Extracts. White House Confirms US, British Special Forces Entering Afghanistan. US and British special forces have conducted operations in Afghanistan and the Central Asian region, a senior White House official told CNN Friday. The military operations, described as routinely done to scout out the situation when forces are deployed to a region, were conducted "in the region" and "in country," meaning Afghanistan, said the official, who asked not to be identified. Plenum of CPC Central Discipline Inspection Commission Issues Communique. The Sixth Plenum of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection passed a communique Thursday, hailing the conclusion of the Sixth Plenum of the 15th CPC Central Committee. The commission's standing committee presided over the commission's plenum, at which the participants studied and implemented the essence of the CPC Central Committee's plenum. They studied how to strengthen and improve the style of the CPC, by implementing the "CPC Central Committee's Decision on Strengthening and Improving the Building of the Party Style" passed by the CPC Central Committee's plenum under the guidance of Jiang Zemin's important speech at the grand gathering to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the CPC and the important thought of the "Three Represent's". The commission's plenum discussed and approved a working report made by Wei Jianxing, secretary of the commission, on behalf of its standing committee. The commission's plenum concluded that the CPC Central Committee's plenum is an important one held at a time when China is entering a new stage of development featuring an overall building of a well-off society and accelerating the pace of promoting the socialist modernization drive. The style of the CPC is an important symbol of the party's nature, principles, creed and line, the meeting said. It urged all the CPC members to have a profound understanding of the extreme importance and urgency of strengthening and improving the style of the CPC, with consideration for the life and death of the party. The commission's plenum pointed out that implementing the "CPC Central Committee's Decision on Strengthening and Improving the Building of the Party Style" is a major issue. CPC committees at various levels should adopt a high sense of political responsibility, strengthen the leadership, reinforce the supervision, tighten the discipline, and ensure the implementation of the decision. It stressed that political discipline is the most important discipline of the CPC. The deeper the reform and opening drive goes and the faster the socialist market economy develops, the stricter the party's discipline should be, the commission's plenum emphasized. It called for firmly safeguarding the authority of the CPC Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core and ensuring the smooth implementation of the party's decrees. CPC members and cadres who are involved in speeches and activities that have damaged the party's and state's image and are illegal must be severely dealt with, it stressed. It is necessary to build up a sound and perfect system for building the style of the CPC well, it added. Party committees and its discipline inspection committees at various levels should promote the work of fighting corruption and advocating a clean government, by making the "CPC Central Committee's Decision on Strengthening and Improving the Building of the Party Style" as a turning point and driving force, according to the communique. Substantial efforts must be made to strengthen the internal supervision within the party, explore democratic channels, and depend on the masses, so as to bring the operation of the powers under effective supervision, it said. It pledged to be firm in dealing with and punishing cases involving the use of power for personal gain, major cases in particular, and severely punishing corrupt officials. It called for winning the trust of the people with practical achievements in building the style of the CPC and a clean government and fighting corruption. **** Chinese National Day Celebrated in Vietnam The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organization and the Vietnam-China Friendship Association held a reception on Thursday in Hanoi to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Addressing the reception, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association Pham Nhu Cuong said that in the past one year, China has continued to strongly develop in all fields. Vietnamese people are very happy about the great achievements attained by Chinese people and sincerely wish them greater new successes, Cuong said. Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Qi Jianguo praised the great and effective contributions made by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organization and the Vietnam-China Friendship Association to the promoting of the mutual understanding and the friendship between the two countries. **** Vietnam-China Culture Exchange Club Celebrates China's National Day Vietnam-China Culture Exchange Club held met Thursday in Hanoi to mark the 52nd anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China. Club chairman Mai Ly Quang said in the past 52 years, especially in the 20 years of reforms and opening-up, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have built the nation from a poor country into a strong one with the powerful economy, culture and national defence. All peace and justice lovers in the world, including Vietnamese people, have been impressed by successes that Chinese people have achieved, Quang said. The two parties and the two peoples of Vietnam and China, which have a long traditional friendship, have helped and supported to each other in the cause of national liberation and construction, he added. Quang said the new generations of Vietnam and China must understand, maintain and develop the great wealth in order to further the friendly cooperation between Vietnam and China. Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Qi Jianguo praised the efforts made by the Vietnam-China Culture Exchange Club to promote the cultural development of the two countries, and expressed his belief that the club will make even greater contributions to their friendship. **** Afghan President Urges Iran to Help Avoid Human Disaster Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani called on Iran <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iran.html> Thursday to do what it can to prevent a human catastrophe in Afghanistan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/afghanistan.html> in view of possible reprisals by Washington for recent terror attacks on the U.S.. During a telephone conversation with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Rabbani condemned the September 11 airborne assaults in New York and Washington, which have left about 7,000 people missing or dead, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported. But, meanwhile, he stressed that "any hasty actions" against Afghanistan will jeopardize the country and the entire region. The U.S., which has accused Osama bin Laden of masterminding the terror attacks, has vowed to bring him to justice "dead or live" and to launch retaliatory strikes against Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which harbors him. Khatami reiterated condemnation of the terror attacks, which he hoped would not bring adverse consequences and disaster to the war- stricken Afghan people. "First of all, Iran seeks evidence to indicate who are the real criminals in the terror attacks and secondly, lobbies for not launching an aggression on the war-ravaged Afghan people," Khatami was quoted by IRNA as saying. The Afghan government headed by Rabbani was ousted in 1996 by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban militia, who are now controlling more than 90 percent of the country's territories. War is continuing between the Taliban and the opposition Northern Alliance led by Rabbani, who enjoyed Iran's support during the past years. **** Japanese Veteran Criticizes Brainwashing Education of Youth "Brainwashing Education misled me when I was young and it is still affecting Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> ese youth today," a 74-year-old Japanese, also World War II veteran, said while visiting a museum displaying Anti-Japanese war shows in a Beijing <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html> suburb. "Young people in present-day Japan know little about what really happened between China and Japan 56 years ago, so they are indifferent to that," added Sugawara Shigeru who is paying his first visit to the Chinese Mainland. The eight-year invasion war in China launched by Japan is recorded by only several lines of words in the existing history textbooks in Japan even though more than 35 million Chinese people were killed during the war. Sugawara joined a Japanese troop, known for carrying out suicide attacks, in 1945 when he was 18 years old. He was engaged in transporting soldiers and materials from Japan to Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> for about five months. "I always thought it was a Jesuitical and holy war for Mikado as I was taught to believe so," he said, "But the death of many friends and family members made me doubt the reasons why we had to fight." The army ordered Shigeru to conduct a suicide attack in Okinawa- jima, occupied by the U.S. army on August 17, 1945. He was saved as the Japanese Government officially surrendered to the U.S. two days before his doomed-to-death task. "How about my brothers in arms who were sent to death a week or just one day before the surrender?" Sugawara said in an angry voice. Most of them were the same age as him. The Japanese Government has refused to apologize to the Chinese people since World War II ended. "As a Japanese, I was ashamed about that and angry at the lies they told people," Sugawara said, "Youth will be the first victims of such education policies." A group of young Chinese were watching the shows when Sugawara arrived at the museum. One boy named Li Shulong said, "From the old Japanese, we know that some Japanese have shared correct perspective on Japan's invasion in China." "We hope there will be no war between the two countries. That's why we ask them to face the truth," said the boy. **** Israeli-Palestinian Clashes Bring About Lose-Lose Situation Up till Friday, Israel <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/israel.html> and the Palestinians have been mired in the cycle of deadly violence for one year, dealing a heavy blow to both sides in terms of peace- making efforts, diplomacy and economy. The Palestinians, frustrated by Israeli failure to make significant concessions in the negotiations on Jerusalem, return of refugees, territories and other key issues, rise up against Israeli occupation in a bid to force a compromise. The Israelis, responding excessively and arrogantly in the position of an occupier, try to suppress the Palestinian uprising by resorting to advanced weapons. But they find that more Palestinians have stood up to them after hundreds of Palestinians were killed. In the end, neither side has gained its goals but suffered heavy losses in various fields. On the peace-making front, Israel has lost a chance to reach reconciliation earlier with the Palestinians, and then the whole Arab world, while the Palestinians lost a chance to establish an independent state in 2000 under signed agreements. The clashes have also pushed more Israelis and Palestinians into extreme wings, and jeopardized peace camps, thus dampening chances to re-start the final-status talks in the foreseeable future. According to the Peace Index survey, conducted since 1994 by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research in Israel's Tel Aviv University, the Oslo peace index indicating the Israelis' attitude toward the Oslo peace accord fell significantly to 30.4 last August from 45.3 last year. The trend was already showed in Israel's prime ministerial election in February, in which hawkish challenger Ariel Sharon trounced left-wing incumbent prime minister Ehud Barak by the largest margin in Israel's election history. Though Ehud Barak's Labor Party later joined the national unity government, the coalition has been dominated by the right-wing parties, such as the Likud led by Sharon, Shas, the National Union- Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yisrael Ba'aliya. Moreover, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, a Labor Party member, represents the right wing of the dovish party. Meanwhile, Israel's eye-for-eye military policy and tight closure on Palestinian territories did not succeed in forcing the Palestinians to give in, instead, the policies irritated them and sowed the seed of hatred in the hearts of the Palestinians. According to a survey published by the Palestinians' Jerusalem Media and Communications Center last Tuesday, only 29.2 percent of Palestinian interviewees support the Oslo accord, which was signed in 1993. In addition, 48.5 percent of the interviewees said that the goal of the current intifada, or popular uprising, was "the liberation of all Palestine," including Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This public opinion has weakened the moderate wing of the Palestinian leadership, such as the camp formed by Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei and Mohmoud Abbas, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee. Meanwhile, radical leaders, including Marwan Barghouti, head of the Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement in the West Bank, and radical groups, such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), have become more and more popular. Due to the Israeli closure that cut the Palestinian areas, some local Palestinian leaders have become more independent and publicly defied Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's ceasefire order, casting a shadow over the future peace talks. On the diplomatic front, both sides, especially Israel, also have lost scores. Due to the conflict, lukewarm relations between Israel and Arab neighbors deteriorated further: the countries which want to develop relations with the Jewish state abandoned such an idea, those which have unofficial relations with Israel closed its interest offices, and Egypt <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/egypt.html> and Jordan <http://web3.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/jordan.html> , which have diplomatic relations with Israel, recalled their ambassadors and still refrained from sending them back. The sufferings of the Palestinians under the Israeli occupation were broadcast worldwide, bringing about stern condemnation of Israel and sympathy for the Palestinians. This was seen at the World Conference Against Racism in the South Africa <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/southAfrica.html> early this month. In terms of the international mediation efforts, the European Union has adopted an even more balanced and just policy than the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> . Even the U.S., the most ardent supporter of Israel, has shown some impatience and unease toward Israel's bully policy against the Palestinians. U.S. officials have even demanded that Israel stop using American-made fighter jets against the Palestinians. For the Palestinians, their suicide bombing attacks hurt innocent civilians in Israel and thereby were not favored by the international community. Turning to the economic front, both sides suffered enormous losses. According to statistics released by Israel's Finance Ministry last Tuesday, its gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by only 0. 5-1 percent in 2001, far less than the estimated 4 percent. Finance Ministry expert Michael Sarel told Xinhua that the violence has eaten into at least two percentage points of the GDP growth, amounting to 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. Furthermore, the forecast of Israel's GDP growth in 2002 has been downgraded from 4 percent to 2-2.5 percent. This year would be the worst for Israel's tourism industry in a decade, with a reduction of about 50 percent in the number of tourists in the first six months from the same period last year. Economic losses in tourism industry already amounted to 1.2 billion dollars. Meanwhile, construction and agriculture are also in the red because they could never hire those low-salary Palestinian workers and farmers, who are barred from entering Israel. For the Palestinians, the clashes brought about even more economic losses. According to Palestinian sources, the one-year-old clashes have so far resulted in an economic loss of at least 5.4 billion dollars. About 300,000 Palestinians lost their jobs in Israel and the unemployment rate in most Palestinian cities rocketed to 50 percent. The Israeli army has also chopped down thousands of fruit trees, damaged Palestinian crops, and demolished Palestinian homes to ensure the safety of Jewish settlers. According to Peter Hansen, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, more than half of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will live below the poverty line by the end of this year. In short, the Palestinian economy, which depends on water, electricity and fuel provision by Israel, is at the edge of total collapse. Palestinian experts estimated that even the clashes stopped now, the Palestinians would at least need three years to restore the economic situation to normal. Therefore, there was only a lose-lose situation in the clashes. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have gained enough to balance their losses, so it is imperative for both sides to end the violence and return to the negotiating table. On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Arafat reached an agreement on sustaining a ceasefire on the ground, a glimmer of hope that the two sides have finally been sick of the heavy losses. However, as experiences proved now and then in the one-year-old violence, it is doubtful whether the ceasefire could hold for a long time, or even the ceasefire is successful, and whether the two sides could return to negotiations and finally settle their differences. Whatsoever, as former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk once said, the two sides "have been condemned to live together" and only a peaceful solution could eradicate the roots of violence. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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