VNA Heritage and customs draft laws on NA agendaVietnam's National Assembly Standing Committee met in Hanoi from March 29 to April 4 to prepare for the legislature's ninth session. Chairman Nong Duc Manh presided over the week-long meeting. The Standing Committee proposed that the ninth session should focus on approval of draft laws dealing with cultural heritage, customs services, traffic, fire prevention and fighting as well as amendments and supplements to the Land Law and the Penal Litigation Code. The session should also discuss amendments and supplements to the 1992 Constitution and the Law on State Apparatus Organisation as well as a social insurance draft law and draft amendments and supplements to the Labour Code. It would also discuss the government's additional report reviewing implementation of the socio-economic tasks and the State budget in 2000, and deployment of this year's socio-economic tasks and State budget. Deputies would also hear reports from some agencies and ministries as well as cabinet ministers' responses to their questions during the session. (VNA) **** PM thanks foreign textile entrepreneurs Prime Minister Phan Van Khai met with senior representatives of foreign enterprises in Vietnam to participate in the Textile and Garment Expo 2001 on April 5. The Expo was staged in Hanoi from April 3-6. The prime minister thanked the entrepreneurs for their supply of equipment and technology to Vietnam's garment and textile industry and expressed the hope that they would provide Vietnam with facilities with deferred payment to facilitate its development. He introduced his guests to Vietnam's potential in cotton growing, oil and gas and human resources, the development strategy for the garment and textile industry till 2010 and priority policies for foreign investors. The guests represented 177 enterprises of 19 countries. The expo, the 11th international trade fair of its kind in Vietnam, is jointly organised by the Vietnam Textile and Garment Corporation, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the CP Exhibition of Hong Kong. (VNA) **** NA chairman praises Russian ambassador NA Chairman Nong Duc Manh reiterated the Vietnamese people¹s gratitude to the great and precious support of the people of the former Soviet Union and the present Russian Federation to the Vietnamese people¹s national construction and defence. The National Assembly Chairman was speaking at a cordial reception extended to Russian Ambassador V V Ivanov who paid him a farewell visit on ending his working term in Vietnam on April 5. Ambassador Ivanov expressed his elation at the fine development of the traditional friendship and co-operation between Russia and Vietnam. He also said he firmly believed that the bilateral relations between the two countries would be further developed. Chairman Manh spoke highly of the ambassador¹s contribution to promoting the multi-faceted bilateral co-operation, including co-operation between the two national assemblies. He said he hoped that, in his new working position, the ambassador would continue to contribute to consolidating and strengthening relations between the two countries. **** Deputy PM urges more attention to mental patients Deputy PM Pham Gia Khiem (right) offers flowers to staff of the mental hospital. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem asked the health sector to further develop the mental health care network nationwide, further hoping that the social community would not keep away from patients affected with this unhappy condition. He also said that all people should be aware that mental health care work is the responsibility of each family and the whole society. Deputy Prime Minister Khiem made the comments yesterday at a meeting entitled 'World Mental Health Day' held to mark the World Health Day which falls tomorrow (April 7). At the meeting, the deputy prime minister mentioned the priority policies of the Party and State given to mental patients. He also praised the doctors who are devoted to saving and curing patients. A recent survey conducted by the health sector found that in Vietnam there are about ten kinds of mental disease. Fifteen per cent of the population are affected. The survey also found that in Vietnam there are about 400,000 patients suffering from schizophrenia. Of the total, 6,000 are receiving treatment at health centres and hundreds of others are living in the community. **** Illegal entrants in Cambodia are not political refugees: spokespersonVietnam's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh reiterated on April 5, that the 24 Central Highlands residents, who illegally entered Cambodia were definitely not political refugees. Ms Thanh said the 24 had been incited by others and had violated Vietnam's regulations governing entry into and exit from the country. The spokesperson was responding to questions by AFP, France, and Reuters, Britain, correspondents at a regular news briefing in Hanoi yesterday. Ms Thanh said: "Based on bilateral agreements for entry-exit visas between Vietnam and Cambodia and their bilateral co-operation to preserve border stability for the benefit of both peoples and their neighbourliness, Vietnam's government had asked Cambodia to return the 24 residents and avoid any precedence provoking illegal cross-border entry into Cambodia for resettlement in a third country. "Vietnam will certainly not punish the 24 but is willing to help them reunite with the community in line with its lenient and humanitarian policy," she emphasised. "We also re-state that the United States is causing difficulties in solving the problem and encouraging illegal cross-border entrances, thus destabilising the region." Ms Thanh said: "It is clear that the US is attempting to take advantage of the incident to interfere in Vietnam's internal affairs. "Again, we demand an immediate end to the United States' moves," she added. (VNA) **** Japan's accurate history book would help regionVietnam's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh says that Japan should have an accurate view of history, thus helping to broaden friendship and co-operation among neighbouring and regional countries. "Vietnam believes that Japan should have a correct perception of history," Ms Thanh said in reply to questions from Xinhua and Kyodo correspondents in Hanoi about the Japanese Education Ministry's approval of new high-school history textbooks. Critics say the books justify Japan' invasion of neighbouring countries before and during World War II. Ms Thanh said an accurate Japanese view of history would "make a contribution of great significance to further developing co-operative and friendly relations among neighbouring and regional countries for peace, stability and development." As for the collision between the US and Chinese military aircraft above the East Sea on April 1, the spokeswoman said: "We follow this incident with keen interest. All activities on the East Sea must be conducted in accordance with international law and laws of the countries concerned." (VNA) **** Vietnam supports strengthening of world positive trendVietnam supports the consolidation and strengthening of the positive trend in the world, Chairman of the National Assembly's External Relations Committee Do Van Tai of Vietnam said. Mr Tai was delivering his speech at the 105th Meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Havana, Cuba, on April 3. He went on: "Vietnam supports the settlement of disputes by peaceful negotiations without interference or imposition, with a view to improving and consolidating security in various regions, and not complicating the situation and affecting the people's trust in the international community's efforts to establish a peaceful and stable world for mutual development." The Vietnamese representative called on MPs to support international efforts to remove obstacles and accelerate the peace process in the Middle East. He also called upon concerned parties to ease the tense situation in the Balkans as soon as possible, and condemned acts of military intervention that are counter to the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law. "Vietnam strongly condemns the recent air strikes conducted by powerful forces at variance with international law against the innocent people of Iraq, and supports the fraternal Cuban people and expresses its unfailing solidarity with them in their just cause of national construction and defence against the US embargo - an outdated and cruel policy which has been opposed and strongly condemned by the world public," Mr Tai told the meeting. He further said: "Vietnam holds that more efforts should be made for disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament. Together with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, Vietnam hopes that the nuclear powers will soon accede to the proposed Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone." On the country's national construction, Mr Tai said: "Vietnam is determined to continue with renovation and promote its internal strength for national industrialisation and modernisation, while pursuing an external policy of independence, sovereignty, openness, multilateralisation and diversification, being ready to be a friend and trusted partner of all countries striving for peace, independence and development." Vietnam, who is serving as President of the ASEAN Standing Committee, held an ASEAN-plus-three meeting with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea and met with a delegation of the Belorussian National Assembly. (VNA) **** Elders honoured for mass movement developmentCommunal minority elders in Central Highlands Gia Lai province have criticised ill-intentioned people for the recent incident in the region. They made the criticism at a conference where 400 communal minority elders received honours from the provincial administration for their exemplary implementation of the government's policies and active participation in the local economic development. The communal minority elders accused ill-intentioned people of inciting locals to act against the government, causing social disorder and breaking the traditional unity among the minority communities. The incident has put minorities on the alert against sabotage plots, they said. The honour winners, representing 1,170 communal minority elders and communal heads in the province, also exchanged experience on mobilising people in building a properous community and a just and civilised society. Minority groups make up 49.5% of Gia Lai province's almost one million-strong population, predominantly members of Ja Rai and Bana ethnic groups. Many heroes from the anti-French and anti-US struggles such as Dinh Nup, Ro Cham Cham, Kpao, Kpakolong and Ybuong had emerged from the minority groups in the province. Of the 54 mothers, winners of the 'Hero' title, 41 were members of minority groups. In the post-war national reconstruction, minority groups have continued to preserve the traditional unity among different ethnic communities, living peacefully with one another. Gia Lai's minority groups have joined with those minority groups in other parts of the country to bring the poverty rate of the national ethnic population to under 30% last year, reported the National Assembly's Council of Nationalities. The drop has helped bring the national poverty rate to 15.7% from 20.4% in 1995, revealed a Council survey conducted on almost 4,000 households of 20 ethnic groups in 13 mountainous provinces in all parts of the country. (VNA) **** Awareness of HIV/AIDS improved: health minister People's awareness of the global epidemic HIV/AIDS has been improved markedly thanks to nationwide efforts to disseminate information about the disease, Public Health Minister Do Nguyen Phuong said. Mr Phuong was speaking at a two-day conference in Hanoi on April 5 reviewing HIV/AIDS prevention activities over the past 10 years. He further said that between 60-70% of people in the 15-49 age bracket obtained necessary information about ways to prevent the spread of HIV. As a result, prejudice against HIV/AIDS sufferers was reduced with 54% of families having HIV/AIDS patients now caring for their members at home. The rate of people tested HIV/AIDS positive being monitored, cared for and advised rose to 65% in 1999 from 10% in 1994. More than 77% of HIV/AIDS patients were provided with care from medical workers, 90% with medicine and nearly 40% with material support. Several pilot models on reducing the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS were carried out first in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and then expanded to 28 other provinces and cities. The numbers of drug addicts and prostitutes using HIV-prevention measures were on the rise. However, Minister Phuong, who is also deputy chairman of the National AIDS Committee, admitted that the dissemination of information failed to meet the requirements from a rapid and complicated development of the epidemic in recent years. HIV/AIDS specialists working directly with the patients were insufficient, qualitatively and quantitatively. Blood transfusion and other health care services failed to meet safety requirements. The conference was told that not all reserve blood is tested thoroughly before transfusion. Minister Phuong warned that by 2005, Vietnam will have about 200,000 HIV sufferers and 50,000 full-blown AIDS patients and 45,000 will die of the fatal disease. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is spreading in some places in Vietnam, leaving severe socio-economic impacts on society and an effective prevention strategy is needed right now. On the objectives of AIDS prevention activities in 2001-2005 in Vietnam, the Health Minister said the country will exert efforts on controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in the community, slowing down the process of HIV-positive people developing AIDS and reducing the disease's negative impacts on socio-economic development. He added that Vietnam is striving to help more than 90% of State employees, mass organisation members and armed forces' servicemen, 80% of urban population and 70% of rural and mountainous population understand the disease and actively join AIDS prevention activities. The country also plans to monitor, care for and provide consultancy to 90% of HIV/AIDS patients and provide necessary advice and care to all pregnant mothers having contracted HIV by 2005. Forty provinces and cities by 2005 should be capable of making assessment and forecasts about HIV/AIDS development in their own localities, and ensure that all reserve blood for transfusion throughout the country is tested HIV free. Another target is to build laboratories in all provinces and cities and establish HIV/AIDS treatment centres for needy HIV/AIDS sufferers. The Health Ministry also encourages the use of traditional medicine in treating AIDS patients and mutual care between HIV/AIDS patients with support from their families. Vietnam had detected 28,661 HIV carriers by December 31, 1999 since the first case was found in 1990. Of them, 4,728 have developed full-blown AIDS and 2,510 died of the disease. In 2000 alone, 33 more people were detected HIV positive a day on average. Most of the patients are drug addicts and prostitutes. Between 70-80% of HIV carriers are under 30. Today, the epidemic has spread to low risk groups. The rate of HIV positive people among to-be-recruited soldiers rose to 0.96% in 2000 from zero in 1994 while that of pregnant women increased to 0.2% in 2000 from 0.02% in 1994. (VNA) _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
