Extracts.
Middle East Peace Process Suffers Severe Setbacks. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process collapsing with the outbreak of bloody conflicts in September 2000 was further shattered with escalating violence and deteriorating relationship between the two sides in 2001. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process collapsing with the outbreak of bloody conflicts in September 2000 was further shattered with escalating violence and deteriorating relationship between the two sides in 2001. The peace process has suffered the most severe setbacks since it was set in motion after the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accords. The failure to end the lingering confrontation was largely due to the lack of the political understanding in efforts to solve differences between the two sides and the absence of an effective external diplomatic engagement, especially on the part of the United States. On the Israeli side, since taking office in March, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from the right-wing Likud Party has vowed to restore security to his people by fighting Palestinian "terror" and not to negotiate under fire. His hardline stance has been translated into military efforts to suppress the Palestinian uprising, with harsh reprisals against Palestinian attacks, targeted killings of Palestinian activists and tight closures on the Palestinian territories, which in turn triggered more cycles of violence. Although repeatedly claiming that he would make "painful compromises" for peace, Sharon's demand, particularly that for a seven-day complete quiet as the first step toward a cease-fire, proved to be an insurmountable obstacle in the international mediatory efforts to end the violence and restart the peace process. As a result, the Mitchell Report and the Tenet ceasefire plan, which were designed to lead the Israelis and Palestinians out of the quagmire of confrontation, have never been able to be implemented. Sharon's foot-dragging on the diplomatic front can be attributed partly to his lack of personal motivation to revive the peace negotiations that would necessarily entail Israeli concessions, and partly to domestic pressure from right-wing factions. Ever since Sharon came to power, there has been a fierce debate among the Israeli political echelon as to whether Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remains a peace partner. Sharon well understood that it was hard for him to sell his plan containing only interim agreements to the Palestinians after the latter rejected the "far-reaching offer" by his predecessor Ehud Barak at the Camp David summit in July 2000. Following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, Sharon took advantage of the international ant-terrorism campaign to label all Palestinian resistance attacks as "terrorism" and expand military operations against Palestinian targets. The Israeli forces unleashed further military might following the killing of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi on October 17, launching the largest incursion into the cities under Palestinian rule in the West Bank and wiping out a number of Palestinian militants. The Israeli-Palestinian relations witnessed a dangerous deterioration in December after the chain Palestinian suicide bombing attacks inside Israel and later a fatal shooting attack on Israeli bus in the West Bank, which left 43 Israelis dead in less than two weeks. The Israeli cabinet declared the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) a "terrorist-supporting entity" and cut contacts with Arafat. Meanwhile, the Israeli army waged massive retaliatory air raids on Palestinian security installations and a series of ground operations. Arafat himself was cooped up in the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Palestinian autonomy was much paralyzed. Under strong international pressures, Arafat renewed his call to end attacks on Israel and ordered severe crackdown on militants to force the radical groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) to announce suspension of attacks inside Israel. However, Israel refused to view the Palestinian announcements as real ceasefire efforts and continued to demand the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) take further actions against the militants. The Israeli-Palestinian confrontation has now encountered an impasse characterized with relative quiet. The latest developments have pushed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the PNA into a very difficult situation. Arafat, who has been facing challenges to rein in militants and is now further weakened by Israeli strikes, finds it even harder to make the arrests and destroy the infrastructure of radical organizations as demanded by Israel. The lack of political hope to end the Israeli occupation and harsh Israeli attacks have prompted Palestinian factions to close ranks and join attacks on Israeli targets. Arafat would put his authority at risks and face an internal war if he were to expand actions against radical forces under the present circumstances. Apart from Israeli hardline positions, the failure to achieve a lasting ceasefire is also due to the lack of effective third-party intervention in the conflict, especially that of the U.S., which has been the main mediator of the Middle East peace process. After assuming power in January 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush adopted a "hands-off" approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Following the September 11 terror attacks, Washington was compelled to renew engagement in the region because of criticism from Arab states for being pro-Israel and out of fear that the international anti-terrorism coalition might be disturbed by the escalating violence in the Middle East. Bush announced that the U.S. supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and presented an outline for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. The U.S. dispatched its Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni to the region in late November in an effort to help establish ceasefire. However, the ceasefire mission failed due to the absence of a clear-cut and detailed blueprint for a peace settlement and real pressure on the Israelis. The 15-month bloody conflicts have caused heavy human and economic losses to both the Israelis and Palestinians, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, about three-fourths of them Palestinians. The Israeli and Palestinian economy is estimated to have lost respectively about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars and 3 billion dollars as a result of the conflicts. More than 100,000 Palestinians have lost jobs because of Israeli closures. Historical experiences have showed that peace negotiations are the only way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian disputes while violence and confrontation will only bring about sufferings and tragedies to both peoples. As Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has pointed out that military means alone can never achieve a real ceasefire and a political horizon must be explored. Observers believe that Israel, being the dominant party in the dispute, shoulders the main responsibility to end the conflicts and revive the peace talks. Israel also has the moral obligation to take the first step in the face of global opposition to its continued occupation of Palestinian territories. Encouraging signs do exist at the end of the year as the sketches of a new deal emerged as a result of the nonstop efforts by Peres and Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei to seek a solution to the crisis. Under pressure from the left-wing Labor Party, Sharon also declared public support for Peres to conduct talks with Palestinian officials. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the latest diplomatic efforts will bear fruits, especially considering the strong opposition from Sharon's right-wing factions in the coalition government. With a heavy blow to mutual trust and a lack of active U.S. engagement, a major breakthrough in the peace process is unlikely to be made in the near future. There are still a number of uncertainties concerning the direction of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in 2002. **** Argentina's New President Speaks on Salvation Plan. Argentina's new president Eduardo Duhalde, a senator from the populist wing of the Peronist party, called for a dialogue among all the political forces to elaborate a national salvation plan here on Wednesday. Argentina's new president Eduardo Duhalde, a senator from the populist wing of the Peronist party, called for a dialogue among all the political forces to elaborate a national salvation plan here on Wednesday. Duhalde, 60, who was appointed as the cash-strapped country's new leader at a joint session of the bicameral Congress after five hours of debate, said that "we will work together with the joint efforts of the political parties, trade unions and entrepreneurs in a bid to elaborate immediately a national salvation plan." Duhalde, who will serve out the remainder of the four-year term of former President Fernando de la Rua through December 10, 2003, said, "I commit myself to making personal efforts to resolve the current crisis and transfer the presidential ribbon to another elected president (in 2003)." Duhalde, vice-president (1989-1991) in former President Carlos Saul Menem's government and governor of the populous Buenos Aires province between 1991 and 1999, was the Peronist party's candidate in the 1999 general elections, in which he was defeated by Fernando de la Rua of the Civic Radical Union. The Peronist senator said he will set up a government of national unity that is "above political boundaries and party interests." "I was elected by the representatives of our people, from whom comes the legitimacy of my presidency," he said. He made it clear he will carry out the suspension of payments on the public debt, which has amounted to 132 billion U.S. dollars."We had to temporarily suspend payments on the servicing of our public debt, simply because we are not in a condition to do so under these circumstances of social explosion," Duhalde said. The Peronist politician said he has no plan to reverse the default decision decreed by his predecessor Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, who tendered his resignation on Sunday amid the mounting economic crisis in the country, citing lack of political support for his week-long government. "We need the understanding and the cooperation of the international community" on this decision, said Duhalde, adding that "we are not in a condition to do so at these crucial moments"in reference to the widespread social turmoil in which Argentina has been plunged since the second half of December. Duhalde was elected by a vote of 262-21 with 18 abstentions at the congressional session, which was originally set for 2:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Tuesday. The new Argentine leader said that during his term he will lay the basis "to finish the economic model that has brought desperation to the vast majority of our people" and to establish a"new model" which will guarantee a more just distribution of the social wealth. Duhalde criticized the free market policies that have been implemented in Argentina over the last decade. **** Singapore GDP Estimated to Drop 7.0 Percent in Last Quarter. Singapore's GDP in the 4th quarter of 2001 declined by 7.0 percent, incurring a 2.2 percent contraction in the country's overall GDP for 2001, according to the advance GDP estimates released Wednesday by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Singapore's GDP in the 4th quarter of 2001 declined by 7.0 percent, incurring a 2.2 percent contraction in the country's overall GDP for 2001, according to the advance GDP estimates released Wednesday by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). In the quarter, the goods-producing industries are estimated to have contracted by 16 percent largely due to a significant decline in the manufacturing sector and weakness in the construction sector, the MTI said. Service-producing industries are estimated to have fall further by 1.6 percent with almost all sectors registering poorer performances in line with weak economic conditions, the MTI added. For the whole of 2001, the TDI said, the goods-producing industries dropped by 9.3 percent while the services producing industries grew marginally by 1.5 percent. The 2.2 percent drop in Singapore's GDP for 2001 constitutes a sharp contrast to the robust 9.9 percent growth in 2000 but the figure is lower than the 3 percent decline previously predicted. **** Nineteen Laws, Regulations Put into Force. Five laws and 14 governmental regulations promulgated by the State Council went into force on the very first day of 2002. Five laws and 14 governmental regulations promulgated by the State Council went into force on the very first day of 2002. The five laws are the revised law on judges, the amendments to the law on procurators, the revised law on lawyers, the law on desertification prevention and control, and the law on management of maritime space utilization. The first three laws stipulate that from now on new judges, procurators and lawyers must have earned a diploma from a four-year university. Most of the 14 regulations were issued by the State Council after China's entry into the World Trade Organization, and they all aim to readjust administrative practices previously adopted bygovernmental departments. Two regulations focused on the promulgation procedures of governmental regulations and provisions, aiming to improve the transparency of promulgation procedures, simplify administrative procedures and help change the functions of governmental departments. Several provisions issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and some ministries also went into force as of today. **** India Using Diplomatic Means: Indian PM. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday indicated that he had never said that a war is inevitable and "we are using diplomatic means and are not against a dialogue." Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday indicated that he had never said that a war is inevitable and "we are using diplomatic means and are not against a dialogue." He told a press conference at Lucknow of India's north state ofUttar Pradesh that India was getting wide international support inits fight against terrorism. The international community had endorsed India's right for self-defense in its fight against the evil in the wake of December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament, he added. He said, "the steps so far taken by Pakistan against some terrorist outfits operating from its soil were not satisfactory." He said India would like to have full details pertaining to theaction taken against the terrorist outfits and would also like to ascertain if they included those responsible for the December 13 attack on parliament. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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