Peace talks pick up pace as India, Pak skirt blocks

: India and Pakistan on Wednesday pressed ahead with their peace engagement, steering 

around contentious issues -- particularly Jammu and Kashmir and terrorism -- that bedevil their ties.


Erasing the scars of last July, when their foreign ministers clashed in full public view in Islamabad, India and Pakistan on Wednesday managed the rare feat of speaking in one voice. They agreed to invest in a relationship of "trust and mutually beneficial cooperation".


It wasn`t easy given differences over the usual stumbling blocks that cropped up during the meeting between foreign minister S M Krishna (78), and his young counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar (34), but the two sides worked around them successfully enough for foreign secretary Nirupama Rao to later declare that the "fog has now lifted'' over the relationship.


watch now in this video















Khar too raised hopes when she described the relationship as entering a new era and stated that the mindset of people in both the countries had changed, allowing ties to move in the right direction. In terms of deliverables, a number of CBMs to enhance cross-LoC trade and travel were announced.


"It is our desire to make the dialogue process uninterrupted and uninterruptible," Khar said after the meeting, summing up the determination to stay engaged. The restraint was evident at the press conference of the two foreign secretaries where neither rose to the bait of provocative questions.


Talks did not start on a very promising note though. The meeting started with Krishna strongly expressing displeasure to the Pakistani delegation over Khar`s meeting with separatist Hurriyat leaders on Tuesday evening ahead of the official talks.


Krishna wanted to know what was the locus standi of the Hurriyat as they were not representative of the people of India. He also took exception to the press statement Pakistan High Commission issued after the meeting with separatists.


Khar promptly assured Krishna that she did not intend to give offence to India.


The two sides did not let the issue overshadow talks even in public. Rao confirmed that India had expressed concern over the meeting and that it reflected divergences. "We have a different point of view from Pakistan on the meeting and we have expressed our concern frankly and candidly," she said. But she also emphasized that the neighbours had the political will to work together.


Rao`s counterpart Salman Bashir also spoke in a conciliatory vein. He said the meeting with Hurriyat should not be construed as an attempt to cast shadow over the talks, adding that Pakistan`s intention was to reach out in the interest of democratic polity.


Sources said the Pakistanis chose not to be prickly also when Krishna forcefully raised the lack of credible effort to punish the 26/11 masterminds, and continuing hate propaganda against India by the sorts of Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.


"We have made attempts to infuse the dialogue with the Thimphu spirit," Rao said referring to the meeting between PM Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan last year when they paved the way for re-engagement.


Krishna also raised the confessions made by Pakistani-American Lashkar operative David Headley during the trial of another accused Tahawwur Rana in Chicago about the role of ISI but the Pakistanis quickly assured that they would investigate the matter.


Terror and J&K were discussed at length and this manifested itself in the joint statement which called for eliminating terror in all its forms and, on J&K, spoke of finding a "peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences". They also agreed for a continued discussion on J&K in a purposeful and forward-looking manner.


Rao said there was "cautious optimism" in India-Pak relations. Krishna stated that things were "on the right track". The two foreign ministers decided to meet again in the first half of 2012. "This is indeed a new era of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, and it is our desire... to make it an uninterrupted and an uninterruptible process," Khar said.


"There has been a mindset change in the people of the two countries that we must acknowledge," she added. Khar showed remarkable maturity for her age when during the joint press briefing after the talks, she resisted all temptations to play to the gallery by mentioning the K-word even though it figured prominently in the joint statement.


Bashir too said after the talks that the two countries needed to make a conscious effort to be respectful to each other to maintain the momentum and ensure deeper level of engagement. "Either of us should not seek advantage over the other as we go for a deeper level of engagement. It is also not appropriate to read into what is said and what is not. We have to understand that this is a work in progress," said Bashir.


After the talks, when asked if the Hurriyat meeting was an attempt to establish "parallel" structures in the bilateral relationship, Rao said as far as India was concerned, there was only a "bilateral structure" between the two governments to address all issues. Hurriyat leaders had insisted before Khar in the meeting on Tuesday that Kashmiris too be made a part of the dialogue between India and Pakistan.

Read More

Ukraine ex-PM goes on trial

 Afp, Kiev

Ukraine's ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko yesterday went on trial for alleged abuse of power, denouncing her rival President Viktor Yanukovych as a coward fearing political competition.

The former premier, known as the "Iron Lady", is accused of abuse of power in connection with a contract she signed with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after a brief interruption of gas deliveries from Russia in early 2009.

Tymoshenko described the trial as a "kangaroo court" and vendetta orchestrated by the authorities.
"Whatever verdict is handed down, it will be a verdict against Yanukovych and not me," said Tymoshenko as several thousand of her supporters rallied in the streets near the courthouse in central Kiev.

The charges carry a sentence of between seven and 10 years, jeopardising Tymoshenko's ability to take part in

Read More

Greek PM to reshuffle government to push austerity plan

 

 

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou plans to form a new cabinet on Thursday and seek a vote of confidence from his fractious Socialist party to try to push through an austerity package and avoid default.

Papandreou must pass the new 5-year campaign of tax rises, spending cuts and sell-offs of state property to receive a new EU/IMF bailout and a 12 billion euro aid tranche that Athens needs to pay back debt that matures in August.

Papandreou may seek to replace his finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, the main architect of hugely unpopular budget cuts demanded by the EU and the IMF as part of Greece's 110 billion euro bailout last year.

The reshuffle underscores the tenuous political and popular support for the new deal, but analysts say Greece has no choice but to carry on with the austerity measures or face default.

"If Papandreou gets the vote of confidence we will not go to elections and the chances that the mid-term plan passes will increase," Theodore Couloumbis of the ELIAMEP think tank said.

Nonetheless, world stocks and the euro slumped late on Wednesday as the upheaval fed fears of a default.

Papandreou had initially offered to step down and form a unity government with opposition parties, but he abandoned the idea after the conservative New Democracy demanded Athens renegotiate its year-old international bailout.

New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said the only way out of the crisis was early elections, but analysts said that would only happen in the unlikely event that the government failed to get a vote of confidence.

Political observers also said the reshuffle could persuade rebellious backbenchers in his PASOK party to back the measures despite widespread public anger.

"It's rare that deputies of a ruling party vote in favor of getting out of parliament," Couloumbis said.

Former ECB Vice-President Lucas Papademos is most frequently cited as a candidate to replace Papaconstantinou, who local media have said may be on his way to the Foreign Ministry.

But ALCO's Panagopoulos added that the prime minister may have a hard time convincing people outside the political arena to join his embattled government, which faced mass protests on Wednesday over the prospect of yet another squeeze.

TEARGAS

The new austerity package foresees 6.5 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in tax rises and spending cuts this year, doubling the effect of measures agreed with bailout lenders that have jacked unemployment up to a record 16.2 percent and extended a deep recession into its third year.

The plan includes new luxury taxes, a crackdown on tax evasion and tax rises on soft drinks, swimming pools, restaurant bills and real estate. The euro zone member's 750,000-strong public work force would be cut by a fifth. It also aims to raise 50 billion euros by selling off state-owned firms.

Thousands of activists and unionists converged on Athens's central Syntagma square on the parliament's front steps on Wednesday to try to stop lawmakers from debating the measures in committee that they hope to pass by the end of the month.

Stun grenades boomed around the square and plumes of smoke rose from burning garbage bins as police fired teargas and fought running skirmishes with scores of youths who fought back with rocks and long clubs.

"We want them out. Obviously these measures are not going to get us out of the crisis," Antony Vatselas, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer, crying from teargas. "They want only us to pay for it. And they are doing nothing. I want the debt to be erased. If this doesn't happen, there is no exit for Greece."

One group hurled petrol bombs and clashed with police at buildings housing the Finance Ministry, also on the square. Reuters witnesses saw flames in front of an entrance to the main building and a similar clash a few buildings down.

The vast majority of the crowd -- which included union workers, political party members, pensioners, and a wide array of Greeks upset at the new austerity measures -- only shouted at the parliament building and remained peaceful.

"Thieves, traitors!" many chanted. "Where did the money go?"

About 1,500 police closed a large part of the city center and created a corridor to hold back protesters as lawmakers drove up to the building in official limousines.

The Health Ministry said 33 people were injured. Fifteen people were arrested, police said. Police officials said the crowd reached around 30,000 but they often underestimate numbers. 

 

Read More

Greek PM rebuffs austerity opponents, vows June vote

Protesters shout slogans and lift a Greek flag during a rally against austerity economic measures and corruption in Athens' Constitution square, June 9, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol

The Greek government defended its new austerity package from attacks in parliament on Friday, saying it was the only way to stave off bankruptcy, and made a new call for opposition parties to back the plan. Prime Minister George Papandreou's plan almost doubles the belt-tightening measures for 2011 already agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, after the lenders judged that Athens had missed goals outlined under its bailout.
The ruling Socialist party has 156 deputies in the 300-seat house but growing numbers of its members are expressing unease at proposals including cutting spending and raising taxes to reduce the deficit by 6.5 billion euros more this year than first planned.
Papandreou is anxious to pass the plan for more austerity through 2015 despite strikes, mass street protests and dissident voices within his own ruling Socialist party.
"The medicine is not pleasant and the treatment requires devotion and commitment," he told parliament.
"No prime minister of any country wants to go out with a beggar's tray and collect money from other countries ... I certainly don't, but I do it for Greece."
Papandreou is fighting to get not only opposition parties but also his reluctant PASOK party behind the strategy, a condition for receiving more aid from international lenders who threw Greece a 110 billion euro ($160 billion) emergency funding lifeline last year.

PROTESTS AT PARLIAMENT

According to a weekly schedule released by parliament, lawmakers will start debating the midterm plan in the chamber's economic affairs committee on Wednesday.
That will coincide with a nationwide strike by labor unions expected to draw tens of thousands of demonstrators to Syntagma square, parliament's front stoop and the site of two weeks of nightly grassroots protests.
The square is also the convergence point of daily marches by staff in firms earmarked for privatization who oppose the government's pledge to raise 50 billion euros in the selloff of state-owned companies by 2015.
In a televised address to the nation, Papandreou invited proposals for the plan from opposition parties and called for cooperation to improve Athens' position in talks with Brussels ahead of a June 23-24 EU summit.
"I call on the leadership of all parties to cooperate," he said in a televised announcement. "There are many and important points where we converge. With a national consensus, we can negotiate jointly with our partners."
In a move aimed at reducing resistance by the main opposition New Democracy party to the measures, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said the government was considering submitting a new tax bill in September cutting VAT and corporate taxes and said he hoped parliament would approve the mid-term plan by the end of June.
The IMF and EU have demanded wider political consensus in Greece before they give the debt-ridden euro zone member more cash. But the main opposition groups have vowed to vote against the new measures, saying they are choking economic growth.
"The mid-term plan is unreliable, unjust and ineffective. It is a de facto confession of the failure of the bailout," New Democracy party spokesman Yannis Michelakis said in a statement.
European officials are still trying to work out a plan which hits private investors for some of the cost of the new funding plan, expected to be worth around an additional 120 billion euros including 30 billion from sales of Greek state assets.
Figures on Thursday showed the economy is in worse shape than initially feared, with gross domestic product tumbling 5.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

Read More

Japan finmin Noda emerging as key PM candidate - paper

 







 Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda is emerging as a key candidate to replace Naoto Kan as prime minister and head of the ruling Democratic Party.



Senior ruling party officials plan to nominate Noda as a candidate for the post in a party election to choose its new leader when Kan steps down and Noda himself is keen to run, the paper said.
The officials hope the choice of Noda, in charge of budget preparations, may smooth passage of bills needed to issue bonds to fund a significant portion of the current fiscal year's state budget, as well as the second extra budget for reconstruction from the devastating earthquake in March, the paper said.
Noda, a fiscal hawk, has called for the need to rein in Japan's huge public debt possibly with tax hikes.
Kan, struggling to contain a nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's crippled Fukushima plant and rebuild Japan's northeast from the devastating March 11 quake and tsunami, last week survived a no-confidence vote by saying he would step down.
He did not say when, though, and rivals in his own party as well as the opposition want him to go soon, clearing the way for a coalition.
Noda has been touted as among possible contenders to replace Kan, alongside Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku and former foreign minister Seiji Maehara.

Read More