PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WATCH

South Africa assures Vice President of Burundi that peace keeping force will soon be deployed to his nation.

Moscow paper reports official tallies showing huge support for new constitution in Chechnya; accusations of rigging examined; OSCE monitors to issue report on validity of elections.

Congo Monitoring team warns that aggressive military activity is threatening Congo peace process

Team recommends that Uganda withdraw its troops from Congo to promote peace initiatives.

Georgia/Abkhazia Abkhazia Against U.S. Involvement in Conflict Settlement: Georgian Agency

Deputy foreign minister of non-recognized Abkhazia fears United States will use military force to settle conflict.

Pro-Jakarta militia waging “jihad” versus pro-independence activists in Aceh.

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast soldiers battle looters in lawless border region; one civilian killed, 19 injured

Government accused of being too soft on pro-Pakistani groups in Kashmir after massacre of Hindus.

Separatist makes vow for “freedom” upon celebration of the anniversary of a close colleague’s death.

Morocco Security Council extends UN mission in Western Sahara for two months

UN mission has been working for over 12 years to hold a referendum on the fate of Western Sahara.

Refugees from Western Saharan towns dependent upon international aid for support.

Philippines Philippine Officials, Moro Group to Meet in Malaysia for “Exploratory Talks”

Malaysia to act as facilitator in talks between Philippines and separatist group.

Move hoped to improve human rights situation in Serbia and Montenegro after the assassination of Djindjic.

Peace Negotiations Watch is prepared by the Public International Law and Policy Group in cooperation with American University and is made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Armenia, a small republic high in the Caucasus mountains, had a problem. Since it emerged from the Soviet Union the economy had fared badly and it owed Russia massive debts it could not pay back. Last year it hit upon a solution: Moscow would take over Armenian industrial assets equal to the value of its borrowings from Russia and the 100-million-dollar (93.5-million-euro) debt would be written off. But now, with the crown jewels of its economy in the hands of its former imperial masters in Moscow, analysts and pro-Western politicians are asking if Armenia has paid its debt with its political independence. "These assets-for-debt swaps... put into question, on a conceptual basis, the sovereignty of the republic of Armenia," said Raffi Hovannisian, a former Armenian foreign minister who now heads a think-tank.

Armenia is not an isolated case. More than a decade after the Soviet empire collapsed, Russia is using its resurgent economy to re-assert political control over the weakest of its former satellite states, say analysts. They claim that similar scenarios are also being played out in other former Soviet republics including Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. "Armenia has become the first case study in... Russia's strategy to regain political dominance over post-Soviet countries by taking over their economic infrastructure," said Vladimir Socor, a fellow with the Washington-based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies. Armenia has welcomed Russian investment because it has had little success attracting businessmen from anywhere else.

Western investors have been scared away by a protracted conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan that has left Armenia isolated from its markets, and by rampant official corruption. The list of assets now controlled by the Russian government under the debt-for-assets deal is substantial. Six generating units at the Hrazdan power station, which account for 15 percent of Armenia's energy supply, the Mars electronics plant in the capital, Yerevan, and three other high-tech factories were all handed over.

Armenia's government argues there is nothing unusual about any of this. Foreign ownership of businesses is a feature of the global economy, they say, and the World Bank has backed the arrangement. "We are doing this for the good of our people," Serge Sarkissian, Armenia's defence minister who also chairs a commission formed to oversee the debt-for-assets swap with Russia, told AFP. "No one is going to take equipment out of this country. If they buy into the electricity network, they are not going to strip out the transformers and take them away," he said. "On the contrary, these businesses will be given a boost by the new investment and they will, most importantly, bring in big tax revenues for the Armenian budget."

"You don't hear anyone saying that since Armenia sold its airport to the Argentinians it lost its sovereignty, or if it sold shares in its enterprises to other investors that it lost its sovereignty." But what worries sceptics is that the latest acquisitions by Moscow join a long roster of other Armenian assets already in Russian hands which, taken together, make up a big chunk of the country's tiny economy. For example, Armenia's gas distribution company is already 55-percent owned by a Russian firm and Russian metals giant Russian Aluminium holds a 74-percent stake in the Kanaker Aluminium Factory.

In addition, Armenia depends on Russia to supply fuel rods for its creaking Metzamor nuclear power station and though officials deny it, western diplomats say Moscow may own the station itself. In the background are major Russian military bases on Armenian territory and the fact that almost every Armenian family depends on cash sent home by a relative working in Russia. "Armenia is integrating so closely with Russia you could even say it is becoming part of Russia," wrote the opposition Haikakan Zhamanak daily.

Domitien Ndayizeye, vice president of the war-torn African state of Burundi, said Saturday a South African peace mediator had assured him an African peacekeeping force would be deployed in Burundi in the coming week. "The last obstacles have been cleared, the mediator hopes this force will be dispatched next week," Ndayizeye told journalists on his return home to Burundi's capital Bujumbura after talks in South Africa. The two main political parties in Burundi on Saturday signed a political and security agreement in Pretoria, witnessed by South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma in his mediation role. "We insisted on the arrival of the African Mission which is indispensable to begin the process of encampment (of the various troop and rebel units) and the introduction of a true ceasefire," Ndayizeye said on his return.

The peacekeeping force is to be made up of troops from Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa, together with 43 military observers already deployed in Bujumbura by the African Union. The African force was originally scheduled to be deployed by December to supervise Burundi's ceasefire accords, signed last year by three of the four rebel movements which have been involved in civil war in the country. The security pact was signed in Pretoria by Alphonse Kadege, president of the Tutsi-dominated Unity for National Progress (UPRONA), and Ndayizeye, who is also president of the Hutu-dominated Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU).

Ndayizeye, a Hutu, is due to take over as president from Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, on May 1 in a transition designed to end an ethnically based civil war which has claimed more than 250,000 lives in the small central African country since October 1993.

Turning out in record numbers, Chechens gave overwhelming support for a new constitution that the Kremlin hopes will enhance stability to Chechnya, according to preliminary results released Monday night. With ballots from 292 of the republic's 418 polling stations counted, 96.1 percent were in favor of the constitution confirming Chechnya's status as part of Russia, the Central Election Commission said on its web site. Only 2.6 percent voted "no." A similarly large number of voters on Sunday approved measures paving the way for presidential and parliamentary elections, the commission said. Turnout was 85 percent. President Vladimir Putin said the results "surpassed all expectations" and showed the rebels have no popular support.

"All who have not laid down arms are now fighting not only for their false ideals but also against their own people," Putin said at a regular Cabinet meeting. "The Chechen people have done this in a direct and very democratic way," he said. Observers and analysts said, however, that Moscow has a history of rigging elections in Chechnya and that the preliminary numbers appeared to be too good to be true. An informal poll of 50 Grozny residents on Monday found that Chechens are split about the credibility of the figures. But they said they were more concerned about peace than vote-rigging. "The reported turnout of 85 percent is farfetched," said Ruslan Lalayev, a journalist at Grozny's Stolitsa-Plus newspaper. "When I went to a polling station at Grozny's School No. 7 in the afternoon, there were just a few people there."

Ruslan Badalov, head of the pro-rebel Chechen Salvation Committee, said the numbers were inflated and that most of Chechnya's 540,000 eligible voters had boycotted the referendum. However, Zarema Aubova, an official in the education department at Grozny's City Hall, insisted Monday that the figures appeared to be accurate. "You could see lines of voters at the polling stations," she said. The large turnout and huge number of ballots marked "yes" are remarkable for a vote in Russia, said Oleg Orlov, head of the Memorial human rights group. "What happened in Chechnya can be explained in two ways only: Either the ballot boxes were illegally stuffed with forged ballots or Chechens felt they had no choice but to vote in favor of the constitution," Orlov said. "In any case, there was no free vote in Chechnya," he said.

No complaints of voting violations were reported Sunday or Monday. A delegation of observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States declared the vote valid Monday. "The authorities of the Russian Federation and the Chechen republic gave Chechen citizens the opportunity to participate in a free and independent vote," the observers said in a statement carried by Interfax. European countries are waiting to receive a report from observers with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, officials at OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and at the European Commission's Russia office said Monday. The findings will not be disclosed for at least several days, an OSCE spokesman said. Hrair Balian, head of the OSCE mission to Chechnya, said Sunday that "the organization and conduct of the referendum were not without shortcomings."

Chechnya had a history of rigged elections in the 1990s, and this raises doubts about Sunday's referendum, said Vladimir Pribylovsky, political analyst with the Panorama think tank. In 1995, during the first 1994-96 Chechen war, the pro-Kremlin Our Home Is Russia party garnered 48 percent of the Chechen vote in parliamentary elections -- more votes than in any other region. A year later, President Boris Yeltsin, who ordered the military campaign, won 73 percent of the Chechen vote in a run-off with Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov.

Putin won half of the Chechen vote in the presidential election in March 2000 -- despite his tough talk about Chechnya and his role in the launch of the second military campaign six months earlier. The second-place presidential candidate, Zyuganov, got 11 percent. Voter turnout tends to fall between 30 percent and 40 percent during regional elections. When a simple majority is required -- as in Sunday's referendum -- winning candidates rarely secure more than 50 percent to 60 percent of the vote. An unusual exception came last year when incumbent Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev won nearly 94 percent of the vote.

Several Chechens interviewed Monday said that regardless of whether the referendum was on the up-and-up, they would support it if it brought order to the republic. "I'm not asking myself whether the results of the referendum are correct," said Magomed Viskhadzhiyev, a student at Grozny University. "Those of us here think only about one thing: We need law and order. We cast ballots for a constitution that symbolizes order."

Akhmad Kadyrov, head of the pro-Chechen administration, said Chechens were not seeking political favors by voting for the constitution but expecting that the republic would be granted a special economic status. "Immediately after the adoption of the constitution, we will sign a treaty with [Moscow] on the redistribution of powers," Kadyrov was quoted as saying by the Kommersant newspaper in its Monday edition. "We need a special economic status," he said. "Within the framework of Russian law, we will have to negotiate with [Moscow] for benefits. These might be connected to taxes and financing."

Nikolai Petrov, a political analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Center, said the future of Chechnya rests on the economic deals Grozny cuts with Moscow, not the constitution. "The constitution is an abstract plan to organize state structures in Chechnya," he said. "In fact, under its new status, Chechnya has material needs that only can be provided for in economic agreements with Moscow."

Monitoring team warns that aggressive military activity is threatening Congo peace process

Aggressive military activity in eastern and northeastern Congo is threatening the peace process that is supposed to end the 4 1/2-year conflict in the country, a team monitoring efforts to end the fighting said Saturday. The team, known as the Third Party Verification Mechanism, said in a statement that Uganda should withdraw its troops from Congo and urged all parties involved in the conflict to note that the central African country is "at a crucial stage of its life."

The Congolese government, rebels, unarmed political parties and civil society representatives are scheduled to ratify a power-sharing agreement supposed to end the conflict at talks to be held in South Africa on April 1-2. The groups signed the agreement on Dec. 17, but since then fighting in eastern and northeastern Congo has intensified as rival rebel factions and tribal groups fight for control of mineral rich areas.

The fighting has also involved Ugandan troops deployed in Congo. Earlier this month, after heavy fighting between Ugandan troops and a rebel faction, neighboring Rwanda threatened to send its troops into Congo if Uganda did not withdraw its forces. Uganda and Rwanda back rival Congolese rebel groups fighting in the conflict. Rwanda has accused the Ugandan and Congolese governments of arming Interahamwe Hutu militia who fled to Congo after carrying out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Billy Masetlha, chairman of monitoring team, which is made up of South African and U.N. officials, said he had no doubt the Interahamwe was being armed. He declined to say who was arming the Rwandan rebels, who carried out the 1994 genocide in which more than 500,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed. Masetlha said tribal fighters known as Mai Mai, who are backed by the Congolese government, were also being armed. "Those playing this game are people who don't have the interests of Congo and the region at heart. We have talked to people who have received these arms; it's not hearsay," Masetlha told The Associated Press from Congo's capital, Kinshasa. "The fact that people are doing this, especially in the recent past, suggests that somebody wants to provoke a flare up which may happen soon to ensure the peace process is not a success."

The war in Congo broke out in August 1998 after Uganda and neighboring Rwanda sent troops into the country to back rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila. They accused Kabila of supporting rebels from their own country and threatening regional security. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent troops in support of Kabila's government. The vast majority of foreign troops have withdrawn from Congo following a series of peace deals, but Uganda has kept more than 2,000 troops in northeastern Congo.

Georgia/Abkhazia

Sukhumi has described a statement made by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze at a news conference yesterday as "an open call for a military settlement of the conflict". Shevardnadze said that after the completion of the Iraq operation, the United States would step up their role in a settlement of the Abkhaz problem.

"It appears that all statements by the Georgian leadership about the peaceful settlement of the Abkhaz conflict are solely declarative. In reality, and Sukhumi does not doubt this any longer, Tbilisi counts only on force," the first deputy foreign minister of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, Daur Arshba, told Prime-News. In this connection, he said that "first, Eduard Shevardnadze said that he would grant Abkhazia a status similar to that Russia would grant to Chechnya, later, during the Balkan crisis, he spoke about applying the Bosnian option, now he is trying to implement a new scenario in Abkhazia with the use of the American military machine".

"The military solution of the Abkhaz conflict does not have any future, there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement, and attracting countries outside the region to the settlement process could destabilize the situation in the whole of the South Caucasus and southern Russia," Daur Arshba said. He said that "today, when Russia is playing the role of a mediator in Abkhazia, the balance of interests is maintained and the resumption of hostilities can be avoided, and this is how it should be in the future". The Georgian leader on Monday 24 March recalled that before the war in Iraq, the US president had sent him a letter noting that "he will soon have time for Abkhazia".

The military conflict is essentially but one part of the problem in Aceh. The greatest threat to security in Aceh is the mature criminal industries of smuggling, kidnapping and ransom, extortion, illegal logging and the marijuana trade. Three of the five points relate to the "black economy". It is the protection and perpetuation of these industries that will cause problems. Embedded in this black economy are the interests of the government apparatus and the interests of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Although GAM's operational control is central for the conduct of military operations, the operations themselves are responsible for the maintenance of their finance and funding. Some degree of collusion is suspected to exist between GAM and sections of the government apparatus in the marijuana trade. Businesses in Aceh face significant problems. Firstly, they must transition in accordance with every other company in Indonesia who are evolving from businesses under New Order systems, to one that has to come to grips with a new political paradigm of vast pluralism. There is considerable legislative uncertainty in this process. The Special Autonomy legislation requires the support of approximately 71 to 72 subsequent pieces of legislation to make it work and contests the political will of the government to actually push these through.

Secondly, they need to apply strict security measures and a degree of stability to ensure the safety of their assets and some degree of certainty. What is crucial is companies coming to grips with the fact that community development, community relations, dealing with official and unofficial relationships within society is crucially important to run their business. New businesses are left with the challenge of implementing heightened security measures to start their business, while having to develop comprehensive community development programs and relations, to achieve forms of community based security. Rampant extortion has accelerated to levels hitherto unknown. While some very large companies have rejected paying these extortion payments, others have been paying at these increased extortion levels.

Infrastructure developments that have been halted and in some cases crippled have had significant impact on business in the province. The power grid that will be completed in the Pidie regency by July this year, and the Banda Aceh to Medan railroad needs to be rebuilt and finished as soon as possible. The road system will need to be opened up and improved for there to be big business in Aceh. In the conflict resolution process, there is a necessity for reconstruction and redevelopment. It is this that will win the hearts and minds of people. There may not be much new business occurring in Aceh for at least three to four years, however, if the emergence of new businesses started now, it would help the conflict resolution process. The peace process has provided a fresh opportunity for Aceh. In the short term, assistance will be needed just to take care of the immediate needs of the people. Yet hand-outs will not do much in the long run. It is far better to empower Aceh's skillful entrepreneurs and open the doors to outside investment in order to integrate more profitably in the greater economy of Indonesia. Economic development led by the private sector is the key to improving welfare, however, conditions in Aceh are not as yet conducive for such an approach.

The peace process is taking much longer to put into practice than expected and the adversaries must learn to trust each other. Another problem is the unprecedented flood of money rushing as the result of the share in the oil and gas revenue. The flow of income caught both government and the people by surprise. No serious and well thought development plans have been drafted, no strategies have been thought out about ways and means to promote Aceh's long-term development. As often happens in such cases, the government throws money at ill-conceived infrastructure projects. The Leja Galaska road with a budget of US$160-$170 million is one such project. The temptation for contract commission and kick-backs is proving too great to resist. The road, when it comes into being will have cost the people double its real cost and will begin to destroy the forest and hinterland of Aceh. The government could have won the hearts and minds of the people if it had spent a small portion of that money on food, medicine, and shelter. Peace would then be almost tangible.

Ordinary Acehnese are hopeful at the prospect of peace, but they keep asking about the whereabouts of government and evidence of concrete measures to improve their lives. The peace agreement is three months old now, but if you go to even moderately remote areas in Aceh, no trace of the state can be found. The absence of state governance below the subdistrict level makes peace conditions indistinguishable from insurgency. People say that the present government will be there until the general elections in 2004, but looking at GAM's present operations in the field, it seems unlikely that there will be a general election.

One of the critical threats to the peace agreement right now is that GAM is taking advantage of the lull in the war. It uses the standstill to gain control that it lost during the military offensive, and to reestablish administrative control over many parts of Aceh. (One perception is that) GAM is using the peace period to rally more people for independence. This relates to the inefficacy of the local government who will remain there until 2005. People don't see any other alternative to GAM as the likely government. How long is TNI willing to sit quietly while GAM consolidates its forces? The way this problem is solved has implications for Papua and other areas of Aceh, particularly if the army manages to persuade the nation that the situation has become intolerable.

The international community is inclined to sympathize with insurgents partly because government suppression always tends to exceed necessity, and because the rebel cause of "independence" is universally hailed as good. International observers are therefore quick to condemn military violations of truces, but hesitant to censure rebel brutality. Some of this partiality can be gleaned from the way the Henry Dunant Center drafts peace documents.

Ambassador Wiryono Sastrohandoyo observed that the word "will" translates to "must" when relating to an obligation of the Indonesian government, but changes back to "will" when performance is expected from GAM. Rather than fuss about details like translation of words. Ambassador Wiryono prefers to push the whole process along and bring it to a solution acceptable to all.

Mercy and sympathy ought to be addressed to the people, to the widows and orphans, to the down-and-outs in the refugee camps, and not to GAM. Activist Ahmad Humam Hamid recounts that the moment the peace agreement was signed, GAM started to implement their version of the peace plan.

Weapons were imported, the population was told that Aceh is about to declare its independence, the UN will come, like in East Timor, and TNI can do nothing. Dr. Hamid is appalled by the estimate that until today the majority of the people in Aceh received their information about the peace from GAM, not from the government. Extortion continues openly. It is now called a "tax", a Nangroe tax to support the struggle for independence.

GAM violates the peace accord and does so openly. The government complains, but does not address the complaints to the Joint Security Commission. The HDC is too busy trying to win trust and confidence to call "a spade a spade" when violations do occur. The government's chief negotiator understands, and continues to push the process.

The above is taken from the writers' executive summary on latest developments on Aceh for Strategic Intelligence's Executive Forum held on Feb. 25 in Jakarta. Wiryono Sastrohandoyo is Indonesia's Chief Negotiator for Aceh; Dr. Ahmad Humam Hamid is Board Director, Aceh Care Human Rights Center, and Brig. Gen. Brian Millen is Director of Research & Analysis, Assessments Group Indonesia, a security risk and business intelligence consultancy based in Jakarta.

Despite allegations infamous pro-Jakarta militia Laskar Jihad are waging a "holy war" against pro-independence forces in Central Aceh, public transportation services resumed on Monday to ease the regency's isolation. With the help of heavily armed Indonesian security forces, a number of buses and trucks traveled in and out of the regency's capital of Takengon, carrying passengers and commodities to markets in Banda Aceh, the capital of the war-torn province, and strategically important Lhokseumawe in North Aceh.

The Joint Security Committee (JSC) monitoring a shaky truce between the TNI and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists were forced to abandon their presence in Central Aceh after their office was attacked by a pro-Jakarta mob, including members of Laskar Jihad, on March 3. Two JSC staff were injured in the attack, blamed on the JSC's inability to halt extortion and violence committed by GAM. On March 15, four people were killed and 11 cars and buses set on fire in Burlintang district. The attacks were blamed on the militia, who some believe are linked to the TNI, and are said to be responsible for religious violence throughout Indonesia.

Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Eddy Fernandy, speaking in Banda Aceh, said Central Aceh's isolation had already been eased following the deployment of TNI and police personnel to the regency to enhance security along the highway linking Takengon and Banda Aceh. "With the deployment of security personnel, the road connecting the two towns is expected to be safe for the passage of people and goods."

He said about 600 military personnel were in the regency helping hundreds of armed police restore security. Raihan, a Banda Aceh resident who has just returned from Takengon, concurred but said many people in rural areas in the regency were living in fear of the militia, who claimed to be waging jihad against fellow Muslims GAM in the province. "Many people are still reluctant to leave their villages because of the absence of security personnel. But the situation in Takengon itself has returned to normal and there are no more mass demonstrations like we have seen in the last two weeks."

Raihan called on authorities to improve security, particularly in rural areas and roads to ensure safe passage in and out of the area. About 30 people who had fled their villages were seeking refuge in a mosque in Takengon following intimidation by the militiamen who say GAM are behind the violence. Internally displaced people are now thought to number at least 500. Burhan, not his real name, said he sought refuge after militiamen asked him to hand over his younger brother, a member of GAM, to the TNI. "The militiamen, who call themselves members of Laskar Jihad, have terrorized villagers not to support GAM because besides fighting for Aceh's separation from Indonesia, they still extort the people," he said.

Ivory Coast soldiers battle looters in lawless border region; one civilian killed, 19 injured

Government troops and armed looters battled at a village in Ivory Coast's lawless western border region, killing one civilian and wounding 19 others, the rebellion-split nation's officials said Sunday. Late Saturday afternoon, this former French colony's soldiers attacked and chased off an unspecified number of English-speaking fighters who were looting the village of Guiuebli, near Ivory Coast's border with Liberia, said Ivory Coast's Lt. Col. Philippe Mangou.

No soldiers or looters were known to be injured during the fight, but one female civilian was killed and 19 others injured, Mangou said. No arrests were made, he said. Mangou said the looters were mercenaries from Liberia - where English is widely spoken - hired by Ivory Coast's insurgents, whose six-month rebellion has severed the world's largest cocoa producer into government and rebel-held regions. Rebel authorities weren't immediately available for comment.

Some 3,000 French troops are in Ivory Coast to protect foreign nationals and patrol a cease-fire line that has largely quelled fighting between government and rebel forces. But that line doesn't extend all the way to Ivory Coast's frontier with war-riven Liberia - and the border region is becoming increasingly lawless. Numerous attacks on civilians have been reported in the area and government and rebel authorities have traded accusations of responsibility. Both sides accuse the other of hiring Liberian fighters - known for their ill-discipline and proclivity toward looting. Unallied bands of Liberian fighters roam the region, too, government officials say.

A commander of the French force, Gen. Bruno Dary, said he heard reports of the fighting at Guiuebli, but couldn't confirm them. The border region is becoming increasingly insecure he said. Ivory Coast's "West is a problem for everyone," said Dary. "The resolution of the crisis in the West depends on the participation of all parties. We need a consensus to push back the Liberian combatants." A new, national unity government arranged under a Jan. 24 French-brokered peace pact has so far failed to materialize and end the rebellion, which sprang from a failed September coup attempt.

The Ivory Coast fighting has killed more than 3,000 people, according to government estimates, and has displaced more than a million. A 1999 coup in Ivory Coast shattered decades of prosperity and calm in the West African nation. Since then the country has been plagued by political and economic instability.

The killings of 24 Hindus in India's Muslim-majority state of Kashmir on Sunday has shaken the new government that was popularly elected in September on a mandate to bring peace to the territory long claimed by neighbouring Pakistan. In the wake of the violence, the government of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is being accused by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules India's central government, of inviting the attacks through a policy of reconciliation with Pakistan-backed militant groups and the release of several of their leaders from jails. "This massacre is matter of concern for us and it is the result of the soft action taken by the state government against those responsible for the violence against Hindus in the valley," BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus have fled Kashmir since 1989 when a simmering movement for independence with pro-Islamic overtones turned violent. Sayeed, as part attempts to bring a "healing touch" to the strife-torn territory, has been encouraging the Hindus, also called Pandits, to return to their homes.

But others said more political infighting at this point only helps violent groups in Kashmir. "It follows that the response to the latest tragedy must be one from a united front, because at the level of battling terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, there can be no government/opposition divide," argued the 'Indian Express' newspaper on Tuesday. In fact, the newspaper tended to blame the BJP-led government in New Delhi for allowing the situation in Kashmir to drift ever its since its ally in the state, the National Conference, was ousted from power in the September poll -- and thus refusing to engage with Kashmir politically. "New Delhi has been guilty of frittering away almost by design the huge political goodwill and momentum generated by a near PR-perfect assembly poll in the state," it said. "Worse, it has put hurdles in the way of the so-called healing touch policy undertaken by the coalition of government of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed."

Sunday's killings near the Shopian town of Pulwama district, carried out by unknown gunmen, targeted some of the Hindus who had chosen to continue living in Kashmir in spite of attempts at "ethnic cleansing" by militant groups, most of whom have their bases in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. The BJP and the National Conference were soundly beaten in September after people voted in an alliance of Sayeed's pro-independence People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition Congress party. Sunday's violence was serious enough to prompt an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Monday, presided over by Vajpayee and attended by Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, Defence Minister George Fernandes and army chief Gen. N.C. Vij. Briefing reporters after the meeting Sinha said the meeting was called to review the situation both in Iraq as well as the one arising out of the massacre in Jammu and Kashmir".

On Tuesday, Advani visited the district in Kashmir where the killings took place. "Violence in Jammu and Kashmir is continuing because of our neighbour Pakistan," he said, although Pakistan said it "strongly condemns" the killings in a foreign ministry statement released in Islamabad Monday. Pakistan has consistently denied supporting militant groups except to offer them "moral support". Kashmir's governor, Girish Chandra Saxena, said the killings, the latest in a string of separatist militant attacks since the September poll, was "an attempt by people across the border to whip up communal tension in the state" between its majority Muslims and minority Hindus.

Already, the killings have stoked emotions among communal lines. Shanti Bhan, spokeswoman for the Panun Kashmir organisation that represents some 300,000 Kashmiri Hindus living in exile in Delhi and other parts of India, says the violence makes it seem like returning to Kashmir was a mistake. "The chief minister should take care of security arrangements before inviting us to return to Kashmir. We knew that the militants were planning a masssacre of Hindus who have chosen to remain in Kashmir and had warned him," she said. "We now have no choice but to demand a separate homeland for Hindus within Kashmir."

Sunday also saw the assassination in Kashmir of Abdul Majid Dar, a popular separatist leader who was expelled from the Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen group last year for advocating a ceasefire with the government and returning to the negotiating table.

Soon after Sayeed was sworn in as chief minister in November, Kashmir was rocked by the killings of 12 pilgrims by suicide who briefly laid siege to temple of Raghunath in Jammu, winter capital of Kashmir, much of which is snow-bound during the winter months. In November, 13 soldiers and several others injured in two separate incidents, which were seen as reactions to the popularly held elections certified as free and fair by foreign diplomats who witnessed it.

Violence in Kashmir, which nearly brought India and Pakistan close to war last year, have also continued this year. This month has seen a sudden elevation of violence with six people losing their lives in blasts - one set off in a shop and another in a bus. On Mar. 15, militants also attacked a police post in Udhampur district which left 13 people dead, 11 of them policemen. But Sunday's killing, targeting the Hindu community, was by far the worst militant attack since Sayeed's government took power.

The leader of Indian Kashmir has pledged to restore a sense of security among the region's Hindus following the latest massacre but the promise has been met with skepticism by Kashmiri Hindus. "The state government will take measures to restore a sense of security among Kashmiri Hindus in the wake of Nadi Marg massacre," Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said in a reference to the killing of 24 Hindu villagers. Eleven men, 11 women and two small boys were lined up and shot dead by gunmen in the south Kashmir village of Nadi Marg on Sunday, sending shockwaves through the Hindu community and drawing international condemnation.

"The Kashmir police will be fully geared up to meet the challenge of militancy in a more effective manner," Sayeed said in the overnight statement. He added that he has convened a high-level security meeting in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's summer capital, to take a fresh look at security issues, but did not say when it would take place. Special focus, he said, would be placed on increasing protection for about 270 residential pockets populated by the Muslim-majority state's minority groups.

Many Hindus had already left Kashmir following, previous killings, but some 10,000 Hindus and nearly 35,000 Sikhs remain in these small communities, which are guarded by local police. Sayeed admitted there had been a security lapse in Nadi Marg, "where not even a single policeman retaliated. Even the army presence about one-and-a-half kilometers (one mile) away from the site of the carnage could not prevent the incident nor could give immediate response. The inadequate response of the police and security forces is indeed a matter of concern."

Sayeed said the massacre was aimed at derailing the peace process in Kashmir and urged political parties to go from village to village to mobilise public opinion against the "merchants of death". Hindus still in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley said such assurances in the past had not prevented further killings. "After every such massacre we are assured of foolproof security by the government, but that has never happened," said Shadi Lal, a 38-year-old government employee living in Mattan, 60 kilometres (38 miles) south of Srinagar. "Most of the Hindus living in this village have decided to leave," he said, adding the village temple had already been closed. Lal said the government should make arrangements for their safe journey to Jammu, the Hindu-dominated winter capital.

Shyam Lal, 65, said the entire community was in fear after the massacre. "We will abide by the collective decision of the community whether to stay or leave," he said, conceding that the "majority want to migrate."

"Every carnage brings us a message that 'we are not safe here," added Mohan Lal Chicko of the same village. The opposition National Conference (NC) party demanded a high-level probe into the massacre, which it blamed on negligence by the state government.

"The enquiry would expose the negligence of the district administration," said NC chief Omar Abdullah, adding that Hindus in Nadi Marg had asked for extra security a few days before the killings.

Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, is divided between Indian and Pakistani controlled zones, and is claimed in full by both countries. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring militants who have been carrying out a 14-year insurgency against Indian rule in the region, while Pakistan says it merely provides moral support. So far none of Kashmir's two dozen Muslim separatist groups have claimed responsibility for the killings, but on Thursday the vice chief of the Indian army, Lieutenant General Shantonu Choudhry, blamed Pakistan-based rebel groups, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. "We know local terrorists cannot do this kind of act. Only foreign terrorists have done it and two main (cross-border) groups are the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad," he said. India says more than 37,500 people have been killed in the unrest since 1989, although the separatists put the death toll twice as high.

The leader of Indian Kashmir’s main pro-independence group Sunday vowed to achieve "freedom" from India as he marked the 13th anniversary of the death of a colleague. Yasin Malik, the chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), told reporters in Indian-administered Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar that he would continue his "political struggle for Kashmir's freedom from India." He and dozens of supporters gathered at Srinagar's main martyrs graveyard to pray for Ishfaq Majid Wani -- JKLF's first militant commander, who died in an encounter with Indian troops in Srinagar on March 30, 1990. "On this day I pledge to take the ongoing struggle to its logical conclusion," he said, while paying tribute to Wani.

Wani, along with Malik and two other JKLF leaders, Javid Mir and Hamid Sheikh, are considered the pioneers of the armed struggle in the region. After Wani's death, Malik became JKLF's chief commander. He was arrested in August 1990 and spent four years in jail. After his release he declared a unilateral ceasefire and announced that JKLF would be a political rather than militant group. Malik was in jail for eight months last year after police said he was linked to the seizure of 100,000 US dollars. He was released by the new state govenrment.

More than 37,500 people have died in Indian Kashmir since the eruption of anti-Indian rebellion in 1989, according to official estimates, and Wani was among the first top militants to have been gunned down. Separatista put the toll at twice as high. JKLF supporters and Wani's relatives Sunday showered petals at his grave and recited verses from Koran.

The European Union force (EUFOR) launched its first peacekeeping mission in ethnically divided Macedonia Monday, in a move widely seen as a key test for Europe's future involvement in peacekeeping in the Balkan region and beyond. The 350-member international peacekeeping force, code-named "Operation Concordia", is being deployed in Macedonia to support the Skopje government in maintaining fragile peace, established after the violent ethnic conflict in 2001.

"The introduction of E.U. forces opens a new chapter for security in Europe. After taking over the mission in Macedonia, the E.U. has shown that its project for European security and defence policy has matured. "Based on new institutional ties with NATO, the E.U. now has an opportunity to present all its political, economical and military tools," said NATO Secretary General George Robertson. The first ever E.U. peace mission, composed of some 350 soldiers from 27 different countries under the command of French General Pierre Maral, will be stationed in Macedonia for a renewable six- month period. "The E.U. will continue to do the job initiated by NATO, and the Alliance will remain engaged to support the force led by the E.U., but also to act as an advisor on security issues," Robertson said.

The new peace mission in Macedonia will operate in small units spread across the country, with the most serious task of re- establishing the confidence between Slavic Macedonians and the ethnic Albanian minority. "This transfer of authority from the field operations of NATO to the E.U. means two organisations enter a new phase of reinforcing partnership. It is not E.U. in and NATO out," E.U. security and foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.

E.U. officials earlier said they hoped the success of "Operation Concordia" could lend credibility to the Union's future plans to take over more massive peacekeeping missions in neighbouring Kosovo and Bosnia. The E.U. already runs the police mission in Bosnia. The E.U., facing serious shortfalls in military capabilities, eventually plans to form a 60,000-strong rapid reaction force by the middle of this year, under the command of German Admiral Reiner Feist.

However, the E.U.'s "Concordia" is set to face numerous threats to the country's lasting stability, including the underground Albanian National Army (AKSh) that emerged out of former rebel groups dissatisfaction with the ongoing peace process. The AKSh, which advocates the unification of all Albanian- dominated regions in the southern Balkans, has already claimed responsibility for several hit-and-run attacks in Macedonia and southern Serbia.

Security Council extends UN mission in Western Sahara for two months

The Security Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend for two months the UN mission tasked almost 12 years ago with organising an elusive referendum on the political future of Western Sahara. The 15-member council adopted Resolution 1469, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until May 31. The mandate was due to expire on March 31. Most UN operations are renewed for 12-month periods, but MINURSO extensions have been far shorter, as the UN unsuccessfully tried to persuade Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front to accept its compromise proposals.

In a letter to the Security Council on Friday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he hoped to submit his next report on Western Sahara on May 19, two months later than originally planned. The report was to include the parties' reaction to proposals from Annan's special envoy, James Baker, for ending the 27-year conflict which began when Spain, the former colonial power, pulled out of the mineral-rich territory and Morocco marched in.

In principle, the two sides favour a referendum -- they asked the UN to organise one as part of a Settlement Plan in 1991, when they signed a ceasefire that ended 16 years of guerrilla war. But since then, they have disagreed over who should be allowed to vote and more than 48,000 appeals against exclusion from the electoral roll are pending.

The United Nations Security Council has decided that the UN mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, will remain in the northwestern African territory for another two months following a unanimous decision on Tuesday to extend the mission's mandate to 31 May, the Council said in New York. The Council's decision was in line with a request made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the world body to continue its presence in Western Sahara so to give more time to the parties to the conflict - Morocco and the Polisario Front - to consider a proposed "Peace Plan for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara".

In 1975 following the withdrawal of Spain from its colony, Morocco - with assistance from Mauritania - invaded the Western Sahara. Armed conflict with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra ad Rio de Oro (Polisario) ensued until 1991 when the UN secured a ceasefire, pledged to organise a referendum on the territory's future, and deployed MINURSO. Although the UN has succeeded in preventing the resumption of fighting, it has however failed to organise the referendum. It had proposed several plans that failed to satisfy both parties. The main stumbling block has been disagreement between the two sides over who would be eligible to vote in the proposed referendum.

The peace plan was proposed by Annan in early 2002 as a means of resolving the conflict. Its four options included ending the UN mission, implementing a 1998 settlement plan which included the referendum, the revising of a draft framework agreement worked out by Annan's special envoy James Baker, and discussing the division of the territory.

The Saharaoui conflict has created a refugee community of thousands of people that is largely depent on international aid, as well as group of prisoners of war (POW). The refugees have been living in four camps named after Western Sahara towns and have relied on agencies such the World Food Programme and the EU's Humanitarian Office for their basic needs. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Community of the Red Cross and NGOs, including Caritas and Oxfam, are some of the agencies working to bring aid and assistance to Sahraoui refugees. While Morocco says that it has released all its Saharoui POWs, the Polisario still holds several hundreds of Moroccan prisoners.

Philippine Officials, Moro Group to Meet in Malaysia for “Exploratory Talks”

At least four cabinet members are scheduled to initiate "exploratory talks" with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under the auspices of Malaysia as third party facilitator on the possible resumption of peace talks, a government official said yesterday. Presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita said the MILF was asked by Kuala Lumpur to meet with the cabinet officials who are scheduled to fly today to the Malaysian capital on the resumption of peace talks.

The cabinet team would be led by presidential adviser on special concerns Norberto Gonzales and would include presidential assistant for Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza, head of the government panel holding talks with the MILF. The other cabinet officials are presidential adviser for regional development Paul Dominguez and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman. Other members of the "exploratory" team include Defence Undersecretary Antonio Santos and a representative from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

For his part, Dureza said the government team will leave for Kuala Lumpur today for a meeting with MILF representatives. Meetings are also scheduled for Thursday and Friday 27, 28 March . He said the meeting would be a first step in the resumption of the peace talks. Dureza said one issue he wants addressed is the plight of thousands of displaced persons in the affected areas in Mindanao who have not been able to return to their homes since last month's hostilities.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said MILF representatives to the meeting are Lanang Ali, Michael Mastura and Mushib Buat. Ermita said the "exploratory process" would only be a one-day affair which would determine the points of agreement before proceeding into the holding of formal peace negotiations. Mrs Arroyo said she would urge the participation of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, and Basilan Rep. Gerry Salapuddin, Deputy Speaker for Mindanao, as additional members of the advisory group to the government panel as soon as the formal talks with the MILF resume.

Serbia & Montenegro

The Council of Europe, the Strasbourg-based intergovernmental human rights organisation, is set to admit Serbia and Montenegro to its ranks this week as it tries to boost the new government after the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, Serbian prime minister, this month. Officials said the new union of former Yugoslav republics would be invited to join immediately.

The council had previously set the adoption of a new constitution and full co-operation with the international criminal tribunal dealing with Yugoslav war crimes as pre-conditions for entry. However, under some pressure from the EU, the council agreed to move more swiftly. European governments have been quick to support the administration of Zoran Zivkovic, Mr Djindjic's successor as Serbia's premier, and encourage it to increase efforts to improve human rights.

With Belgrade calling for Euros 400m (Dollars 430m, Pounds 275m) in "emergency aid" to close a budget gap than has widened under an official state of emergency declared after the assassination, France and Germany last week pledged fresh donations and debt write-offs worth Euros 100m.

Some of the measures used by Serbian authorities under the state of emergency, including a general restriction of individual liberties and gagging of the press, have disturbed observers and would contravene Council of Europe standards if not eventually repealed. The organisation has already warned against a proposal made by Serbia's justice minister that the country reintroduce capital punishment.

Mr Zivkovic hinted at the weekend that the state of emergency might soon end, calling Serbia's stepped-up fight against organised crime "almost over". Milorad Lukovic, the top suspect named by police investigating Mr Djindjic's murder, remains at large but in a huge dragnet the alleged trigger-man has been caught, two of Mr Lukovic's associates have been shot dead, and more than a thousand individuals described as "known criminals" by police have been arrested. The inquiry has become much broader than the investigation into the Djindjic assassination, but Serbian officials say that confessions from detainees have provided leads in a host of unsolved cases.

Mirjana Markovic, wife of the former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic - himself on trial for war crimes - is in Russia and is under investigation for involvement in the murder of the previous Serbian president, Ivan Stambolic, the Serbian interior ministry announced over the weekend. Ministry officials said they might issue an international arrest warrant.

Anarchy and lawlessness reign supreme in Somalia for the last 12 years, fear, horror and despair engulf its people, prospects of hope for peace and wind of relief are not on the horizon yet. All peace talks and reconciliation conferences held for its salvation have been doomed to failure, governments formed in Djabouti in 1991 and 2000, headed by Ali Mahdi and Abdiqasim Salad Hassan respectively, proved to be dysfunctional. The on-going peace talks at Eldoret ,in Kenya, may not break up the long time impasse. International community exhausted all means to restore order and law in that country.

Then, one may ask: What is going on? Are the Somali people shifting from civil to gun-culture society and hard to restore? Are its leaders unpatriotic? Is the agenda of peace talks misplaced and unrealistic? The people of Somalia may not be a gun-culture minded society, and its leaders, with the exception of a few war criminals, may not be unpatriotic. The root cause of failure of all peace talks lies in the nature of their agenda. The agenda of all reconciliation conferences is and has always been the wrong one for the right solution. Since 1991, it has failed to succeed in reaching an agreement because it never focused exclusively on Somalia (The South) where the problem exists, but each time held under the notion of "Greater Somalia Theory" (Somaliweyn) that does not exist today, and may not come true for a long time to come. Somalia is only one of the five Somali territories that once shared the dream of Greater Somalia, and has nothing to do with Somaliland, Djibouti, Western Somali province, and Northeastern Somali province.

Somaliland was the first Somali state that achieved independence on June 26, 1960, had unratified, disastrous union with Somalia on July 1st, 1960, withdrew from that union in May 1991 after Somalia inflicted unforeseen death and destruction upon Somaliland in the decade of 1980-1990. This new Republic of Somaliland has been stable and peaceful since its proclamation, has democratic institutions and internationally recognized borders, and is close now to international recognition.

Djibouti became independent on June 27, 1977, and refused to join the Somali Union after seeing how Somalia abused that union and violated its basic rules. The North-eastern Somali province (N.F.D) is under Kenyan government while Western Somali province (Somali-Galbeed) comes under the rule of Ethiopian government.

Despite that undeniable reality, warlords of Somalia and peace talks-sponsoring countries (IGAD) have continuously ignored the fact that any peace talks, to succeed, should have focused on Somalia only and the delegates should have come from the legitimate people of Somalia. Instead, they intentionally invite false delegates from Somaliland and from other Somali territories in Kenya and Ethiopia that have nothing to do with the problems peculiar to Somalia. Amazingly enough, a Somaliland citizen named Ali Khalif Galair was appointed prime minister of Somalia in the Reconciliation Conference of Somalia hosted by Djibouti in 2000, and in less than two years he was expelled from office for failure because the people of Somalia did not trust him and questioned his legitimacy for being Somaliland citizen. The agenda of each peace talks of Somalia brings together different Somali groups, half of them false representatives, under different governments and administrations. Then, the false delegates urge each conference to bring Somaliland to the table of negotiations and when that becomes impossible, the talks are postponed for failure and without conclusion, thus perpetuating the suffering and hopelessness of Somalias people. These false delegates are not interested in achieving peace for Somalia since it is not their homeland, but they are interested in money and positions to hold for awhile. This is the routine procedure of all peace talks of Somalia that are fated to collapse because of the nature of their agendas.

Somaliland, unlike others, is a separate independent republic and shall not, by any circumstances, participate in any peace talks of Somalia, and the international community or the sponsoring countries of Somalias peace talks should not and must not persuade Somaliland to return to the injustice, killing machine and violence of Somalia. It would be troubling double standard if the international community invites the Somaliland government to the peace talks of Somalia while advocating stability and democracy around the world. To expect Somaliland in such talks is nothing but wishful thinking. Somalia is the one country which needs peace and government, not Somaliland. Somaliland welcomes if it is included in the list of peace talks sponsoring-countries of Somalia if the people of Somalia choose so, as Somaliland knows the history and traditions of Somalia better than any other foreign country.

The warlords of Somalia and the peace talks-sponsoring countries must come to their senses, must stop betraying the people of Somalia with half-legitimate conferences, and must review the agenda and the procedure of future peace talks. They have the obligations and responsibility of holding peace talks that are exclusively for Somalia and with legitimate delegates from Somalia only in order to restore order, law, peace and stability permanently in Somalia, and to end hopelessness, fear and violence. If they fail to do so, and continue holding shadow peace talks under the notion of Greater Somalia, that makes peace unattainable in Somalia, then the people of Somalia must unite and take matters in their own hands to decide their own destiny for hopeful, peaceful, and bright future. My heart goes out to all the defenseless people of Somalia who have been living in dreadful conditions since 1991. I pray to Allah that they get a quick and peaceful solution to their difficult times.

Batasuna, seen as the political wing of Basque armed separatist group ETA, was joined Thursday by members of a new Basque nationalist movement in pledging to oppose a ban slapped on the party last week. In a joint press conference, Batasuna and Autodeterminaziorako Bilgunea (AuB) presented a document stating that for them "the ban and legal suspension of Batasuna is not valid". The groups vowed "not to respect the ban", said Batasuna spokesman and regional Basque parliamentary deputy Arnaldo Otegi. "The Spanish state, like the French state, lack the legitimacy to interfere with political life in the Basque Country. Only Basque citizens have the right to determine our political activity," the joint document said.

Basque nationalists have waged political and military campaigns for decades to secure full independence for the region, which includes parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Batasuna was banned by the Spanish Supreme Court on March 17. The act, in keeping with a larger crackdown on Basque nationalist by the conservative Madrid government, follows a three-year suspension imposed on Batasuna in August 2002 under a controversial law on political parties, on the grounds that the radical separatist party was part of "ETA's terrorist network".

Batasuna and AuB vowed to take measures, without specifying what they would be, to "guarantee the right of association, free assembly and protest". AuB, created in February, intends to present candidates at municipal elections on May 25 who will pursue the political fight for Basque independence. The new movement includes some former Batasuna party members, as well as independent activists, university professors and union activists.

The Spanish Supreme Court published on Friday a verdict confirming it was banning Batasuna, seen as the political wing of Basque armed separatist group ETA. The ban -- sought by the right-wing government in Madrid and accepted by the Supreme Court on March 17 -- is the first move to outlaw a political party in Spain since the country returned to democracy in 1978 following the death of far-right dictator Francisco Franco.

The court's decision was immeditately labelled "a declaration of war" by Arnaldo Otegi, spokesman for the banned party. He accused Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar of "offering, on a different scale, the same remedy for the Basque country as for Iraq". Aznar is a staunch supporter of the US-led war in Iraq. In contrast, Spanish Justice Minister Jose Maria Michavila described the court's decision as "a great success for our democracy", expressing his satisfaction that "our taxes will no longer finance terrorists and that terrorists will no longer walk freely in the corridors of democracy."

The 257-verdict published on Friday also confirmed the court's decision to ban two radical separatist Basque parties that preceded Batasuna -- Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok. The document said the sole aim of the three parties was to "provide legal cover and political support" to ETA, which has been fighting for 35 years for an independent Basque homeland comprising parts of northern Spain and southwestern France.

The court ruled that all activities by the three groups should cease immediately, that they should be taken off the national register of political parties and that their assets should be liquidated. The ban has the overwhelming support of the parliament in Madrid. But it is staunchly opposed by the moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which governs the wealthy northern region, and many people who live there. The PNV said silencing Batasuna, which regularly obtains between 10 and 20 percent of the vote in Basque regional elections, would deprive local people of their democratic right to choose their politicians.

On Thursday Batasuna and a new Basque nationalist movement, Autodeterminaziorako Bilgunea (AuB), vowed to oppose the ban and promised measures to "guarantee the right of association, free assembly and protest". The crackdown on Batasuna and its predecessors is the latest in a string of moves by Madrid to forcibly stamp out ETA and anything it deems related to the armed group, whose violent campaign for independence has claimed more than 800 lives.