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From the Vol.1,No.6 issue of Electronic Intelligence Weekly
Asia News Digest

Pakistan-Based International Urdu Weekly Interviews LaRouche

The international Urdu weekly Takbeer, based in Karachi, Pakistan, has published an interview with American economist and Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche in its April 10 issue. Takbeer, a sister publication to the Urdu Times, is the largest Urdu magazine in the world, with a circulation of 100,000.

We reprint here in translation a short excerpt from the introductory section of the article:

"Mr. Lyndon LaRouche is a prospective candidate for a ticket from the Democratic Party for the 2004 Presidential election and despite the established political inclinations; he always introduces his revolutionary views. On account of these revolutionary views, he has also spent quite some time in jail and now that he is not in jail, he still spends most of his time in Europe rather than in America. Although Mr. LaRouche is in practice very active and mobile, yet the U.S. media have always ignored him. Nowadays, Mr. LaRouche is in Germany, and last week this correspondent had the opportunity to interview him over the telephone. It was a panel interview that involved other journalists besides this one, namely, Dr. Manzoor Aziz. Although throughout the 45-minute interview Mr. LaRouche touched on U.S. and international politics from all angles, yet his most favored topic was the events of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and its aftermath....

"Mentioning the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Lyndon LaRouche said that the attackers had the backing and the support of both present and former U.S. bureaucrats. He said that the purpose of the American bureaucrats participating in this conspiracy was to make an excuse of this kind of terrorism to initiate a war against Muslims and Islam. Mr. LaRouche declared that according to his knowledge, these attacks were not organized by any external force, but were in practice organized by senior U.S officials and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was on top of the list of these organizers."

World Bank Claims East Asia Leading 'Global Recovery'

In a World Bank press release of April 9 from Singapore, the Bank insists that "East Asia is leading the global recovery," based on the "anticipated rebound in global high-tech markets." This circular logic, Alice-in-Wonderland style, is then used to justify a call for: 1) opening up to more foreign takeovers; 2) squeezing labor costs ("bolstering productivity growth"); and 3) "fostering a stable, encouraging environment for consumers."

In case the meaning of this third point escapes anyone, the World Bank explains: Now that her economies are supposedly stable and growing, Asia must expand "consumer finance, mortgage, and insurance" so that "households would be enabled to reduce precautionary savings and enjoy more consumption" (!). That is, Asians should abandon their old-fashioned habit of saving, in favor of loading up their credit cards and becoming more consumer-oriented, to replicate the great success of the collapsing U.S. economy.

Vajpayee: India Would Back Cambodian-Run Trial of Khmer Rouge

According to April 10 New Delhi broadcasts from the BBC, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee says that India would support a Cambodian-run trial of the Khmer Rouge, the genocidal followers of Pol Pot who ruled Cambodia during the 1970s and killed millions of their countrymen.

Vajpayee was speaking during a visit to Cambodia, the first Indian Prime Minister to pay such a visit since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954. Vajpayee told reporters, upon arrival at Pochentong airport, that, if Cambodia decides to go ahead with a trial of senior Khmer Rouge leaders without United Nations support, India will send judges to participate in the trial--the first such declaration of support for a Cambodian-run tribunal, after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan withdrew United Nations support in March. Vajpayee declared, "We have traditional ties with Cambodia, and now is the time to give them new dynamism."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen responded that Phnom Penh supports India's candidacy for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and New Delhi's policy for peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir--the seething crisis involving India and Pakistan.

India, Thailand, Myanmar Agree to Joint Highway Project

India, Thailand, and Myanmar on April 6 agreed to a trilateral highway project to link the three nations. Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh--in Yangon, Myanmar, meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Thailand (Surakiart Sathirathai) and Myanmar (U Win Aung) in the first-ever transport meeting among these three countries--said the road network connecting the three countries would become a "highway of opportunity." Singh had just completed visits to Thailand and, importantly, to China.

The highway is to be completed within two years. India has already built a road link to Myanmar, which will now be extended, as the first full-scale road connection of India to Southeast Asia. The route is from New Delhi to Moreh in India, to Tamu on the border with Myanmar, to Kalemyo, Monywa, Mandalay in Myanmar, and Bangkok, Thailand.

The three countries proposed setting up a consortium to raise funds for infrastructure, transport, and other linkages. The three sides also agreed to cooperate on a highway from Kanchanburi in Thailand to Dawei deep seaport in Mynamar, and shipping routes to India.

"This trilateral project is in keeping with the inexorable process of our times. Distance and time are rapidly shrinking. We cannot afford to sit still," Singh said. "Let it facilitate not just the movement of goods and services but also ideas. Let it enrich the unbroken cultural continuity and ethos that our three countries share in common. Let us jointly begin the process of weaving our part of Asia together, through multi-modal infrastructural links."

India, Thailand, and Myanmar are members of the BIMST-EC grouping (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation), and partners in the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation project.

India-Myanmar-Thailand Project Important for Developing Northeast India

The India-Myanmar-Thailand road project will be crucial for developing Northeast India, wrote Hindu editor C. Raja Mohan on April 6. Mohan had accompanied Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh on his trip to China, Thailand, and Myanmar.

"India has looked east for nearly a decade. But now, it has got a new prism to shape that vision: the development of its own northeastern regions by linking them to Southeast Asia through a variety of transport links."

Foreign Minister Singh himself is very interested in this area: he served in the 1962 war with China, which flared along this border, and was at one time Northeast coordinator for India's ruling BJP Party.

"Focussing on road and rail links to Myanmar and Southeast Asia is a good idea whose time has come. For the Southeast Asian nations are looking at a variety of transport projects that link up the region with each other and the large Chinese and Indian markets," Mohan's commentary continued.

"India's emphasis on connecting the Northeast to the outside world could not have come at a more propitious time, for it is part of a larger project to build Eurasian land and rail corridors that could connect Singpore to Istanbul and Europe via both the Subcontinent and China."

Indonesia To Send Aid to the Palestinians

The April 10 issue of the Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia will send medical and financial aid to the Palestinians; the government has called for an end to the activities of those who are pushing Indonesians to travel to the Palestinian territories in order to fight the Israelis.

The humanitarian aid will go through the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the United Nations.

One of those signing people up to fight is Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the Islamic cleric accused by Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew (and the Western media) of being a leading terrorist; the Indonesian government says there is no such evidence, and will not arrest him based only on foreign rumors. Ba'asyir, who heads the Indonesian Mujaheddin Council, announced that he has set up a "Free Palestine Commando" group which will recruit for jihad in Palestine. He spoke at a rally of thousands against the Israeli invasion, held in the outer island of West Nusa Tenggara. Other demonstrations have been held across the country denouncing the Israeli invasion.

U.S. Trade Rep's Indonesia Meetings Discuss Middle East

In an hour-long meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and visiting U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, held April 7 and reported by Agence France Presse, Wirajuda called on the U.S. to press Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories, warning that "dissatisfaction among some groups of people in Indonesia, even among the government, has been emboldened. Indonesia will never accept the fact that Israel is cornering Arafat, because he is a leader of a nation." Zoellick's riposte was to stress the importance of Indonesia's confronting terrorism at home and in the region. Zoellick subsequently met with President Megawati, but there is no report on what was discussed.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir To Speak to President Bush on Behalf of Palestinian Authority

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, will speak to President George W. Bush on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, according to Agence France Presse.

Even though the date of Mahathir's state visit to the U.S. has not been pinned down--it is anticipated for the second week in May--Malaysia's state news service, Bernama, quoted the Prime Minister as saying he has promised Palestinian Authority spokesman Faruq Qaddumi that he will discuss the plight of the Palestinians in his talks with President Bush.

Dr. Mahathir's last official visit to the U.S. was in 1994.

East Timor Will Elect First President April 14

A three-week election campaign wrapped up April 12, ahead of the April 14 vote to elect the first President of East Timor. Xanana Gusmao, former leader of the military wing of the Fretelin guerrilla movement, which is now the ruling party in East Timor, is expected to sweep the election with an overwhelming majority. His only challenger is Francisco Xavier do Amaral; for nine days in 1975, he served as President, before Indonesia invaded East Timor (with approval from Secretary of State Henry Kissinger).

Gusmao is running not as a Fretelin candidate, however, but as an independent, someone who has gone to great lengths to promote peace and reconciliation among Timorese, in East and West Timor, and with Indonesia. This posture of Gusmao's has contributed to friction within the old guerrilla force. In fact, Fretelin is not supporting either candidate, but reports are circulating that disgruntled Fretelin members are encouraging support for Amaral or urging voters to spoil their ballots. Some 2,000 foreign election observers will monitor Sunday's vote.

At the stroke of midnight on May 20, East Timor will declare its independence. It is not yet clear whether Indonesian President Megawati will witness the event.

Former Indonesian Military Commanders in East Timor Point to UN Role

Former senior Indonesian military commanders, with responsibilities in East and West Timor at the time of the August 1999 referendum vote, have testified before an ad hoc human rights tribunal before which 18 Indonesian military men are on trial; the commanders have spoken of UN complicity in violence against citizens. Former Udayana military commander Adam Damiri, and former Wiradharma military subdistrict commander M. Noer Muis accused the Australian-led UNAMET mission of provoking the rampage that followed the vote. Damiri and Muis charged that UNAMET's decision to speed up release of vote results triggered outrage from pro-Indonesia Timorese.

In particular, Muis charged that in the rush to issue vote results, UNAMET overlooked some 89 ballot boxes, containing up to 142,578 ballots, which were not counted. Damiri singled out UNAMET commander Ian Martin for his role in the decision to speed up release of the vote. Muis went to great lengths to defend the former East Timor Police Chief, Silaen, one of the defendants before the tribunal, who, he said, went to extraordinary lengths to rescue East Timor Roman Catholic Bishop Belo.

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