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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 2, No. 43, May 10, 2004
Data and
assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form
with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal
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Political Impasse
Guest Writer: Deepak Thapa
Kathmandu-based Journalist and Editor
When King Gyanendra asked Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa
for his resignation on May 7, 2004, a little over 11 months
after he had assumed office, it was long overdue. Appointed
Prime Minister on June 4, 2003, Thapa had said that his
priority would be to put together a political consensus
and continue the dialogue with the rebel Communist Party
of Nepal (Maoist),
which had been observing a ceasefire with the Government
since January earlier that year. Agreement with the political
parties proved elusive, while the Maoists called off the
truce in August 2003 and resumed their 'people's war'.
His predecessor, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, had called it quits
following the heat generated by the movement launched by
a group of five political parties on May 7, 2003, even though
his Government had already had two rounds of talks with
the Maoists. The parties, which represent the majority in
the Parliament dissolved in May 2002, have been agitating
against the King's assumption of executive authority, the
dismissal of the duly elected Prime Minister in October
2002, and the appointment of hand-picked Prime Ministers,
namely, Chand and Thapa.
Surya Bahadur Thapa had claimed that the five parties' call
for the restitution of representative Government had been
fulfilled upon his ascension to prime ministership, a record
fifth time. But he found no takers, not even within his
own party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), within
which dissent was voiced from the moment he named his Cabinet.
As for the Opposition alliance, after months of ineffectual
demonstrations, it launched a major protest programme on
April 1, 2004, which has gained momentum to embrace various
non-political organisations and which has witnessed pitched
battles between the police and protestors in downtown Kathmandu
for over a month.
In his resignation speech, Thapa said, "I individually made
efforts for dialogue, consensus and joint work. But it was
all in vain due to the obstinacy of agitating parties."
It was not only the political parties that were putting
pressure on the Government. International opinion, especially
European opinion, has decidedly been very critical of the
Government, especially with regard to the legitimacy of
the Thapa Government and the grave violation of human rights
by its Armed Forces in the ongoing conflict.
The Government has persistently refused to sign the 'Principles
of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law' drawn up by the National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) during the last ceasefire
- as, indeed, have the Maoists. But on the eve of the meeting
of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in April,
the Government did announce a 'Human Rights Commitment'.
While that was clearly intended to take the heat off at
the meeting, it did not prevent Nepal from being called
upon to work with the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
In Geneva, a Swiss-sponsored motion indicting Nepal's human
rights record was reportedly scuttled by the US, which,
along with India, has been providing military support to
the Nepali army. But when donors met in Kathmandu on May
5-6, under the World Bank-sponsored Nepal Development Forum
(NDF) 2004, to decide on assistance to the Government's
poverty reduction strategy, they had their say. The day
before the meeting began, a group consisting of Canada,
Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany,
the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom,
stated that their support was contingent on the reactivation
of the democratic process, an immediate ceasefire and resumption
of negotiations with the Maoists, and a regard for human
rights.
Although the statement also appealed to the CPN-Maoists
"to renounce violence" and "to commit to respect the human
rights of all people", the thrust of the message was aimed
at the Government. Amnesty International also put pressure
on the donors to "urge the Nepal Government to sign the
proposed Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
which provides for technical assistance and capacity building
to Nepal's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to enable
it to take on an enhanced monitoring and protection role."
The Government responded by approving a 'Human Rights National
Workplan' to be implemented by the NHRC from the next fiscal
year, but it was not enough to stave off criticism at the
donor meeting. Even the normally staid World Bank spoke
out with its South Asia Region Vice President, Praful Patel,
terming Nepal's political crisis a three-way conflict, in
which all sides are "doing things that are inimical to development,
such as human rights abuses…" He warned that "alarms have
been sounded in the international community that Nepal may
be heading the way of another 'failed state'."
It had become obvious in the run-up to the NDF that King
Gyanendra was getting ready to give Thapa the boot. The
King had begun consultations with various personalities,
including insignificant politicians, in an attempt to find
a way out of the impasse created by the agitations on the
streets, and seemed to be waiting for the NDF to end. But
the five-party alliance had stood firm on not meeting the
King until a 'suitable environment' has been created. They
are still wary of the King's intentions even after Thapa's
ouster, especially given his insistence on someone with
a 'clean image' to head the next Government and lead the
country to elections. The parties believe that the King
could once again make another appointment that would be
unacceptable to them, and have not yet called off their
protests.
The political demonstrations that began more than a month
ago have been characterised by a high degree of sloganeering
against the monarchy and advocacy for the establishment
of a republic. The five parties themselves have committed
themselves to clipping many royal powers and prerogatives
through a reform agenda unveiled last year. That could yet
prove to be a stumbling block between any rapprochement
between the palace and the parties.
A clear picture of the political situation is yet to emerge,
but no matter who heads the Government, the one constant
will not change - the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency. The
political parties have indicated that they will bring the
Maoists into the mainstream through negotiations. But political
imperatives have always impelled Governments in a different
direction. Surya Bahadur Thapa, in his farewell speech,
himself reiterated that "the resolution of Maoist problem
should be sought through peaceful means" even though his
Government's own policies were quite the opposite. There
have been peace overtures from the rebel side but the Government
and the Army has viewed these moves with skepticism, and
have claimed that the Maoists are talking peace as a ruse
to regroup once more for another round of fighting. Meanwhile,
there is no break in the violence and the death toll continues
to rise beyond the 2,500 already killed since the breakdown
of the ceasefire on August 27, 2003.
Peace Process:
An Opportunistic Resumption
Guest Writer: Jehan Perera
Media Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka
The invitation issued by President Chandrika Kumaratunga
to the Government of Norway to resume its facilitative services
and seek to recommence the peace talks with the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
offers fresh hope of a forward movement in the stalled Sri
Lankan peace process. The President's action is a confirmation
that the results of the General Election did not constitute
a rejection of the peace process that has been stalled for
over a year. The election-time rhetoric now appears discarded.
During their election campaigns, the President and her allies
bitterly criticised the former Government for working along
with the Norwegians to 'betray the country' to the LTTE.
The latter half of the former United National Front (UNF)
Government's two year period in office was marked by an
increasingly aggressive display of Sinhalese nationalism,
in which members of the present Government played a prominent
role. Nationalist political parties such as the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Sihala Urumaya took the lead
in organising demonstrations and marches against the peace
process in general and the Norwegian facilitators in particular.
But President Kumaratunga and her party members also stridently
criticized the peace process, while some of them even joined
in the organised mass protests by the JVP-led nationalist
coalition that opposed the peace process.
By the time of the General Election in April 2004, the peace
process conducted by the UNF Government had been thoroughly
discredited in the eyes of most of the Sinhalese electorate.
Emboldened by this popular response, the JVP promised to
scrap the Ceasefire Agreement in its entirety or renegotiate
it on a basis that was advantageous to the Government. They
also pledged to get rid of the Norwegian facilitators, who
they said were biased towards the LTTE, and whose effigies
they burnt. Mainstream opposition politicians routinely
rejected the notion of the LTTE as sole representative of
the Tamil people, criticised the absence of separate Muslim
representation at the peace talks and rejected the LTTE's
proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA)
as a blueprint for separation.
It is in this context that the turnaround by the JVP, the
President and the rest of the new Government is quite astonishing,
if viewed in the prism of principled politics. The resurgence
of faith in the peace process after the election of the
new Government has been unexpected to say the least. The
condemnation of the very same peace process reached a crescendo
during the election campaign in March 2004. But the irony
is that, a mere three months later, the very same politicians
who vociferously rejected the peace process and the way
it was conducted, are following the footsteps of those they
condemned, and whose positions they have now secured. And
the opposition United National Party (UNP) is pointing this
out to the people.
Today, the anti-peace propagandists of the JVP, the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and other parties that form the
new United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government,
are extremely quiet at a time when the peace process is
moving forward in full swing. The Norwegian facilitators
have been flying in on a weekly basis, and at the highest
levels, that includes the Norwegian Foreign Minister. The
new Government has pledged to uphold the much maligned Ceasefire
Agreement, and there is no talk of either scrapping the
agreement or renegotiating it.
There are three practical reasons why President Kumaratunga
and her Government are backtracking on their election rhetoric
and getting down to business with the LTTE, even to the
extent of accepting the rebel group as the sole representatives
of the Tamil people. The first is that they won the election,
and being in power, they need to address the main problem
that faces the country if they are to remain in power. They
skillfully criticised the former UNP Government's compromises
to bring peace to the country and discredited the UNP.
The second reason is the need to tap into the donor resources
pledged at the Tokyo donor conference in June 2002. The
donor countries, led by Japan, pledged a massive USD 4.5
billion in aid, but its release was made conditional upon
the progress in the peace process. Although some of that
aid has been sent to Sri Lanka, much of it remains to be
disbursed. The new Government, which has ambitious plans
for welfare economics, would like to have its resources
supplemented by those of the international community. There
is no better way to do this than by carrying the peace process
forward.
The third reason for the new Government's resumption of
the peace process is the arithmetic in Parliament, which
became glaringly obvious with the defeat of the Government's
candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament. That
defeat sent shock waves through the Government, and it was
brought to realise that it was but a minority Government.
If it were to pass any legislation, it would need some of
the opposition parties to either join it as coalition partners
or at least to remain neutral in parliamentary voting. For
instance, should the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) remain
neutral in Parliament, the Government will retain a majority
vote. Success in the peace process, and a satisfied LTTE,
could do much to ensure that the TNA will not vote with
the Opposition.
According to the Norwegian facilitators, both the new Government
and the LTTE are eager for peace talks to resume. But the
price that the LTTE will exact is likely to be high. The
LTTE has been insisting that the peace talks should be on
the basis of their proposals for an ISGA that they presented
to the former Government on October 31, 2003. These proposals
called for far reaching autonomy. However, a few days after
these proposals made their appearance, Foreign Minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar, then in the opposition, made a comprehensive
critique and said that they laid "the legal foundation for
a future, separate, sovereign state."
However, the change of heart that the new Government appears
to have undergone on the issues of Norwegian facilitation
and the Ceasefire Agreement also seem to have carried over
to the LTTE's ISGA proposal. When the Government states
that it is prepared to negotiate from where the former Government
left off, and when the LTTE states that peace talks must
be on the basis of the ISGA, it is evident that the ISGA
will be the focus of the forthcoming peace talks. The question
is whether the Sri Lankan polity will take this type of
fundamental reversals of position without generating a backlash.
The people who voted for the parties now constituting the
Government on account of their anti-peace process and anti-Norwegian
rhetoric, are likely to feel betrayed.
Over the past two years, the JVP and other Sinhalese nationalists
demanded the withdrawal of the Norwegians from the peace
process. They did not suggest an alternative, other than
to imply that they could militarily defeat the LTTE if they
were given the chance. Soon after assuming office, the new
Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, said that India should
play a greater role in Sri Lanka's peace process. The Sri
Lankan Foreign Minister has also suggested that India could
play a greater role in the economic development of the North
East. There will, no doubt, be much support from sections
of the polity for an enhanced Indian role, to counter-balance
the dominance of Norway and other western countries in the
peace process.
It is also reasonable to believe that India was not happy
with the entry of so many foreign powers into the Sri Lankan
peace process in an area that it considers to be its area
of geo-political concern. However, it is necessary to realize
that India cannot play the role that Norway is playing.
India has the heavy baggage of its past to overcome, both
in terms of having been clearly partisan to one side or
the other, and also in having tried to mediate in Sri Lanka's
conflict and having failed.
Moreover, a facilitator or mediator needs to be acceptable
to both parties. It cannot be acceptable to one party or
one side alone. At the time of the President's invitation
to Norway to mediate in the ethnic conflict in 2000, and
over the past two years, Norway's good offices were acceptable
to both the Sri Lankan Government and to the LTTE. It is
apparent from the present invitation to Norway to resume
its facilitative role that it continues to be acceptable
to the dominant section of the Sri Lankan Government, led
by the President, and to the LTTE.
It is, on the other hand, unlikely that India, whatever
its merits, will be acceptable to the LTTE as a facilitator
at this time. India has banned the LTTE as a terrorist organisation
and its courts have a warrant out for the LTTE leader for
the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi. While India's present attitude towards the LTTE
is its own internal issue, it does mean that India cannot
be thought of as a facilitator in the present peace process.
Certainly, however, India's geo-political concerns need
to be given priority by Sri Lanka's Governments. For its
part, India is likely to feel more comfortable with the
present Government than it was with the last - the UNP was
more favorably oriented towards the western countries than
towards India.
How the opposition UNP responds to the Government's present
endeavours is also crucial. In South Asia, generally, opposition
parties have not been prepared to accept their rival's victories
for a fixed term in office. Instead, they have done their
utmost to engineer a premature fall of the Government. The
opposition UNP has already been attempting to corner the
new Government on its new policy on the peace process. Instead
of supporting the new Government in taking the peace process
forward, the UNP is asking the Government to explain the
reversal of its position hardly a month after coming to
power.
At this critical juncture, it is important that those who
wish to see the peace process move forward, should learn
from the mistakes of the last Government. A most important
lesson would be to bring the opposition into the peace process
as a willing and equal partner. This would certainly mean
that the new Government would have to give up some of its
own plans in deference to the concerns of the opposition.
An example would be the President's ambition to ram through
constitutional changes without the support of the opposition,
in order to ensure her own political future beyond the two
term limit of her presidency.
Every textbook approach to conflict resolution calls for
inclusivity in the peace process, so that all the main actors
in society can become stakeholders in the process. The Sri
Lankan peace process, which began in earnest with the signing
of the Ceasefire Agreement in February 2002, has had no
place in it for the opposition. To make matters worse, under
the last regime, the opposition included the country's powerful
Executive President. Despite her party's defeat at the general
election of December 2001, President Kumaratunga continued
to be an integral part of governance. Nevertheless, the
Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002 was signed without
the knowledge of the President.
The Norwegian facilitators, as much as the leaders of the
last Government, need to take responsibility for this major
flaw in the peace process. Their concern at that time was
President Kumaratunga's unpredictable nature, and they feared
she might have jeopardised the fine-tuning of the Ceasefire
Agreement. This genuine concern was coupled with the desire
of the members of the last Government to monopolise the
peace process and leave nothing in it for the opposition.
However, with nothing in it for them, the opposition went
on a propaganda spree against the peace process. They mobilised
Sinhalese nationalism and Sinhalese fears of a betrayal
of the nation that led to the convincing defeat of the previous
Government in the Sinhalese-majority parts of the country.
The Norwegian facilitators, together with the Government
and LTTE, need to ensure that, this time around, there is
a greater degree of inclusivity in the peace process.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts
in South Asia
May 3-9, 2004
  |
Civilian
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorist
|
Total
|
BANGLADESH
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
INDIA
|
Assam
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
Jammu
&
Kashmir
|
9
|
3
|
25
|
37
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
8
|
Manipur
|
1
|
0
|
9
|
10
|
Tripura
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Total (INDIA)
|
13
|
6
|
41
|
60
|
NEPAL
|
18
|
12
|
21
|
51
|
PAKISTAN
|
20
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
SRI LANKA
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
Police
supports
vigilante
Islamist
group
in
the
northwest:
According
to
a
report
in
Daily
Star,
in
the
northwestern
districts
of
Rajshahi,
Naogaon,
Natore
and
Bogra,
a
vigilante
Islamist
group
called
Jagrota
Muslim
Janata
Bangladesh
(JMJB)
was
formed
in
April
2004.
The
JMJB
is
alleged
to
kill
people
in
the
name
of
'anti-outlaw
operations',
force
women
to
wear
the
Hijab
(veil)
and
men
to
grow
beards,
reportedly
with
police
collusion.
The
police
are
alleged
to
be
supporting
the
outfit
headed
by
Azizur
Rahman
alias
Bangla
Bhai,
which
has
started
a
drive
to
'cleanse'
leftist
outlaws.
It
has
thus
far
allegedly
killed
seven
persons
and
assaulted
hundreds
of
others
who
oppose
them,
terming
them
as
Sarbahara
(outlaw).
However,
Rahman
while
denying
the
charges
has
claimed
that
his
group
has
300,000
activists
across
the
country.
Daily
Star,
May
7,
2004.
INDIA
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
chief
Abdur
Rasheed
Pir
killed
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir:
The
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
(HM)
'chief
commander
of
operations',
Abdur
Rasheed
Pir
alias
Gazi
Shahabuddin,
was
shot
dead
during
an
encounter
with
the
Jammu
and
Kashmir
Police
in
the
Maharaj
Ganj
area
of
capital
Srinagar
on
May
6,
2004.
Pir
was
the
third
successive
'chief
commander
of
operations'
of
the
Hizb
killed
in
the
last
13
months.
In
charge
of
all
the
operations
of
Hizb
in
the
State,
Pir
was
allegedly
responsible
for
many
terrorist
strikes.
Meanwhile,
the
HM
has
reportedly
confirmed
the
killing
and
appointed
one
Gazi
Misbah-ud-din
as
the
new
head
of
its
operations
in
the
State.
State
Police
Chief
Gopal
Sharma
informed
the
media
in
Srinagar
that
as
many
as
31
senior
'commanders'
of
the
HM,
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
and
Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM)
have
been
killed
by
the
troops
in
the
last
18
months.
Daily
Excelsior,
May
7,
2004.
72
NLFT
terrorists
surrender
in
Tripura:
On
May
6,
2004,
seventy-two
terrorists
of
the
breakaway
Biswamohan
Debbarma
faction
of
National
Liberation
Front
of
Tripura
(NLFT),
including
22
female
cadres,
led
by
their
self-styled
general
secretary
Mantu
Koloy
surrendered
before
the
Tripura
Governor
Dinesh
Nandan
Sahay
at
a
formal
ceremony
in
the
capital
Agartala.
The
other
top
'commanders'
who
laid
down
arms
included
self-styled
vice
president
Kamini
Debbarma,
'finance
secretary'
Bishnuprasad
Jamatia,
'assistant
finance
secretary'
Dhanu
Koloy,
'chief
of
army
staff'
Benoy
Debbarma
and
'deputy
army
chief'
Sanjiv
Debbarma.
In
a
written
statement
after
the
surrender,
Mantu
Koloy
while
indicating
that
they
were
misguided
to
take
up
armed
struggle
stated,
"Now
we
realize
that
constitution
of
India
is
an
ideal
framework
to
live
with
communal
harmony
and
to
ensure
development
especially
of
the
weaker
section".
Assam
Tribune,
May
7,
2004.
Civilian
killed
and
20
injured
amidst
18
grenade
attacks
on
polling
day
in
Kashmir:
In
the
third
phase
of
the
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
Parliament)
elections
on
May
5,
2004,
polling
was
held
in
the
Anantnag-Pulwama
constituency
amidst
a
series
of
terrorist
attacks
in
which
one
person
was
killed
and
at
least
20
others
sustained
injuries.
Preliminary
reports
indicated
that
there
was
a
16%
turnout
of
voters
in
the
constituency,
in
which
the
ruling
People's
Democratic
Party
president
and
daughter
of
the
Chief
Minister,
Mehbooba
Mufti,
is
in
the
fray.
In
the
Chief
Minister's
hometown
of
Bijbehara,
seven
persons,
including
five
police
personnel,
were
wounded
when
terrorists
hurled
a
hand
grenade
targeting
a
polling
booth.
At
Anantnag
town,
a
civilian
was
killed
and
three
others
were
injured
during
a
grenade
attack
in
the
KP
Road
area.
A
grenade
attack
on
a
Border
Security
Force
(BSF)
vehicle
was
reported
at
Arwani
in
Bijbehara
without
causing
any
damage.
Further,
one
BSF
personnel
was
wounded
during
a
grenade
attack
on
a
polling
station
in
Kokernag.
During
a
separate
grenade
attack
on
a
polling
station
in
the
Tral
area,
one
police
personnel
was
injured.
Three
BSF
personnel
and
two
more
persons
were
injured
in
a
separate
attack
on
a
polling
station
at
Largam
in
Tral.
A
girl
was
injured
when
two
terrorists
opened
fire
at
Neelora
in
Pulwama.
State
Director
General
of
Police
Gopal
Sharma
said
that
in
addition
to
the
above,
eleven
grenade
attacks
took
place
at
different
places,
but
that
no
one
was
injured
or
killed
in
these.
Daily
Excelsior,
May
6,
2004.
NEPAL
Prime
Minister
Surya
Bahadur
Thapa
resigns:
The
11-month-old
Surya
Bahadur
Thapa
led-Government
collapsed
on
May
7,
2004,
after
the
Prime
Minister
resigned.
During
an
address
to
the
nation,
Prime
Minister
Thapa
said,
"....I
have
decided
to
resign
from
today."
Citing
reasons
for
his
resignation,
Thapa
said
he
"did
not
want
the
current
political
impasse
in
the
country
to
continue."
While
indicating
that
"It
was
not
in
the
interest
of
the
country,
citizens
and
democracy
to
allow
such
a
situation
to
carry
on,"
the
Prime
Minister
added
that
he
resigned
"to
give
a
national
outlet"
to
the
current
political
standoff.
Nepal
News,
May
8,
2004.
Nepal
Development
Forum
meeting
concludes
in
Kathmandu:
Nepal's
donor
agencies
have
said
that
without
peace
there
can
be
no
meaningful
development
in
the
country.
Speaking
on
behalf
of
the
donor
agencies
at
a
meeting
of
Nepal
Development
Forum
(NDF)
on
May
5,
2004,
in
Kathmandu,
Praful
Patel,
Vice
President
of
the
World
Bank
for
South
Asia,
stated
that
"development
has
become
a
hostage
to
political
crisis
due
to
the
'triangular
conflict'
in
Nepal."
He
added
that
things
will
not
change
unless
the
monarchy,
parliamentary
parties
and
Maoists
come
to
a
compromise.
The
NDF
meeting
concluded
on
May
6
with
a
"tentative
commitment"
from
the
international
donors
to
provide
US
$
560
million
to
Nepal
for
the
next
year.
"We
have
received
an
'indicative'
commitment
of
560
million
dollars,"
Finance
Minister
Prakash
Chandra
Lohani
told
a
press
meet
in
Kathmandu
after
the
NDF
meeting.
Nepal
News,
May
7,
2004.
PAKISTAN
16
persons
killed
and
200
wounded
in
bomb
blast
at
Karachi
mosque:
At
least
15
Shia
worshippers
and
a
suspected
suicide
bomber
were
killed
and
over
200
persons
sustained
injuries
when
a
powerful
bomb
exploded
at
Hyderi
Mosque,
situated
within
the
premises
of
the
seminary
Sindh
Madrasa-tul-Islam,
in
the
Mithadar
area
of
Karachi
on
May
7,
2004.
The
explosion,
which
occurred
during
the
Friday
prayers,
is
reported
to
have
subsequently
triggered
unrest
in
the
city,
as
hundreds
of
youths
set
ablaze
cars,
a
petrol
pump
and
a
Government
office.
A
senior
police
official,
Manzoor
Mughal,
was
quoted
as
saying
that
"As
no
crater
was
found
in
the
mosque,
it
means
it
was
a
suicide
blast."
However,
no
group
or
individual
has
claimed
responsibility
for
the
attack.
Meanwhile,
the
Federal
Information
Minister
Sheikh
Rashid
Ahmed
said
Sunni
militants
might
be
behind
the
bombing.
Jang;
Daily
Times,
May
8,
2004.
Car
bomb
attack
kills
three
Chinese
engineers
in
Gwadar:
Three
Chinese
engineers
working
on
a
sea-port
project
were
killed
and
eleven
persons,
including
nine
Chinese
nationals,
sustained
injuries
in
a
car
bomb
attack
near
Gwadar,
about
500
kilometers
west
of
Karachi,
near
the
border
with
Iran
on
May
3,
2004.
The
attack
reportedly
occurred
early
in
the
morning
as
a
bus
carrying
at
least
12
Chinese
workers
was
proceeding
to
the
Gwadar
port.
According
to
Sattar
Lasi,
the
chief
of
police
in
Gwadar,
"A
car
was
parked
near
the
port
and
it
exploded
as
the
bus
reached
the
port.''
Police
suspect
that
it
could
either
be
the
work
of
Islamist
terrorists
or
hard-line
Baluchi
nationalists,
who
are
against
the
Gwadar
project.
The
engineers
were
working
on
a
sea-port
project
in
Gwadar
which
is
partly
aided
by
China.
This
is
the
first
major
attack
on
foreign
workers
since
a
suicide
bomber
killed
11
French
engineers
outside
the
Sheraton
Hotel
in
Karachi
on
May
8,
2002.
Dawn,
May
4,
2004.
Suspected
terrorists
detained
in
Turkey
were
trained
in
Pakistan:
A
group
of
suspected
terrorists
arrested
in
Turkey
on
suspicion
of
planning
an
attack
on
a
North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization
(NATO)
meeting
were
trained
in
Pakistan
and
were
planning
to
carry
out
a
suicide
mission
against
US
President
George
W.
Bush.
Turkish
press
reports
said
on
May
4,
2004,
that
the
suspects
were
allegedly
in
possession
of
Turkish-subtitled
video
cassettes
attributed
to
Osama
bin
Laden
calling
for
a
Jehad
against
America.
They
were
allegedly
planning
to
bomb
the
NATO
Summit
scheduled
for
June
28
and
29
in
Istanbul
where
Bush
and
other
world
leaders
will
attend,
according
to
police
sources
quoted
by
the
papers.
The
suspects
were
arrested
during
raids
by
Turkish
police
in
the
northwestern
city
of
Bursa,
though
no
dates
were
disclosed.
The
Hurriyet
and
Vatan
newspapers
said
that
several
suspects
underwent
physical
and
psychological
training
in
Pakistan
to
prepare
them
to
carry
out
a
suicide
attack.
Dawn,
May
5,
2004.
SRI
LANKA
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
ready
to
resume
peace
talks:
The
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE)
said
on
May
3,
2004,
that
they
were
ready
to
resume
peace
talks
with
the
Government
of
Sri
Lanka.
"The
Liberation
Tigers
are
fully
prepared
to
resume
the
negotiations
on
the
same
principles
and
atmosphere
as
it
did
with
the
previous
government
in
Colombo,"
the
Tamilnet
Website
quoted
the
Head
of
LTTE
Political
Wing,
S.P.
Thamilselvam,
as
informing
journalists
in
Kilinochchi.
Responding
to
a
question
on
how
soon
the
negotiations
would
resume,
he
said
that
talks
can
begin
when
the
Government
says
it
is
ready.
Daily
News,
May
4,
2004.
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