Extracts. Sharon, Peres Reject Peace Plan by Egypt, Jordan Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres have rejected a plan proposed by Egypt and Jordan for ending violence and resuming peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Following a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday morning, Sharon termed the proposal as a "non-starter" and "lip service" which may only help Egyptian and Jordanian leaders in their respective talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in the coming days. "The proposal did not urge Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to stop violence," Sharon was quoted as saying by the Israeli television. Peres also told the television that if the proposal was formally submitted to the Israeli government, the cabinet would have rejected it totally. According to Israeli media, the plan, passed on to Israel through Palestinian sources, suggested several steps to reduce violence in accordance with the understandings reached at an emergency Arab summit in Cairo last October before resuming peace talks between the two sides. The plan also calls for resuming negotiations on the basis of the last-ditch talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba in January, saying that the security coordination between the two sides should be restored with the help of the European Union, Egypt, and Jordan. According to the plan, Israel should carry out the third-phase withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip as stipulated under an accord signed by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat at Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh in September 1999. In another development, Israeli cabinet Sunday accepted Sharon's proposal to extend the term of Israel Defense Forces' Chief of General Staff Shaul Mofaz for another year. Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in bloody clashes in the past six months, during which over 430 had been killed, most of them Palestinians, and more than 15,000 others wounded. *** Cambodia to Promote Economic and Trade Relations With China Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday that the Royal government will continue promoting economic and trade relations between Cambodia and China. Hun made the remark when meeting with An Min, vice minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of China, who arrived on Friday for a 5-day official visit at the invitation of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia. The Prime Minister said that the visit would be beneficial to promoting the friendly cooperation and traditional friendship between the two countries. Hun stressed that this visit would implement the consensus achieved by the leaders of the two countries during the successful visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin in November, 2000. He said that his government welcomes the Chinese companies to invest in Cambodia and the country would create a good environment for them. The Cambodian Prime Minister also stressed that the stability and development of China is of great importance to the peace and stability of the region. He reaffirmed that Cambodia will adhere to the one-China policy. **** Overseas Chinese in Russia Denounce Falun Gong Overseas Chinese residing in Russian held a meeting recently to condemn the Falun Gong cult in Moscow. All participants condemned the evil nature of the cult and expressed their determination to fight it to the end. Addressing the meeting, Han Cunli, president of the Overseas Chinese General Council in Moscow, said that the Chinese Government encourages efforts to invigorate China through science and education. But Li Hongzhi, the ringleader of the cult, opposes science while indulging in feudal superstition, he noted. Zhao Lin, chairwoman of the Overseas Chinese Women's Federation in Moscow, said that irrefutable facts have shown Falun Gong cult's reactionary nature of opposing society and killing innocent people. "The International Olympic Committee will vote in Moscow in July to decide on the 2008 Olympic hosting city. We will never permit the diehard Falun Gong followers to prevent China from bidding the Olympic Game," said Wen Jinhua, chairman of the Great Wall Hotel in Moscow. The declaration adopted by the meeting states that overseas Chinese residing in Moscow and Russians of Chinese origin resolutely support the Chinese Government stand to ban the Falun Gong cult. It also appeals to the Russian Government to take measure to prevent the Falun Gong from infiltrating into Russia. Wu Tao, China's ambassador to Russia, said that the Falun Gong cult has thrown itself into the lap of the anti-China forces in the West and become the enemy of the Chinese people and the instrument of the anti-China forces. He asked all overseas Chinese to heighten their vigilance and act to halt the cult from causing disturbances in Russia. Jiang Shiyun, a leader of the Overseas Chinese Federation of Saint Petersburg, said that Falun Gong Cult has become the tool of the Li Hongzhi in his attempt to overthrow the Chinese Government. Chen Yichu, China's consul-general in Saint Petersburg said, "Falun Gong Cult is a major scourge in the world and a big malignant tumor of the Chinese society. If the tumor were not removed, China would not enjoy social stability." He also called on all Chinese residing in Saint Petersburg to wage tit-for-tat struggle against the Falun Gong cult. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
