Deutsche Welle
English Service News
October 2nd, 2001, 16:00 UTC
The United States on Tuesday showed its closest allies what has been
described as "conclusive evidence" that Islamic militant Osama bin
Laden was behind the attacks on New York and Washington three weeks
ago. However, as the Taliban scramble to prop up old alliances, woo
new friends and retain the loyalty of their own men, US President
George W. Bush said America will act on its own schedule and in
manner that makes freedom in the world more secure. Meanwhile, more
bank accounts linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization have been
frozen. In Germany, the government said it had seized a total of
214 bank accounts with a some $3.7 million (USD) on deposit.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, directly warned the Taliban on
Tuesday they had run out of chances to hand over Osama bin Laden and
must now brace for attack and surrender. Blair, at his Labour Party's
annual conference in Brighton said "Be in no doubt. Bin Laden and his
people organised this atrocity ... the Taliban aid and abet him. We
stated the ultimatum. They haven't responded." Blair also stressed
his "bread and bombs" plan, pledging aid for the innocent and
dispossessed in the region adding that a humanitarian programme must
match any military campaign.
NATO, on Tuesday, formally invoked Article 5 of the Washington
Treaty, the Mutual Defence Clause for the first time in its 52 year
history. Speaking after U.S. State Department counter-terrorism
coordinator Frank Taylor's classified briefing to the NATO council,
Secretary General George Robertson said: "It is clear that all roads
lead to al Qaeda and pinpoint Osama bin Laden as being involved."
Robertson said the 19-nation alliance had determined that the attacks
on Washington and New York were indeed directed from abroad and would
thus be regarded as an attack on all NATO countries. European NATO
diplomats stressed that while the decision was a "green light" for
any U.S. attack, it would not automatically trigger collective allied
military action.
In anticipation of a US military attack, thousands of people in
Pakistan and Iran took to the streets in anti-American protests.
Thousands of Taliban supporters marched through the streets of the
border city of Quetta and the southern Taliban stronghold Kandahar
denouncing Bush as a terrorist and Pakistani President General
Musharraf as a traitor. The protesters burned effigies of President
Bush and the former King of Aghanistan Mohammed Zafir Shah. In Iran,
hundreds of students at Tehran University chanted "Death to America".
Syrian Foreign minister Farouq al-Shara, on Tuesday told German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer his country would join an
international coalition to combat terrorism. al-Shara said
wisdom and accurate information were vital, and warned against hidden
agendas against any country. He said the roots of terrorism,
especially regional conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli one, must be
addressed. Mr. Fischer agreed with al-Shara on the need to solve
regional conflicts and said the EU had redoubled its efforts to
revive the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process after the U.S. attacks.
Mr. Fischer has just arrived in Beirut for talks with Lebanese
leaders.
SwissAir has suspended its operations after failing to obtain the
necessary money for its daily operations. The airline issued a
statement in which it said it doesn't know if or when it could resume
operations. Several SwissAir planes were seized across Europe until
money owed for landing fees and fuel is paid. Just yesterday, Swiss
banks UBS and Credit Suisse took over SwissAir's stake in Cross Air
with the intention of maintaining the flight schedule for both
airlines. Other divisions such as SwissAir's cargo and airport
retailing businesses have been left to fend for themselves and are
expected to file for creditor protection under Swiss bankruptcy
laws. SwissAir also told its partner airline Sabena, it will not pay
the 200 million Swiss Francs that was due on Monday saying it was
exploring options for survival. SwissAir Group, including cargo,
ground crew, catering, airport retaling, and corporate has a total of
72,000 employees who now face an uncertain future. The group hasn't
announced if other airlines would honour SwissAir tickets to assist
stranded passengers.
The toll from Monday's suicide attack on Srinigar's regional
parliament in the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir has risen to 38
killed, and sparked fresh accusations between Indian and Pakistan.
Many victims were passersby and motorists. Another 60 people were
injured, according to the news agency AP. An additional four dead
were from the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed which Indian claims has
its base in Pakistan. In a letter, Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee said India's patience was limited. Monday's attack, using an
explosives-laden vehicle, was the worst in Kashmir since 1999.
European bourses have been quiet ahead of Tuesday's meeting of U-S
Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to cut interest rates for
the ninth time this year. Analysts and the markets are expecting the
Fed to cut 50 basis points off the key federal funds rate, the
overnight lending rate for banks to 2.5 percent, it's lowest level
since 1963.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
