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] __________________________________________________
