Pak 'Peace Bus'

A delegation of women from Pakistan will be visiting India early next month in a “bus of peace" mission to build the pressure of public opinion on the two countries to make peace. The 64-member delegation, to be led by Pakistan Human Rights Commission chief Asma Jahangir, will comprise social activists, lawyers, writers, Journalists, academicians, students, entrepreneurs and film personalities.

Koirala's Confession

PRIME Minister Girija Prasad Koirala while addressing his party cadres and economists on April 30 confessed that the major reason behind lack-lustre development in the postdemocracy decade was selfishness among the political parties. He said all the political parties, including Nepali Congress of which he is the President. Just concentrated on the interest.of the party and cadres, and has not cared about the country.. '7“:

Caught in Cameras

A team of researchers led by Nepali expert Dr Prahlad Yonzon las successfully caught a tiger in their cameras at an elevation of 3.000 meters in central Bhutan’s ThrumsingLa National Park. The tiger was photographed on April 11. "This is the first photographic evidence supporting the presence of a Royal Bengal Tiger at such an high altitude.- Dr Yonzon. a wildlife expert at Resources Himalaj'a in Kathmandu said. The team also found evidences of the endangered big cat s movements above 4.000-meter elevation.

LTTE Claims Pallai

T'AKING Sri Lanka's northern offensive closer to Jaffna, the LTTE on Sunday claimed control over Pallai. a crucial town north of Elephant Pass. The rebels, in a statement, said the well-fortified garrison town fell Sunday evening around 6 p.m. after 12 hours of fighting. The special commando units of the LTTE, backed by heavy artillery and mortar bombardments, launched a multi-pronged attack on the central military base at Pallai in the early hours of the morning. After intense fighting, the commandos stormed into the military base.

The Region This Week

Mujib-Indira Agreement

BANGLADESH has impressed upon the need, on April 27. for an early ratification by India of the Mujib-Indira agreement on land boundary between the two countries. Tills message was conveyed to India during the two-day Home Sec ret ary-level talks in Delhi. J

NDEB Offers Peace Talks

A separatist tribal guerilla group National Democratic Front /\of Bodoland in India's far eastern state of Assam has ap-proached the military with an offer of peace talks to end a 20-year armed insurgency. More than 10.000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past 20 years. The army authorities in India said they would provide safe passage to NDFB leaders willing to attend any meeting with government representatives. While the door for peace talks has been kept open, army operations have been further intensified to put pressure on the rebels.

No' to Oslo Initiative

T'AMIL Tigers In Srl Lanka on Saturday last have rejected all peace overtures, leaving the government with no option but to try to defeat them in the battle field. The government soldiers have suffered humiliating losses in a month-long battle in which at least 370 government soldiers were killed and nearly 2.000 others were injured. Lanka defence ministry has. however, claimed over 1.000 rebel fatalities.

Blame It on Pokhran

VILLAGERS living close to India's nuclear test site have blamed the atomic blasts of two years ago for the drought now crippling the northern desert state of Rajasthan. Some 220,000 people living In villages surrounding the Pokhran site — 530 kilometre west of New Delhi — are in one of the areas worst affected by the most severe drought to strike the state in 40 years.

Lanka's SOS

SRI Lanka has sought on Sunday urgent supplies of arms from at least seven countries, as President Kumaratunga vowed to 'protractedly and relentlessly’ pursue advancing Tamil Tigers. Officials have begun meeting manufacturers' representatives from Russia. Britain. Pakistan. Iran, the Czech Republic. Israel and Singapore.

Bharatpur Blaze

THE fire in the Bharatpur ammunition depot in India, which destroyed between 8.000 to 10.000 tonnes of ammunition, has been put out. with no random explosions taking place since Saturday evening. "The situation is under control and the fire has been put out. The last explosion as a result of bursting of shells took place at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday." a Defence Ministry spokesman said, quoting Lt. Gen. S.K Bhatnagar, who heads the ordnance services.

Uzbek President's in Delhi

UZBEK President Islam Karimovs two-day state visit to

India took place in the backdrop of mounting concern in the Central Asian region over religious extremism and terrorism that is posing a serious challenge to the governments there. Like India, most countries in the Central Asian region, including Uzbekistan, are in agreement that the radical forces seeking to destabilise established governments have to be isolated and there is need to build a broad international coalition. Including India, to combat the twin menace. Uzbekistan, which is playing a leading role in this regard, wants Russia, China and the US also, besides India, to be part of such a coalition. The presidents of Uzbekistan. Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan met in Tashkent on April 21 and signed a security pact to Jointly combat terrorism, political and religious extremism and organised trans-border crimes. The meeting took place in the wake of a series of extremist attacks in the region in recent months.

Girija in Trouble

The main opposition in Nepal — Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist and Leninist — has threatened to disrupt the next session of parliament unless a government minister allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a party activist is removed. The Nepali Congress has assureddhe NCP-UML high command that those involved in the kidnapping will be severely punished. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has constituted a high level committee to deal with the dispute, but the opposition has refused any negotiation until the minister is sacked.

For a Harsher Destiny?

THOUSANDS of villagers in northern India are leaving their homes in the face of a terrible drought that has brought the threat of famine in the region. Even the toughened Rajsthan herders, used to a harsh life In Thar desert, arc abandoning their homes. Most of them are heading towards Punjab.

Never Again

PAKISTAN said on last Friday that New Delhi and Islamabad should work towards reducing tensions along the Line of Control. It also warned that otherwise there may be a full fledged war between the two countries. Pakistani Foreign Minister. Abdul Sattar, said in an interview with the CNN: We have had experiences in the past where disproportionate reactions started a cycle of escalation ending in war neither side wanted."

UN Withdraws from Jaffna

N FTER more intense fighting between Sri Lankan Zigovemment forces and Tamil Tigers in the northern Jaffna peninsula, the UN on Friday last decided to pull out its mine clearing team from the war-torn region. Over two hundred government soldiers were killed while withdrawing from the Elephant Pass, now In the hands of LTTE. The Tamils have vowed to retake Jaffna. However, UNHCR — which has 65 staffs based In Jaffna — said it was not sure of withdrawing Its workers ns well. .. by Eknwl Kabir