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February 27
The day after the train attack rioting broke out across the state of
Gujarat
2002: Hindus die in train fire
England have
Fifty-seven Hindu pilgrims have died in a fire on a train in India.
The fire happened as the Sabarmati Express, bound for Ahmedabad, was
pulling out of Godhra station in the western state of Gujarat at approximately
0630 hrs today.
The train was returning hundreds of Hindu activists from a pilgrimage to
the disputed holy site of Ayodhya in the northern Indian state of Uttar P, which
is claimed by both Muslims and Hindus.
A gang of Muslims are suspected of causing the fire and India"s prime
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has appealed for calm amid fears of renewed
religious tension in the country.
The dispute over Ayodhya has been ongoing for several years.
In 1992 the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or World Hindu Council, organised
a demonstration which resulted in the destruction of a 500-year-old Moghul
mosque at Ayodhya.
The Hindus believe the mosque occupied the same spot where their god Ram
was born.
The destruction of the mosque sparked the most widespread rioting India has
seen since partition, and resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 people.
More than 14,000 Hindus have gathered at Ayodhya in recent weeks to plan
the construction of a temple. They have set a deadline of 15 March for work to
begin.
According to the head of police in Godhra, Raju Bhargava, it appears this
morning"s train fire was started by a gang of Muslims who were angered by
pro-Hindu chanting on the train.
Initial evidence suggests kerosene was poured into four of the carriages
before they were set alight.
Local resident Rakesh Kimani, 18, witnessed the event: "I heard screams for
help as I came out of my house.
"I saw a huge ball of fire... people putting out their hands and heads
through the windows, trying to escape.
"It was a horrible sight."
Schools and shops have been shut in Godhra and a curfew has been imposed.
Police in the town have been ordered to shoot troublemakers on sight.
Prime Minister Vajpayee, whose Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata
party (BJP), allied to the VHP, came to power in the mid-1990s in a landslide
victory, said: "This is a very sad and unfortunate incident.
"The Ayodhya dispute can be solved only by dialogue between Hindus and
Muslims or resolved by the court. It cannot be resolved through violent means or
agitation.
"I would appeal to the VHP to suspend their campaign and help government in
maintaining peace and brotherhood in the country."
But the VHP has called for a state-wide strike to protest against the
attack and the more militant members have vowed to continue with the temple"s
construction.
There have been scattered reports of clashes between Hindus and Muslims in
Gujarat after news of the train attack spread.
General de Gaulle was the targeted last August by rebel army officers
1963: Man charged over plot to kill de Gaulle
Artificially 1969:
The Antoine Argoud, President De Gaulle"s arch enemy and a former colonel
in the French Army, has been charged with an assassination attempt on the
president two years ago.
Argoud was, until now, the only active member of the Algerian Secret Army
(OAS) , an organisation opposed to Algerian independence that has used violent
methods to promote its cause.
He was found by police yesterday tied up and badly bruised in the back of a
blue van in central Paris after a tip-off.
He claims he was kidnapped from Munich, Germany, by the French secret
service, known as Les Barbouzes (the Bearded Ones).
But the man who phoned police about Argoud"s whereabouts claimed to be a
member of the OAS.
He told the police: "Argoud has betrayed us. He has failed in all the tasks
which he should have organised - especially the attempt on the life of President
de Gaulle at the Petit Clamart last August.
"You can pick him up now. He is very near you."
The blue van was found just yards from the Quai des Orf鑦res, the French
equivalent of Scotland Yard.
After a failed coup led by General Raoul Salan in August 1961, Argoud was
captured and imprisoned in the Canary Islands.
But last March he escaped to Madrid dressed as a Spanish officer.
Two months later, he made his way to Germany where he tried to drum up
support for his cause among French Army units based there.
He has since courted the more moderate version of the OAS, the illegal
National Resistance Council (CNR) led by former prime minister Georges Bidault
and Jacques Soustelle.
Fifteen of Argoud"s associates are already on trial at a military court in
Paris for their part in the de Gaulle assassination plot.
Argoud himself was sentenced to death in absentia while he was on the
run.
This sentence will be set aside in preparation for a new trial.
Vocabulary:
pilgrimage: a journey to a sacred place(朝拜，朝圣) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:38