Extracts.
Tuesday, December 12, 2000, updated at 10:04(GMT+8)
US, Britain Attempt to Split Iraq: FM
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahaf has
said the insistence of the United States and Britain
on maintaining the two no-fly zones is aimed at
dividing Iraq into three parts.
The official daily Babil reported Monday that
Al-Sahaf, addressing a gathering on Sunday at the
Iraqi Foreign Ministry, said the US and Britain
interpreted the articles of the United Nations
resolutions at their own will.
They have been wantonly violating Iraq's sovereignty
and independence through the two no-fly zones,
Al-Sahaf said.
The two no-fly zones, covering 10 of the total 18
provinces in Iraq, were set up in the wake of the
1991 Gulf War by the US and its allies. Iraq was
warned that its planes over the two air-exclusion
zones will be shot down.
US and British warplanes have since been policing the
two zones with almost daily patrol. Baghdad virtually
lost grip of the 10 provinces, including three in the
north and seven in the south, and only controls the
central part of the country.
According to Iraqi reports, over 300 people have been
killed in the air raids by the US and British jets in
the no-fly zones and nearly 1,000 injured since
December 1998, when the US and Britain launched
large-scale air strikes against Iraq.
The US and Britain continue to use the two no-fly
zones to militarily contain the Iraqi regime, in
addition to keeping in place the decade-old
sanctions, triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in
1990.
****
Monday, December 11, 2000, updated at 20:32(GMT+8)
Senior CPC Official Meets Japanese Delegation
Wei Jianxing, a member of the Standing Committee of
the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee, met Monday, December 11,
with a delegation from Japan's International Labor
Foundation led by its President Teruhito Tokumoto.
Wei, also a member of the Secretariat of the CPC
Central Committee and president of the All-China
Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), said that it is
important to allow workers to enroll in trade unions
at a maximum level, to safeguard their legal rights
and interests, and to encourage them to make a
contribution to the country in the 10th five-year
plan period starting from 2001.
He said that it is also essential to make progress in
terms of establishing trade unions in new
enterprises, safeguarding the legal rights and
interests of workers who are facing economic
difficulties, and setting up an effective mechanism
for improving working relationships, while further
improving legislation and policy-making related to
the rights and interests of both workers and trade
unions.
Wei expressed the hope that Chinese trade unions and
Japan's International Labor Foundation will further
promote exchanges and friendship and learn from each
other in related areas.
Tokumoto said that China has made achievements in its
reform and opening-up drive, and China has played an
important role in overcoming the Asian financial
crisis. He also expressed the hope that China will
achieve even greater development.
The Japanese guests are here at the invitation of the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
****
Monday, December 11, 2000, updated at 22:34(GMT+8)
Iraq Condemns US, Britain for Maintaining Sanctions
Iraq on Monday condemned the United States and
Britain for vehemently keeping in place the
decade-old UN sanctions, imposed on Iraq for its 1990
invasion of Kuwait.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on
Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahaf
said that when the UN oil-for-food program was first
launched in late 1996, it was supposed to be
"temporary and for six months only."
However, the US and Britain have been trying to use
the UN deal as an alternative for the total lifting
of the sanctions, Al- Sahaf said.
The U.S. and Britain are still insisting on the
continuation of the "unjust" sanctions, which have
entered the 11th year, the longest in the U.N.
history, Al-Sahaf said.
Iraq claims that it has fulfilled all relevant UN
resolutions and demands the total lifting of the
sanctions.
Iraq has agreed to extend the UN oil-for-food program
for another six months so that "our conduct will not
be misinterpreted as non-positive" and that the "ill
intentions" of the US and Britain will be disclosed,
said the Iraqi official.
The U.N. Security Council on December 5 agreed to
extend the UN oil-for-food program for another six
months starting from December 6.
The U.N. humanitarian deal, now in its ninth phase,
allows Iraq to sell unlimited amount of oil to buy
food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to offset
the impacts of the sanctions.
****
DPRK Condemns S. Korea's White Paper as Making Barriers to Reconciliation
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday, December 10,
rapped South Korea for naming the DPRK its main enemy in its newly
published defense white paper for 2000, saying it has created grave
barriers to the inter-Korean reconciliation, cooperation and reunification.
A statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the
Fatherland said that South Korea's 2000 defense white paper, published on
December 4, runs counter to the spirit of the North- South Joint
Declaration signed in June during the historic summit between DPRK leader
Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae- jung.
The white paper labeled the DPRK as its "main enemy" on the basis of
allegations that the North is increasing its combat capability, undertaking
long-time infiltrating activities and constituting a military threat to the
South, the statement said.
The DPRK's statement also said the South Korean Reunification Ministry has
conducted provocative activities of attacking the North's political system
through so-called "opinion polls."
It said the South Korean authorities thus poisoned the atmosphere of
reconciliation and reunification brought about by the signing of the
North-South Joint Declaration, leading the newly-thawed north-south ties
back to confrontation.
Stressing the great historic significance of the declaration in pushing
ahead the development of the inter-Korean relations and reunification of
the country, the DPRK urged the South Korean authorities to thoroughly
abandon the old thinking of taking compatriots as their "main enemy."
The statement noted that the north-south talks at various levels and the
process of family reunions cannot go on if the South Korean authorities see
their counterparts in cooperation and dialogue on the Korea peninsula as
their "main enemy."
****
Cross-Straits Stalemate Dangerous: Article Taiwan has been plagued by one
chaos after another since the leader of the Taiwan authorities came to
power half a year ago, and the people have been worried about cross-Straits
relations in the fear of the pro-independence motives of the leadership,
said a signed article released by Xinhua on Monday, December 11.
The Taiwan public are calling the Taiwan authorities to officially endorse
the "one-China" principle, give the green light to direct mail, flight and
business contacts in order to improve cross-Straits relations, it said.
However, separatists of the Taiwan authorities like Annette Lu Hsiu-lien
and Tsai Ying-wen have been flagrantly opposing the will of the public, it
said.
Lu said that "accepting the principle of 'one-China' equals surrender ..."
Tsai said that "we may not mention the words of ' two countries' but we
cannot deny the existence of such a fact."
The article attributed such wrongdoing to the leader of the Taiwan
authorities, who has been ambiguous on the "one-China" principle and has
merely been playing word games.
The "two countries" remarks by separatist Lee Teng-hui is still controlling
Taiwan's mainland policy, the article pointed out.
In fact, the cross-Straits relations have come to a stalemate, owing to the
refusal of the leader of the Taiwan authorities to accept the "one-China"
principle. And if such stalemate continues to exist, it will be very
dangerous, the article said.
Separation of Taiwan from China is against the will of all the Chinese
people, as well as the tides of history, the article stressed, noting that
the few die-hard separatist elements in leading positions in Taiwan cannot
change the overall will of the public.
The chaotic situation in the island gives a clear indicator of the will of
the Taiwan public, it said.
Only by admitting the principle of "one-China" can the channels of dialogue
and contacts be opened immediately and the confidence of the public be
restored and the stalemate be broken, the article concluded.
****
Officials Joining Mafia Organizations to Face Heavy Punishment Government
officials will be severely dealt with if convicted of having a role in
Mafia-style organizations, according to a new legal interpretation of the
China's Supreme People's Court.
The court's new ruling comes as a growing number of local Party and
government officials, especially in China's southern booming coastal
provinces, are found out organizing, leading or joining Mafia-style gangs,
the official-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Criminal liabilities could be sought on officials who ``harbour'' and
``connive'' underground mafia organizations, as the court added one more
clause into interpretations of China's cardinal Criminal Codes.
"Harboring" in the codes refers to divulging secrets; hiding, destroying or
fabricating evidence; preventing others from testifying; causing others'
perjury; and helping convicts flee or obstructing law enforcement.
"Connivance" refers to intentional conspiracy with the suspects and
instigating and supporting them carrying out criminal acts.
As the interpretation rules, the organizer or leader of a Mafia-style
organization shall be penalized in terms of all the crimes committed by the
organization. The members shall be punished according to the crime they are
involved.
The new interpretation, which has been approved by the Judicial Committee
of the Supreme People's Court, takes effect as of December 10, the report
said.
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