Seven Kashmiris were killed and 50 injured in clashesbetween demonstrators yesterday, the latest victims of the storm that has blown up over the massacre of 35 Sikhs inKashmir two weeks ago. The dead men were among a crowd protesting over the abduction of five people from the town of Anantnag, in southern Kashmir, a few days after the massacre. Local people believe - and they have evidence - that the five men were subsequently murdered by security forces.The Indian Army claimed on 25 March that it had killed five men responsible for the massacre of Sikhs in an "encounter" with Islamic militants 20km from the village of Chatti-Singhpura where the massacre took place. Many in Anantnag believe that the "encounter" was simply the murder of scapegoats. The bodies were too badly burnt to be identified, but relatives of the missing men found fragments of their clothing among the ashes.Yesterday's new horror came as Anantnag, after several days of total shutdown, seemed to be returning to normal.The town's Bar Association organised a prayer meeting to calm the community's anger.Last Friday, Anantnag's deputy commissioner, Dr Pawan Kotwal, had agreed to appoint a magistrate to carry out the exhumation and identification of the five bodies.Announcing that the magistrate, accompanied by a team of doctors, would begin work today, the president of the Bar Association, Munir Uddin Shawl, urged townspeople to return to work.But yesterday's deaths, after demonstrations in the nearby village of Barakpora, poisoned the mood. Police promptly clamped a curfew on the town and three separatist leaders were detained in Srinagar.After the massacre of the Sikhs, India was quick to claim it as a case of "cross-border terrorism", the work of two Islamic militias prominent in the Kashmir Valley.
Both militias denied involvement, blaming Indian intelligence agencies.India acted quickly to defuse the debate, arresting a man claimed to be the "kingpin" of the gang responsible, and following up with the killing of his five "accomplices".But the claims of abduction and murder have re-ignited the controversy over the massacre.Fortunately for the government, however, the Indian media have shown no appetite for investigating the truth behind the atrocity.. Japan's Cabinet has resigned, opening the way for the ruling party's second-in-command to replace Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who has been in a coma for three days after suffering a stroke. Japan's Cabinet has resigned, opening the way for the ruling party's second-in-command to replace Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who has been in a coma for three days after suffering a stroke. With Obuchi's ruling party firmly in control, the changes were not expected to lead to any significant alterations in the nation's basic political or economic policies.But acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki convened an emergency Cabinet meeting to accept the resignations on Tuesday because it had become clear Obuchi, who is under intensive care and being kept alive on a respirator, would not be able to resume his duties."We cannot allow a political vacuum to form," Aoki said in announcing the resignations.Events were expected to move quickly.Yoshiro Mori, the ruling party's secretary-general, was expected to be named prime minister early Wednesday, and a new Cabinet - with Obuchi as the only change - could be formally installed by the end of the day.The Cabinet resignations were needed to begin the formal process of replacing Obuchi, who is 62. With that out of the way, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party official said, LDP members in Parliament were to vote Wednesday morning on a party president to replace Obuchi.The LDP president would then be put up for the approval of Parliament as prime minister early Wednesday afternoon, and was assured of getting it because of the LDP's majority.Aoki said there was no change in Obuchi's condition, and denied reports that Obuchi was brain dead. Obuchi's wife, Chizuko, and his brother were at his side at the heavily guarded Juntendo Hospital. His daughter, Yuko, returned from studies in England Tuesday to join them.Senior members of the ruling party met throughout the day to discuss the succession. After convening a Cabinet meeting, Aoki vowed he would not let Obuchi's absence halt government business.Party members said the natural choice would be Mori, a former journalist and veteran politician with a solid power base.Mori, who like Obuchi is also 62, has refused to comment on the prospect of becoming Japan's next leader.
But he said he supports the decision to fill the vacuum left by Obuchi's collapse."We should not allow any delay in our national policy," Mori said. "Thinking of Prime Minister Obuchi, it's a very painful decision. But we shouldn't be carried away with emotions."Japan's media also called Tuesday for quick action to ease the succession crisis."The prime minister holds the final responsibility for our nation's politics," said an editorial in the conservative Yomiuri, Japan's largest newspaper. "If he cannot perform his duties, the effect on domestic politics and international affairs is serious."The crisis came as a volcanic eruption in northern Japan has left 13,000 people in emergency shelters. Concerns were also being raised about the LDP's ruling alliance.Just before Obuchi's stroke, the smaller of two parties that have joined the LDP in a ruling coalition announced it was splitting off. The loss doesn't seriously threaten the Liberal Democrats' power, but could make it more difficult for them to pass legislation.Though unable to block it, opposition lawmakers were expected to resist the appointment of a stopgap prime minister from the ruling coalition ranks.
