghanistan will attend as part of a contact group with the organization.
In 2005, the United States sought, but was denied observer status in the Shanghai group, which has been critical of U.S. military operations in Central Asia.
The Wall Street Journal, which reported on U.S. plans to take part in the Moscow meeting, said it would set the stage for the first direct encounter between U.S. and Iranian officials under the Obama administration, which says it wants dialogue with Tehran.
Spokesman Wood said there were no plans for a specific meeting but said U.S.-Iranian interaction could nonetheless occur:
"There are no plans for any substantive meetings with Iran," he said. "It is not unusual for U.S. and Iranian officials to cross paths during a multi-lateral meeting. So I am not going to rule anything in, or anything out. It is a conference about Afghanistan and its neighbors. Iran is certainly a neighbor of Afghanistan. And so we will see. But as I said there are no planned substantive meetings with the Iranians."
The Moscow meeting is a prelude to a U.N.-organized international conference on Afghanistan, co-hosted by the Afghan government and the Netherlands, at the Hague March 31. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend that meeting and there is also expected to be high-level Iranian participation.
The Shanghai group, made up of Russia, China and four Central Asian states, was founded in 2001 and has been widely viewed as a vehicle aimed at countering U.S. influence in the region.
Thus the invitation for the United States to attend the Moscow gathering next week, among several other non-member countries, is being seen as a conciliatory gesture toward the new U.S. administration.
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| State Department Acting Spokesman Robert Wood (undated photo) |
Wood said the United States welcomes the opportunity to join Shanghai group members in a conversation about how to stabilize the Afghan situation.
"The reason why we think it is important to go to this conference is because it is about Afghanistan and how the international community can try to better the situation on the ground, to better coordinate our activities, see what types of things we can do together to make things better for the people of Afghanistan," said Robert Wood. "So we view it as important, even though we are not a member, we are not an observer, we were invited and look forward to attending and hopefully we can get something constructive out of this."
In addition to Russia and China, the Shanghai group includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran has permanent observer status along with India, Pakistan and Mongolia. Afghanistan will attend as part of a contact group with the organization.
In 2005, the United States sought, but was denied observer status in the Shanghai group, which has been critical of U.S. military operations in Central Asia.
The Wall Street Journal, which reported on U.S. plans to take part in the Moscow meeting, said it would set the stage for the first direct encounter between U.S. and Iranian officials under the Obama administration, which says it wants dialogue with Tehran.
Spokesman Wood said there were no plans for a specific meeting but said U.S.-Iranian interaction could nonetheless occur:
"There are no plans for any substantive meetings with Iran," he said. "It is not unusual for U.S. and Iranian officials to cross paths during a multi-lateral meeting. So I am not going to rule anything in, or anything out. It is a conference about Afghanistan and its neighbors. Iran is certainly a neighbor of Afghanistan. And so we will see. But as I said there are no planned substantive meetings with the Iranians."
The Moscow meeting is a prelude to a U.N.-organized international conference on Afghanistan, co-hosted by the Afghan government and the Netherlands, at the Hague March 31. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend that meeting and there is also expected to be high-level Iranian participation.
18.2.09
The hard-line Islamic cleric who signed a deal with Pakistani officials led a peace march Wednesday in northwestern Swat Valley to convince Taliban militants to lay down their arms.
Sufi Muhammad and thousands of his supporters marched through Mingora. It is the main town in the one-time ski resort that is now the site of a bloody insurgency to impose Islamic law [Sharia].
During a speech, the elderly Muhammad called on the public to abide by the deal he struck with officials of North West Frontier Province in exchange for restoring Sharia to the region.
Muhammad led thousands of volunteers to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan in 2002 and was later detained and then released after promising to renounce violence.
He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who heads a more hard-line group of Pakistani Taliban that controls much of the Swat valley.
A spokesman for Fazlullah said the militant leader will support his father-in-law's peace agreement. The two men are reportedly going to meet to discuss implementing the peace deal.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has praised the deal, saying it is in line with his government's policy of "dialogue, development and deterrence."
But NATO has expressed concern, saying the agreement could create a safe haven for extremists.
The United States has said only that officials are awaiting further details from the Pakistani government.
Sufi Muhammad and thousands of his supporters marched through Mingora. It is the main town in the one-time ski resort that is now the site of a bloody insurgency to impose Islamic law [Sharia].
During a speech, the elderly Muhammad called on the public to abide by the deal he struck with officials of North West Frontier Province in exchange for restoring Sharia to the region.
Muhammad led thousands of volunteers to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan in 2002 and was later detained and then released after promising to renounce violence.
He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who heads a more hard-line group of Pakistani Taliban that controls much of the Swat valley.
A spokesman for Fazlullah said the militant leader will support his father-in-law's peace agreement. The two men are reportedly going to meet to discuss implementing the peace deal.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has praised the deal, saying it is in line with his government's policy of "dialogue, development and deterrence."
But NATO has expressed concern, saying the agreement could create a safe haven for extremists.
The United States has said only that officials are awaiting further details from the Pakistani government.
1.9.08
Muslim separatists in Indian Kashmir say they will continue protests calling for an end to Indian rule, even though rival Hindu groups have called an end to their demonstrations. Meanwhile, Indian authorities released three top Kashmiri separatist leaders who were arrested a week ago.
Muslim leaders in Kashmir called for more protests a day after the government struck a deal with Hindu groups in Jammu province to allow Hindu pilgrims temporary use of land near a religious shrine. A dispute about the use of the land had sparked Muslim protests and Hindu counter demonstrations two months ago.
A coordination committee of Kashmiri Muslim separatists rejected the government deal with the Hindu groups, but called the issue unimportant. The committee said its goal is independence and they will continue their protests and pro-freedom demonstrations, despite what they described as brute force by Indian police and troops. The committee says it will meet Tuesday to discuss future plans.
Indian authorities have also released three top Kashmiri Muslim separatist leaders. Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Muhammad Yasin Malik were released on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. They were arrested before a planned pro-independence rally in Srinagar a week ago in an effort to stop the demonstrations.
Syed Ali Geelani's personal aide, Peer Saifullah told VOA that Geelani's health condition is serious and he has been hospitalized. He says Geelani is spitting blood with saliva. He appears physically very exhausted.
Some other arrested leaders, such as Shabir Shah, Ashraf Sehrai, and women separatist leader Asiya Andrabi have reportedly been held under the unpopular Public Safety Act, which allows a person to be detained for up to two years without a trial.
India and Pakistan each claim Jammu and Kashmir in full and control parts of the territory divided by a de-facto border. Muslim separatists have been fighting for the independence of Indian-administered Kashmir or for its merger with Pakistan since 1989.
Muslim leaders in Kashmir called for more protests a day after the government struck a deal with Hindu groups in Jammu province to allow Hindu pilgrims temporary use of land near a religious shrine. A dispute about the use of the land had sparked Muslim protests and Hindu counter demonstrations two months ago.
A coordination committee of Kashmiri Muslim separatists rejected the government deal with the Hindu groups, but called the issue unimportant. The committee said its goal is independence and they will continue their protests and pro-freedom demonstrations, despite what they described as brute force by Indian police and troops. The committee says it will meet Tuesday to discuss future plans.
Indian authorities have also released three top Kashmiri Muslim separatist leaders. Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Muhammad Yasin Malik were released on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. They were arrested before a planned pro-independence rally in Srinagar a week ago in an effort to stop the demonstrations.
Syed Ali Geelani's personal aide, Peer Saifullah told VOA that Geelani's health condition is serious and he has been hospitalized. He says Geelani is spitting blood with saliva. He appears physically very exhausted.
Some other arrested leaders, such as Shabir Shah, Ashraf Sehrai, and women separatist leader Asiya Andrabi have reportedly been held under the unpopular Public Safety Act, which allows a person to be detained for up to two years without a trial.
India and Pakistan each claim Jammu and Kashmir in full and control parts of the territory divided by a de-facto border. Muslim separatists have been fighting for the independence of Indian-administered Kashmir or for its merger with Pakistan since 1989.
29.8.08
Escalating protests have forced India's Tata Motors to halt production of what is billed as the world's cheapest car. Tata officials say workers were told not to report Friday to its plant in Singur, in the eastern state of West Bengal. The Indian auto-maker says it is assessing the situation after police escorted hundreds of workers out of the factory Thursday, amid angry protests by farmers demanding proper compensation for their land. Last week, Tata officials threatened to move the factory out of West Bengal if the protests continued.
The plant is set to roll out the first $2,500 Nano cars by October. Tata Motors plans to manufacture 250,000 of the cars each year.
28.8.08
VOA News
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as a member of parliament after winning a crucial by-election by a landslide, bringing him closer to his pledge to topple the government. Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim came a step closer Thursday to achieving his goal of bringing down the government and implementing reforms after being sworn in to parliament following an absence of 10 years from political office.
A jubilant Anwar says his winning his seat means Malaysians want change. "I consider this as a very defining moment in our history," he said. "And this is in pursuance of the clamor and demand for change that you have seen during the elections."
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as a member of parliament after winning a crucial by-election by a landslide, bringing him closer to his pledge to topple the government. Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim came a step closer Thursday to achieving his goal of bringing down the government and implementing reforms after being sworn in to parliament following an absence of 10 years from political office.
A jubilant Anwar says his winning his seat means Malaysians want change. "I consider this as a very defining moment in our history," he said. "And this is in pursuance of the clamor and demand for change that you have seen during the elections."
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