18 April

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MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011

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Australian military abuse could lead to payouts SYDNEY: A spiralling scandal involving alleged sexual and other abuse within the Australian military could force the government into making payouts to victims, the country’s defence minister said yesterday.

Canberra has announced sweeping reviews of the military after a female cadet at the nation’s military academy told the media that a male classmate had broadcast her having sex with him over Skype to fellow students.

Her allegations unleashed a wave of complaints, some dating back decades, from other former members of the military involving sexual abuse, beatings and other misconduct within the defence force.

“There is a distinct possibility, either in individual cases or more generally, that through the department of defence or

through the services, that there is a Commonwealth (federal government) liability here,” Defence Minister Stephen Smith said.

“That is why I say we need to proceed carefully, we need to make sure we respect all the rights of the people who are either complaining or raising issues or in respect of whom adverse comments have been made.” It emerged on Saturday that the defence force faces the threat of a class action lawsuit after advocates for one exrecruit, who claims he was beaten and raped, warned “hundreds” more cases could emerge. Police are investigating allegations that the man, who was 15 when he joined HMAS Leeuwin in the 1970s, endured beatings and assaults before he left the service within a year with an hon-

ourable discharge. Smith said that every allegation would be thoroughly investigated by an external group of lawyers.

“I have made it clear that the first thing we need to do is a methodical assessment of all those cases to see if anything more needs to be done,” Smith told Channel Ten’s “Meet The Press” programme.

“I do not rule out in that context any further legal or judicial activity so far as those complaints or allegations are concerned.” But the former foreign minister said he was not talking of holding a Royal Commission into the scandal at this stage.

“There are a range of possibilities. One, for example, would be intense legal work on particular cases, particular individual cases, another might be a use of lawyers or retired judges to look generally at the

issue,” he said.

“There also is the possibility... of giving people who want to tell their story the opportunity of doing that, and also giving people who may have been involved in such cases, so-called bastardisation or victimisation, giving them the opportunity to express a modern-day view.”

Key independent MP Andrew Wilkie, whose support is vital to Labor Party Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s narrow hold on power, said he supported Smith in his efforts to crack down on mistreatment within the military. Wilkie, accused last week of ordering military cadets to salute the 50th anniversary of Hitler’s rise when he was a senior cadet at the elite Royal Military College at Duntroon in 1983, admitted he had taken part in the “bastardisation”, or

initiation, of young recruits. “I was bastardised. I was a bastard,” he said yesterday.

“At the time, I thought it was fine, with the benefit of hindsight, I know that it is appalling and wrong,” added Wilkie, who said he never physically or sexually assaulted anyone.

Australia’s military has endured negative publicity in recent months, after an inquiry into allegations of misconduct on board the supply ship HMAS Success revealed sailors worked amid a culture of predatory sexual behaviour.

The 400-page report into the Success noted several onshore leave incidents, including the collapse of sailors due to excess alcohol in Hong Kong and public sex in a bar in China’s Qingdao as others watched. — AFP

Operator airs plan to control nuclear crisis Clinton visits Tokyo in show of support for Japan

YANGON: Myanmar Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi (C) poses with elder members during celebrations of the Thingyan festival at the National League for Democracy party headquarters in Yangon yesterday. — AFP

Suu Kyi welcomes US envoy nomination YANGON: Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi says she hopes that a new US special envoy to Myanmar will be able to help usher in true democratic reforms in her country.

President Barack Obama last week nominated Derek Mitchell, a defense official and Asia expert, as US special envoy to Myanmar.

He would have the tough job of negotiating with its military dominated government and pushing for reform. The post still needs to be confirmed by the US Senate. “I’m a cautious optimist,” Suu Kyi told reporters yesterday. “As a special envoy, he probably sees that his duty is to try to bring about democratization of Burma as smoothly and quickly as possible.

So we look upon him as a friend.” Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Suu Kyi’s opposition party, which won previous elections in 1990 but was blocked from taking power by the military, boycotted the last vote in November, calling it unfair. Much of the international community also dismissed the elections as rigged in favor of the junta. Suu Kyi’s disbanded party, the National League for Democracy, held a religious ceremony in honor of Myanmar’s traditional New

Year, which started yesterday after four days of festivities.

For the New Year, Suu Kyi said she wished for “peace and happiness and hope for the future.” “Let’s hope that even if we do not get peace and happiness immediately, we will have great hopes of peace and happiness to come,” Suu Kyi said. The party also held a ceremony for three people it named as “The unsung heroes” — Buddhist monk U Aindaka and two party members, Khin Win and Than Naing. All three are serving long prison sentences for their pro-democracy work. In the past 18 months, the Obama administration has shifted the long-standing US policy of isolating Myanmar’s generals, attempting to engage them while retaining sanctions imposed because of the military’s poor record on human rights and democracy. The policy has made little headway. The US says it is premature to lift sanctions. It is urging Myanmar to release its more than 2,000 political prisoners and open up its politics. Washington is also concerned about Myanmar’s alleged nuclear ambitions and trade in weapons with North Korea. — AP

Underground Beijing church leaders detained BEIJING: At least two pastors from an underground Beijing church were in police custody and numerous other leaders remained under house arrest yesterday as part of a crackdown on the unregistered Shouwang congregation, a US-based rights group said.

The two pastors were taken from their homes by Beijing Public Security Bureau officers Saturday night, Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association, a Christian rights group, said in an email.

Fu said all other Shouwang leaders were under house arrest, though he didn’t give an exact number. Some church members have lost their homes or jobs amid an official campaign to shut down the church, he said.

China’s Communist government allows worship only in state-approved churches, but many Christians belong to unregistered congregations. Such “house churches” are subjected to varying degrees of harassment by authorities. Shouwang members have for years been at odds with Beijing officials over their right to worship. Tensions escalated ear-

lier this month when the church was evicted from its usual rented place of worship, a Beijing restaurant. Church leaders decided to temporarily hold services in a public space, prompting police to tape off the area and detain anyone who showed up to take part.

A second attempt at open-air services was planned for Sunday in northwest Beijing’s Haidian district. Again, numerous uniformed and plainclothes police officers were parked near the office and shopping complex where Shouwang members were supposed to gather. An Associated Press journalist was followed and warned by plainclothes police not to conduct any interviews in the area. A woman who answered the phone at the Haidian Public Security Bureau referred calls to the bureau’s propaganda department, where the phone rang unanswered. Calls to the Beijing PSB office also went unanswered.

Shouwang tried in 2006 to register with the government but its application was rejected, the church said in a statement distributed by Fu. —AP

HK cabin crews get kung fu training HONG KONG: A Hong Kong airline is making all its cabin crew take kung fu lessons to help them to deal with drunk and unruly passengers.

Hong Kong Airlines said all staff had been invited to undergo training in wing chun-a form of kung fu used in closerange combat-but it was only compulsory for cabin crew, the Sunday Morning Post reported. The airline had around three incidents involving disruptive passengers every week, said Eva Chan, the carrier’s deputy general manager of corporate communication. Two weeks ago a crew member had to put her martial arts training into practice on a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong. “One of the passengers was sick but he was probably drunk and felt unwell. The crew member attended to him and she realised her fitness was helping her, especially because the guy was

quite heavy,” Chan told the newspaper.

“Normally, a female cabin crew can’t handle a fat guy, especially if he’s drunk, but because of the training, she can handle it quite easily.” New recruit Lumpy Tang, 22, said she never imagined kung fu would be part of the job. “We were surprised in the beginning, but after a few lessons we really liked wing chun,” Tang told the Post.

“You cannot predict what will happen on the plane, so wing chun is good because it’s so fast,” she said. “I feel safer because I can defend myself and I’m really happy to be one of the first cabin crew to learn wing chun in the world.”

Wing chun instructor Katherine Cheung said the martial art was ideal for airline crews. “Wing chun can be used in small, confined spaces so it’s suited for an airplane,” Cheung said. “It’s easy to learn but difficult to master.” —AFP

TOKYO: The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant laid out a blueprint yesterday for stopping radiation leaks and stabilizing damaged reactors within the next six to nine months as a first step toward allowing some of the tens of thousands of evacuees to return to the area. While the government said the timeframe was realistic, those forced to flee their homes, jobs and farms were frustrated that their exile is not going to end soon. And officials acknowledge that unforeseen complications, or even another natural disaster, could set that timetable back even further.

“Well, this year is lost,” said Kenji Matsueda, 49, who is living in an evacuation center in Fukushima after being forced from his home 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the plant. “I have no idea what I will do. Nine months is a long time. And it could be longer. I don’t think they really know.” Pressure has been building on the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to resolve Japan’s worst-ever nuclear power accident since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami hit the country March 11, knocking out power and cooling systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex.

On orders from Prime Minister Naoto Kan, TEPCO drew up the blueprint and publicly explained its long-term strategy — for the first time since the disaster — for containing the crisis that has cast a cloud of fear over the country. “We sincerely apologize for causing troubles,” TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said. “We are doing our utmost to prevent the crisis from further worsening.” Under the roadmap, TEPCO will deal with the crisis in two stages.

In the first stage, the company will focus on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools and reducing the level of leaking radiation. It will also aim to decontaminate water that has become radioactive, reduce the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere and soil, and lower radiation levels in the evacuation area, Katsumata said. In the next stage, TEPCO aims to firmly control the release of radioactive materials, achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors and temporarily cover the reactor buildings, possibly with a form of industrial cloth. Longer-term goals include removing fuel from the spent fuel pools and putting permanent covers over the buildings. TEPCO also plans to establish a system to recycle cooling water that will remove radioactivity as well as corrosive salt left behind by seawater that was earlier used as an emergency cooling measure.

“Given the conditions now, this is best that it could do,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, adding that conditions at the facility remain unstable. Explosions, fires and other malfunctions have hindered efforts to repair the stricken plant and stem radiation leaks.

In a show of support for a staunch American ally, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Tokyo yesterday to express admiration and sympathy for the Japanese. Clinton had tea with the emperor and empress, who have been visiting evacuation centers to commiserate with the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, which left

TOKYO: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets the children of Embassy employees at the US Embassy in Tokyo, yesterday. Families were allowed back Friday, after warnings has been lifted following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. — AFP nearly 28,000 people dead or missing.

“We pledge our steadfast support for you and your future recovery. We are very confident that Japan will demonstrate the resilience that we have seen during this crisis in the months ahead,” Clinton said. She also met with government officials, including Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, who asked for US feedback on TEPCO’s plan to combat the nuclear crisis, Clinton said.

Goshi Hosono, an adviser to the prime minister and member of his nuclear crisis management task force, said the government would closely monitor TEPCO’s implementation of the plan and hoped the work could be concluded ahead of the six to nine month schedule. He said he understood people were frustrated by the timeline, but he called it “realistic.” “There is no shortcut to resolving these issues. Though it will be difficult, we have to go step by step to resolve these problems,” he said.

Even with the announcement of the timeline, it remained unclear when evacuees might be able to return home. The area would need to be decontaminated, including removing and replacing the soil, Nishiyama said. Hosono said the evacuees would not have to stay in gymnasiums for such a long period, but would be moved into temporary housing.

Some evacuees were unswayed by TEPCO’s plan. “I don’t believe a word they say,” said Yukio Otsuka, 56, a private school owner whose home is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the power plant.

“I don’t trust them. I don’t believe it is possible. We have really drawn the short stick on this one.”

Activists criticized the delay in the roadmap’s announcement. “TEPCO has taken far too long to

provide an indication of the direction it plans to take to bring the situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi under control,” said Philip White of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, a group of scientists and activists who have opposed nuclear power since 1975. “We hope TEPCO meets its targets, but there are many challenges ahead and many uncertainties.” The unveiling of the roadmap came two days after TEPCO — also under pressure from Kan’s government — announced plans to give 1 million yen ($12,000) in initial compensation to each evacuated household, with much more expected later.

Katsumata, the TEPCO chairman, was hammered Sunday by questions over his managerial responsibility and told reporters he was considering stepping down because of the crisis.“I feel very responsible,” he said. Kan said in a weekend commentary in the International Herald Tribune that ending the nuclear crisis as soon as possible was his “top priority.” As Japan has begun planning for reconstruction and mulling how to pay for it, Kan’s political opponents have resumed calls for his resignation after refraining from criticism in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Government officials fanned out across the affected areas over the weekend seeking to explain evacuation decisions and calm nerves. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano met Sunday with the governor of Fukushima, who has vigorously protested the predicament the nuclear crisis poses for his prefecture.“ The safety of residents is our foremost priority,” Edano said. “I told the governor that the government will do everything it can to prevent the crisis from worsening.” — AP

Malaysia PM seen stalling on reform after disappointing vote KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will likely put key economic reforms on ice as he tries to rebuild voter support after his ruling coalition recorded its worst performance in 24 years in a local election in a key stronghold.

Bets are largely off for a snap general election to take place this year, with Najib expected to rethink his strategy of promoting inclusive

growth in the Muslim-majority multicultural nation to win back the minority vote, analysts said.

In Saturday’s state poll, Najib’s ruling National Front retained control of its stronghold Sarawak, which accounts for a fifth of its parliamentary seats, but the opposition more than doubled its seat tally as ethnic Chinese mostly voted against the government.

NARATHIWAT: Members of a Thai bomb squad inspect the site of a bomb attack by suspected separatist militants who were targeting patrolling soldiers in Thailand’s restive southern province of Narathiwat yesterday. — AFP

Structural economic changes such as further scaling back fuel subsidies, introducing a goods and services tax and reforming a decades-old racebased policy would be relegated in Najib’s list of priorities for now, analysts said. “After the outcome in Sarawak, Najib will need a general election mandate before making any big moves,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director at the independent opinion polling firm Merdeka Center.

“Enacting fuel subsidy cuts and a goods and services tax will just add to the political issues that he will have to deal with ahead of the general election.”

The opposition won 15 seats in the 71-seat state legislature, giving the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority. But it was its worst performance in Sarawak since 1987 when the coalition won only 25 out of 45 seats.

In the last state election in 2006, the opposition won only seven seats.

On Saturday, the ruling National Front’s losses came mainly from areas dominated by ethnic Chinese, with its main Chinese party in the state losing 13 of the 19 seats it contested.

Financial markets are expected to be little changed today as past state elections have had minimal bearing on trade, although the expected

delay in introducing reform could reinforce the stock market’s laggard position versus its neighbours.

Najib took office in 2009 pledging to woo investment, widen the country’s tax base with a goods and services tax and cut the country’s subsidy bill and budget deficit which hit a 20year high of 7 percent of gross domestic product in 2009.

Once a magnet for foreign investment, Malaysia has lost much of its shine as its neighbours move faster in implementing reforms amid strong economic growth.

In a March report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Malaysia ranked as the second least popular market after Colombia among global emerging market fund managers and tied with India for least favourite among Asia-Pacific asset managers.

Analysts are uncertain about the timing for the next general election after the Sarawak poll although most agree that Najib was unlikely to call one this year, as he might have if he had won more decisively in Sarawak.

The next general election is not due until 2013.

Asked whether the state poll would be a barometer for calling a general election, Najib was quoted by local media as saying: “No, this is only at state level. —Reuters