Extracts.
Kostunica Appreciates China's "One Country, Two Systems" Policy. In a written interview with Chinese journalists on the eve of his trip to China, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica Sunday said that he appreciated China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over HK and Macao under the policy of "one country, two systems". He believed that China would successfully solve the issue of Taiwan. Yugoslavia Supports China's Resolve In a written interview with Chinese journalists on the eve of his Chinese trip, Kostunica said his country supports without reservations China's resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Big Role of China The president said China, which is held in great respect in the international community, is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining world peace and stability. Noting the achievements China has made in reform and opening up to the outside world, Kostunica said China will serve as an example for Yugoslavia, which is engaged in reform and striving to return to the international community. Hope on Establishment of Bi-Partnership Kostunica expressed the hope that China could become Yugoslavia's important political and economic partner so as to help Yugoslav overcome the difficulties facing the country. He also expressed the hope that his upcoming visit to China would help promote political dialogue and economic cooperation between the two countries. According to China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi, President Vojislav Kostunica of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will pay a state visit to Chinafrom 9 to 11 January 2002, at the invitation of the Chinese President Jiang Zemin. **** Shanghai Cooperation Organization FMs Meet in Beijing. Foreign ministers of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Monday held a one-day meeting in Beijing Foreign ministers of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Monday held a one-day meeting in Beijing. This is the first meeting of foreign ministers after SCO was founded in June, 2001. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry <http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/> spokesman Sun Yuxi, foreign ministers will discuss such issues as the Afghan situation, the international anti-terrorist cooperation and the crackdown on terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as the organizational construction of SCO. SCO now groups China, Russian , Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan . **** Musharraf, Vajpayee Meet Informally Amid Hopes. President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had several informal interactions at the SAARC summit including a closed-door meeting for one hour, amid some signs that the situation may ease, although no immediate breakthrough was claimed by either side. President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had several informal interactions at the SAARC summit including a closed-door meeting for one hour, amid some signs that the situation may ease, although no immediate breakthrough was claimed by either side. General Musharraf hoped formal bilateral negotiations would be held in the near future on all issues. Vajpayee was quoted as saying on Sunday peace talks with Pakistan had come to a temporary halt and would be resumed in the future. "We are neighbours and we've had talks in the past," Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Nepal's largest selling daily, Kantipur, quoted Vajpayee as telling a meeting of Nepalese editors. "The talks have stopped now. But they will take place in the future." President Musharraf was accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and the Indian contingent comprised of Atal Behari Vajpayee, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, who later described the meeting as a "courtesy call". Sources said the urgent dialogue session took place in the wake of the US diplomatic attempts to end hostility between the two countries. The US Foreign Secretary of State Colin Powell had played a key role in this regard, who remained in contact with both Indian and Pakistan delegates on Saturday. Addressing a packed hall at the Birendra International Convention Centre here on Sunday, President Musharraf hinted at a possible breakthrough between India and Pakistan, courtesy his "informal" encounters with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He made it clear that he did not hold formal bilateral talks with Vajpayee. "We got a chance to sit together and chat on various occasions in the presence of other leaders," he said. However, Musharraf made it clear the tension had neither defused nor worsened because of the informal meetings, saying the mingling of the leaders of the two countries would surely help in de-escalation of hostility in the days to come. "A situation has been created where the future is better. I look forward to friendship with India. One hopes it is a breakthrough." **** Iran Denies Making Efforts for Ghaddafi's Participation in Arab Summit. The Iranian embassy in Lebanon on Sunday denied that Iran has made efforts to persuade Lebanese Shiite leaders to let Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi to attend the upcoming Arab summit in Beirut, the official NNA news agency reported. The Iranian embassy in Lebanon on Sunday denied that Iran has made efforts to persuade Lebanese Shiite leaders to let Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi to attend the upcoming Arab summit in Beirut, the official NNA news agency reported. The embassy said in a statement that Iran, an outlier of the 22- member Arab League, has not done and will not do anything to persuade Lebanese Shiite leaders to accept Ghaddafi's presence at the summit due to be held in late March. The statement came in response to Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh's remark on Friday that Syria <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Syria.html> and Iran had made mediation efforts to ensure Ghaddafi's attendance at the meeting. Most Lebanese Shiite leaders, notably Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, have accused Libya of being responsible for the disappearance of their spiritual leader, Imam Mussa Sadr, during a trip to Libya in 1978. Berri has asked the government not to send an invitation to the Libyan leader. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has said that the objection of Ghaddafi's participation in the summit would " jeopardize the summit and cause negative consequences, not only for the venue of the summit and Arab solidarity, but also for Lebanese interests." Meanwhile, Libyan Secretary for African Unity Ali Abdel Salam Triki on Sunday filed an official request to the Arab League to move the venue of the summit from Beirut to the Egyptian capital of Cairo because of "security reasons." Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri have confirmed that the summit will take place in Beirut as scheduled and all Arab leaders will receive invitations to attend the summit. **** Nearly 100 People Commit Suicide Every Day in Japan. Last year's traffic fatalities around the nation totaled 8,747, according to the National Police Agency. This represented a decrease from the year before, but it is a shockingly high toll all the same. Still, three times as many people killed themselves last year. Last year's traffic fatalities around the nation totaled 8,747, according to the National Police Agency. This represented a decrease from the year before, but it is a shockingly high toll all the same. Still, three times as many people killed themselves last year. For three years in a row until 2000, suicides topped 30,000. The figure for 2001 has yet to be compiled. Although the National Police Agency discloses traffic fatalities for the preceding year right after New Year's Day, suicide statistics are not made known until August. A National Police Agency spokesman explained that investigating the cause of death often proves to be a time-consuming process, and furthermore, there are simply too many suicides in big cities. The spokesman hastened to add, however, that the agency has begun to explore how best to compile the statistics faster in the future. Suicide is becoming a truly serious social issue in the prolonged recession. It is difficult to empathize with the anguish of the suicides and their bereaved families from just looking at the numbers alone. Still, the numbers do shed some light on the circumstances that make nearly 100 people choose to take their own lives every day. **** India-Pakistan Peace Key to South Asia Development. Leaders of the seven South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations concluded Sunday their first summit in the new century in Kathmandu, Nepal, after pledging to strengthen regional socio-economic cooperation for development. Leaders of the seven South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations concluded Sunday their first summit in the new century in Kathmandu, Nepal, after pledging to strengthen regional socio-economic cooperation for development. But peace, especially that between India and Pakistan, is instrumental to achieve the goal of development in the war- and conflict-plagued region. Civil wars, social unrest and international conflicts in South Asia have dragged more than 400 million residents there into poverty and misery, greatly hindering the development of national economies of SAARC members and the development of socio-economic cooperation between them. The association groups India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. More than 50 years of hostility between India and Pakistan, two important SAARC members, dwarfed their national economies as they have been going all out to step up their respective national defense. Wars and conflicts between the two countries, regarded the biggest stumbling block to peace and stability in South Asia, blew into the thin air a South Asian Free Trade Area, which was originally planned to be set up in 2001. South Asia remains one of the poorest regions in the world, with 40 percent of its 1.3 billion people living under the poverty line. The region has one fifth of the world's total population, yet its share of global gross domestic product was less than 2 percent. Tension has returned between India and Pakistan since December 13 when the Indian parliament was attacked. India blamed two Pakistani-based groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, for the attack and demanded Pakistan crack down on the groups and arrest their leaders. India has moved more troops to the border, saying it was responding to a Pakistani buildup and the two sides exchanged heavy mortars and machine-gun fire in Kashmir, a region the two sides have disputed for half a century. The firing of one mortar would cost India 250 U.S. dollars, more than half of the annual income of an ordinary Indian or Pakistani citizen, an Argentine newspaper calculated. Even in time of peace, the two nations have paid dearly for their hostile history, the paper said. In Pakistan, the Pervez Musharraf government invests 2 billion dollars every year in national defense, accounting for a quarter of the national revenue. India, with a population of more than 1 billion, spends each year in defense 13 billion dollars, 17 percent of its budget and five times as much as the yearly allowances given to the poorest. International sanctions upon the two nations for their 1998 nuclear tests brought vast impact upon Pakistan, aborting its economic revitalization plan and depriving it of the ability to pay off foreign debts. The hope and plans to alleviate poverty and improve living conditions in the two big South Asian countries, which have a decisive role to play in stabilizing the region, would fade if they go for another war. But history has proven that hostility and conflicts could do little in solving disputes. War and confrontation never contributes to the solution to the Kashmir issue, but peaceful talks help a lot. India-Pakistan relations entered a new stage in February 1999, when Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed the Lahore Declaration for peace. The two countries carried out bilateral cooperation in certain fields and regularly exchanged lists of nuclear facilities as a good-will gesture. Though Musharraf and Vajpayee did not hold separate talks at the two-day summit, they shook hands twice, giving hope that the two rivals would live up to the expectations of the world community to make peace and settle their dispute by peaceful means. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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