Extracts. Chinese President Arrives in Venezuela for State Visit Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Caracas the capital of Venezuela Sunday for a state visit at the invitation of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias. At around 12:25 hours local time, President Jiang's special plane landed at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, where he and the whole Chinese delegation were greeted by President Chavez and other senior Venezuelan officials. Chavez then hosted a red- carpet, 21-gun ceremony in honor of President Jiang and the other Chinese guests. President Chavez made a warm speech at the airport, in which he hailed President Jiang's first state visit to Venezuela and his on- gong tour to the thriving South American continent. In the affluent soil of the Venezuela, Chavez said, the people had fought for their independence and liberty. "Now, we are striving for the just order with the same flag of Simon Bolivar at our hands," he said. He called the day "a jubilant day" for Venezuela when the whole country "welcomed the guests from a country with long civilization. " "Our people are rapture for your coming with flowers in full blossom," he said. In return, President Jiang said he was delighted to visit the hometown of Simon Bolivar, Liberator of the South America. He said that the Chinese government and people cherished the traditional friendship with Venezuela. "Concerted efforts made by both sides have scored full-round growth in bilateral ties and enhanced mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. The successful state visit paid by President Chavez in 1999 has "ushered Sino-Venezuelan ties into a new phase," Jiang said. He believed that his visit could further deepen the mutual understanding and friendship and score new growth in bilateral ties. President Jiang's entourage who attended the ceremony included Jiang's wife Wang Yeping, Vice-Premier Qian Qichen and his wife Zhou Hanqiong, Minister in charge of the State Development Planning Commission Zeng Peiyan, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng, Special Assistant Hua Jianmin, Vice-Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Deputy Director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Central Guard Bureau You Xigui and Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning. Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Wang Zhen and his wife Huang Yunling, as well as representatives of Chinese embassy here and Caracas citizens were also present at the ceremony. Venezuela is the last stop of Jiang's Latin America tour. He has already visited Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Cuba. **** Iraq Says Kuwait Impedes Calls for Lifting Sanctions An Iraqi Information Ministry spokesman on Sunday accused Kuwait of impeding any call for lifting the decade-old U.N. sanctions on Iraq. In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), the unidentified spokesman said that the Kuwaiti rulers try to harm Iraq "through their behaviour and statements." The spokesman alleged that Kuwait had started an anti-Iraq diplomatic and media campaign which coincided with the U.S. calls for the so-called "smart sanctions" against Iraq. In the wake of the March Arab summit in Jordanian capital Amman, Kuwait has been dispatching emissaries to major powers in the world to explain Kuwait's stance on Iraq. Iraq has slammed the Kuwaiti move, claiming that the aim behind the campaign is to "maintain the embargo as well as the (U.S. and British) aggressions against Iraq." "It is obvious that the campaign coincides with the U.S. call for strengthening the embargo on Iraq under the cover of smart sanctions," the Al-Thawra, mouthpiece of Iraq's ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, said in an editorial on Thursday. The Amman Arab summit failed to produce a compromise for reconciliation between Kuwait and Iraq. Both countries have traded accusations for the failure of reconciliation efforts at the summit. Iraq has been under stringent U.N. sanctions since it invaded Kuwait in 1990. Following the 1991 Gulf War, which liberated Iraq's seven-month occupation of the small emirate, the U.S. and its Western allies established the two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, with the claimed aim of protecting the Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from possible attacks by Iraqi government troops. Iraq is resentful of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, who have been playing hosts to U.S. and British warplanes to mount armed patrols over the southern no-fly zone. Baghdad has never recognized the two no-fly zones for lack of clear U.N. authorization. Facing growing international criticisms over the no-fly zones as well as the sanctions on Iraq, the U.S. proposed the so-called " smart sanctions" in February to ease curbs on Iraq's imports of civilian goods but shore up controls on materials that can be used for military purposes. Iraq has flatly rejected the modified sanctions regime and demanded a total lifting of the decade-old sanctions. **** Iraq Wants Russia Role in Ending Sanctions against Iraq: Saddam Iraq wants Russia to play its role in international affairs, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said here on Sunday. Saddam made the remark during his meeting with Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, who is to visit Moscow on April 18. Saddam stressed the strong relations between Iraq and Russia and asked Ramadan to give his greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Ramadan will hold talks with Russian officials during his visit to Moscow, possibly on Russian proposals for lifting the decade-old United Nations sanctions on Iraq. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 3 that Iraq and the U.N. could reach an agreement on lifting U.N. sanctions and resuming U.N. arms inspections. The two sides could implement a practical plan specifying tasks and conditions for inspection missions, and the conduct of arms inspectors, the ministry said. Putin delivered a letter to the Arab summit on March 27-28 in Amman, Jordan, outlining Russian proposals for putting an end to the sanctions. However, Ramadan on Saturday reiterated Iraq's rejection of the U.N. arms inspections and ruled out international mediation to bring U.N. inspectors back into the country. Ramadan insisted that the inspection mission was over and accused the arms inspectors of being "spies." He also demanded that the U.N. completely lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The sanctions will not be lifted until U.N. arms inspectors certify that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. Ramadan said that Iraq has fully cooperated with the U.N. and has destroyed all its weapons of mass destruction, and therefore the sanctions should be terminated. **** US Seriously Violates International Law: Signed Article A signed article published Sunday, April 15, stresses the US side's breaching the international law on the China-US airplane collision incident. The article notes that the US should bear full responsibility for its illegal acts in the case and calls on the US side to cooperate with the Chinese side in investigation of the incident. The article by Li Qin presents an in-depth analysis of the airplane collision incident from the perspective of international law. **** Lebanese Parliament Speaker Lauds China's Stance on Plane Collision Lebanese National Assembly President Nabih Berri Saturday, April 14, expressed his appreciation for the Chinese government to defend sovereignty and national dignity in dealing with the plane collision incident with the United States. China has acted "courageously and wisely" in negotiations with the United States over the mid-air collision incident involving a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane over the South China Sea on April 1, Berri said in an interview with Xinhua. He condemned the U.S. hegemony over other countries, saying "we can see its hegemony in the Middle East, in Europe and in Japan." " But this time in China, it is totally different," he said. "In the 21st century, China is the only country that could say 'no' to the United States. It is also the only country that could tell the US there is national dignity in the world," Berri said. "What your government did is to safeguard national dignity, therefore, we support the just action," he told Xinhua. A US military reconnaissance plane rammed into and caused the destruction of a Chinese military aircraft and the missing of its pilot on April 1 over the South China Sea. The Chinese government held the U.S. fully responsible for the incident, but it released the 24 U.S. crew members of the plane out of humanitarian considerations after U.S. President George W. Bush Wednesday said he was "very sorry to Chinese people and the family of the missing pilot and "very sorry" for the U.S. plane entering China's airspace and landing without a verbal clearance." Starting from April 18, China and the US will continue negotiations over the incident, including the cause of the collision, the halt to US reconnaissance activities near the Chinese coastal areas, and the prevention of recurrence of such incidents. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Leaves for China Lebanese National Assembly President Nabih Berri left Beirut Saturday evening on a week-long official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese top legislator Li Peng. This is Berri's first visit to China since he assumed the office in 1992. Before his departure, Berri told Xinhua that he is confident his China trip will be "successful and fruitful." He said he will hold talks with Li Peng, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, on ways to intensify economic cooperations between the two countries. "Our talks will also focus on the development of parliamentary relations," he said. The speaker revealed that he will seek China's help to clear the 130,000 land mines left by Israel in southern Lebanon. **** Israel Strikes at Hezbollah Targets in South Lebanon Israeli jet fighters attacked Saturday targets of Lebanese resistance guerrillas group Hezbollah, or Party of God, in south Lebanon to retaliate for a hit on an Israeli tank by Hezbollah forces along the Israeli-Lebanese border. The strike, the first such attacks since Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon last May, came after Hezbollah forces hit a tank of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in a heavy exchange of gunfire at Har Dov area along the Lebanese border, the IDF said in a statement. Hezbollah said earlier on Saturday that its fighters hit an Israeli tank inside a position in the occupied Shebaa Farms, a disputed area along the Syrian-Lebanese border captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War. IDF helicopters quickly arrived at the scene in response to the attack, while warplanes attacked Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon. The IDF also responded by firing about 60 artillery shells in the Kfar Shouba area of Lebanon. The IDF statement confirmed the incident, and said that "An Israeli post was attacked, apparently by anti-tank missiles, and soldiers returned fire." In a similar attack on February 18, anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah forces on an IDF patrol in the Har Dov area killed one soldier and injured three others. Hezbollah spearheaded resistance to eventually force Israel to withdrew its troops from south Lebanon last May after a 22-year occupation of the border strip. But it vows to continue fighting as long as Israel occupies the Shebaa Farms. Syria and Lebanon claim that the Shebaa Farms belong to Lebanon. Israel insists that the fate of the farms should be decided in its negotiations with Syria. **** Pakistani FM Hopes to Cement Economic Ties With China Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, who is going on a 4-day visit to China from April 16 to 19, said that his visit would focus on cementing bilateral economic and industrial cooperation, according to a report by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Saturday. The report cited Sattar as saying that being part of traditional close consultations between Pakistan and China on matters of mutual interest, "the main purpose of my visit is promotion of economic cooperation." "The visit will provide a valuable opportunity for the exchange of views on regional and international developments," said Sattar. He described the Sino-Pak relation as "an all-weather friendship," saying "it is enduring like the Karakorum Mountains; it is an evergreen tree with deep roots." Sattar also noted that China's principled policy plays a pivotal role in support of peace and stability. Opposed to hegemony in world affairs, China understands Pakistan's policy of safeguarding the right to sovereign equality against policies of domination and dictation, he added. During his visit, the foreign minister will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues. He will also call on Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and Dai Bingguo, head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, a Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement. Pakistan and China are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Several high-level visits have been arranged during the year-long celebrations between the two sides. **** Venezuelan Newspaper Hails Chinese President's Latin American Tour The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional Saturday hailed Chinese President Jiang Zemin's current tour to Latin America, saying its significance has gone beyond economic and commercial relations between China and the region. In an editorial, the newspaper also spoke highly of the friendship between China and Venezuela, the last leg of the Chinese president's trip which had already taken him to Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Cuba. It said bilateral relations have become dynamic as several Chinese delegations had visited the country recently. It said that it was unfrequent for a president of the People's Republic of China to travel to the other side of the Pacific to tour a vast area. The editorial said China, at the dawn of the 21st century, is emerging as one of the great powers in the world. The negotiations process for its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) could be taken as an evident sign of its disposition to expand its relations. A country like China is a market of such importance, that no nation, not even the United States, can afford to leave it aside, it added. China's economic strength and the discipline of the Chinese people will turn the country into a determinant factor of the international economy, the editorial said. **** Taiwan Scholars Launch Campaign on Japanese Textbooks A group of Taiwan scholars launched a campaign Saturday to urge Japan to rewrite school history textbooks that gloss over its wartime role and atrocities, Taiwan's local media reported Sunday. Chu Teh-Ian, a researcher with Sun Yat-sen Institute for Social Sciences and Philosophy, told a news conference that more than 60 Taiwan college professors had signed an open letter protesting whitewashed accounts of history in a new set of school textbooks in Japan, the reports said. Chu said Taiwan scholars will cooperate with their South Korean and Japanese peers in publishing an international version of history textbooks to offer the correct accounts of major historical events. The textbooks, which is being examined by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for use in the school year starting in April 2002, recently drew strong criticism from China and South Korea as it distorts history. The original draft of the textbooks describe World War II as the "Greater East Asian War of the Co-Prosperity Sphere" and justify Japan's invasion of Southeast Asia by saying victories over the Western powers there allowed countries in the region to achieve postwar independence. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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