In Asia there are great upheavals taking place and the whole continent is in making. The major upheavals are taking place in Burma, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In this week there are some major incidents in Asia that are reported hereunder.
October 8, 2007
Violence in the Northern Pakistan continues. At least 58 people, including 16 soldiers, were killed in two battles between militants and troops in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas. In an operation against the militants, security forces attacked militant bases and hide-outs in the North Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan. In this attack at least 20 militants and 6 soldiers were killed, and that 6 soldiers were wounded.
A helicopter escorting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has crashed killing four soldiers Gen Musharraf was traveling in another helicopter on the visit to Pakistani-administered Kashmir and was unhurt.
The vigorous battle between Sri Lankan Navy and LTTE continues. Working on credible information, Sri Lankan Navy destroyed a ship reportedly carrying arms for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam off the country’s southern coast. The attack took place in the Indian Ocean, at the high seas off Dondra Head, of the southern coastal tip of Sri Lanka this morning.
October 9, 2007
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Rains in Vietnam are causing havoc as at least fifty-one people were presumed dead and 14 others declared missing in one of the most severe floods to hit Vietnam over the past 45 years.. The flooding, triggered by torrential rain on October 4, rampaged through the country’s northern and central regions with Nghe An province suffering the biggest casualties with 22 deaths and three missing.
Pakistan Crackdown on Taliban militants continues at Afghan-Pakistan border. In the gun battle that continued for three days almost 200 people have been killed in three days of fighting between the Pakistani army and militants near the Afghan border, military officials said today. The battles in the lawless North Waziristan region have left 150 militants and 45 soldiers dead, with up to 15 troops listed as missing.
Japan has extended economic sanctions on North Korea, citing a lack of progress in a row over Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang. The measures - which ban imports from North Korea and visits by its ships - will continue for another six months. A top official said Japan was seeking advances on both the abduction and nuclear issues.
Taliban is getting the hold in Pakistan and Afghanistan and are repeatedly attacking the police forces. In such incident about 100 Taliban stormed a remote police post, sparking lengthy exchanges which left 10 militants and a policeman dead, while four rebels died elsewhere. After 11 hours of fighting overnight in the western province of Farah, the attackers left three bodies at the scene and took the rest with them.
The contentious issue of nuclear deal between India and US has entered in a sensational phase. India’s troubled coalition held fresh talks over a contentious nuclear energy pact with the United States that has threatened to tear the government apart and force early polls. The meeting between the dominant Congress party and its left-wing allies overshadowed the start of a three-day visit by UN atomic energy Chief Mohammed El Baradei, amid warnings that the government is on the brink of collapse.
October 10, 2007
Image US envoy to UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, called on military junta of Burma that it should now prepare for a transition of power involving opposition activists and international mediators. He also stressed that the military rulers should now begin talks with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
NATO and Afghan troops clashed with Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan leaving eight suspected militants dead and three detained. The clashes occurred in Zhari district of Kandahar province and there were no casualties among NATO or Afghan forces in the fighting.
Pakistani crackdown on the militants in the Waziristan continues and 50 Taliban added today which raised the tally to 250. The army has reported the deaths of up to 200 militants and 47 troops in five days of clashes, the deadliest since Pakistan threw its support behind the US-led “war on terror” in 2001. With this about 10,000 people from Mir Ali and surrounding villages had of the tumultuous region have abandoned their homes. As army is blocking the roads people had walked through the mountains to safer towns.
October 11, 2007
Around 5,000 flag-waving Maoist supporters marched and chanted anti-monarchy slogans near parliament as Nepal’s main parties and the rebels prepared to resolve a deadlocked peace process. But the factions remained at odds ahead of a special parliament session aimed at paving the way towards country’s new political future, while hundreds of armed police looked on just before the meeting began.
Pakistani tribal elders tried to broke out a formal ceasefire between militants and the army following some of the bloodiest clashes along the Afghan border for six years. The talks were being held in Miranshah, the main town in the lawless tribal zone of North Waziristan, after days of fierce fighting that officials say left around 250 people dead, including 47 soldiers.
China has complained to the United States over a decision to award exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama a US Congressional Gold Medal. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule of Tibet in 1959, is branded by China as a “separatist.” The Nobel Peace Prize winner says he only wants greater autonomy for the predominately Buddhist Himalayan region.
October 12, 2007
A bomb exploded at a famous Muslim shrine in northern India killing at least two people and wounding 17 others ahead of one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. The blast at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a 12th century Sufi Muslim saint, took place just after dusk as hundreds of men and women broke the daily fasts they observe during the holy month of Ramadan. The explosion appeared to have been caused by a small bomb packed inside a lunch box, said S. Sengthir, police superintendent in Ajmer, where the shrine is located.
The UN Security Council has adopted a statement deploring Burma’s military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. The agreement came after China lifted its objections to a statement first drafted by the US, UK and France. It represents the first time that 15-nation body has taken any formal action over Burma.
As Bhutto defies Musharraf’s plea to postpone her arrival in Pakistan, a new twist comes in the Pakistani politics. After leaving Musharraf in standstill over his election, now Pakistan’s Supreme Court is to rule on whether a government amnesty lifting corruption charges against former PM Benazir Bhutto is legal. The amnesty was one of Ms Bhutto’s conditions for her return to Pakistan next Thursday ahead of a possible power sharing deal with President Musharraf.
October 13, 2007
Pakistan is urging former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to delay her return from exile until the Supreme Court rules on a government amnesty on corruption charges against her. Govt. defends its plea with the argument that it is in Bhutto’s political interest to wait for the court to confirm the amnesty. The amnesty, signed last week by President Pervez Musharraf, ended all corruption cases filed against Ms. Bhutto and other politicians dating from 1985 to 1999.
UN concerns over Sri Lanka rights UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has criticized Sri Lanka’s rights record, questioning the government’s readiness to improve it. She was speaking at the end of a visit to the country which is once again in the throes of civil war.The government rejected her call for UN human rights monitors to be deployed. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, there have been over 1,000 recent abductions. The government says many reported cases are false.
Myanmar’s military regime rejected a U.N. statement calling for negotiations with the opposition. The impoverished country’s main opposition party, however, urged the ruling generals to comply with United Nations demands for negotiations with pro-democracy forces and ethnic minorities, and the release of political prisoners. State-run TV and radio issued a statement Friday saying that conditions in Myanmar — a reference to the anti-government protests that were violently suppressed by troops late last month — were not the concern of the outside world.
