Asian continent is full of upheavals and incidents one after the other are shaking it as a whole. Sri Lanka is always haunted by LTTE rebels, terrorist always are working hard to destabilize J&K, Afghanistan is bearing the wrath of war on terror, and now the Taliban has started gripping it hard while violence goes unabated. Burma is not yet calm fully calm, bomb blast rocked Pakistan after PPP ex-PM returned, killing 139 people and injuring scores, some of them seriously. So, violence and disappoint is what that not only destabilizing Asia but the whole world and a blast in calm Philippine is the proof of growing insecurity world over. Notwithstanding, here are some glimpses of Asia that this week witnessed.
Oct. 15, 2007
Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto fears that retired army officers may be plotting to assassinate her after her return home next Thursday. Ms Bhutto already faces threats from Baitullah Masood, a Taliban commander who has vowed to deploy suicide bombers against her after she lands in Karachi. The menace has sparked elaborate security precautions including the provision of bullet-proof vehicles and sophisticated jamming devices. But in a telephone interview Ms Bhutto said she felt the real danger came from Jihadist elements of the country’s military establishment opposed to her return.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has accepted that the Communist Party he leads has fallen short of the people’s expectations. Speaking at the start of the party’s 17th congress, he also lashed out at officials who were extravagant, wasteful and corrupt. President Hu’s criticism came as he assessed the party’s recent performance in front of senior leaders.
Oct. 16, 2007
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Fight among Sri Lanka’s military and the LTTE rebels goes on as usual and amid such fight six soldiers have been killed and two are missing after rebels attacked an army outpost in the south east. Another lost his life when a tractor driven by solders hit a landmine while going to collect the casualties. Much of the fighting in Sri Lanka is usually confined to the north where the rebels control a swathe of territory. There are no reports that there were any rebel casualties in the latest outbreak of fighting.
Japan has tightened its hand on Burma against recent military action against pro-democracy riots. Japan is halting $4.7m (’2.3m) in funding for a human resources centre in Burma to put economic pressure on the military government there. The move follows the death of a Japanese journalist during the Burmese military’s bloody suppression of anti-government protests last month. It reflected Japan’s “strong concerns” over the situation, a minister said. The EU upped sanctions on Burma and the US urged “consequential” action against its leaders.
Beijing has strongly urged US President George W Bush to cancel a planned meeting with the Dalai Lama as it would “seriously damage” relations between the two. Mr. Bush is due to host Tibet’s spiritual leader at the White House. Mr. Bush is due to attend a ceremony at the US Capitol where the Dalai Lama will receive a Congressional Gold Medal, a top US civilian award. It will be the first time a sitting president will have appeared in public with the 72-year-old Buddhist leader.
A landmark nuclear deal between India and US seems at the edge of breaking as the communists who are supporting the ruling Congress party form outside is not willing to settle down for anything less than breaking it. With that it has become difficult for the ruling party to go ahead with this deal as there are threats to the Govt. to fall short of MP’s in the Parliament. Thus for avoiding the early elections the deal goes in the dustbin, as it seems now. And Now Indian PM briefs President Bush on the deal that he might be postponing the deal as of now.
Oct. 17, 2007
Fulfilling her promise and ending eight years of self-imposed exile, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would return to Pakistan through the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday. “I say a prayer as I prepare to leave and I pray that God give me the strength and the wisdom to bring democracy to my country and to end extremism; to provide food, clothing and shelter, and fulfill the aspirations of the great people of my country who deserve a better future than they have had in the past.” This is what Bhutto prayed. Amen! More than a million people will gather in Karachi on Thursday to welcome her back. Ahead of her arrival police have sealed roads and readied bomb disposal squads amid fears Islamic militants could try to kill her.
Burma’s leaders say they will continue searching for protesters who took part in the recent anti-government uprising. According to a statement in an official newspaper, almost 3,000 people have been detained since the government began its crackdown on the protests. The statement added that only 500 were still in custody, but diplomats believe the numbers detained are far higher.
Japan’s ruling party approved a new anti-terrorism bill that would extend a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean but curtail Tokyo’s support for combat operations in Afghanistan by U.S.-led forces. The new bill would limit Japanese ships to refueling and supplying water to ships on anti-terrorism patrols, but does not allow them to refuel vessels involved in military operations, such as attacks, as well as other activities including rescue operations and humanitarian relief. The bill did not specify how to determine which vessels are directly involved in attacks on Afghanistan or Iraq.
Oct. 18, 2007
Sri Lankan troops killed at least 20 Tamil Tigers in heavy fighting near a “border” that separates government and rebel-held terrain in northern Sri Lanka overnight. In a separate incident at sea off the northwestern district of Mannar, three people were killed in a clash between the Navy and the rebels’ naval wing, but it was not immediately clear whether the dead were insurgents or civilians. Army soldiers defending the Wanni Defense lines... continued their pre-emptive operations immediately ahead of their Defense lines, killing at least 20 LTTE terrorists. It said two soldiers were also wounded.
Benazir Bhutto made a dramatic return to Pakistan ending eight years of exile to launch an ambitious political comeback, as tens of thousands of supporters gathered to greet her amid massive security. Bhutto, who is expected to seek the premiership for an unprecedented third time and partner in ruling Pakistan with U.S.-backed President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was in tears as she descended the steps of a commercial flight that brought her from Dubai to Karachi, where jubilant crowds of flag-waving, drum-thumping supporters waited to give her a rousing welcome.
The top NATO commander in Afghanistan alleged that the Iranian military was involved in a shipment of sophisticated explosive devices intercepted by his troops in western Afghanistan last month. U.S. Army Gen. Dan McNeill, the commander of NATO’s 40,000-strong International Security Assistance Force confirmed that it contained a number of advanced technology improvised explosive devices. This weapons convoy clearly, geographically, originated in Iran. It is difficult for me to conceive that this convoy could have originated in Iran and come to Afghanistan, without at least the knowledge of the Iranian military, and no details were provided of the evidence underlying the accusation.
October 19, 2007
The suicide attack that killed up to 136 people and shattered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s joyous return from exile bore the hallmarks of a warlord tied to al-Qaida and the Taliban. Forensic experts studied a severed head to determine the bomber’s identity Baitullah Mehsud ‘ a top militant leader on the unstable Afghan border ‘ threatened this month to meet Bhutto’s return to Pakistan with suicide attacks. An associate of Mehsud, however, denied Taliban involvement.
A huge bomb ripped through a shopping mall in the Philippine capital’s financial district killing eight people and injuring 99. Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall in the Makati district of Manila as smoke billowed out of the building shortly after noon. Manila police chief Geary Barias confirmed that the blast killed eight people, all Filipinos, and wounded at least 99 others, including two South Koreans and a Chinese citizen. Twenty-one of the wounded have been sent home from hospital.
Oct. 20, 2007
Bush ratcheted up pressure on the military junta in Burma in response to its violent crackdown on democracy protests, imposing a new round of sanctions and calling on China, India and other regional powers to help force the ruling generals to stop their vicious persecution. The people of Burma are showing great courage in the face of immense repression. They are appealing for our help. We must not turn a deaf ear to their cries.
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Seven people were killed and 15 others were injured when a bomb exploded in a market in troubled Baluchistan province in the latest violence to hit Pakistan. The blast happened as passengers were waiting at a mini-van stand in the main market in Dera Bugti town in the southwestern province, which is in the grip of a low-level insurgency. There was a bomb explosion in the main bazaar and seven people were killed and six are wounded.
