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Posted
on 06-Sep-01 03:18 PM
Thursday, 6 September, 2001, 10:43 GMT 11:43 UK
Nepal warns Maoist rebels
Recent violence threatens to disrupt the peace process
By Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu
The Nepalese Government has urged the country's Maoist rebels to stop activities which threaten to disrupt peace talks.
The authorities said violence, extortion, coercion and vandalism have continued despite rebel assurances to halt violence during the first formal dialogue with the government last week.
The Nepalese home ministry has warned of stern action against the rebels if violence continues.
In a strong statement, the ministry said the government could not remain a mute spectator to rebel activities.
Peace talks
The statement was made two days after the Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, accused the Maoist rebels of not being sincere enough to seek a negotiated settlement to the long-running insurgency.
The Nepalese PM has been holding talks
Mr Deuba initiated peace with the rebels soon after he assumed office a month ago. He ordered an indefinite ceasefire and the release of several jailed Maoist activists.
The rebels responded by suspending armed attacks and freeing some kidnapped police officers.
The moves led to the first formal peace talks between the government and the rebels in nearly six years.
The dialogue ended last week with an agreement to resume the talks in a fortnight.
Violence
But the authorities say there are reports that the rebels are continuing with extortion, coercion and vandalism. This, they say, has defied the commitments made by the rebel negotiators.
They say continued violence could jeopardise the ongoing peace process.
There has been no immediate response from the underground Maoist Communist Party which has been carrying out an armed struggle to replace constitutional monarchy with a communist republic.
But the latest developments have dampened the initial euphoria over the peace talks.
The violence over the past six years has claimed 1,800 lives.
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| NEWS |
Posted
on 06-Sep-01 03:25 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- An Indonesian maid has been jailed for performing a sex act on the three-year-old son of her Malaysian employer.
Mother of two, Sri Lumandeng Sumirno, was jailed for 30 months after her employer's closed circuit television filmed her carrying out an act "of gross indecency," Malaysia's daily, The Star reported on Thursday.
The drama unfolded last December when the maid's employer checked the security camera in her bedroom after returning home from work.
She watched her maid, which she had hired in April 1998, sit on the boy's private part after stripping off both their trousers.
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The act lasted about five minutes, the Star reported. The maid was arrested after her employer lodged a police report the next day.
Sri Lumandeng pleaded guilty to her first offence.
In her defense, the maid's lawyer S.Ganesh said his client was under "great emotional distress" when she committed the offense and always worked alone.
But prosecuting officer Chief Insp Adnan Suratman said she had betrayed her employer's trust and urged a heavy sentence to deter others.
Sri Lumandeng is to be deported to Indonesia at the end of her sentence, due to start on December 2.
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| NEWS |
Posted
on 06-Sep-01 04:02 PM
The Exorcist
Archbishop: Mother Teresa Had 'Evil Spirit' Expelled
The Associated Press
C A L C U T T A, India, Sept. 6 — Mother Teresa had an exorcism performed on her while she was hospitalized in 1997, the Archbishop of Calcutta said Wednesday.
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The disclosure by Archbishop Henry D'Souza came as hundreds of people in this eastern Indian city paid homage to the renowned caregiver on the fourth anniversary of her death.
But the Rev. Richard McBrien, a Notre Dame theology professor, called the exorcism and the archbishop's explanation for it "bizarre."
Not Expected to Affect Sainthood Bid
D'Souza said the exorcism would not affect the nun's candidacy for sainthood.
"No way. Mother was not possessed ... it did not hurt her sanctity," D'Souza told The Associated Press. He said the need for the exorcism was a sign of her human side.
"Human dimension in a saint is quite normal," he said. "It was rather a sign of closeness to God."
He said the exorcism took place in a hospital where the nun was admitted because of heart trouble before her death on Sept. 5, 1997 at age 87. D'Souza said he was undergoing similar treatment at the same hospital.
The doctor treating Mother Teresa reported that she was having trouble sleeping, he said.
"There was no medical reason for that," the archbishop said. "It struck me that there could be some evil spirit which was trying to disturb her."
He said he had subsequently asked — with the nun's consent — for a priest in one of the churches to perform an exorcism.
Along with the priest, Mother Teresa participated in a "prayer of protection" and "slept peacefully after that," he said.
Experts: Extremely Unusual
Catholic experts said it would be highly unusual for Mother Teresa to have undergone an exorcism.
Exorcism is extremely rare in the Catholic church and is used only when no psychological or physical explanation can be found for dramatic changes in behavior, said Scott Appleby, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
McBrien, who teaches at the South Bend, Ind., university, said exorcism is used only when the person is thought to be possessed by the devil.
"I cannot believe they would have allowed that to happen," McBrien said. "They could have performed the rite of the anointing of the sick. That's one of the sacraments. Exorcisms aren't sacraments."
McBrien agreed that an exorcism likely would not affect Mother Teresa's candidacy for sainthood. However, he questioned whether Mother Teresa was truly able to give her consent to such a procedure.
"People would challenge wills made by people in that circumstance," McBrien said.
Fast Track to Sainthood
After Mother Teresa died, Pope John Paul II waived the customary five-year waiting period to start the process leading to possible sainthood.
The Calcutta archdiocese's formal investigation into Mother Teresa's life and virtues was completed last month and submitted to the Vatican.
On Wednesday, Sister Nirmala, the nun's successor, said she had not heard anything from the Vatican about the process.
"All of us are praying for an early sainthood of our mother," she told nuns and volunteers who gathered to offer morning prayer at Mother Teresa's tomb. "We feel her absence very much physically. But spiritually she is always with us and guiding us in our work."
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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| rastriyabani |
Posted
on 06-Sep-01 09:12 PM
Thank you very much for quoting the source of the news. It has definately done justice to the hardwork anyone might have performed in writing them for any publications. I hope you keep this new trend up.
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