New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, who took over as the new chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) Monday, said creation of the post of chief of defence staff (CDS) is in the national interest.
He took over as the chairman, COSC from outgoing Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta. The COSC was constituted to coordinate among the three forces till the time a consensus is reached on the creation of a CDS.
“I think the sooner we shift to CDS the better. It is under consideration of the government. It is in the national interest to shift to the system,” Kapoor said after the taking over ceremony.
Kapoor, who was commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1967, took over as the army chief on Sep 30, 2007.
Having taken an active part in the 1971 Bangladesh war, he has commanded a brigade on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a division under a strike corps during the army’s deployment along the border with Pakistan after the Dec 13, 2001 attack on parliament and a corps on the Indo-China border. He also headed the Northern Command.
Kapoor has also represented the country as the chief operations officer for all United Nations Forces deployed in Somalia from 1994 to 1995.
Monday, August 31, 2009
NEW NAVAL CHIEF
New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Vice Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, who once commanded India's sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat, today took over as the new Navy chief.
Vice Admiral Verma, who was till now the Eastern Naval Commander at Visakhapatnam, assumed responsibility as the head of world's fourth largest Navy from incumbent Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who retires from service.
Verma, who was born on November 14 in 1950, was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Navy on July 1, 1970 and during his long service spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
His sea command experience includes the Leander-class Frigate INS Udaigiri, Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvir and the flagship aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
Vice Admiral Verma, who was till now the Eastern Naval Commander at Visakhapatnam, assumed responsibility as the head of world's fourth largest Navy from incumbent Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who retires from service.
Verma, who was born on November 14 in 1950, was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Navy on July 1, 1970 and during his long service spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
His sea command experience includes the Leander-class Frigate INS Udaigiri, Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvir and the flagship aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
Soldiers ‘will continue to protest’
Soldiers will continue protesting until the minister of defence tables a decent wage offer, the South African National Defence Union (Sandu) said on Friday.
Army protesters face boot
SA soldiers a disgrace (Audio)
"We call on the minister to table a decent offer, failing which we will initiate further programmes of protest starting on September 2," said Sandu president Mosima Mosima.
This would be in the form of pickets, petitions and protest marches in a push for a salary increase of 30 percent across the board.
Mosima said the soldiers had not defied a court order when they went to the Union Buildings on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning the High Court in Pretoria would not give soldiers permission for a planned march to the Union Buildings.
Later, they tried to enter the grounds of the Union Buildings, which houses the president’s office and other key departments, allegedly damaging vehicles and setting a police van alight, before being dispersed by police using rubber bullets and teargas.
"At the time of receiving the court’s judgement, soldiers had already assembled at the designated area, and the police suggested that the soldiers should be moved to another venue, which will not disturb the CBD, where leaders of the union will inform them of the outcome of the court."
He charged that when they arrived at the Union Buildings, police sprayed part of the group with water and that was when chaos erupted.
"This unfortunate incident leads to a series of events which end up in excessive, brutal and unnecessary action by police," said Mosima.
He said their members were shot with rubber bullets while running for cover after a police water cannon sprayed them with water while they were about to sit down to listen to union leaders.
Spokesman for the union Jeff Dubazana said dismissing soldiers for ’going to the Union Buildings would not solve their "shameful" salary position.
"The minister [Lindiwe Sisulu] cannot dismiss members.... some of them were on leave of absence while others were protected by the Constitutional Court judgment of 2007 that ruled that soldiers cannot be denied leave to participate in a protest."
Sandu said it would pursue contempt of court proceeding against "all military leaders and civilian management".
The union said it was not opposed to people acting criminally to be charged, but was against a witch-hunt on members for merely being at the Union Buildings on Wednesday.
Dubazana said none of their members have been suspended or dismissed.
"Reports from members are that there is a tension between them and management who want to identify soldiers who were at the Union Buildings."
The uMKhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) has called for the de-unionisation of the security cluster following the soldiers’ protest.
"Soldiers are the protectors of the Constitution and their allegiance lies with the country... there is always an expectation that a soldier must have pride, honour, duty and sacrifice amongst qualities that define his or her patriotic actions." said national secretary Ayanda Dlodlo.
Dlodlo said MKMVA has called on President Jacob Zuma, the Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana and alliance partners to review the unionisation of the security cluster in the interest of national security.
The security cluster includes the defence, the police, intelligence and the metro police.
Army protesters face boot
SA soldiers a disgrace (Audio)
"We call on the minister to table a decent offer, failing which we will initiate further programmes of protest starting on September 2," said Sandu president Mosima Mosima.
This would be in the form of pickets, petitions and protest marches in a push for a salary increase of 30 percent across the board.
Mosima said the soldiers had not defied a court order when they went to the Union Buildings on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning the High Court in Pretoria would not give soldiers permission for a planned march to the Union Buildings.
Later, they tried to enter the grounds of the Union Buildings, which houses the president’s office and other key departments, allegedly damaging vehicles and setting a police van alight, before being dispersed by police using rubber bullets and teargas.
"At the time of receiving the court’s judgement, soldiers had already assembled at the designated area, and the police suggested that the soldiers should be moved to another venue, which will not disturb the CBD, where leaders of the union will inform them of the outcome of the court."
He charged that when they arrived at the Union Buildings, police sprayed part of the group with water and that was when chaos erupted.
"This unfortunate incident leads to a series of events which end up in excessive, brutal and unnecessary action by police," said Mosima.
He said their members were shot with rubber bullets while running for cover after a police water cannon sprayed them with water while they were about to sit down to listen to union leaders.
Spokesman for the union Jeff Dubazana said dismissing soldiers for ’going to the Union Buildings would not solve their "shameful" salary position.
"The minister [Lindiwe Sisulu] cannot dismiss members.... some of them were on leave of absence while others were protected by the Constitutional Court judgment of 2007 that ruled that soldiers cannot be denied leave to participate in a protest."
Sandu said it would pursue contempt of court proceeding against "all military leaders and civilian management".
The union said it was not opposed to people acting criminally to be charged, but was against a witch-hunt on members for merely being at the Union Buildings on Wednesday.
Dubazana said none of their members have been suspended or dismissed.
"Reports from members are that there is a tension between them and management who want to identify soldiers who were at the Union Buildings."
The uMKhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) has called for the de-unionisation of the security cluster following the soldiers’ protest.
"Soldiers are the protectors of the Constitution and their allegiance lies with the country... there is always an expectation that a soldier must have pride, honour, duty and sacrifice amongst qualities that define his or her patriotic actions." said national secretary Ayanda Dlodlo.
Dlodlo said MKMVA has called on President Jacob Zuma, the Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana and alliance partners to review the unionisation of the security cluster in the interest of national security.
The security cluster includes the defence, the police, intelligence and the metro police.
Veterans opposed to military unions
The government must review the unionisation of the military, veterans said.
"... We have and will always oppose the unionisation of the security cluster especially based on the fact that there is a thin line between mutiny and protest action by soldiers," the Umkhonto we Sizwe and Azanian People’s Liberation Army military veterans’ associations (MKMVA and APLAMVA) said in a statement today.
Soldiers were the protectors of the Constitution and their allegiance lay with the country, they said, adding that there was always an expectation that a soldier’s patriotic actions be defined by pride, honour, duty and sacrifice.
"We therefore call on... President Jacob Zuma, Parliament, government and the judiciary to review the unionisation of the security cluster, which includes the defence, the police, intelligence and the metro police.
"It is in the best interests of the nation that the security cluster is de-unionised.
"The state has a responsibility to take care of the members of the security establishment and to make sure they are treated with the dignity deserved of those who bear allegiance to the flag.
"There are proper channels of communication within the security cluster and where there is a need for improvement it should be done," MKMVA and APLAMVA said.
They were reacting to Wednesday’s violent protest over pay by soldiers, which left a policeman and several soldiers injured and all troops who took part under threat of dismissal.
Before the protest, the SA Nation Defence Union said it had waited five weeks for a response by the employer to wage demands tabled in the military bargaining council.
This meant collective bargaining on the improvement of soldiers’ salaries had effectively come to a standstill, it said.
The veterans today said this form of strike action should not be condoned and could never be justified.
"The tendency that is developing whereby everyone protests every time there is a problem without interacting or going through the correct channels is disturbing as it breeds a culture of non-engagement and feeds a culture of unpatriotic citizenship," they said.
"We must always remember that there are lives that were sacrificed and the cost to attain these freedoms and rights was paid with the highest price that we can never even repay."
The veterans acknowledged there were problems in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and that there had been ever since it was integrated with the former liberation armies.
"Officers from the former South African Defence Force have over the years failed to address the grievances that have been raised...," they said.
"Our members have been discharged by the same people as they are not supportive of the transformation in the national defence force.
"The salary parity in the army is a disgrace and a major concern as the low-rank members of the national defence force are earning less than security guards and this is unacceptable in light of their duty and responsibility."
Among other things hampering morale in the SANDF were the removal of the benefits which previously offset soldiers’ low salaries and the failure to promote veterans, some of whom were taking home salaries of R600 after deductions.
Nonetheless, there were "channels of engagement", like the bargaining council, they said.
"... All parties must be honest and the representative of our people’s government must be responsive to the grievances raised."
They had resolved to meet the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu to "discuss and resolve" the issues threatening the country’s stability and undermining the SANDF’s role, the veterans said.
"... We have and will always oppose the unionisation of the security cluster especially based on the fact that there is a thin line between mutiny and protest action by soldiers," the Umkhonto we Sizwe and Azanian People’s Liberation Army military veterans’ associations (MKMVA and APLAMVA) said in a statement today.
Soldiers were the protectors of the Constitution and their allegiance lay with the country, they said, adding that there was always an expectation that a soldier’s patriotic actions be defined by pride, honour, duty and sacrifice.
"We therefore call on... President Jacob Zuma, Parliament, government and the judiciary to review the unionisation of the security cluster, which includes the defence, the police, intelligence and the metro police.
"It is in the best interests of the nation that the security cluster is de-unionised.
"The state has a responsibility to take care of the members of the security establishment and to make sure they are treated with the dignity deserved of those who bear allegiance to the flag.
"There are proper channels of communication within the security cluster and where there is a need for improvement it should be done," MKMVA and APLAMVA said.
They were reacting to Wednesday’s violent protest over pay by soldiers, which left a policeman and several soldiers injured and all troops who took part under threat of dismissal.
Before the protest, the SA Nation Defence Union said it had waited five weeks for a response by the employer to wage demands tabled in the military bargaining council.
This meant collective bargaining on the improvement of soldiers’ salaries had effectively come to a standstill, it said.
The veterans today said this form of strike action should not be condoned and could never be justified.
"The tendency that is developing whereby everyone protests every time there is a problem without interacting or going through the correct channels is disturbing as it breeds a culture of non-engagement and feeds a culture of unpatriotic citizenship," they said.
"We must always remember that there are lives that were sacrificed and the cost to attain these freedoms and rights was paid with the highest price that we can never even repay."
The veterans acknowledged there were problems in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and that there had been ever since it was integrated with the former liberation armies.
"Officers from the former South African Defence Force have over the years failed to address the grievances that have been raised...," they said.
"Our members have been discharged by the same people as they are not supportive of the transformation in the national defence force.
"The salary parity in the army is a disgrace and a major concern as the low-rank members of the national defence force are earning less than security guards and this is unacceptable in light of their duty and responsibility."
Among other things hampering morale in the SANDF were the removal of the benefits which previously offset soldiers’ low salaries and the failure to promote veterans, some of whom were taking home salaries of R600 after deductions.
Nonetheless, there were "channels of engagement", like the bargaining council, they said.
"... All parties must be honest and the representative of our people’s government must be responsive to the grievances raised."
They had resolved to meet the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu to "discuss and resolve" the issues threatening the country’s stability and undermining the SANDF’s role, the veterans said.
2 killed, 4 injured in separate strikes on CRPF in Kashmir
At least two jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and four others injured in two separate militant strikes in Srinagar on Monday.
In a first incident, militants opened indiscriminate firing in Lal Chowk area, killing two CRPF jawans. The militants also reportedly lob grenades on CRPF’s G/28 battalion, situated in Maisuma area injuring four jawans.
Following these incidents, the security forces cordoned off the Lal Chowk, and Aftab Market for search operations.
Bhutto had asked PAF to be ready to attack India’s N-sites: Beg
Slain former premier Benazir Bhutto had directed the Pakistan Air Force to be ready to attack India’s nuclear facilities in case Pakistan’s atomic installations were targeted in 1990, former army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg has claimed.
Bhutto, the then prime minister, issued the directive to the PAF after reports surfaced that the US, Israelis and Indians were allegedly planning to attack Pakistan’s nuclear facilities, Beg told a TV news channel in an interview.
He did not give further details.
Beg also claimed that the Saudis had given “bags full of money” to late politician Mahmood Haroon to woo political leaders to join the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, which was formed in 1988 to ensure that Bhutto did not return to power.
The money was also meant to fund IJI’s election campaign, he said.
The former army chief said Haroon had claimed that the “money bags” were so heavy that his “shoulders hurt for days”.
Harpoon modification a threat to India: Navy Chief
With the US accusing Pakistan of illegally modifying Harpoon missiles, which could be used to strike Indian targets, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Monday said New Delhi had been pointing to the "danger of proliferation" on several occasions.
This shows the "danger of proliferation and we have been telling this from time to time," Admiral Mehta told reporters soon after handing over the baton to his successor Admiral Nirmal Verma here.
"This has nothing to do with (Pakistan's) self defence and it is against Indian interest," Mehta said.
He, however, said "Harpoon cannot be changed too much and Pakistan will need some time to do the alteration on the missile to strike land targets."
Referring to Indo-Russian BrahMos joint missile venture, Mehta said it was first developed as a land attack cruise missile and now it is being modified as a ship-based weapon.
Admiral Verma, who was asked about the US charge against Pakistan about Harpoon modification, said the Navy's endeavour would be to ensure nobody came within the striking distance of India and launch such missiles.
"Our endeavour during maritime operations is to ensure that no body comes within a (striking) distance and launches such missiles," he said.
On whether India was concerned over Pakistan modifying Harpoons, Admiral Verma said, "We should have confidence in our armed forces. They are equipped, trained and have tactics to counter any threat."
Referring to the maritime capabilities perspective plan of the Navy, he said, "Threats will be there. We have to take care of them and counter them."
On Admiral Mehta's comments regarding India not capable of matching China force-by-force, Verma said it was one way of looking at force level of the two countries.
However, he said, Mehta has already clarified his comments.
"What we should look at is our capability. Whatever we have is to counter the threats and take care of our maritime interest. We have to be capable of countering the threats," he said.
Referring to the increasing Chinese presence in the Indian ocean, the new Navy Chief said every country has the right to pursue its interest in international waters.
UAC-HAL's Multirole Transport Aircraft JV To Be Incorporated Next Month
When Indian Defence Minister AK Antony visits Russia next month on an official visit, the two countries will formally incorporate a joint venture (upgrade the existing Inter-Governmental Agreement or IGA) for the joint development and production of the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA), agreed upon back in early 2006. The documents of incorporation were finalised by senior HAL/MoD officials before and during the recently concluded MAKS-2009 air show at Zhukovsky outside Moscow. Workshare aspects have already been worked out between the two countries.
Very much like the agreement on BrahMos, the agreement will chart out production for the armed forces of India and Russia, in addition to friendly third countries, a list of which has already been drawn up and will be enshrined as an annexure to the main agreement document. According to sources, the agreement also contains the agreed joint intention to spin-off (to be pioneered by HAL's Aircraft Research and Design Centre, Bangalore) and market a civilian variant of the MTA in the form of a 100-seater passenger airplane for which HAL will be the lead partner and principal integrator. The Indian part of serial production of the MTA, when ready, will take place at HAL's Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur.
SOURCE : LIVEFIST
Very much like the agreement on BrahMos, the agreement will chart out production for the armed forces of India and Russia, in addition to friendly third countries, a list of which has already been drawn up and will be enshrined as an annexure to the main agreement document. According to sources, the agreement also contains the agreed joint intention to spin-off (to be pioneered by HAL's Aircraft Research and Design Centre, Bangalore) and market a civilian variant of the MTA in the form of a 100-seater passenger airplane for which HAL will be the lead partner and principal integrator. The Indian part of serial production of the MTA, when ready, will take place at HAL's Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur.
SOURCE : LIVEFIST
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