Extracts.
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Sunday that terrorism is a common scourge to the international community and its threat to world peace and stability is severe and imminent. Tang, speaking at the general debate of the 56th General Assembly, said: "China has always been opposed to all forms of terrorism." "No matter when, where or in what form terrorism strikes, and no matter against whom it is directed, it should be met with condemnation and counter strikes by the international community taking a unified position thereon," he said. Strongly condemning the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, Tang extend, on behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, the deep sympathy and solicitude to the innocent victims and their families as well as the Government and people of the United States. "China has taken an active part in international cooperation against terrorism," he said. "In addition to joining most international conventions against terrorism, China has ratified the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism concluded by the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." "This week, the Chinese Government will submit to the U.N. Secretary-General its instrument of accession to the International Convention for Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and will sign the International Convention for Suppression of Financing for Terrorism," he added. "China stands for a primary role by the United Nations and its Security Council in the international efforts against terrorism," Tang said. Referring to the current military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan , Tang said that China strongly believes that military actions against terrorism should have clearly defined targets and avoid any harm done to the innocent. "All such actions should be consistent with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and other universally recognized norms of international law and should serve the long-term interests of peace in the region and the world at large," he noted. "China believes that terrorism is a tiny fringe of extreme evil, representing neither any ethnic group nor any religion. Therefore, they must not be lumped together," he stressed. "China is also threatened by terrorism," he said. "The 'Eastern Turkestan' terrorist forces are trained, equipped and financed by international terrorist organizations. The fight against the 'Eastern Turkestan' group is an important aspect of the international fight against terrorism." Tang gave the speech at the U.N. headquarters in New York on the second day of the annual high-level debate of the U.N. General Assembly, which opened here Saturday. Taiwan Issue China said Sunday at the United Nations that to resolve the Taiwan issue once and for all and complete the reunification of the motherland is "the unswerving conviction of all the Chinese." "There is but one China in the world, and the Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have the same blood in their veins," he said. He reiterated that the principle for the settlement of the Taiwan issue is "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems." "There is every reason for the two sides to conduct consultation on an equal footing and discuss reunification together as early as possible under the one China principle," he said, adding that anything can be discussed in such talks. "Direct links of mail, trade, air and shipping services between the two sides should not be artificially impeded any longer," he said. "We have the greatest sincerity in working for a peaceful reunification as this serves the interests of the Chinese people on both sides of the Straits." "We are unequivocal in our determined opposition to all attempts aimed at splitting China, be they perpetrated on the Taiwan Island or elsewhere," he said. "China's sovereignty and territorial integrity are indivisible and the fundamental interests of the entire Chinese people brook no jeopardy," he noted. China Stresses Enhanced International Cooperation for World Peace Tang Jiaxuan said that only enhanced international cooperation can help effectively cope with global security challenges and realize universal and lasting security. "The September 11 incident shows once again that finding effective ways to safeguard global security has become a pressing issue facing the international community," he said. "In today's world, the question of security is becoming increasingly multifaceted and globalized," he said, adding that countries are getting more dependent on one another in security, and their common ground on this issue is expanding. "No country, under such circumstances, can achieve its security objectives all on its own," he said. "Only enhanced international cooperation can help effectively cope with global security challenges and realize universal and lasting security." The foreign minister urged a new security concept based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and collaboration. "They should seek security through mutual trust and pursue cooperation to their mutual benefit so as to effectively reduce insecurity factors," he explained. Tang said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN Regional Forum have accumulated very good experience in this respect. "The members of the two organizations have, through increasing mutual trust, enhanced mutually beneficial cooperation, promoted common security and maintained regional stability," he said. On the issue of arms control, Tang said that the efforts by the international community over the years to promote arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation have played an important role in enhancing international security. "In the face of the new situation, we should go on working for the preservation of the existing legal regime for international arms control and disarmament and the maintenance of global strategic stability without subjecting the security of any country to jeopardy," he stressed. UN Plays Irreplaceable Role in Dealing With Globalization The Chinese Foreign Minister said the United Nations has an irreplaceable role to play in international cooperation in response to globalization. "In recent years, people have seen a rise of anti-globalization activities in many parts of the world," he said. "In fact, globalization is neither a panacea for development nor a monster that causes disasters. It is an objective trend." "Our correct response to globalization should be to maximize its advantages and avert its disadvantages so that all countries will come out as winners and prosper side by side," he said. "Globalization should not benefit just a limited number of developed countries or a small number of people in these countries, " he noted. "The beneficiaries should include all the people from all social strata in all countries." Tang said that the U.N. has an irreplaceable role to play in international cooperation in response to globalization. "It should increase its input in development and work more effectively to fulfill the development objectives set forth in the U.N. Millennium Declaration," he said. The foreign minister said that the International Conference on Financing for Development and the International Summit on Sustainable Development scheduled for next year should provide opportunities for launching new multilateral cooperation projects. "China is supportive of the WTO launching a new round of multilateral trade talks," he said. "It is our hope that with the concerted efforts of all countries, the new round of talks will give full consideration to the concerns and interests of the developing countries so that it will truly become a round for boosting development." **** Iran on Sunday condemned the United States for including Palestinian and Lebanese resistance groups against Israel, especially the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in its list of terrorist organizations. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, that "without doubt, there is a difference between acts of terrorism, which are deliberate killings of innocent people, with that of legitimate and internationally-recognized resistance to occupation of one's territory." The U.S. last Friday announced a list of 22 terrorist groups, including the Hezbollah, or Party of God, and some Palestinian factions, adding to 66 bodies and individuals on two earlier lists whose global assets, at Washington's request, should be frozen. Asefi noted that "it is unfortunate that the U.S., with the guidance of the Zionist regime, has put Hezbollah on the terrorist list." The Hezbollah is the symbol of honor for Islamic and Arab countries and has demonstrated much courage in driving out the Zionists from south Lebanon, he added. The spokesman called for the participation of all nations, under U.N. auspices, for delineating an explicit and proper definition of terrorism which will set aside all other one-sided and vague concepts of terrorism. Being antagonistic to Israel, Iran has backed Lebanon's armed movement of Hezbollah in its resistance against Israeli occupation. **** The Sudanese government has commended Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo for his plans to host a peace conference on Sudan in an effort to resolve the northeast African country's civil conflict, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Sunday. Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria Abdel Khalil told the agency in an interview that he is optimistic that with the renewed determination to rid the African continent of conflicts, Obasanjo will succeed in his thorny task to help find a peaceful solution to the Sudanese crisis. "With the commitment of Obasanjo, who is fully abreast of Sudan's running civil war, was optimistic that his efforts would be fruitful," Khalil said, adding that the Sudanese government is ready to work closely with Nigeria to achieve the objectives. Nigeria almost succeeded in settling the Sudanese crisis in 1992, but for the fact that the southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) refused to sign the agreement that was reached at the meeting, the envoy said. The SPLA rebels have been fighting for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south since 1983. He said that the proposed Abuja meeting is a demonstration of the fact that the SPLA does not speak for the whole people in the southern part of the country, and there are other political and military groups, who have a stake in the peace and security of the Sudan. "After several decades of war, it should be clear to those groups still against peace in the Sudan that nothing could be achieved through war, and that every effort should be made to stop the war," he said. The envoy said because war is causing a lot of suffering for the people, stopping the war would create a conducive atmosphere for all the parties to the crisis to sit down and discuss their differences. Khalil told the agency that it is in the interest of Africa to find a peaceful solution to the conflicts on the continent, to enable the people to concentrate their efforts on developing the continent and bridge the gap between Africa and developed world. He appealed to the SPLA and its supporters to stop fighting, lay down their arms and join other parties and the government in finding a peaceful solution to the country's problem, saying that Africa and the international community are ready to facilitate the implementation of any agreement that might be reached. "All the necessary guarantees are there that any agreement reached would be faithfully implemented. So, I don't see any justification in continued fighting. It will only cause more suffering for the people, especially in the southern part of the country," he added. Obasanjo has announced that Nigeria is due to host a peace conference on the Sudan, which is part of his efforts to end Africa's conflicts. But he did not give the exact date of the meeting. Meanwhile, the Sudanese Presidential Adviser on Peace Affairs Ghazi Eldin earlier denied allegations of a controversy between the Sudan and Nigeria towards convening the Afro-Arab summit for peace in the Sudan, saying that consultations are underway to determine the issues to be discussed. **** A U.N. conference on speeding ratification of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty opened Sunday without the United States, which reiterated last week that it did not support the pact. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed by 161 nations and ratified by 84 of them, cannot take effect until all 44 countries that possess nuclear weapons or have nuclear power programs have signed or ratified the treaty. Only 31 such nations, including Britain, France and Russia, have ratified the 1996 accord that bans nuclear tests in any environment. The United States is among 13 non-ratifiers. Washington had signed the pact five years ago, but the Senate rejected the treaty in 1999. Opponents of the treaty say it is unenforceable. The United States forced a vote last week in the U.N. Committee on Disarmament and Security to demonstrate its opposition to the test ban accord. At that session, the United States was the only nation to vote against the accord, while India and Pakistan both new nuclear nations that have not yet signed the treaty joined Russia, China, Britain and France in voted in its favor. The United States was invited to attend Sunday's conference as an observer but decided not to go, State Department spokeswoman Eliza Koch said. "The purpose of the conference is to promote ratifications of the treaty, and the administration has made clear that it has no plans to ask the Senate to reconsider its 1999 vote on this issue," she said. **** President Bush, in a warning to world leaders, said Saturday that all nations are possible targets of terrorism and must join with the United States in a campaign to prevent more attacks. "Each of us must answer for what we have done or what we have left undone," he said. In his first appearance before the General Assembly, Bush outlined specific tasks for member nations: crack down on financing for terrorists, deny them sanctuary, close their camps and seize the operators. "These obligations are urgent and they are binding on every nation with a place in this chamber," the president said. "Every nation has a stake in this cause," Bush said. "As we meet, the terrorists are planning more murder, perhaps in my country �� or perhaps in yours." He warned that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'eda network would use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as soon as they could. "No hint of conscience would prevent it," Bush said. He spoke before a gathering of 40 world leaders and 100 foreign ministers a few miles from the site of the World Trade Center suicide attacks on Sept. 11. A long round of applause filled the cavernous hall at the conclusion of his remarks. Bush came to the world body in a bid to strengthen his fragile anti-terrorism coalition. A gathering number of foreign leaders has expressed concern in recent days about the U.S.-led military action against bin Laden, his network and the Taliban regime. Bush told the General Assembly that, "For every regime that sponsors terror, there is a price to be paid, and it will be paid. The allies of terror are equally guilty of murder and equally accountable to justice." Bush said some nations want to play a part in the war against terror but claim they lack the means to enforce their laws and control their borders. "We stand ready to help," the president said. "Some governments still turn a blind eye to the terrorists, hoping the threat will pass them by," he said. "They are mistaken. "And some governments, while pledging to uphold the principles of the U.N., have cast their lot with the terrorists," Bush said. "They support them and harbor them and they will find that their welcome guests are parasites that will weaken them and eventually consume them." He did not single out any nations but aides said he was referring to countries like Iraq, Lebanon , Syria and Iran when he warned against inaction. **** Three foreign journalists were killed in a Taliban ambush on Sunday in Afghanistan, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported on Monday. The Herald's reporter in Afghanistan said the three journalists killed -- French radio reporter Johanne Sutton, another French woman and a German man -- fell from an armored personnel carrier when it was attacked. It did not say where the attack occurred, but that the reporters were accompanying Commander Hassan of the Northern Alliance on an inspection of a Taliban trench they thought had surrendered. Herald reporter Paul McGeough said he was among six reporters who came under mortar and machine gun attack as they sat on the roof of a Northern Alliance armored personnel carrier. The vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade which did not explode on impact but exploded when it hit the ground. The vehicle turned quickly and three reporters tumbled off the roof. "Three of us clung on for grim death and we survived," said McGeough. The Herald said the armored personnel carrier left the three journalists behind and that their bodies were later recovered by alliance troops. Radio France International (RFI) has said Sutton, 34, was on assignment for RFI when she was caught in an ambush and killed. The Herald said the others killed were a French woman who worked for Luxembourg -based radio RTL and a male reporter for the German magazine Stern. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
