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[Hour by hour news & analysis... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 5:15 PM Subject: [kominform2] China. People�s Daily Apr 2 Extracts. World to Israel: Don't Harm Arafat. World leaders sought guarantees from Israel that Yasser Arafat would not be harmed in its new military offensive, warning Sunday that the siege of the Palestinian leader headquarters could lead to catastrophic consequences. World leaders sought guarantees from Israel that Yasser Arafat would not be harmed in its new military offensive, warning Sunday that the siege of the Palestinian leader headquarters could lead to catastrophic consequences. >From Asia to the Middle East and Europe, governments issued urgent calls for restraint as Arafat remained trapped inside his West Bank compound and gun battles raged outside between his Palestinian guards and Israeli troops. Israel has said it has no intention of harming Arafat and instead aims to isolate him as it launches a campaign against militants after a string of Palestinian attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an address to his people Sunday that Israel was "at war" and vowed to destroy a "terrorist infrastructure" he said was directed by Arafat. Arab leaders were not convinced Israel would refrain from harming the Palestinian leader. If Arafat is harmed, "the resistance will go on because each Palestinian is Yasser Arafat," Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler said Sunday. "It is not a surprise at all for a man like Sharon, with his known past, to attempt to harm Arafat and our brotherly Palestinian people," he said, according to the state news agency. JORDAN, MOROCCO URGE HALT Jordan, one of only two nations to have signed a peace accord with Israel, summoned Israel's ambassador Sunday and threatened to take unspecified measures in its ties with Israel unless the action was immediately stopped, said Information Minister Mohammad Affash Adwan. Morocco's King Mohammed VI telephoned Sharon on Sunday to seek a guarantee that Arafat would not be harmed, a diplomatic official in Rabat told The Associated Press. The king also urged Sharon to halt military operations and respect a UN resolution passed Saturday calling on Israel to withdraw troops from Palestinian cities. Eleven Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have died in fighting in the West Bank city of Ramallah since Friday. European nations echoed demands that Israel comply with the resolution, which also calls on both sides to cooperate with US truce efforts. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Sunday the escalation of violence risked "a destabilization of the entire region" and urged Israel to guarantee Arafat is not hurt. "The Palestinian Authority must get back its capacity to act," Fischer said. China fears "disastrous consequences" for the Middle East "if unexpected incidents took place to Arafat's safety," Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, in a phone call Sunday. In the United States, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said the Bush administration should act to rein in Israel, saying the military action was turning world sympathy against the United States. "It is solidifying most of the Third World against us, and that's not a good thing," he told The Associated Press. "That (anti-terror) coalition we pulled together in September is now against us on this." BUSH DEFENDED ISRAEL US President Bush on Saturday defended Israel's assault on Ramallah, saying it "has a right to defend itself" and said Arafat should do more to stop anti-Israeli attacks. In the latest anti-Israeli attack, two Palestinian suicide bombers blew themselves up Sunday, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 40, in separate attacks in the Israeli port city of Haifa and a Jewish West Bank settlement. Several leaders said that Arafat had no means of halting the spiraling violence while trapped inside his office, where phone lines and electricity have been cut. "I do not think that Arafat is in a situation where he can manage this," Sweden's Prime Minister Goeran Persson said in a radio interview. French President Jacques Chirac cautioned both Israelis and Palestinians against a policy of "force and terror." "I am appalled, appalled by the chain of events and the considerable risk that this represents for the whole region and for all its inhabitants," he said during an interview with TV5. Pope John Paul II turned his Easter Sunday message into a denunciation of the bloody chain of events that have plunged the Holy Land into "horror and despair." Summoning up his strength, a frail John Paul made a plea for peace, saying, "No one can remain silent and inactive, no political or religious leader!" **** Sharon Vows to Continue Tough Action Against Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday night vowed to continue his tough action against Palestinians in his televised address to the nation, saying the only way to achieve peace is to wipe out what he called "terror infrastructure." Sharon does not have any political agenda, but a military plan, to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said. Palestinians Protest Against Israel Military Operation Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not have any political agenda, but a military plan, to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "I don't think that by killing, murder and destroy a leader would be able to solve the conflict between occupied people and a state that occupies them," said Abed Rabbo in reaction to Sharon's televised address to his nation Sunday night. Sharon said in his address that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "is behind this terrorism," and that he (Arafat) "is Israel's enemy and the enemy of the free world." "Sharon only wants to get the support of his people and recruit them for his foolish war. Sharon did not bring anything new, and this has been always his style in leading the conflict," said Abed Rabbo. The Suspect of the Suicide Bombing In his Sunday address, Sharon also said that there is no difference between Palestinian suicide bombing attacks inside Israel and the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington. Abed Rabbo said "Sharon wants to make a similarity between his situation and what happened in the United States in order to keep the U.S. support he got yesterday (Saturday) from U.S. President George W. Bush." All the Palestinian attacks carried out inside Israel, all the violence and deterioration in the situation are "Sharon's responsibility," Abed Rabbo said, adding they were caused by Sharon's crazy policy against defenseless people. Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has been confined to his private office in the West Bank town of Ramallah since Friday, received a group of 32 foreigners from Europe and the United States, who came to Ramallah to show solidarity with the Palestinian leader. Also on Sunday, the Israeli army declared the city of Ramallah aclosed military zone and even reporters are barred from it. Sharon Vows to Continue Tough Action Against Palestinians Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday night vowed to continue his tough action against Palestinians in his televised address to the nation, saying the only way to achieve peace is to wipe out what he called "terror infrastructure." Sharon said that since he came to power more than a year ago, hehad made "every effort" to achieve a ceasefire with the Palestinians, only to be answered with terror attacks. "No compromise can be made with terrorism," said Sharon, who accused Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat of operating an infrastructure of "terrorism." He declared Arafat to be an enemy of the Israeli people and a "stumbling block to peace and a danger to the region." Sharon said that while Israel still "extends a hand of peace" to the Palestinian people, the Palestinian "infrastructure of terrorism" has to be uprooted so as to pave the way for a politicalsettlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The hawkish prime minister said that his country is in a difficult situation and called on his people to be united and strong in the face of the ongoing crisis. Earlier on Sunday, Sharon convened his security cabinet to discuss the next moves towards the Palestinians in the aftermath of increasing Palestinian bombing attacks. The security cabinet decided to step up military actions in the Palestinian areas. In response to Sharon's address, Palestinian chief negotiator and Minister of Local Government Saeb Erekat said that the region is "in Sharon's hand" and that Sharon's policy is causing the situation to go from bad to worse. Erekat challenged Sharon to implement U.N. Resolution 1402 passed on Saturday which called for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian-controlled areas. The Palestinian minister urged Israel to implement the internationally acknowledged Tenet plan and the Mitchell report with the help of the United States so as to resume the stalled peace process and end Israeli occupation. He also rejected Sharon's comparison of the Palestinian suicide bombing attacks to the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, saying that Sharon's policy will not bring peace and security to either side. **** Arafat Can Do Little Under Siege: Palestinian Official. A senior Palestinian official said on Sunday that Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat could do very little to control suicide bombings as he is under siege in his West Bank office in Ramallah by the Israeli forces. A senior Palestinian official said on Sunday that Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat could do very little to control suicide bombings as he is under siege in his West Bank office in Ramallah by the Israeli forces. Without mentioning the Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday that he thought Arafat could do "a lot more" to halt the Palestinian suicide attacks against Israelis. But Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian cabinet minister and top advisor to Arafat, said: "Arafat, who is under siege and being a hostage now with very little communication coming in and out of his office, can do very little." "He can do more if he is helped in two ways -- his ability to persuade and his ability to discipline," Shaath told CBS's Face the Nation. "His ability to persuade would be increasing tremendously if the Israelis would pull out and would end the siege." "His ability to discipline requires that again he takes control and he is helped to rebuild his police force and his communication networks, and command and control centers," Shaath said. He noted that both these persuasion ability and disciplining ability required the Israelis to do something. "It requires them to pull out of the occupied Palestinian territory and to end the siege imposed upon the Palestinian people." The Israeli forces have been besieging Arafat's compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah since Friday in response to a series of suicide bombings that killed dozens of Israelis. **** Israeli Troops Took Over Qalqilya in West Bank. Israeli army, including infantry troops and armored vehicles, took over on Monday the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said. Israeli army, including infantry troops and armored vehicles, took over on Monday the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said. Israel Radio reported that eight Israeli soldiers were injured, with one in serious conditions, in an explosion during the incursion into the town. Large forces of Israeli army infantry, armor and combat engineers poured into and took over Qalqilya overnight, as Israel's "Operation Defense Wall" entered its fourth day on Monday, said the radio. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli troops also operated in the West Bank town of Tulkarm and tightened the blockade over the town, adding that the towns of Bethlehem, Beit Jalla and Beit Sahour have already been taken over by the army since Saturday. The Israeli army rolled into the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday and confined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to his office while disconnecting him from the outside world. On Sunday night, Palestinians said that power and water supply to Ramallah was cut, adding that some 100 tanks and other armored vehicles entered and took over the town. On Sunday, Arafat remained besieged as Israeli troops battled his guards and tightened their ring around his headquarters in Ramallah. Witnesses said that at least two people were killed and six of Arafat's guards wounded in Ramallah on Sunday, and scores of Palestinians were arrested in the city. **** Israeli Troops Enter Bethlehem. Israeli troops and tanks earlier Monday morning entered the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Israel Radio reported. Israeli troops and tanks earlier Monday morning entered the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Israel Radio reported. Hours ahead of the incursion, the troops entered the two other Palestinian towns of Qalqilya and Tulkarm in the West Bank. The operations came after the Israeli cabinet decided to expand the military operations against the Palestinians in the territories. Israeli security sources said that all the Palestinian cities in the West Bank will be "taken care of" in the military operations, and that limited actions on the Gaza Strip could also be undertaken in the days ahead. **** Chinese State Councilor Hails Chinese-Saudi Economic Ties. China's State Councilor Wu Yi on Sunday hailed the Chinese-Saudi economic ties in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported. China's State Councilor Wu Yi on Sunday hailed the Chinese-Saudi economic ties in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported. Wu Yi, who is also deputy prime minister in charge of economy and external trade, and her accompanying delegation arrived in Jeddah from Bahrain earlier in the day. She was greeted by Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf and other senior officials at the King Abdulaziz International Airport. During the five-day visit to the kingdom, the Chinese delegation, which groups more than 50 Chinese businessmen, will meet a number of Saudi officials and visit some Saudi economic sectors. **** Chinese Embassy Staffs Pay Respect to Chinese Martyrs in Vietnam. The staffs of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam paid their respect to the graves of Chinese martyrs buried in Vietnam ahead of the traditional Chinese mourning day of Pure Brightness, which falls on April 5. The staffs of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam paid their respect to the graves of Chinese martyrs buried in Vietnam ahead of the traditional Chinese mourning day of Pure Brightness, which falls on April 5. Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Qi Jianguo and staffs of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, accompanied by representatives of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, have been in Vietnam's central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Binh, and north border province of Lang Son these days to sweep the graves of the Chinese martyrs. Members of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, the Vietnam-China Friendship Association and local governments laid their wreaths and stood in silent tribute at the graves, cherishing the memory of the Chinese martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for helping the Vietnamese people's struggles against French colonialism and U.S. imperialism for national salvation in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. More than 1,400 Chinese martyrs were buried in the north of Vietnam. According to the traditional Chinese custom, the Chinese people offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the graves of the dead on the day of Pure Brightness, one of the 24 Solar Terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. _________________________________________________ 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: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4. No Minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/6GDALA/VovDAA/ySSFAA/VL0olB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Peruuta ryhm�n tilaus l�hett�m�ll� s�hk�postia osoitteeseen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! 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