Extracts.
African Countries Work for Unity
It lasted little more than a decade, but the East African Community, one of
Africa's earliest attempts at regional cooperation, was proof to Kenyans,
Ugandans and Tanzanians that after a half-century of British rule, they
could make it on their own.
On Monday, leaders from the three countries gather in Arusha, Tanzania to
breathe new life into the group, 23 years after it sputtered out amid
recriminations and disagreements over how modern African states should
develop.
Presidents Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Yoweri
Museveni of Uganda will formally re-establish the East African Community,
which takes effect in July.
In addition to agreeing to strengthen political, economic, social and
cultural relations, the three countries have agreed to adopt a common East
African passport. The East African Development Bank, the Lake Victoria
Fisheries Organization and the inter-university council for East Africa
never collapsed.
Also envisaged are a customs union, a common market for about 81 million
people, a meteorological department and free movement of people and
residence without immigration control.
The three country presidents will regularly set policy for the East African
Community, which also has a council of ministers, a court and a legislature
made up of nine representatives from each country.
****
China Concerned Over Mideast Violence: Hu Jintao
Visiting Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/vpresident.html> said in
Amman Saturday that China is very concerned and worried about the ongoing
violence between Israel <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Israel.html>
is and Palestinians.
At a meeting with Jordan
<http://web3.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/Jordan.html> ian Prime Minister
Ali Abu Ragheb, Hu said China hopes that the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian
peace negotiations will yield positive results.
China has all along supported the Mideast peace process, holding that the
Middle East problem should have a comprehensive, fair and permanent solution
based on the UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the
"land-for-peace" principle.
As Arab countries' sincere friend, China firmly supports their righteous
demand to retrieve all their lands occupied by Israel and the just cause of
the Palestinians to regain their legitimate national rights, Hu pointed out.
Also, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has made and
will continue to make contributions to the advancement of the Mideast peace
process.
On the Iraq <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iraq.html> Issue,
Hu said that the decade-old sanctions on the country has not only brought
severe sufferings to its people, but also constituted an obstacle to peace,
stability and development of the Gulf region.
Reiterating China's position on the Iraq issue, Hu said that China has
always stood for a quick, fair and reasonable solution based on relevant
resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.
Iraq should fulfil its full obligations set by UN Security Council
resolutions faithfully, Hu said. Meanwhile, Iraq's sovereignty, territorial
integrity and political independence should be accorded due respect, he
said, adding that any violations of international law and relevant UN
resolutions should be rejected.
Ragheb told Hu that China has cared and supported the righteous struggle of
the Arab people as a driving force of the Mideast peace process.
China has also played an important and constructive role in promoting a
lifting of sanctions on Iraq, He added.
The Jordanian government highly appreciates China's principled stands on
Middle East issues and its unremitting efforts in the region for many years,
the prime minister said.
Hu is on the first day of his two-day official visit to Jordan, the third
leg of his five-nation tour which also includes Iran
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iran.html> , Syria
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Syria.html> , Cyprus
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/Cyprus.html> and Uganda
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Uganda.html> .
****
Iraq Condemns US, British Use of Depleted Uranium Shells
An official Iraq <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iraq.html> i
daily on Sunday condemned the use of depleted uranium shells by the United
States and Britain <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/uk.html> in
the 1991 Gulf War, and demanded those responsible be brought to trial for
"perpetrating crimes."
In an editorial, Ath-Thawra, mouthpiece of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist
Party, said that the U.S. and Britain dropped a total of 944,000 depleted
uranium shells in Iraq during the six-week Gulf War.
"The radiation of these fatal shells has caused 120,000 cancer cases and
other diseases in Iraq," the editorial said. Iraq has long blamed the
radioactive shells for a sharp increase of cancer cases in the country since
the Gulf War.
It urged the international community to move quickly to bring to trial
related U.S. and British officials "for perpetrating crimes against
humanity" and ban the manufacturing, marketing or use of this kind of bombs.
Baghdad repeatedly condemned the US-led Western allies for dropping depleted
uranium shells in the south and other parts of the country which caused an
environmental disaster.
As early as in 1998, Iraq filed a formal complaint to U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan in 1998, reserving the right to demand compensations from the
U.S. and Britain for the use of depleted uranium shells during the Gulf War.
It said those shells had caused harm to the health of people and
contaminated the environment.
****
China Sticks to Policy of Developing Economy, Socialist Democracy: Top
Legislator
China will stick to its policy of economic development and improving the
socialist legal system to build national strength and contribute to world
peace, said Chinese top legislator Li Peng
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/npcchair.html> in a speech
made at the India <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/india.html> n
International Center Saturday.
History suggests that only when national sovereignty is free from violation
and society free from instability can people concentrate their attention on
developing the economy, building national strength and improving living
standards, said Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC).
He noted that China has made enormous progress in economic development in
the past 50 years, especially in the last two decades since the reform and
opening-up policy was launched by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
China's economy now grows in a sustainable way and reform is deepened
continuously with the aggregate national strength modestly strengthened, he
said, adding that China is still a developing country considering its basic
national condition.
"To continue the modernization drive, realize national reunification and
safeguard world peace and promote common development are the three major
tasks facing China in the new century," the Chinese legislator stressed.
Under a new Five-year Plan for national economic and social development
still being drafted, China's GDP will sustain an average annual growth rate
of over 7 percent and the GDP will double that of the year 2000, said the
Chinese leader, adding that people will enjoy a more comfortable life and a
system of socialist market economy will be in place at that time.
"China is opposed to hegemonism and will never seek any kind of hegemony
itself, and its development will benefit the Chinese people and contribute
to world peace," Li emphasized. He also stressed China's policy of "peaceful
reunification and one country, two systems" to advance the reunification of
the motherland.
It is a basic state policy of China to develop socialist democracy and
improve the socialist legal system, he said, adding that China will continue
to improve its democracy and legal system, strengthen the system of people's
congress and enforced the policy of ruling the country according to law.
China's NPC and the Indian Parliament, Li went on to say, can learn from
each other despite their different political systems and contacts between
the two parliaments can boost the friendship and co-operation between the
two countries and two peoples.
Li is currently on a week-long official goodwill visit to India starting on
Tuesday.
****
Chinese, Jordanian Leaders Hail Bilateral Relations
Chinese and Jordan <http://web3.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/Jordan.html>
ian leaders agreed on Saturday to breathe new life into bilateral
cooperation in many fields, particularly trade and economy.
During a meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb, visiting
Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/vpresident.html> said China
and Jordan have been developing all-round friendly and cooperative relations
since they established diplomatic ties over two decades ago, and have
conducted effective cooperation in the political, scientific, trade and
economic and cultural fields.
He said both countries are confronted with a task to develop national
economy, to improve their peoples' living standards, and the same challenges
brought by the globalization of the world economy.
China, Hu said, is ready to tighten its friendly and cooperative ties with
Jordan, and will encourage cooperation between China's elite companies and
enterprises and their Jordanian counterparts.
China and Jordan have a lot of interests in common and share identical views
on many international issues, and the further development of the bilateral
ties is a strong aspiration of the two peoples, Hu added.
On the Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html>
issue, the Chinese leader highly appreciated Jordan's persistent stand to
adhere to the "one China" policy, to support China's great course of
national reunification and to refrain from any official involvement with
Taiwan.
For his part, Ragheb said the Jordanian people value their friendship with
the Chinese people, and his government attaches importance to friendly
cooperative ties with China.
He stressed that Jordan will continue to stick to the "one China" policy and
to support China's national reunification.
After the meeting, Hu and Ragheb attended the signing ceremony of a
scientific and technological cooperation agreement between the two
governments.
****
Moscow: No Immediate Solution to Russian-Japanese Territorial Dispute
There is no prompt solution to the Russia
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/russia.html> n-Japan
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Japan.html> ese dispute on the
sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Alexander Losyukov said in Moscow Saturday.
"It would be premature to expect a solution to the territorial problem from
next week's talks in Moscow between the Russian and Japanese foreign
ministers or even from the planned Russian- Japanese high-level meeting
later," Losyukov told a news conference.
The Russian and Japanese sides "have so far been discussing how to approach
the issue rather than how to solve it...No solution is ready so far," he
noted.
He said the problem of border demarcation is a problem that could not be
solved by a stroke of magic or simply as a good intention.
"Very serious matters are at stake -- sovereignty, national pride,
historical memory. For this reason, to try and solve such a problem by
setting a term like tomorrow, the day after, three or ten years is very
difficult and counterproductive," the deputy foreign minister said.
He recalled that the 1997 Russian-Japanese summit in the south Russian city
of Krasnoyarsk "made a good wish to try and solve the issue of concluding a
peace treaty by the start of the new century. " "But that was a wish rather
than an obligation," Losyukov added.
Meanwhile, he said that the relations between the two countries have never
been at a higher level than now "in terms of understanding each other's
positions, wishing to cooperate and looking for ways of solving the
territorial problem."
On upcoming negotiations between the Russian and Japanese foreign ministers,
he said it would be logical to confirm the resolve to continue negotiations
on the conclusion of a peace treaty.
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
