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FBIS3-35170_2 | PLO's Magazine Views Security Events in Jordan | only explanation for the outbreak of violence in Jordan. Other circles link these acts to the big strides that Jordan has made on the road to peace. The events occurred a week after King Husayn announced in Washington that he is ready to meet in public with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhaq Rabin. Other circles, however, believe that the incidents were linked, that is, the crisis with Iran coincided with the Jordanian monarch's announcement. The question is: Are these isolated events transient or are they a prelude to an era of violence in Jordan? This is a particularly important question after the strongly worded statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shar' that Jordan's political options could affect its internal stability. It is difficult to answer this question. However, it is most unlikely that the situation in Jordan will become as serious as in some countries, such as in the Arab east or Arab Maghreb. This is because the acts of violence in Algeria, and in a less critical degree in Egypt, are prompted by difficult economic conditions and unemployment. This, however, is not the case in Jordan because the economic situation there is not that bad. Some people even say that the Jordanian economy has improved over the past two years. This is explained in the retreat of the Islamic movement in the recent legislative elections, when it won only 18 out of 81 seats in the parliament. The movement had 32 seats in the past. Furthermore, the Islamic movement in Jordan is different from that in Algeria or Egypt. It is a movement that has never resorted to violence and has accepted functioning in accordance with the democratic game. The Islamic movement in Jordan has continuously maintained good relations with authorities. Hence, perhaps this cycle of violence is a transient wave linked to specific tactics by certain regional and local forces, unless there are plans to involve Jordan in the acts of violence. It is premature to assess the events in Jordan. It is also difficult to say that the storm is over or that it will assume different shapes. What has happened should alert us, but it does not require us to reconsider our stances. What has happened cannot be more than a slight setback linked to certain tactics that are not aimed at sabotaging the strategic stability of Jordan, which represents an important link in the peace process. |
FBIS3-35189_6 | Foreign Minister Urges End to Economic Embargo | addition, it is actively and effectively participating in conferences and meetings that deal with human rights. Al-Sahhaf spoke about the violations of human rights. He said that what is actually happening in the world today is that human rights are regrettably being used as a political weapon to shake the political regimes of states, interfere in their internal affairs, and fragment their national unity and cohesion just like what is happening in many parts of the world including my country, Iraq. He affirmed that as a result of this, the issue of human rights has become an issue of interests that is somehow affected by the policies of some major powers in our modern world. There is no issue that is more controversial in terms of standards and selectivity than the issue of human rights. Our evidence is that the UN Human Rights Commission is always abreast of all the terrible violations of human rights and the human international law in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories. Many resolutions were issued condemning these violations. Moreover, in light of the world community's inability to implement these resolutions, Israel continued to disregard the basic human rights in these areas and pursued its violation of these rights. The world today is witnessing what is happening in Yugoslavia while the United Nations is unable to find a solution to this tragedy. Without doubt, this is attributed to the stands of some major powers which follow the policy of selectivity and double standards in their international dealing. The foreign minister continued: Through its constitution and laws, Iraq sought to establish the state of law by following a realistic and practical policy that adopts the requirements of establishing a community that is balanced in its economic, political, and cultural growth. This balance gave priority to economic, social, cultural, and scientific infrastructures. This reflected positively on building the individual and on the requirements for the growth, prosperity, and development of human rights. This was actually accomplished by combating illiteracy and making education compulsory at all levels and by taking care of the status of women, children, and the handicapped. This reflected clearly on all economic, social, and cultural rights. It is enough to note here what Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, former executive delegate of the UN secretary general, said on 15 July 1991 in his report to the UN secretary general when he referred to the background |
FBIS3-35189_7 | Foreign Minister Urges End to Economic Embargo | violation of these rights. The world today is witnessing what is happening in Yugoslavia while the United Nations is unable to find a solution to this tragedy. Without doubt, this is attributed to the stands of some major powers which follow the policy of selectivity and double standards in their international dealing. The foreign minister continued: Through its constitution and laws, Iraq sought to establish the state of law by following a realistic and practical policy that adopts the requirements of establishing a community that is balanced in its economic, political, and cultural growth. This balance gave priority to economic, social, cultural, and scientific infrastructures. This reflected positively on building the individual and on the requirements for the growth, prosperity, and development of human rights. This was actually accomplished by combating illiteracy and making education compulsory at all levels and by taking care of the status of women, children, and the handicapped. This reflected clearly on all economic, social, and cultural rights. It is enough to note here what Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, former executive delegate of the UN secretary general, said on 15 July 1991 in his report to the UN secretary general when he referred to the background of the situation in Iraq. In his report Khan said: As of mid-1990 Iraq, in certain ways, was rapidly approaching a level similar to that reached by some European countries. Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf said he regrets the attitude demonstrated by certain states toward these Iraqi trends. He said: That independent course was received with negative reactions from abroad, demonstrated by an unfair campaign of accusations and allegations on human rights violations in Iraq. The human rights issue was used as a weapon to obstruct Iraq's development plans and national programs to build the institutions concerned with democracy and human rights. However, Iraq's determination to continue with its programs has not, and will not weaken. Iraq has adopted several laws and measures and made several decisions which emphasize respect for the will of the Iraqi individual and his right to a dignified life, and which allow him to exercise his basic rights even under the hard conditions facing our country. The minister said: It is difficult for human rights to flourish during crises and armed conflicts, but their respect is enhanced when security, peace, and stability prevail. We began to feel this after the end of the war between Iran and |
FBIS3-35189_10 | Foreign Minister Urges End to Economic Embargo | violating human rights and try to show the world that they care for the Iraqi people, have committed the ugliest crimes against Iraq before and after the military aggression in January 1991. They still insist on continuing their genocide crime against our people by insisting on maintaining the comprehensive blockade despite the fact that the reasons on which these states based their decision to impose the blockade, are no longer valid. He added: One of the constant serious effects of the blockade, which has affected all segments of the Iraqi society, is the deterioration in the food situation to dangerous rates. Here, I wish to refer to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, issued in August 1993 on food expectations. I also wish to note the acute shortage in medicines and medical needs, especially after the medical shipments contracted by the Health Ministry before 2 August 1990 were halted although their price was paid in advance to the supplying companies. Additionally, health institutions, medical equipment, and utilities sustained heavy damage in the hostile air bombardment. The level of medical care also dropped because of the spread of diseases and epidemics, which principally affected women and children. Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf described the immense damage that the people of Iraq have suffered as a result of the continuation of this blockade, which has not only harmed the dignity and livelihood of the Iraqi people, but also their economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights. He said: The lack of stability, high prices, and scarcity of basic food commodities and medicines has had terrible consequences despite the exhaustive efforts of the Iraqi Government. Al-Sahhaf added: This embargo has seriously affected many aspects of the human rights situation on the one hand, and the overall development process on the other. For, it is widely known that international human rights conventions make it incumbent upon world states to cooperate to uphold these rights. Meanwhile, what is happening to Iraq as a result of the embargo is the outcome of a calculated decision to obstruct the government's efforts to honor its national and international commitments as enshrined in these conventions. The foreign minister indicated that the continued enforcement of the economic embargo has not only undermined the humanitarian, economic, social, and cultural activities of average citizens, but also contributed to the obstruction of the national political program of democracy devised by the |
FBIS3-35191_0 | Rival Kurdish Groups Sign `Peace' Deal | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Amman, Feb 17 (AFP) -- Two rival Kurdish groups in northern Iraq signed a peace deal on Thursday, ending a bloody feud and pledging to work together against President Saddam Husayn, the opposition said. The coalition Iraqi National Congress (INC) said the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Islamic League (KIL) signed at its hedquarters in Salah al-Din, in the Kurdish-controlled north. They agreed to release all prisoners and for KIL to take part in the Kurdish administration and its institutions, the INC said in a statement sent to AFP in the Jordanian capital. At least 72 people were killed and 250 wounded in battles between the PUK and the pro-Iranian KIL in December and January. |
FBIS3-35195_9 | President Notes Various Topics in Parliament Speech | of the watershed community will improve. The project will also enhance the availability of ground water, which will consequently prevent drought in the project area. A total of 250,000 micro watersheds have been identified for development in rain-fed areas, and work has started on them. The capacity to manufacture nitrogenous fertilizers has been increased, and more is being planned. Because the availability of raw materials required for further production is limited within the country, efforts are being made to set up joint ventures abroad, particularly in the Gulf and West Asia. The government will continue to take all measures required to bring about a balanced application of soil nutrients so that production levels are sustained. As part of the agricultural policy, states have been advised to remove all intra- and interstate restrictions on the movement of food grains. The government's commitment to safeguard the interests of the consumer remains as strong as ever. The central issue price for the revamped public distribution system areas remains as much as 500 rupees less per metric tonne than prices in the general public distribution system, thus increasing affordability for the poor. At the inception of the scheme in 1992, it was expected that 10,580 new fair price shops would be opened in the revamped public distribution system areas to strengthen the delivery system. Compared to this, 11,681 new fair price shops have been opened in this area, exceeding the target. New warehousing space of 181,296 tonnes has been also created or rented since the inception of the scheme. A midterm review of the revamped public distribution system has revealed that nearly 1.5 million metric tonnes of additional food grains have been provided to rural areas compared to what used to be provided before the inception of the scheme, thus adding a new rural dimension to the public distribution system. With record food stocks of 22 million tonnes in the central pool grids on 1 January 1994 -- resulting from stepped up procurement efforts -- the government is comfortably placed to augment coverage further in this area should it become necessary. The government is determined that no section of the population -- regardless of whether it is women, children, minorities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, or backward classes -- should remain outside the mainstream of development. In all areas of development of the poor, resource allocations were enhanced during 1993-94 compared to the previous year. |
FBIS3-35195_11 | President Notes Various Topics in Parliament Speech | The revised outlay for the Ministry of Rural Development increased by 56 percent, while the planned outlay for the Welfare Ministry was raised from 8.8 billion rupees to 9.8 billion. The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana employment scheme has been strengthened in the 120 most backward districts. Subsidies under the Integrated Rural Development Program were enhanced by 1,000 rupees per household. The program of providing improved tool kits for rural artisans, started in 1992-93, was extended to 100 more districts in 1993-94, thus covering all 162 districts in the country and benefiting 230,000 rural artisans. Comprehensive programs for the welfare and development of weavers have been evolved. They include housing, work sheds, handloom development centers, quality dying units, training, improved practices, and provision of working capital. These programs -- with a total outlay of 10.372 billion rupees -- started during the year. The scheme for handloom development centers and quality dying units, launched toward the end of 1993, seeks to merge and expand existing units and establish new ones. Against the 1993 target of 120 centers and 20 units, 213 centers and 94 units have been approved; 25 centers and 25 units have already started operating. The government has formulated three new and innovative schemes to benefit the poor, particularly rural women, and urban youth. The employment assurance scheme, introduced in 1,752 of the most backward and remote blocks of the country, where 170 million of India's poor live, will provide rural laborers with assured wage employment for 100 days during the lean agricultural season. The scheme will continue to make employment opportunities available to village people at a fuller level. The women's empowerment scheme will strengthen the position of rural women by enabling them to gain and exercise control over their earnings and household resources. Already, more than 400,000 women have opened accounts under this scheme in rural post offices. This scheme, along with the National Women's Fund, will greatly enhance self-employment opportunities for rural women. An employment scheme has been launched to provide sustained employment in micro enterprises to educated urban youths. About 195,000 applications have been received so far from youth in different states. So far, 41,275 applications have been processed and recommended to banks; about 2,000 have been approved. During the current year, the scheme will cover 40,000 beneficiaries. From 1994-95 onward, it is intended to cover 220,000 beneficiaries per year, thus covering a total of 700,000 beneficiaries |
FBIS3-35201_0 | Papers View Talks | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tehran, Feb. 21, IRNA -- Two morning dailies here Monday commented over the current visit to Iran of Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Sa'd al-Faysal and expressed pessimism over the result of the talks. The English daily `TEHRAN TIMES' said in its editorial that replacing mutual distrust between Iran and Iraq with an environment conducive to bilateral good will is possible only with the passage of time and the pursuance of a 'one step at a time' policy. It quoted informed sources as saying that Baghdad's main objective in the current talks is to secure the speedy return of its fighter planes held in Iran. "The Iraqi regime must realize that while it continues to arm and train anti-Iranian terrorists on its soil bordering the Islamic Republic, it would be childish to believe that Iran will return the planes which can easily end up in the hands of those same terrorists to be used against its citizens", the daily underlined. Tehran's reluctance to expand relations with Baghdad stems from the fact that Iraq simultaneously speaks from both corners of its mouth, the paper said adding that from one corner come statements of reconciliation, while the other corner tries to convince the West that another Western investment in Baghdad's war machine is needed to bring Iran's Islamic revolution under control and to secure Western interests. The article concluded by saying that Iraq no longer holds any attraction for its former Western backers, and the stability of the Persian Gulf countries, since the elimination of Baghdad from the regional power equation, has further convinced the West of Iraq's diminished value. Commenting on the same subject, the daily `ABRAR' noted that although the Iraqis have so far shown reluctance in taking any positive step in their negoitiations with Iranian officials, they have almost turned over all possible concessions to the U.N. and the West. The Iraqi officials hold the idea that through speedy mending of ties with the West, U.S. in particular, their country could regain its political status both at the international community and in the region, the paper added. It further noted that the Iraqis, imagining that the West would forgive their past wrongdoings and they would experience the golden days once again, did not deem necessary to follow up negotiations with Iran. Therefore, said the editorial, Iraq should abandon its hypocritical and stubborn policy and instead |
FBIS3-35202_4 | Velayati Assails UN `Incompetence' on Bosnia | that detracts from their political interests. And they even may prevent intervention by those whose really intend to establish justice. [passage omitted] [Correspondent] You have pointed to the Nonaligned Movement, the ICO, and the latter's liaison group. Now why is it that the UN Security Council has called on NATO to act despite the fact that countries such as Iran have repeatedly announced their readiness to send troops? Is this a European and a Christian decision in connection with the formation of an Islamic government in Bosnia-Herzegovina? [Velayati] In reality the Security Council which is under the rule of the permanent members of the Council, and more specifically under the rule of the western permanent members of the Council, seriously prevents the international scene from slipping away from the supervision and decisionmaking domain of these limited and influential members of the Security Council. It is in fact a form of coercion. On the surface the United Nations and the Security Council were formed after World War II to defend justice and keep security and peace. The UN Charter is in fact to guard and strengthen peace in an honorable and just fashion across the world and to propagate peaceful ideals. However the foundations are such that the international scene is under the yoke of several influential and powerful countries of the Security Council. They think that if they respond positively to requests by Islamic or third world countries and allow them to defend justice under the UN flag and according to UN charter, a part of the international situation may slip from their hands and the Bosnian situation could develop in a way that might not be in their interests. To conclude my answer to your question I repeat and emphasize the answer given to the earlier questions. The pretext of action by some western countries within the UN context is to seek peace and justice. However the content of their actions is in fact an effort toward maintaining the interests of the countries on whose behalf they are active in the United Nations. As you pointed out, despite the declaration of Islamic countries in the Pakistan summit and the repeated emphasis in the recent Geneva summit as well as repeated emphasis in the liaison group of the Islamic Conference in Jakarta -- which was held during the nonaligned meeting -- stating the preparation of the Islamic countries, at least |
FBIS3-35203_1 | Khamene'i Delivers Friday Prayer Sermon | translators and presenters write, they employ people, they spend on technical things, spend on publicity, spend on writing, make policies, and spend much money to get that voice across to Iran, so that maybe a few individuals here and there listen to it and be influenced by it. Beginning several months ago they began whispers--of course that is not new either, but once in a while they begin an onslaught--to the effect that the people no longer have anything to do with the revolution and Islam in Iran. The people are fed up with Islam. Look how badly the Islamic Republic of Iran's authorities have acted that the people have even put aside Islam. Domestically, too, some were repeating those sentences. They still will do so, let me tell you! Unfortunately in our very universities--I say this to the Hizbollahi students so that they know--there are such motives here and there. Of course the majority of the lecturers are good; are faithful; support the development and advancement of this nation; support the Islamic revolution and the holy system of the Islamic republic. But you can't say that there are no sly ones either. In those same universities there are some people--of course they are very few, very few--who try to give this issue a philosophical form, saying that since the Islamic Republic came to power Islam weakened. There cannot be a more blatant lie and trick. Islam's acme was reached all over the world with the creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They want to portray the situation in an exactly opposite way. They want to say that the Islamic Republic, the formation of an Islamic state, and the delivery of the crushing blow of Islam and the Koran to the mouth of the enemy are all causing Islam harm. If this had been so, then the prophet and the lord of the faithful ['Ali, the first Shiite imam] would not have formed a government, and the leaders of the Islamic community at the advent of Islam would have just sat in their homes. What need was there then for forming a government? If an Islamic government was harmful for the delivery of Islam's message, then why did the prophet go to all that trouble and engage himself in so many wars in which so many people lost their lives? You can now see for yourselves how ignorant they |
FBIS3-35204_3 | Comments on Islam, Ramadan Celebration | a number of foreign radio stations have been trying for a while now to create the illusion that the Iranian people are no longer interested in the revolution and Islam, and the performance of the Islamic republic has led to the weakening of Islam. However, this deceitful ploy is too disgraceful for any one to pay attention to. This is because Islam's growth and magnificence in the world is due to the creation of the Islamic republic. The Friday prayer leader of Tehran then revealed the propaganda ploys of the enemies of Islam and said: They want to induce that the formation of an Islamic government and the delivery of the crushing blow of Islam and the Koran to the enemies has caused Islam harm. However, they are ignorant about Islam. If what the enemies claim had been correct, then the eminent prophet of Islam would not have formed a political entity, and he would not have been involved so many wars. Furthermore, His Holiness 'Ali, may peace be upon him, would not have set out to form a government, and the leaders of the Islamic community during the early years of Islam would have remained in their homes. His eminence Ayatollah Khamene'i said that the people's magnificent rallies on 11 February humiliated the enemies of Islam. He said: Our enemies saw that the Iranian nation was present on the scene cohesively. Today one cannot find any other nation in the world which is able to mobilize its people in this way to take part in a national and ideological event. [passage omitted] His Eminence Ayatollah Khamene'i said the issue of occupied Palestine is another example of the onslaught by the enemies of Islam. He said: The usurper Israelis have usurped Palestine in full view of the world people and continue to torture, exile, bomb, and execute Palestinians; but the arrogant world, headed by America, condemns the oppressed Palestinians and criticizes their defense of their home. That shows what sort of malevolent new order is ruling the world. The leader of the Islamic revolution referred to the world powers collaborating to destroy Islam. He said: The enemies of Islam have started a dangerous and harsh struggle against Islam. The longer it takes the more they fail, and governments supporting them more scarce. World Muslims should know that Islamic Iran is the point where Islam can say its piece with strength. |
FBIS3-35205_0 | Commentary Notes Opinions on Bosnian Crisis | Language: Persian Article Type:BFN [Commentary prepared by the News Research and Commentaries Group] [Text] The crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina has adopted new international dimensions. The conflict among the United States, Europe, and Russia over the ultimatum to the Serbs has overshadowed many political developments. While Europe continues to have doubts on the implementation of the recent NATO threats against the Serbs, Russia's protest against the ultimatum to the Serbs has given Europeans a good chance to avoid their humanitarian and political responsibility to deal with the Serbs' crimes. The Russian deputy foreign minister has said that his country will do its best at the United Nations to prevent action on this threat, adding that Russia's goal is to be sure that this threat will never be implemented and that an attack will never take place. On the same topic, Russian President Boris Yeltsin has sent a letter to the heads of the five Western countries warning of the dangers that an air strike on the Serbs in Bosnia would entail and said that this would lead to unforeseeable consequences. Meanwhile, in a fresh attempt, Russia has proposed an international peace conference for Bosnia next week and has informed the heads of the Western countries of this. However, this proposal has been rejected by Washington and a U.S. State Department spokesman said that lengthy preparations would be necessary for that. At any rate, the recent developments in the Bosnian crisis and its international consequences show that, basically speaking, Western and Eastern Europe are very vulnerable in this crisis and that failures in finding a fundamental solution to this crisis has posed difficult problems for the behind the scenes efforts in the crisis. The West is facing a great crisis of values and humanitarianism; and pressures from domestic and international public opinion are constantly increasing. Meanwhile, Russia, which heretofore influenced the developments in the Bosnian crisis by backing the Serbs of Bosnia and Serbia, has taken an active role now that there is a possibility of NATO intervention against the Serbs and is trying to create a security umbrella there vis-a-vis the West reminiscent of the Warsaw Pact. Otherwise, no one takes the NATO threat seriously; not because NATO is not taking any steps against the Serbs, but because any possible moves by NATO will not tip the scales in Bosnia in favor of the Muslims. Meanwhile, what is causing concern here is |
FBIS3-35206_1 | Human Rights Usage as `Political Tool' Examined | UN last Friday, the Islamic Republic of Iran was again declared as the violater of human rights due to such cases as execution and crushing of drug smugglers and launching a drive against social evils. It is also been claimed in the report that there exists a large number of political prisoners in Iran and religious minorities are harassed. Since 1948 when the principles on observance of human right were formulated at the UN there has now elapsed nearly half a century. During these years fervent efforts have been made so that the world nations may have access to some broad based principles devoid of political discrimination and observations. This was aimed at making them check any infringement of their rights. Hence today nearly all the world states duly accept the principles in observing the human rights and also respect them. This acceptance is also for the reason that the UN as the greatest world body is recognized as the only forum, which basically should be the body for considering world issues specially for defending the rights of human beings at global level. But in reality such attention to human rights has so far been payed in a different manner. It is now for many years that western states and governments which have risen to covertly or overtly confront the Islamic revolution in Iran over the past fifteen years, have been using human rights as a weapon against Islamic Iran. At the onset of the Islamic revolution's victory, the Islamic republic of Iran viewed with respect international and human rights organizations similar to other world bodies. But acts of the UN human rights commission soon showed that the term human rights is merely a forced motto in the contemporary world. Also the statements and reports of this commission, prior to have been effected by domestic realities of world states, are the outcome of the exigencies of domineering world policies. This precisely points to the conditions which are now faced by us. It is indisputable but any move in safeguarding humanitarian criteria of human rights will be possible only when those involved with human rights issues at the international level approach the subject without considering political aspects and conservative outlook, but they act in a totally impartial manner without taking sides with their typical cultural values. They should also refrain from using the issue of human rights as a political weapon. |
FBIS3-35299_0 | Ramadan: Country Willing To Normalize Ties With U.S. | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN [Text] Baghdad -- PETRA -- Taha Yasin Ramadan, Iraqi vice president and member of the Revolution Command Council, has said that the next few months will be decisive because there are no more large obstacles or basic difficulties facing the implementation of Paragraph 22 of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which deals with lifting the embargo on Iraq acccording to a specified timetable. He said his country is waiting to see what the UN Security Council and other international quarters concerned with peace, security, and rights, will do, especially since dialogue and talks between Iraq and the United Nations are proceeding in a good and objective manner. In a statement to the JORDANIAN NEWS AGENCY in Baghdad, Ramadan denied the accusation leveled at his country every now and then that it is obstructing the work of international inspection teams. He said: What we want to see first is an evaluation of things within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 687 despite its unfairness as it was imposed in the time of tyranny and hegemony. He noted that Iraq accepted Resolution 715 which was not mentioned previously, adding that this resolution calls for installing long-term monitoring cameras. He said: We believed that this was the only thing that would obstruct the talks and settlement of differences with the United Nations. He stressed that the maneuvers and accusations against Iraq, which usually precede reviewing the decision to lift the blockade, are false accusations. Ramadan said that the imposition of the blockade was not just a punishment for an act of encroachment; namely, entering Kuwait, but is aimed against Iraq, its entity, accomplishments, potentials, and resources. He added that the sanctions imposed on Iraq -- which encroached on every inch of its land and which deprived its people of food, water, medicine, and all basic needs -- also aim at creating confusion and chaos in addition to fabricating lies one time after another. The objective, he added, is to implement their schemes and fabricate accusations that Iraq dropped chemical weapons on the shiites in the marshlands, southern Iraq. Iraq has called on the inspection teams and the states of the world to visit the area and verify our statements. Asked about a scheduled visit by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq 'Aziz to the United Nations during the next few days and the issues to be focused on during |
FBIS3-35300_0 | Iranian Pilots Land in Kurdistan Seeking Asylum | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN [Text] London -- A high-ranking Kurdish official told AL-HAYAH yesterday that an Iranian military helicopter landed in the village of Malumah in the area of Mawat in Iraqi Kurdistan the day before yesterday and that one of its two pilots applied to the Kurdish Government for political asylum. The official, who is Hushyar Zibari, representative of the Kurdish Administration in Britain, said the authorities in al-Sulaymaniyah Governorate have begun interrogation of the two pilots -- Habib Ruhaymi, a Kurd who requested political asylum, and Iraj Kalanaljin, an Iranian who expressed a desire to return to Iran. There has been no Iranian comment on this matter. This is the first time the Kurdish Administration has been faced with such incident since the parliamentary elections held in May 1992 resulting in the formation of a government in Iraqi Kurdistan. It should be noted that relations between that administration and Iran deteriorated seriously last month as a result of the Iranian forces' artillery shelling and penetration of Kurdish areas on the pretext of hunting Kurds opposed to the Tehran regime and using Iraqi Kurdistan as a base. It is known that the region's administration provides shelter for the Iranian Kurdish opposition parties and allows them political activity in the areas under its control. It has firmly rejected Iranian requests for the extradition of these oppositionists or their expulsion from the region, but it did ask these parties to move their offices to areas away from the borders with Iran to prevent them being used as an excuse for continuation of the shelling and penetration operations which have already claimed some Kurdish civilian victims. |
FBIS3-35305_0 | Ministry Spokesman Comments on Sending Troops to Bosnia | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tehran, Feb. 23, IRNA -- The Islamic Republic of Iran has volunteered to contribute to the United Nations peacekeeping troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina but the response by the U.N. implies unexplainable wariness, said an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman here Tuesday. The spokesman, Mahmoud Mohammadi, told IRNA that Iranian Foreign Minister 'Ali Akbar Velayati had informed the U.N. Secretary General Butrus Butrus-Ghali of Iran's preparedness to do so and was awaiting the U.N. response to mobilize troops to Bosnia-Herzegovina under the supervision of the United Nations. He said Iran's proposal had been previously upheld by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and by the last assembly of the foreign ministers of the nonaligned countries in Jakarta earlier this month. Asked to comment on NATO's ultimatum to Serbian forces, he said NATO had not demanded the Serbs to end their siege of Sarajevo but simply to distance their artillery pieces from the besieged Muslim city. As far as NATO is concerned, he added, the ultimatum was solely a propaganda device for face-saving and for breaking NATO's long silence and not as a genuine warning to the Serbs. Commenting on the current negotiations in Tehran between Iranian officials and members of an Iraqi delegation who are here since last Thursday, he said that the main topic in their agenda is that of the prisoners of war, adding that a joint committee of officials of the two countries were proceeding with the task. The second most important item in the talks with the Iraqis, he said, is that of the fate of a number of Iraqi warplanes that were allowed to land in Iran immediately before the outbreak of the war of the allied powers with Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. He said the Chinese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foregin Affairs Qian Qichen is to arrive in Tehran for a three-day official visit Friday 4 march. The Chinese minister's talks with the Iranian officials, the spokesman noted, would focus primarily on bilateral relations, mutual cooperation at international organizations, and also cooperation in Central Asia. |
FBIS3-35309_0 | Mirsalim Comments | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tehran, Feb. 22, IRNA -- Mostafa Mirsalim who received a vote of confidence from the Majlis as the new minister of culture and Islamic guidance earlier today, outlined his programs after President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani introduced him to the deputies. Mirsalim thanked the leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah 'Ali Khamene'i and President Rafsanjani for their confidence in him and disclosed the western conspiracies against the Islamic Republic. He underlined the importance of the Islamic culture for the Iranian nation and said today's world is faced with the domination-seeking tendencies of certain heinous states who insist to score cultural supremacy through dominating over other nations so as to pave the way for pocketing more interests. Underlining the extensive dimension of the cultural assault, he said that only last year, 40 European and American research centers have published 214 books and 300 articles on Iran and Islam while 16 counterrevolutionary and eight foreign radio stations broadcast programs in Persian. He added that 1,100 counterrevolutionary t.v. stations also broadcast programs in Persian and 214 publishing centers of Iranians and non-Iranians abroad distributed 315 books in Persian in an effort to mock the Islamic values and to level accusations against Iran. Giving more statistics, he also said that 310 cultural centers abroad were engaged in activities against the Persian and Islamic culture through publishing materials in 114 periodicals in Persian while world's leading publications have published 110 articles on Iran and Islam. Moreover, he added, eight world conferences were held on Iran during the period including the one on Iran-U.S. relations known as Clinton conference. The minister underlined that cultural growth is more important than economic and social growth. Mirsalim noted that language is the main medium for transfer of cultural concepts and that he plans to make efforts towards "preserving and strengthening the eloquent Persian language while at the same time to refine the language of alien words." He added that efforts will also be made to promote Persian in other regions particluarly in Persian speaking countries. As another domain of his plans, he said that he will protect the rights of the writers and artists and systematize cultural and research centers. As far as cultural relations with foreign countries are concerned, he said that facilities would be provided for cultural cooperation with the Central Asian states while such cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan would be strengthened and |
FBIS3-35321_0 | Abu-Nidal `Terrorists' Charged in Diplomat's Murder `Plots,' Iranian Link Revealed | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN [Report by Ra'id Salihah] [Text] Swiftly, and without any prior notice, the security agencies arrested every member of Abu-Nidal's [Sabri al-Banna] Fatah-the Revolutionary Council group in Jordan in an operation that lasted no more than 48 hours. The operation started Saturday [19 February] morning and ended Sunday evening. Despite the fact that the security agencies are keeping a tight lid on this swift operation, preliminary information leaked to AL-BILAD by well-informed sources reveals that the operation was only a warning message and a precautionary measure. At the same time, these sources confirmed that Syrian and Lebanese security agencies have separately obtained confessions from the individuals accused in the assassination of martyr Na'ib al-Ma'ayitah [Jordanian diplomat assassinated in Beirut on 29 January] to the effect that they had organizational links with Abu-Nidal's group. These sources also believe that members of the Abu-Nidal group in Jordan were deceived by their leadership, which convinced them that it had no connection whatsoever to al-Ma'ayitah's assassination. AL-BILAD obtained a highly-classified file, supported by documents and information. The file shows, beyond any doubt, that some members of Abu-Nidal group intended to carry out bloody operations in Jordan. This was revealed in a secret leaflet, circulated on a very limited basis inside the group, which shows that the group is furious with the security agencies despite clear attempts by the group leaders in Jordan to label relations between the Revolutionary Council and Jordan as very calm. The latest Revolutionary Council statement to reveal this hostile attitude appeared on 29 November 1993. The communique, stamped by the movement's official seal, cites a statement issued by the Central Committee of the Palestine National Liberation Movement-General Command of the al-'Asifah Forces-The Revolutionary Council. The statement says "...we urge every Arab citizen living on the land of our nation to realize the threats of the Judaization campaign. This campaign threatens destructive civil wars, which have started in Palestine today and are expected to explode on the Jordanian arena in the next few months. It is regrettable that in Jordan an agency, which has no work or mission but to pursue our movement's members and mujahidin, continues to exist." The same statement also notes that operations will be carried out this year without specifying where. The statement says "... we also stress to the concerned factions, which claim responsibility for operations we had the honor to carry out, |
FBIS3-35384_0 | National Assembly Speaker, Iranian Envoy Discuss Ties | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Islamabad, Feb. 22, IRNA -- Iran's ambassador to Islamabad Mohammad Mehdi Akhund-Zadeh held a meeting here today with Pakistani National Assembly speaker Syyed Yousef Reza Gilani and discussed Tehran-Islamabad economic, political and cultural ties. The two sides emphasized that the economic potentials of Iran and Pakistan could be used to expand cooperation between the two countries. Global as well as regional issues and activities of the enemies of Muslims were discussed in the same meeting. Both sides also underlined that the Kashmir issue should be solved on the basis of national aspirations of Kashmiri Muslim people. At the end, Gilani invited his Iranian counterpart Ali 'Akbar Nateq-Nuri to pay a visit to Pakistan in the coming Iranian new year (to begin March 21). |
FBIS3-35402_3 | Political Islam Review: AL-SHA'B 15 Feb CONTENTS: 1. Corruption and the Struggle for Democracy OPPOSITION LEADER ON CORRUPTION, DIALOGUE, ANTI-ISLAM CAMPAIGN | for enacting a new constitution. Shukri warns of "the Muslims' slumber in confronting the Western onslaught to destroy Islam" and warns against "a scheme to 'disunite the Muslims and Copts,'" noting Islam's sound stance on the Copts, which maintains that they "have the same rights and duties as Muslims." Shukri said that following the Cold War, the West sees only Islam as "the new enemy that must be destroyed." He says that in America, the leader of the Western camp, there are those who warn of the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union and they all fear the Islamic revival. Preacher Muhammad al-Sharif pointed to the dispute between the two former interior ministers, saying that the corrupt establishments are fighting one another. He said that every day that passes paves the road for change and salvation so that those who will rule by God's shari'ah will take over. in a 400-word article on page 7, Muhammad al-Murshidi suggests that when the government proposed a national dialogue with the opposition parties, some opposition leaders believed it would be a futile political maneuver to divert the public's attention. Others believed that the rulers might have returned to their senses and realized the serious security, political, and economic situations. The writer notes that the government then repeatedly postponed the date, casting doubts on its seriousness about it. The writer notes that Prime Minister Sidqi claims he does not cover up corruption, yet he sent several AL-SHA'B writers for interrogation just because they revealed one aspect of corruption. He says King Husayn of Jordan permitted honest elections that allowed fair representation of the opposition. The writer goes on: The Algerian leaders realized their serious mistake when they finished off the democratic experience and realized that the only way to emerge form the crisis is to hold a dialogue with the opposition and the Islamic Salvation Front. We thought, he says, that the Egyptian rulers might learn this lesson. But, he stresses, we were surprised to hear President Mubarak say that what happened in Jordan and Algeria will not happen in Egypt. What is the use of the dialogue with the government, the writer wonders. PRAYERS FOR BOSNIANS In a 100-word report on page 1, Khalid Yunis notes that tens of thousands of people performed prayers at al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo last Friday over the souls of the Bosnian martyrs killed in the |
FBIS3-35403_2 | Political Islam Review: 'AQIDATI 15 Feb 94 | Mihriz replies that all Muslims should hasten to give a hand to brothers in Bosnia-Herzegovina if they get the chance. Chief editor al-Sayyid 'Abd-al-Ra'uf blames all Muslims for what is happening in the Muslim world today, because "they have deviated from the correct understanding of Islam, lived in a trance and in superstitions that have no link with or root in religion, and let Europe advance in science and take the reins of the world." Asked what 'AQIDATI does to confront the communists and secularists who attack Islam from within, 'Abd-al-Ra'uf says: "We are being subjected to a fierce campaign from the secularists and communists to whom the doors of some newspapers and magazines, some of which belong to the government, were opened." He reiterates that 'AQIDATI has a clear and obvious role in fighting ignorance and superstitions, as well as those who fight Islam. ON THE KORAN AND HOSTILE CURRENTS Page 10 features a 1,500-word report on remarks Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali made at "The Opera Cultural Salon" on 14 February regarding anti-Islamic currents and their possible impact on Koran and tradition. At the beginning, al-Ghazali stressed that "there is no fear for Koran and tradition from the anti-Islamic currents, because the Almighty will guard His message against corruption." He affirms that "the Koran and tradition will stay in spite of the secularists." Al-Ghazali attributes the Islamic nation's weakness and its political, economic, and social defeats to many causes, including "the misunderstanding of the Koran and tradition and the failure to observe and examine narrations thoroughly." The problem is how to promote your Islam since you did not adhere to it or apply it accurately, he said. He added that Muslims are fighting two battles: One against the terrorist movements that have wrongly been attributed to Islam and the second against the allegations of the "secular enlighteners" who refuse to see that "Islam is an enlightened intellectual movement that urges the people to learn their religion correctly and draw evidence from the universe." He stressed that the nation can never accept the view that the revelation is an obsolete concept, that the Koran is an Arabic literary text, or that the Prophet's tradition is inapplicable. Dr. Ahmad Kamal Abu-al-Majd remarked that the nation is experiencing discord and disagreement and that some groups belittle thought and make their own rulings that forbid everything. He asks al-Ghazali why such groups appeared and |
FBIS3-35403_3 | Political Islam Review: 'AQIDATI 15 Feb 94 | because the Almighty will guard His message against corruption." He affirms that "the Koran and tradition will stay in spite of the secularists." Al-Ghazali attributes the Islamic nation's weakness and its political, economic, and social defeats to many causes, including "the misunderstanding of the Koran and tradition and the failure to observe and examine narrations thoroughly." The problem is how to promote your Islam since you did not adhere to it or apply it accurately, he said. He added that Muslims are fighting two battles: One against the terrorist movements that have wrongly been attributed to Islam and the second against the allegations of the "secular enlighteners" who refuse to see that "Islam is an enlightened intellectual movement that urges the people to learn their religion correctly and draw evidence from the universe." He stressed that the nation can never accept the view that the revelation is an obsolete concept, that the Koran is an Arabic literary text, or that the Prophet's tradition is inapplicable. Dr. Ahmad Kamal Abu-al-Majd remarked that the nation is experiencing discord and disagreement and that some groups belittle thought and make their own rulings that forbid everything. He asks al-Ghazali why such groups appeared and how their thought can be rectified. He answers that the cause lies in the fact that Islamic culture is being presented in a fake image that is full of contradictions. This has led to differences that have affected the thought of the religious youth. Therefore, he stresses the need for cleansing the Islamic culture of all the old delusions and germs implanted in it. RELIGIOUS VERSUS ENLIGHTENING BOOKS In a 200-word article on page 18, columnist Mamduh al-'Ashri criticizes Dr. Samir Sarahn, chairman of the Public Book Authority, for expressing his view on a television program that "Islamic books discount the brainpower of youth and their low prices adversely affected other books on display in the fair." The columnist wonders how such a statement can get past the censor, as it casts doubt on facts stated in the Koran. Al-'Ashri is surprised that Sarhan says this while "licentious books and pornographic magazines fill the fair's corridors." These books not only contradict Islam, but also the Egyptian people's customs and tradition, he remarks. He notes that religious books were the most expensive at the fair, while the other so-called enlightening books were the cheapest. Nonetheless, he adds, more than 15 million |
FBIS3-35403_7 | Political Islam Review: 'AQIDATI 15 Feb 94 | was the cat and mouse game between America and the former Soviet Union. The two came out intact, letting the naive Afghan fall into a bottomless pit, he says, adding: Russia has cashed in its chips, letting America take all the loot, not only in that region but in the whole world. Meanwhile, the miserable mujahidin are finishing themselves off with their own hands, he says. In conclusion, Rajab expresses his surprise that "other people have sealed their minds off, refusing to learn from the Afghan experience. The result is more blood, more destruction, and ruin." It is true that one man's poison is another's meat, he remarks. ISLAMIC STATES AND BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA A 150-word report by Jamal Salim, page 20, says that the World Islamic Council for Call and Relief has issued a statement "condemning the massacres to which Sarajevo Muslims were subjected. The statement appeals to Arab and Islamic governments and people to adopt strict measures, particularly the severance of diplomatic and cultural ties with Serbia and the states that support it, primarily Russia and Greece, and the expulsion of these states' ambassadors from Islamic capitals." The report adds that the council called on Islamic people, political and party institutions, trade unions, and other economic, trade, cultural, and tourist centers "to boycott the Yugoslav companies and freeze all dealings with them." The statement also called on the Islamic states to adopt a political and military plan to lift the ban on arming Bosnia-Herzegovina, set up a world popular court to punish the Serbian criminals, and collect donations for Bosnian Muslims. The statement finally calls on Islamic states "not to recognize the geographic and demographic changes imposed by the brutal Serbian power." Basyuni al-Halwani's 500-word column on page 6 criticizes Islamic states that content themselves with statements of denunciation and condemnation and watch the "Serbian criminals" as they demonstrate their malice for Islam and Muslims, desecrate the sanctities, and destroy lives. He says that the international community has proved that it protects the law of the jungle when it closed its eyes to the Serbian crimes for over two years and encouraged them with its inaction and negligence to liquidate the Islamic identity of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He regrets that despite the hideousness of the Serbian crimes, states like Russia uncovered their ugly faces, started to encourage the Serbians in their aggression, and hampered every attempt to restore peace to the region. |
FBIS3-35411_2 | Foreign Minister on UN Resolutions, Blockade | implement this resolution. What is Iraq's justification for refusing to implement this resolution? [Al-Sahhaf] You mean Resolution 706, don't you? [Al-Sayyid] Yes. [Al-Sahhaf] The background of Resolution 706 is that Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan, a special representative of the UN secretary general, has come to Iraq as part of the job of the UN General Secretariat and the UN secretary general to examine the so-called humanitarian situation in Iraq and Kuwait. The team working under Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan carried out studies relating to the serious humanitarian situation resulting from the war that destroyed much of the civilian facilities in the cities and even villages, such as projects for drinking water, sewage, fuel, hospitals, etc. Those people submitted reports giving a realistic picture of the humanitarian situation that became a threat to the lives of millions. In this report--this study--they urged prompt action to enable Iraq to provide the necessary services such as health, water, and sewage. They specified the utilities concerned, including potable water, sewage, and agriculture. The report was sent to New York but instead of responding to Sadruddin Agha Khan's appeal, the Americans and their allies turned the affair into a political game. They referred the whole issue to a resolution adopted in line with the UN Charter's Chapter 7 but still claimed that they were acting in line with humanitarian concerns. Chapter 7 deals with the measures the UN Security Council can adopt to maintain security and peace when a situation threatening world security and peace arises, including issues of nuclear armament and violent strife. They sought to govern humanitarian requests dealing with sewage and hygiene in line with Chapter 7. They said that Iraq could export oil worth $1.6 billion. But they said they wanted to station inspectors inside the Iraqi oil marketing authority. When an oil importer comes to buy, say a Netherlands buyer or the Netherlands Government, the inspectors would take part in the negotiations over the transaction. They could say: Sorry, we will not permit this transaction. Let's suppose the deal is carried through. The contract to sell the oil would go to New York and would be submitted to the sanctions committee, which might not permit the deal. Suppose the sanctions committee agreed, they would want to station inspectors at the loading terminals, for example the deep water al-Bakr Port. We export our oil via the Arab Gulf. They would want |
FBIS3-35411_14 | Foreign Minister on UN Resolutions, Blockade | who was seen at a supermarket in Kuwait--say in al-Salmiyah area or some other place--and after that nothing is known about him. How could you be so inaccurate as to presume that this person is in Iraq? There is a specific method followed in such cases. There is an internationally recognized method according to which the Red Cross gives out application forms and procedures. So it is a question of missing persons. Didn't they call it Desert Storm? This storm took many people; Iraqis, Kuwaitis, and other human beings. So we are facing a question of missing persons, not prisoners deliberately captured by the Iraqi troops or Iraqi authorities and taken to jail and whom we refuse to release. This is a lie. This is a game usually played in times of crisis to keep the atmosphere tense and keep a standing accusation, so that someone can come to you and tell you: Brother, why are you doing this? This is a natural human reaction. Why keep them? They have families and they are miserable. Thus, an atmosphere of tension against Iraq will remain. This is the whole idea. Look at what they are doing now, for instance. Kuwaiti television signs off with prayers that say: May God return our prisoners to us. In their planes, they write: Do not forget our prisoners, and so on. When they go to a meeting they deliberately start a discussion on the subject so as to create certain feelings and to gain sympathy for political reasons. The fact of the matter is that we have to work to gather information on people who have gone missing and whose whereabouts we should ascertain. They talk and present personal files of 622 or a similar figure. We will present files on about 63,000 missing Iraqis. Sixty-three thousand Iraqis. We will present them through the Red Cross. You know that whenever crises and armed struggles take place, [pauses] ... Even up to today, the Americans are running around looking for the missing in action [previous three words in English] in Vietnam. Do they want by this game to keep.... [sentence incomplete as heard] This is governed by rules that are recognized internationally and are sponsored by the ICRC and we proceed according to these rules. We have received personal files of missing people. Enough lying to people and saying that there are prisoners held by Iraq. |
FBIS3-35411_20 | Foreign Minister on UN Resolutions, Blockade | It appears to me to be suspended. What things will be like, it is really difficult to speculate on, at least for the near future. Originally it was a good step but the crisis halted it. We will see how things turn out. [Al-Sayyid] Mr. Minister, let us move on now to the future relations between Iraq and its neighbors, particularly Turkey and Iran. Your Excellency, how do you view future relations with these countries? [Al-Sahhaf] We earnestly wish to do what we can to create a climate that will encourage our non-Arab neighbors--Iran and Turkey--to move toward a normalization of relations. This is especially important in the case of Iran following a bloody eight-year war. We are seeking to normalize ties and build a sound foundation that benefits from the lessons learned from the crisis and to create opportunities of stability and cooperation for the Iraqi and Iranian nations in a way that is to their mutual good. We have tried to do this in the past and we are still trying. We are always urging Iran to begin settling certain unresolved issues between us, foremost among them the POW issue and MIA issue and also the retrieval of the remains of such MIA's. We also wish to cooperate in connection with the issue of nonintervention, including crossing the border and infiltrations. We also would like both parties to fulfill certain commitments to each other. For example, the Iranians gave safe haven to a number of Iraqi aircraft. They must now return these planes, both the civilian and military ones. There are several other issues that are ready for settlement if the necessary steps are taken. These would be steps illustrating normal transactions between neighboring countries. During meetings in Karachi and New York, I agreed with Iranian Foreign Minister Velayati to adopt a policy that would lead to the results I have outlined above. This policy would involve an exchange of visits, holding meetings, and beginning a political dialogue. We made the first steps but later the atmosphere became a bit muddled. We hope to resume this effort soon. We might meet in Geneva to begin discussing the POW issue. [Al-Sayyid] Dear viewers, at the end of this interview we express our profound thanks to His Excellency Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf. Thank you, Minister. We hope your efforts will succeed, God willing. [Al-Sahhaf] You are most welcome. |
FBIS3-35424_0 | Spokesman Condemns Attack on Israeli Women | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN [Text] A Palestinian spokesman has announced the following: Operations of violence and killings have recently been escalating in the occupied Palestinian territories. This violence has deliberately been directed against our students and children by the Israeli Army and armed settlers which has constituted a serious precedent especially after the signing of the Cairo agreement. However, in the same breath, we do not agree with and rather denounce the attack on women and especially the pregnant among them as happened recently in the killing of a settler, which is in contrast with Arab and Islamic ethics. This escalation harms the peace process. Self-restraint is required from everyone, especially toward the unarmed peaceful civilians. |
FBIS3-35425_0 | Editorial Criticizes U.S. Policy in South Asia | Language: Urdu Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "The Provision of American Defense Equipment to India; a Cause of Anxiety to Pakistani Policy Makers"] [Text] According to reports emanating from world mass media, two American ordnance companies have offered to supply sophisticated electronics defense equipment to India. This offer made by American companies to India reflects a shift in American policy on South Asia and the contradictions of the U.S. leadership. By the end of last year, the Clinton administration had warned India to desist from making indigenous production of military equipment that may flare up a war frenzy. Hence, in consonance with this policy, the United States has refused to provide super computers to India and has also prevented Russia from providing the latter with rocket engines, which may be used in the manufacture of long-range missiles. To discourage India from producing sophisticated weapons indigenously, the U.S. Government also threatened India that if it manufactures such equipment at home, the United States would sell materials for the manufacture of AWACS planes to Pakistan. After this warning, India obviously halted work on the AWACS system at home and began talks with the United States for the purchase of latest equipment for its air force. However, after the offer of the American companies, besides manufacturing latest equipment, India will be able to achieve indigenous production of AWACS. This way, the Indian Air Force will have superiority in the region. The Indian Air Force is already more powerful than its counterparts in Pakistan and other countries of the region. This state of affairs is greatly regrettable. This is the reality and every Pakistani with any common sense is fully aware of the fact that the Americans are totally insincere people, and when their is purpose served, they become indifferent. During the Afghan war, the United States needed Pakistan. Despite great risks, Pakistan decided to confront Russia. At that time, the United States did not have any objection to Pakistan's nuclear program. Now strong pressure is being exerted on Pakistan to roll back this nuclear program, because now the United States does not need Pakistan to forestall Russian influence. On the contrary, after the downfall of Russia as the superpower, the American policy makers are not only ignoring Pakistan but also are encouraging India on several issues, which is a cause for concern to the political circles and the people of Pakistan. The offer of sophisticated |
FBIS3-35429_0 | U.S. `Concern' Over Ties With Pakistan Examined | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed commentary: "U.S. Concern Over Closer Ties Between Iran and Pakistan"] [Text] The head of the foreign relations committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Lee Hamilton, in an article which appeared in yesterday's issue of the daily NEW YORK TIMES, has stressed what he has described as the danger of Pakistan-Iran closeness, calling on the U.S. Administration to reconsider its ties with Pakistan and provide the ground for the improvement of Washington-Islamabad ties. The noteworthy point in Mr. Hamilton's article is that he has expressed concern over the reduced U.S. influence in Pakistan and increased influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and China in that country. Besides, he has also mentioned the often repeated claim that Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons. The article is worth pondering from two aspects. First, as has been confirmed by the world bodies, including the exports of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Iran has no plan whatsoever to use nuclear energy for military purposes. And second, what the U.S. official has described as the so-called increasing influence of Iran and China in Pakistan are actually the joint efforts of the three countries, coupled with their good will, to expand regional cooperation. In the political lexicon of the White House the word influence actually means to be forerunner of domination whereas the foundation of Iran's ties with Pakistan, by being away from any political ups and downs, is based on the principle of good neighborly ties and nonintervention in each other's affairs and is set on the track of making these ties evermore stronger. Meanwhile China considers Iran as a very important country in west Asia, specially in the Persian Gulf, which has a strategic role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Iran and China have had very high trade exchanges during the recent years and in addition to Pakistan's stability and the recent visit to Iran by the prime minister of that country, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, have depicted a very bright prospect for the future of the Pakistan-Iran ties. If we also take into account China's serious inclination of expanding ties with the Economic Cooperation Organization, ECO, we can understand the very roots of the U.S. fear from closeness between Iran and Pakistan. Trade exchanges in the region, which spreads from South Asia to Caucasia and Central Asia, with China being next door, |
FBIS3-35430_2 | Human Rights Allegations Termed `Political Ploy' | the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979). To any impartial observer, the rally was full of meanings and implications and removed numerous doubts instilled in the world public opinion about the popularity of the Islamic government in Iran. On the other hand, the report should be considered connected with the firm stances recently taken by the Iranian official in condemning the genocide of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs and the compromise accord in the Middle East. The fact that five years have passed since the issuance of the verdict on the apostate Salman Rushdie, the author of the Satanic Verses, and the futile political and economic pressures by the West on the Islamic Republic of Iran to revoke the verdict can be mentioned as other reasons behind presentation of this report. Exertion of pressure to make Iran compromise and move along with the policies of the West is the main goal that the United States and its allies constantly are pursuing by publicizing such false claims. This is while Galindo Pohl's colleagues have overlooked human rights violations in the countries allied with the United States. Another important point in this report and similar claims is that Iran is accused of state terrorism when it is a major victim of terrorism itself and this is something that those claiming to support human rights have always ignored. The recent assassination attempt on the life of the Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani on Feb. 1 during the Ten-Day Dawn inauguration ceremonies (marking the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979) and the November 29 hijacking of a Fokker friendship passenger plane belonging to the Oil Ministry to Iraq are among more recent cases, not to mention over a decade of post-revolution victimization of the Iranian nation at the hands of Western-supported terrorist outfits. The allegations on human rights are brought forth at a time when tens of thousands of innocent Muslim Bosnian children and women are being martyred in the heart of Europe and hundreds of thousands are facing the prospect of being massacred or raped. The outrageous violations of the rights of the Muslim Palestinian nation by the Zionists are among other issues which have been neglected in the files of the so-called human rights organizations. The double standard in dealing with the world events by international organizations is not something that Muslim nations can overlook. |
FBIS3-35439_21 | * Nabavi Editorials on Aspects of New Budget Oil Revenues in 1373 [21 March 1994-20 March 1995] and Foreign Debts Taxes and Tax Revenues in the 1373 [21 March 1994-20 March 1995] Budget Increase in the Price of Kerosene, Gasoline, and Other Oil Products The Increase in the Price of Electricity, Telephone Communication, and Postal Services in the 1373 [21 March 1994-20 March 1995] Budget | industry is that the level of electricity consumption, with some exceptions, such as aluminum production, does not effect the cost of industrial production very much. The highest level of electricity consumption is in aluminum production, which uses Rls750 worth of electricity per kg of aluminum production. The repair of factories can be done in summer, because the consumption load is very high in the summer months. Most factories make repairs once a year, during which time the consumption load is reduced. The level of demand can also be used in industry. That is, as consumer demand goes beyond a certain level, it should be followed by an increase in the price of electricity. Also, incentives should be implemented to reduce consumption in the production units, such that if a factory can do its work with 60 kwh of electricity, it will not increase it to 70 kwh. Public uses, such as schools, mosques, and pharmacies, can be exempt from price increases, and others, such as offices and barracks that have the most waste in public consumption, must be required to pay the costs. Unfortunately, the lights of some government offices are turned on during the daytime, and modifying the price can encourage conservation. In connection with commercial units, as well, the implementation of a progressive rate policy can change the consumption model from high-use to low-use lamps. In the area of agriculture, considering its essential nature, there should be no price increases, in order to encourage these activities. In any case, in connection with electricity, various scenarios exist, the best of which can be chosen and implemented in such a way that, in addition to creating conservation, pressure on deprived classes will be prevented and reasonable development will follow. The average price of a postal parcel is Rls65 at the present. With Rls35 in taxes for 1373 [21 March 1994-20 March 1995], as proposed by the government and if ratified by the Majles, it will be Rls100. One of the problems with this proposal is that the rates are not divided according to urban, intercity, and foreign parcels. Even though the Postal Company, considering its present revenues, faces problems, the point should be taken into consideration that the least expensive method of communication throughout the world is the postal service. It is not clear why the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone monopolizes postal services and does not allow the |
FBIS3-35441_0 | U.S.-Russian Relations Viewed After Espionage Case | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed commentary: "Tension in U.S.-Russian Ties"] [Text] The U.S. Justice Department officials said yesterday that they have arrested a key official of the CIA and his wife on the charge of espionage in favor of the former Soviet Union and also Russia. They described it as one of the greatest events in spying operations so far. In the wake of the disclosure of this news, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced that he has ordered an enquiry and investigation in order to speedily clarify the details of such an event. The subject of espionage and the reason why Russia and America, under the conditions when the Cold War has already ended, are trying to get informed of one another's secrets, have drawn the attention of the world people. At the end of the Cold War the heads of the CIA and the Russian intelligence organization, KGB, in their speeches, had dismissed continuation of the past policies that arose from mutual distrust and proposed cooperation in various fields. But facts now show that both countries still lack trust toward the other. For this reason they continue to make use of their spy organizations for acquiring secret information on the actions and decisions adopted by the opposing country. America is now trying to acquire precise information on Russian policies in various parts of the world, especially in the newly independent republics of the former Soviet Union and possibly to create grounds for its political influence in them. In this regard one may refer to the murder of a CIA official in Georgia last year. That event roused Moscow's anger, vis-a-vis America. It appears that spying measures of America, in order to penetrate Russia and the newly-independent republics, have led to the fact that Russia's spy organization too pursues its operations to counter the rival's designs. However, it often happens that spy organizations, based on their facilities, penetrate sensitive administrative and intelligence centers of the opposing country. Of course such an act, based on undermining the prestige of one of these two states, may bring sharp reactions in its wake. In connection with the disclosure of the recent spying episode, it appears that Mr. Clinton is extremely wrathful and it is probable that he may adopt fresh decisions on U.S.-Russian diplomatic ties. Inflection of this blow on the Clinton Administration will compel Washington to have a closer survey of the |
FBIS3-35443_0 | IRGC General Says Country Not for Nuclear Weapons | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tehran, Feb. 23, IRNA -- Major General Mohsen Rezaie in an interview with the English daily TEHRAN TIMES scoffed at Western media reports claiming Iran was for nuclear weapons. "Political logic, morality, our own culture, and above all the situation in today's world does not allow us to have such deadly weapons." The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in an interview to be pulished Thursday, also said that political wisdom demands us not to go for the weapons which could cause devastation for humanity. "The eight-year-old Iraqi imposed war is proof of the real nature of our combatants who never violated the internationally recognized norms concerning wars," he added. "That Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons ...is just a baseless rumor," Rezaie said. Commenting on the Persian Gulf he said, the geographical situation of the waterway is such that the deep water is on Iran's side which enables the Islamic forces to keep alien warships under surveillance. Without going into details he said that there was a plot hatched by Britain, Israel and the United States to keep regional tensions high. "I tell my friends in the UAE to listen to my advice as Iran wants to continue friendly relations with all the sheikhdoms," he added. On the post-war role of the IRGC, Rezaie said that the IRGC was busy with extensive construction projects in the country. |
FBIS3-35460_0 | Rabbani Sends Message to Pakistan on Embassy Incident | Language: Pashto Article Type:BFN [Text] The press office of the presidency of Islamic state reported to Bakhtar Information Agency that esteemed Professor Borhanoddin Rabbani, president of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, has sent the following message to Sardar Faruq Ahmad Khan Laghari, president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the incident of Pakistan's embassy in Kabul: Your Excellency Sardar Faruq Ahmad Khan Laghari, president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on behalf of myself and Muslim Afghan nation, I am pleased to convey best wishes to your excellency, and through you to the fraternal nation of Pakistan. Your excellency, I would like to express my deep regret and sorrow at the incident which occurred on 23 February in your country's embassy -- most probably at the instigation of self-seeking elements who seek to make fraternal and friendly relations between the two neighboring and Muslim countries tense. Your excellency, religious and cultural ties, and material and moral support of the nation and government of Pakistan on the uprising of the people of Afghanistan against foreign aggression and the granting of asylum to millions of Afghan refugees have so deepened and expanded our relations that the occurrence of incidents such as the aforementioned cannot damage our countries' religious and good neighborly relations. I take the opportunity to wish from the compassionate God your excellency's health, long life, success, and prosperity for the people of Pakistan. [Signed] Professor Borhanoddin Rabbani, President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. |
FBIS3-35484_0 | Talks With Western Oil Companies Reported | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN [Text] Baghdad, 24 Feb (MENA)--A responsible Iraqi Oil Ministry source has stated that a high-level Iraqi oil delegation will visit Paris soon in response to an invitation from the Elf Equitaine and Total companies, which specialize in oil exploration projects. A MENA correspondent in Baghdad has learned that negotiations have been going on behind the scenes between representatives of several international oil companies, particularly Western and U.S. companies and Iraq, to exploit the Majnun oilfields in southeast Iraq, which are known to hold the biggest oil reserves in the world. The correspondent has learned from oil experts in Iraq that Iraq prefers the French to the Western and U.S. companies because it believes that the French stance on the embargo imposed on Iraq has recently changed, especially at the Security Council. Observers base this view on a statement made by Dr. Riyad al-Qaysi, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry under secretary, in which he referred to the change in the French stance during a news conference he held with UN team leader Rolf Ekeus earlier this month. A responsible UN source in Baghdad told MENA's correspondent that these oil talks are not regarded as a violation of UN resolutions. Iraq has 110 billion barrels of crude oil--the second largest oil reserves in the world. The Majnun oilfields have 50 billion barrels of proven and unproven oil reserves in the so-called "al-Rumaylah rectangle," which extends from south Iraq to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and some parts of southwest Iran. This field was one of the reasons the eight-year Iraqi-Iranian war erupted. |
FBIS3-35485_3 | Qatari TV Airs Special Report on Blockade | food and medicine. But how can it import when there are no oil exports and when our funds in foreign banks, specifically in U.S., British, French, and German banks, are still frozen? Therefore, the means of importing these materials are also frozen. At the end of 1991, we were allowed to import through the frozen funds. We imported a quantity of foodstuffs, but another resolution, No. 778, was issued at the end of 1992 re-freezing the Iraqi funds and preventing Iraq from using them to buy food and medicine." Asked about a certain UN Security Council resolution allowing Iraq to export a specified quantity of oil -- just enough to enable it to import humanitarian materials -- the minister says: "In fact, this resolution was designed for the purpose of paying the expenses of the inspection teams and other UN expenses and not for the purpose of securing the needs of the Iraqi people. Therefore, the resolution was designed and its technical details were drawn up in such a way as to secure the export of a quantity of oil without securing the import of materials. This resolution also interferes in the country's domestic affairs regarding the distribution of materials to the population." Asked about the recent arrival of ships at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, the minister says: "In fact, when funds are available, the materials that are allowed to be imported, such as food, come through al-'Aqabah. The Turkish line is also open for food imports. However, the problem lies in financing imports. As for Umm Qasr port, its opening and the entry of ships into it last month enabled Iraq to have direct contacts with the outside the world and to import permitted materials and commodities. In other words, goods arrive at our national territory directly and we have direct contacts with the outside the world. This is an essential point on the subject. In addition, the cost of imports is reduced when goods come to our ports directly. The harsh economic conditions in the country require a reduction in the cost of imports when the country is in a position to import any quantity of food and medicine." The video then shows the Jordanian border point of al-Karamah on the Jordanian-Iraqi border and trucks transporting Iraqi crude oil to Jordan. More scenes are shown of Iraqi markets and more interviews are carried out with Iraqi |
FBIS3-35485_5 | Qatari TV Airs Special Report on Blockade | citizens. The program then carries a two-minute interview with the Hashim 'Ali 'Ubayd, under secretary of the Ministry of Finance. He says: "The current exchange rate of foreign currencies, especially the dollar, in the Iraqi market and in the so-called parallel market does not represent the real exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar. This is because Iraq's foreign assets and funds are frozen. Iraq has not been allowed to export any commodity to earn these currencies. The current market of foreign currencies is very small and depends on what is available of these currencies in the market. It does not represent the real exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar." The video then shows children in Iraqi hospitals and notes lack of medical equipment, in addition to lack of medicine. Several women who were interviewed stress that there is no medicine for babies, either in hospitals or in pharmacies. A nurse says that babies are suffering from anemia and malnutrition. A pediatrician says there are no antibiotics or other medicine. In a 8-minute interview, Health Minister Dr. 'Umid Midhat Mubarak says: "Regrettably, the unjust UN resolutions have affected the situation. We can no longer obtain diagnostic materials such as primary chemical materials. We cannot even obtain isotopes, which everyone knows cannot be used for nonmedical purposes." He says the "mortality rate for children under five years old in 1989 was not more than 375 children per month. In December 1993, the mortality rate was over 4,000 per month. As for citizens over five years old, the mortality rate in 1989 was 1,700 per month; now it is approximately 6,500 per month." The health minister says most surgery is being postponed due to lack of equipment and medicine. He notes that due to lack of foreign currencies, Iraqi patients cannot be sent abroad for treatment. He regrets that some countries who claim to be defenders of human rights have denied entry visas to Iraqi patients. He notes that "the brothers in Qatar have recently sent medical consignments." He expresses the hope that "the brothers and real friends will realize this injustice inflicted on every single one of the Iraqi people for purely political reasons." He says these reasons are no longer justified and there is no need to use them to bring political pressure." In a two-minute interview, Foreign Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf is asked whether he expects the blockade imposed on |
FBIS3-35486_0 | Columnist Views `Disgraceful' U.S. Behavior | Language: Arabic Article Type:BFN ["Windows" column by Diya' Hasan: "U.S. Administration Behavior Reveals its Ill Intentions"] [Text] The U.S. administration's behavior and daily stands show that its tyranny is aimed at imposing its interests on others, contrary to all international rules, even if the others are friends and allies. It also attempts to rudely interfere in others' internal affairs. Today, I would like to take two examples of this disgraceful behavior of the United States, which it is openly following in its dealings with the world. The first example is the request Warren Christopher made to Qatari Foreign Minister Shaykh Hamad Bin-Jasim Al Thani during their recent meeting in Washington. Christopher wanted the sisterly Arab state to desist from strengthening its fraternal relations with Iraq. The second example is Clinton's arrogant request to the Japanese prime minister to impose taxes on the Japanese industries exported to the United States and to give special facilities to U.S. exports to Japan. He wants to tip the trade balance between the two countries in Washington's favor. When the Japanese rejected this request that would damage their industries, Clinton ordered a series of trade measures hostile to Tokyo. This was a declaration of war against an ally, well within earshot of the entire world. These two examples shown once again that Washington will never be satisfied if it does not impose its will on other countries. Qatar is not allowed to practice independent decisionmaking with regard to its relations with its sisterly and friendly states. And Japan, which a major economic power in the world today, is not allowed to compete against U.S. industries, but must be forced to direct its development in the interest of the United States. Both examples indicate that U.S. policy under any administration does not really have any friends or allies in its general dealing. How many enemies does the United States have today, and how many more will it have in the future? This shows the extent to which Washington controls the world. The important thing is that the rejection of this hegemony has begun in different forms, including the firm rejection represented by the Iraqi stand. |
FBIS3-35505_2 | Reaction From Various Leaders, Groups Noted Central Command Head Comments | 16, or even more. Neither we nor the Palestinians have yet succeeded in counting the number of fatalities and making a full report on the number of casualties. I hope the figure will be as low as possible. The act was the initiative of a single person who carried out a despicable act by shooting at an innocent crowd. I can understand the outrage among the Palestinians in Judaea and Samaria. I cannot agree to disturbances. I do not think a new situation has been created. We will take action to restore calm and to make sure there are no disturbances. [IDF Radio's Netan'el Semrik] Did the Israeli assailant operate on his own? [Yatom] The Israeli acted on his own, and as things appear now, it was the initiative of one man. I do not know what happened to him, but there is no doubt that it was the act of a crazy man. We increased protection on the Palestinian and Jewish populations in the Hebron and Qiryat Arba' vicinities. I did not recommend in the past and I still do not recommend that the Jewish public avoid travelling. I would like to say what I said in the past: Whoever has to travel on Judaea and Samaria roads in order to do whatever he thinks he has to do, can do so. We will provide the necessary security, especially in this area. [Unidentified correspondent] We have different figures on fatalities. [Yatom] You have data, and I have data. I do not know if information is accurate. I very much hope that my reports are correct and yours are inaccurate. I cannot promise anything. I checked after some of them were published in the media. We gave clear instructions to the forces to avoid as much as possible opening fire on disturbers of the peace or on crowds. The order is to open fire only if the lives of soldiers and security forces are endangered. In all other cases, the instructions are clear, and unequivocal: Do not open fire. We will disperse the disturbances and demonstrations using other means. [Litman] General Yatom, will you change the orders in the Cave of the Patriarchs, a sensitive location, where Jewish and Arab worshipers pray together? [Yatom] Jews and Arabs have been praying together at the Cave of the Patriarchs for many years. The prayer arrangements permit both the Jews and the Muslims |
FBIS3-35509_0 | `Violent' Clashes Ensue Following Hebron Attack Riots Reported | Language: Hebrew Article Type:BFN [Text] There are violent incidents and riots by residents in numerous places in the territories. Our correspondent Moti Amir reports that 28 residents were wounded in the Gaza Strip by IDF [Israel Defense Forces] gunfire. Fire was directed at an Israeli car and a Border Police patrol in Bethlehem. The car was damaged, but its passengers were not harmed. A while later, an Israeli bus was stoned, and one of the passengers fired his gun, killing one of the stone throwers. The IDF imposed a curfew on the Bethlehem area. Stones were hurled at cars in the garages in Nazareth. Calls were heared from the town's mosques not to forgive the massacre. The commander of the police's northern district conferred with area notables, expressed his sympathy for the Arab population, and tried to calm down moods. The defense minister's media adviser denies Hebron physicians' claims that the IDF and Israeli hospitals refrained from extending aid to the Hebron casualties. He told our correspondent Hayim Hecht that the IDF offered helicopters for the transfer of the wounded, and that Jerusalem hospitals prepared to receive them, but the Arab physicians rejected all IDF offers. The Health Ministry has deployed over the last hour to extend all possible medical aid to hospitals that treat the Hebron wounded. Our correspondent 'Ofra Nehmad notes that Dr Yehoshu'a Shemer, the Health Ministry's assistant director general announced that he instructed the blood bank to prepare as many blood units as necessary for the Arab medical elements, as well as to extend any other medical assistance. Our correspondent notes that seven of the Hebron wounded reached the Jerusalem Hadassah hospitals, and Magen David Adom ambulances are on the alert to transfer wounded people to the town's hospitals. |
FBIS3-35511_1 | `Violent' Clashes Ensue Following Hebron Attack Further on Riots | to throw explosives, but they blew up in his hands. Four border policemen were also wounded in the territories this morning. The IDF spokesman said the forces have been beefed up in the territories. Thousands of Muslim worshipers are still congregated on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, and many of them rioted and hurled stones at police forces, the media, and the Western Wall. The police used tear gas to stop the stone throwing. Large police forces are concentrated around the Temple Mount to prevent the rioting from expanding. Seven policemen were hurt in clashes on the Temple Mount. Our correspondent Aviv Bushinsky reports that it seems that there are casualties among the Muslim worshipers on the Temple Mount. There was also a riot by Muslim worshipers near Nabulus Gate. These worshipers were eventually dispersed and some of them detained. Our correspondent Mira Amsalem reports that thousands are still congregated at the Nabulus Gate and are not going home. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert sharply denounces the Hebron murder. In an interview to Qol Yisra'el, Mr. Olmert called on Jerusalem's Arab residents not to be incited into acts of retaliation. Qiryat Arba' and Hebron Jewish leaders conferred with the Council of Jewish Settlements in Judaea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip and issued a manifesto expressing regret for the Cave of Patriarchs murder as well as condolences to the families of the fatalities. The settlers hold the Israeli Government responsible for the action, but urge avoiding any harm to innocent people. In the meeting, the settlement leaders called on Major General Mufaz, the IDF commander in Judaea and Samaria, to step up the protection and safeguarding of Jewish residents in the territories. Our correspondent Gil Litman reports from Hebron that the town is generally quiet. The Cave of the Patriarchs has been closed. The Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs is currently convened in a special session to discuss the situation. Prior to the session, Prime Minister Rabin had called for a special news conference in which he issued a condemnation for the murder in Hebron. Our correspondent Karmela Menashe reports that Peace Now activists are demonstrating near the place where the committee is convened. They tried to break into the prime minister's bureau, but police forces pushed them back. Our correspondent Yo'av Aviv reports that commercial strike was declared in many Arab Galilee villages, and mourning processions took place in several of them. |
FBIS3-35523_1 | Palestinian Leaders Comments on Hebron Mosque Attack 'Arafat Informs Adviser | were killed. The 16 Dr. Tamimi talked about were those admitted to his hospital. Others were taken to different hospitals, and dozens were wounded, many more than Dr. Tamimi mentioned. A massacre occurred in the Cave of the Patriarchs. [Zissowitz] From what you know, was one man responsible for the whole incident? [Al-Tibi] According to what some of the worshipers say, it is still not certain if only one settler was responsible. From what is known, a settler entered the Cave of the Patriarchs and indiscriminately massacred people. He was apparently hit by a fire extinguisher, which was hurled at him in order to stop the shooting. There was also firing at different sites in Hebron near the Cave of the Patriarchs. [Zissowitz] Are you saying that the same person went on a rampage, firing as he went along, or that when he fired in the cave others were shooting outside? [Al-Tibi] I do not have definite information at this stage, and I want to be precise. I am not certain that one person was responsible for all the fatalities. At this stage, there are at least 20 to 25 fatalities and the number of casualties has reached more than 80. [Zissowitz] Do you know to which hospitals they were taken? [Al-Tibi] Yes, they were taken to Hebron hospital, al-Maqasid, and other hospitals. We view the rampage by Jewish settlers with great gravity. We think a stop should be put to them immediately and the law imposed on them once and for all. A curfew must be imposed on Qiryat Arba' and not the area where the massacre occurred, which is Hebron. Once and for all the Jewish population must be told that they cannot continuing going on rampages and massacring innocent people. Violence by either side -- but now I am speaking with pain about massacred Palestinians -- can definitely endanger the atmosphere of conciliation we are working so hard to bring about for both peoples. The Israeli Government and Army have to use all legal measures to bring order among the settlers who shoot freely in order to massacre peaceful Palestinians during their Ramadan morning prayers. [Zissowitz] Did 'Arafat call on you to make those remarks or to pass on some message to the prime minister? [Al-Tibi] I do not want to say what contacts I had this morning. I have said what I can at this stage. |
FBIS3-35565_0 | President, Groups, Dailies Respond to Hebron Attack Islamic Jihad Envoy Comments | Language: Persian Article Type:BFN [Unattributed political commentary] [Excerpt] In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. Yesterday's dastardly attack by the Zionist forces on the tomb of Abraham in the town of Hebron in occupied Palestine, leading to the death or injury of around 400 fasting worshipers, has grieved the world of Islam, awakened humanity's conscience, and marginalized the world's other news and developments. We devote today's political commentary to analyzing the various dimensions of that shocking and heart wrenching incident. In our interviews with a number of specialists from the News Research and Analysis Group, as well as Palestine's Islamic Jihad representative in Tehran, we have reviewed yesterday's heart rending incident. To start with, we hear the details of the incident from Brother Abu-Jihad, the representative of Palestine's Islamic Jihad Movement in Tehran. [Begin Abu-Jihad recording, in Arabic, with superimposed Persian translation] The incident was one of the most heart wrenching events in the entire history of Palestine and indeed the history of mankind. In this heart wrenching atrocity, which the Zionists committed with the cooperation and participation of the Army of occupation, hundreds of worshipers were attacked in the Abraham al-Khalil mosque, as they were staging the dawn prayers. The large number of victims indicates that several people were involved in the crime. While the Zionist regime has blamed the crime on a mentally deranged medical doctor, remarks made by the chairman of council of Zionist settlements in defense of that criminal removed any doubt that may have existed about the direct involvement of the Zionist regime in yesterday's operations. Although the tomb of Abraham is constantly controlled and guarded by 40 military personnel, only three soldiers were present at the scene on the day of the incident. We are sorry that at a time when the blood of the Muslim people of Palestine is being shed, some people claim that the Zionist regime is pursuing peace. [end recording] [Announcer] In order to exonerate itself from the responsibility for this atrocity, the Zionist regime has claimed that a mentally deranged person, or a few fanatical Zionists, had perpetrated the atrocity. In reference to this claim, Abu-Jihad says: We believe that the Zionist regime is fully responsible for the crime. By licensing the possession of arms and the reopening of military barracks to train the Jews, the Zionist regime must shoulder the blame for the hostile acts committed |
FBIS3-35569_2 | President, Groups, Dailies Respond to Hebron Attack Commentary on Implications of Hebron Incident | such rhetoric is unacceptable in international law, and incidents with such dimensions and depth cannot be blamed on a single mentally unbalanced Zionist. In addition, the question arises: Who armed this allegedly demented individual? In principle, the arming of the Zionist residents in these settlements is a policy that the Zionist soldiers are implementing officially. It is the Zionist army that permits them to carry weapons. In addition to giving them weapons and permitting them to carry them about, the armed forces also trains them to use them. Thus, it is very easy to identify who is responsible for this incident. Aside from this, while the al-Ibrahimi shrine is under the stringent control of the usurper Zionist regime's soldiers, and the fasting Palestinian worshipers passed through strict security checks on entering, how could armed Zionists pass through such a strict security system without any coordination on the part of the usurper armed forces and plunge the innocent people into blood and dust while they are praying? Woe to their shamelessness. The Zionist regime considers itself absolved of this crime. After this incident--which is not considered an exceptional one in Palestine and is in complete conformity with the usual policy of the Zionist regime--the question that arises is: Why were the compromising Palestinians not attacked? Why did a mentally deranged individual not attack the team of Palestinian negotiators who were holding talks with the Zionist regime? It is clear that the objective was precisely predetermined. The Palestinian people are the main elements, the backbone of the people's uprising -- that is, the devout stratum devoted to Islam. Thus, the targeting of the worshipers in a mosque while praying and fasting is in complete conformity with the policy of the Zionist regime. The attack was aimed at the real enemy of the Zionist regime and therefore, the mental derangement of an individual or individuals involved is a mere fabrication on the part of political and propaganda apparatus of the Zionist regime. This is one of the usual ploys of the political and propaganda apparatus of this regime. The blaze in the al-Aqsa Mosque in 1967, the holiest mosque in Islam after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Prophet's mosque in Medina, was also attributed to a lunatic. Only three years ago, a large number of Palestinian workers were massacred, and even that was attributed to a psychotic. The character of a |
FBIS3-35571_0 | President, Groups, Dailies Respond to Hebron Attack Explanations of Attack Questioned | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed commentary] [Text] Once again hot blood has been shed in Palestine, and with the martyrdom of scores of Palestinian worshippers in the holy month of Ramadan, the world of Islam is mourning. Yesterday morning, the secure sanctity of Prophet Abraham in the town of Hebron, near Beit al-Moqadas, went through a tragic and shocking incident in which hundreds of Muslim worshippers, while in prostration, were massacred. The catastrophe was caused by armed Zionists. These Zionist assailants continued to fire at the worshippers for a full ten minutes without any break. However, there was not shown any reaction by the armed Israeli troops who were stationed around the mosque. Every minutes 900 bullets were sprayed at the worshippers' lines, and the Zionist attackers even had enough time to reload their machineguns. The army of the Zionist regime only at the end of this heinous crime entered the scene. The troops took away the martyrs and put them in a mass grave. They also prevented blood donations to the wounded Palestinians who were transferred to a local hospital. Also by firing at the gathering of the Palestinians the military men killed and wounded scores of them. The point noteworthy in this tragic incident relates to the statement of the Zionist regime's prime minister, in which he declared that the Zionist assailant who led the group of attackers was mad. In this way, the rulers in Israel, despite having planned such a plot, have once again attributed the entire catastrophe to someone else without taking responsibility for its negative impacts. But the fact is that the mosque of prophet Abraham was under the siege and strict control of hundreds of Israeli military men [as heard]. Moreover, for months now the town of Hebron has been besieged by the Zionist troops. How then can it be imagined that, in the absence of any coordination with the Israeli Army, and while tough control was in force, several attackers could manage to massacre hundreds of people and drench the mosque compound with blood? Of course this is not for the first time that such a major catastrophe has been committed by the Zionists in the occupied Palestine. The lives of hundreds, rather thousands, of defenseless human beings constantly fall victim to the sinister designs of the Zionist occupiers. However, in the end, by attributing such a major tragedy to a crazy |
FBIS3-35572_0 | President, Groups, Dailies Respond to Hebron Attack U.S. Reaction To Events Viewed | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed commentary] [Text] Yesterday's brutal and barbaric attack on the Palestinian worshippers at the Abraham mosque in Hebron, which was carried out by the Zionists and during which hundreds of Muslims were martyred and wounded, has caused a wave of the world Muslims wrath and hatred. The leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Khamene'i, in an important message in connection with the crime, described the painful catastrophe a reminder of the mass murders carried out by the Zionists during the occupation, saying that these crimes are now being committed openly and before the eyes of the world people. In part of his message, the leader of the Islamic revolution said today: The bitter reality, that the oppressed Palestinian nation is compelled to carry out a struggle on its own homeland to be able to live there, has once again been dawned upon that nation. The leader of the Islamic revolution, then addressing the world bodies and the governments, the so-called defenders of the human rights that for years have ignored the human rights violations of a nation in Palestine, posing the question as to whether this time, too, these organizations will continue their silence and whether those having forced peace with the usurper enemy will realize their mistakes. Yesterday's horrible crime committed at the Abraham mosque in Hebron is a shocking event which cannot easily be overlooked and, as initial reaction, covered by the news reports of mass media, show the dimensions of the crime are so widespread that even the Western political circles and the supporters of the Zionist regime have shown a negative reaction. In this connection the U.S. State Department released a statement yesterday strongly condemning the horrible and terrorist attack. The U.S. administration in the statement, saying that the crime stresses the need for expediting the Arab-Israeli talks, has called on the two sides negotiating for the signing of the compromising agreement between Palestine and Israel to continue their talks. At the same time, France and Russia, through their official stance in the world bodies, such as the Amnesty International and the human rights organizations, in their statements have condemned the crime and along with that the leaders of the Islamic governments and organizations have also strongly condemned the Zionist attacks against the Muslims. What happened at Hebron yesterday has given rise to strong reactions on a large scale and in the |
FBIS3-35573_0 | President, Groups, Dailies Respond to Hebron Attack Commentary Says Coexistence `Questionable' | Language: Persian Article Type:BFN [Commentary by News Research and Commentary Group] [Text] The fury and condemnation at the heinous atrocity perpetrated by the Zionists in massacring fasting worshipers at the al-Ibrahimi shrine in Hebron continue unabated. The Muslim Palestinians protested yesterday against this merciless killing, which has grievously wounded the conscience of mankind. They held strikes and, despite the curfew imposed by the Zionist armed forces, they spilled onto the streets to demonstrate and clashed with the Zionist soldiers. In these clashes, three Palestinians were killed by the Zionist executioners and nearly 50 others were wounded. Thus, the number of victims killed or wounded at the hands of the Zionist forces in the past two days has reached 300. The indignant Palestinian demonstrators attacked 40 Israeli targets with bombs. One of the most important and distinctive characteristics of the demonstrations in the past two days in the territories occupied since 1948--where the Palestinians are a minority of the population--is the flourishing of the intifadah. The staging of extensive demonstrations in the cities of Nazareth and Yafo and the southern environs of Tel Aviv by the incensed Palestinians and the setting afire of dozens of vehicles and stores belonging to the Zionists are unprecedented in the past decade. The anger and frenzy of the Palestinian Muslims at the staggering atrocity committed by the Zionists in the al-Ibrahimi shrine was so extensive that for the first time the Zionist regime has imposed a curfew in order to protect the lives of the Jews in the settlements the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to political observers, at its session today the Zionist cabinet may make some decisions in order to placate the enraged Muslims because of the pressure due to the spread of the Palestinian Muslims' intifadah in the past two days. Some Palestinian prisoners may be released in this regard. The UN Security Council session is to conclude its deliberations today on the recent crime of the Zionists. In view of the fact that the United States gives quite a lot of arms and financial and economic assistance to the Zionist regime and thus is a de facto accomplice to all the crimes of this racist regime, it is possible that in its usual way the United States will use its influence in the Security Council to prevent the UN from playing its legitimate role in the Palestinian crisis. Political analysts |
FBIS3-35579_1 | Army Chief on Missile Document | references to General Staff issue numbers, the publication date of the document, and the Defense Ministry form are not valid," the general said, "and only a very gullible and incompetent person could be taken in by them, not a professional." "I have before me," Kolesnikov said, "a list of all the Russian General Staff and Defense Ministry index numbers we put on our working documents. Those named by the weekly are not on it. The letters "SM" were part of the old USSR Council of Ministers index nunmber, but it was abolished in 1991, and I do not know what these letters mean now. As for the Defense Ministry form, it is clearly a forgery. The form is no big secret, so the document could have been easily put together on a computer or photocopied. At the same time, Kolesnikov said, our documents are not stamped "top secret." But perhaps this is not a very accurate translation. Furthermore: Under the general staff there is no Military-Strategic Analysis Center, which allegedly prepared the "report." But the most important thing is the lies in the body of the report. "I cannot say anything about the scientists, since we do not keep track of where they go and why, it is not our concern and not our headache," Kolesnikov said, "but the claim that Pyongyang has one or two nuclear warheads and several more will come off the conveyor belt by the end of this year is total rubbish. I can definitely say that the DPRK does not have any of this. Neither does it have the mythical missiles such as Nodong-1 and Nodong-2 and several hundred other nuclear warhead delivery vehicles." Incidentally, the Russian chief of general staff said, we received several South Korean military delegations last year. They talked of their anxiety about DPRK military might, about their suspicions that it was working on something, but there was no mention of the "facts" presented by the Japanese weekly in any discussion with serious-minded people. Evidently they knew that they did not exist. I feel sorry for the Japanese journalists and their publication, Colonel General Mikhail Kolesnikov said. Perhaps they were simply taken in by the forgery when it was slipped under their door. But such, it seems, is the public state of mind in Japan that they will believe any claptrap about Russia, its General Staff, and Armed forces. A pity. |
FBIS3-35602_0 | Economic Deal Seen Isolating Russia's Choice Leaders of the group of authors of the new economic program | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Dmitriy Kamin report: "New Deal Has Been Drafted. President To Decide on Academicians' Program"] [Text] "Russia's Choice," headed by former Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaydar, has drastically improved its chances to become the only State Duma faction to oppose the government. Today a group of academicians under Stanislav Shatalin and Leonid Abalkin plans to present to the president, the prime minister, and chairmen of the Federal Assembly's chambers an economic program that is at considerable odds with the financial stabilization policy as understood by the IMF (see KOMMERSANT-DAILY of 25 and 26 January). Since this particular document is seen by most of the State Duma's political associations as a basis for a constructive dialogue with the government, "Russia's Choice" (as a matter of fact, together with "Yabloko") has been left out of a discussion on the program that representatives of other factions scheduled for 2 February. Obviously, Leonid Abalkin's statement about "the corrective nature of the proposed recommendations" should not be taken literally. In fact the draft program calls for a significant departure from the economic principles that were actively defended by Yegor Gaydar and Boris Fedorov, who came to epitomize monetarism in Russia. At the same time, it is too early to conclude that the package of measures proposed by the academicians means revolutionary changes in the economic policy pursued by the government. The program, if adopted by the government, may have much greater political significance, however -- joining forces with the parliamentary majority on its basis will make the Chernomyrdin cabinet the first "government of people's confidence" in the past three years. Seen against this backdrop, the situation at the Federation Council appears less clear than at the State Duma. A lack of party divisions and Viktor Chernomyrdin's influence in the upper chamber, however, may combine to make the upper chamber just as enthusiastic about the prospects for an alliance with the government as the lower chamber appears to be. To all appearances, former government members are set to be the most consistent opponents of the new draft program. This is only understandable: Yegor Gaydar and his loyalists need to restore their political authority after their failure in the December elections. What "Russia's Choice" sees as the Russian economy's inevitable slide toward hyperinflation ("Ukrainization") gives the political association a chance to rehabilitate itself. Representatives of the parliamentary majority have been cautiously inferring that Grigoriy |
FBIS3-35784_0 | Gives Overview of PRC Ties | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Text] The visit by Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev to the PRC reflected a most important priority of Russian foreign policy. We believe that good-neighborliness with the PRC is strategically important, the minister declared. Defining the principal criteria of Russia's foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific area, Andrey Kozyrev said: [Begin Kozyrev recording] First, the importance of this region to Russia's future is increasing, above all because the economic role of the Asian part of our own country is growing. Second, the system of international relations in the Asia-Pacific region -- and, indeed, throughout the world -- is neither monopolar nor bipolar but is becoming increasingly multipolar. I think that echoes of great power pretensions, including the idea that there should be one sole superpower, and the ideology of regional or global alliances of some countries in the Asia-Pacific region against others are receding into the past. The future of the region, and the world as a whole, lies not in power rivalry but in cooperation and interaction, above all among the great powers. The danger that a region of major military conflicts could emerge is now at its lowest level. The significance of the military factor has been markedly reduced. At the same time, there is considerable potential here for tension. Not only is there the legacy of the cold war but there is tension created by new problems -- the question of access to the resources of the seas and the Pacific Ocean, including the seabed, and a number of border disputes. Religious and ethnic extremism is dramatically acute in Afghanistan. It also poses a threat to Tajikistan. Unless we tackle these problems jointly, the outcome could be explosive for a region which includes both Russia and China, a region which is, of course, of vital interest to us. In these circumstances the key issue is the threat of the spread of nuclear weapons and missile technology. I am sure that it is not in the security interests of any part of the region, including Russia, China, and India, for such a development of events to happen. Fourth, the 21st century will clearly be a century of rapid economic development in the Pacific. Developing economic might will not threaten neighbors but on the contrary will create favorable conditions for economic growth throughout the region. In other words competition in this sphere is mutually advantageous competition. |
FBIS3-35786_2 | IZVESTIYA Sums Up Visit | for late spring-early summer, has not yet been agreed, but it can be assumed with confidence that his talks with State Council Premier Li Peng will mainly address economic issues -- construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations and Russia's participation in modernizing more than 150 enterprises built in the fifties with the USSR's help. The Russian side plans to involve the stricken defense enterprises of Siberia and the Far East in the latter project. The Chinese are not rejecting this option, but nor are they rushing to commit themselves with specific pledges, leaving the door open for the time being for others who want to participate in the modernization -- specifically, Hong Kong investors. Military-technical cooperation remains another sphere of major mutual interest for Russia and China. Russian arms supplies to Beijing invariably arouse poorly concealed irritation in the West, and this was evident from the questions which foreign correspondents put to Andrey Kozyrev at the final press conference. The minister was quite dry and hostile in rejecting the suspicions of behind-the-scenes deals between our country and the PRC, stating that all contracts concluded in this sphere have been submitted to the UN register. Western journalists were clearly unhappy with this answer. The curiosity of the corps of journalists in Beijing was intensified by the presence in the Russian delegation of Colonel General Boris Gromov, deputy defense minister. He did not take part in the most intensive section of the bilateral talks -- the foreign ministers' meeting -- but appeared merely at protocol events. Interest in Gromov was boosted by agency reports on the eve of the visit about major differences between Moscow and Beijing over the delivery of Su-27 fighter-bombers. The Chinese are allegedly refusing to pay for a second batch of aircraft, insisting that Russia sell them the technology to produce the aircraft. It should be noted that neither the colonel general himself nor people in Kozyrev's entourage clarified the problem. The delegation members literally "clammed up" at the merest mention of the arms trade. The Foreign Ministry experts' explanation for the secrecy over this issue is that they wish to preserve commercial secrets. Despite this, various rumors and a lack of trust will undoubtedly continue to accompany the development of Russian-Chinese military ties. Whereas the mutual benefits of "constructive partnership" are more or less obvious in the economic sphere, in the political sphere the new |
FBIS3-35815_1 | Russian TV Chief Paints `Very Gloomy' Picture | 77 percent goes automatically to the Ministry of Communications to pay for broadcasting. The meager funding is liable to cause the loss of the broadcasting network on the large territory of Russia. Relay transmitters will be closed down. The sum is a large one, and yet this is a political issue rather than an economic one. Today television and radio are the only links between individual regions in Russia and the center. If we come off the air in these regions, then the air space will definitely be pulled apart by local television companies. The disintegration of the single television air space may mark the beginning of territorial disintegration. What about the Russian-speaking population in "nearby foreign countries"? For example, the Baltic states only relay our channel. There the price of communications services is even higher. No one in the government is particularly looking into the heart of the matter today. They believe that having "Ostankino" will be enough but, after all, even "Ostankino" has had its budget cut by 50 percent. With the disappearance of the Russian television station, Russian national television as such will cease to exist. "Ostankino" is an interstate channel. [KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA] Maybe it is worth thinking about national commercial television? Independent television! [Lysenko] The idea is a good one, but economically impossible today. What commercial structure would pump billions into something just like that, with practically zero profit? In our country everyone has gotten used to the idea that television is free. [KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA] What lies in store for the employees of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company? [Lysenko] Approximately a 40-percent reduction -- primarily among the journalists. Televized shows, the most attractive programs, will have to be given up -- they are the most expensive. We will keep children's broadcasts to the end, and, naturally, "Vesti." [KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA] What is the solution? [Lysenko] The only thing that can save us is state support. But somehow I do not believe we will get any. In the three years of our existence there have already been five edicts of the Russian Federation president on support to the Russian television company, but when it comes down to it, it turns out that there is no money. This is frequently stated by people who have ratified the latest edict. We have nothing and no one to pin our hopes on. Boris Nikolayevich has the last word. |
FBIS3-35821_6 | 1993 Economic Performance Assessed | worst thing is that last year average export prices of Russian oil, petroleum products, gas, coal, iron ore, cast iron, and aluminum fell. While the extraction and transportation costs of all these commodities are rising rapidly. In many cases it was still profitable for enterpries to export these products only because of the drastically low ruble rate of exchange and what were until recently low transportation costs. Now transportation rates are close to real expenditure on transportation and the ruble rate of exchange, although still very low, has nonetheless fallen considerably slower than prices on the domestic market have risen. In effect although the artificial export incentives have survived, they are appreciably weaker and the profitability of exporting aluminum ingots, round timber, and coal is already in question. Oil exports will also be in jeopardy in the future. The question in effect is whether Russian industry will be able to restructure itself to export primarily machinery and equipment and other commodities with a high degree of processing before the favorable, but short-lived market situation disappears and thus maintain an active trade balance. Our only salvation lies in boosting the competitiveness of Russian goods. Regrettably, the industrial lobby and the government, which is obviously succumbing to pressure from the former, are still taking a different direction. The Russian market is being closed to foreign commodities by incredibly high duties. Thus the population is being made to pay for the monopolism and the backwardness of Russian industry, and that industry is doomed to lag forever behind its rivals. If it does not learn to withstand foreign competition at home, much less will it have a chance of conquering these rivals on other countries' bleak markets. Response to Critics of Monetarism This example is just one of many that make one think about the choice of course now being made deep within the government. Primarily the choice of an economic policy in its most general form. The main position that has been repeatedly stated over the last few years by government leaders is this: We will operate not only by monetarist methods. This should be investigated more carefully since I think that both the supporters of this policy and its critics are guilty of inaccuracies. When it said that there are microeconomic instruments as well as monetarist macroeconomic instruments, this idea is for some reason put forward as a reproof to the monetarists. |
FBIS3-35883_0 | Bojars Interviewed on Policies, Security, NATO | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Interview with Juris Bojars, chairman of the Latvian Democratic Labor Party, by A. Borisov; place and date not given: "One Must Be Pragmatic"] [Excerpts] Fate and, to be more exact, a short line in his life record -- 22 (!) years ago Juris Bojars worked in the KGB -- have willed that this well-known Latvian lawyer was deprived of the possibility to stand for the Saeima [parliament] elections. Finding himself outside the parliament, however, Bojars did not remain outside big politics. My interlocutor is not only chairman of the Latvian Democratic Labor Party [LDDP], but also director of the Latvian Institute of International Relations. [passage omitted] [Borisov] I address my next question to you as a specialist in international relations. It is common knowledge that recently the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution on the violations of human rights in Latvia.... [Bojars] The resolution does not mention human rights violations. It deals with the problems of these rights. There is not a single state that would not have similar problems. [Borisov]One of the reasons why Latvia did not join the European Council was the delay in adopting the law on citizenship. Is the approval of this law in a national referendum a correct move? [Bojars] Such a decision has not yet been adopted. Only [Prime Minister] V. Birkavs has expressed some considerations about this issue. I think that this option does not run counter to the principles of democracy. However, my personal opinion is that in such a case we must submit the entire package rather than just one draft law for public approval. People must have a chance to choose. Russia's experience has demonstrated that if they have one draft constitution they may either accept or reject it. The people think: How can we live without a constitution? They approve of it as a result, without either discussing or reading it. The same will happen in our country because the majority of the population does not have the possibility or the desire to read this document. [Borisov]As there is a dilemma in foreign policy whether to lean toward the East or the West, what would you advise? [Bojars] To be pragmatic and do what is necessary. Regarding current tendencies.... Yeltsin is also accused of his love for the West. This is in fashion now. Since we were so firmly tied to the East, there is |
FBIS3-35948_4 | U.S. Ambassador Interviewed on Aid | and to distribute it among the families where children are deprived from one of the parents. Realization of the program already s?arted, though there were delays caused by gasoline purchase. The idea was in purchasing gasoline for the dedicated amount of dollars and to pay thus to the farmers from which we were going to purchase potatoes. This potatoes will be packed in 10- and 20-kg bags and distributed among families with deprived children. This aid is particularly for this group since it's receiving the most little aid compared with others. [Correspondent] Who is going to deal with distribution of this aid? [Gilmore] Armenian Apostolic Church in New York headed by the Archbishop Barsamyan, and the Fund of Aid to Armenia. We are collaborating with them and with the organization CARE. Money will be paid to the church, which in turn transferred to the partners dealing with gasoline trade. Delivery of potatoes has already started, and I believe, the distribution will start this week. [Correspondent] Could you tell something on the aid programs you planned? [Gilmore] I have already mentioned that 15 million dollars were allocated for kerosene, 25 thousands dollars were dedicated for purchasing gasoline and potatoes; we should also remember the additional $7400. $250,000 was allocated by CARE for 10- and 20-kg food parcels, which will be distributed among those in need. $673,000 was dedicated by CARE for helping pensioners and lonely, also to the inhabitants of Gyumri and Vanadzor: during the period from November ?o April everyone will receive three parcels of 14 kg each; 20,000 tons of agriculture products such as wheat, rice and beans were dedicated by the Agriculture Department of the USA. All the mentioned aid is organized by the CARE program, the Fund of Aid to Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church in New York. Another 20,000 tons are allocated to Armenia by the program "Food for Progress". There are a few additional programs in the sphere of medicine, approximately 5 million dollars worth. This program is dedicated to help young mothers and those women who are expecting a child. $650,000 are dedicated for the program of teaching doctors and business specialists. In nearest future we are going to deliver sowing grain to Armenia to be distributed among farmers. This is also a program of U.S. Government, where will be also participating private organizations and Armenian Ministry of Agriculture. Approximately 7 million dollars |
FBIS3-35979_1 | Zhirinovskiy's Visit to Slovenia, Belgrade Reported | ideas of CEMA and the Warsaw Pact and create a zone of East European cooperation. In the capital of Serbia and Yugoslavia the visitor was greeted with tumultuous applause in a hall which was packed with many more admirers than journalists invited to the press conference. Zhirinovskiy said that he had told Chernomyrdin that he would not rest as long as Kozyrev was a minister: "My task is to remove him from the Russian government." Belgrade's next guest or, to be more precise, the guest of the local orthodox neocommunists, will be Gennadiy Zyuganov, in Febrary. "I come here as a victor, as chairman of the party that gained three times as many votes as those who are are now governing Russia," Zhirinovskiy said. "I want to warn the Western countries' governments that to bomb any cities in Bosnia will be to declare war on Russia.... Let them not forget that there are still Russian forces in Europe and they could remain there for a long time." This is exactly what the conflict participants are seeking to achieve in the Balkans -- to involve the powerful of this world in the bloody internecine strife. The Serbs are trying to involve the Russians, the Muslims are trying to involve the Islamic world, and the Croats are trying to involve the West. Zhirinovskiy said he was against East European states joining NATO: "If they want to clean the boots of the Germans, British, and French, let them join." Russia will not do so. And as soon as it has a new president, his party will create a Union of Slavic States. Vladimir Zhirinovskiy's words meet with a warm response in the hearts of a section of Yugoslav society. After all, he is promising the victims of sanctions and war what they want: The lifting of sanctions and victory both over economic problems and on the battlefield. When Zhirinovskiy finally wins, Russia will defend its Orthodox brothers. There are others who think differently. Like, for example, the BORBA newspaper commentator voicing the opinion of the Serbian democratic opposition: "We should be more concerned about the support for Zhirinovskiy than about Kozyrev's refusal to adopt a `pro-Serbian stance'.... Serbia and Yugoslavia are certainly in a very difficult situation. But it is equally difficult to imagine that anyone would vote for the destruction of Russia and the whole world for the sake of our salvation." |
FBIS3-35992_0 | Commentator Hails Kozyrev's Visit to PRC | Language: Mandarin Article Type:BFN [Unidentified station observer commentary; from the "Good Evening, China" program] [Text] Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev has ended his official visit to China. Our station observer has the following comment on the outcome of his visit: The talks and meetings held in Beijing, as well as documents signed there, have shown that both sides have made important strides in strengthening and deepening the Russian-Chinese bilateral relations. They have formulated active measures including common understanding on developing their partnership in economic cooperation and trade, and have resolved important border issues. Eventually, they have agreed to hold the second Russian-Chinese summit in Moscow in 1994. In short, Russia's foreign policy has been attaching -- previously and currently -- top priority to Russian-Chinese relations. However, the impact of the Russian Foreign Minister's visit to China was not limited to Russian-Chinese bilateral relations. The Russian Foreign Ministry publicly reiterated that the Russian Foreign Minister's visit to China has striven to further strengthen peace and security throughout the whole Asia-Pacific region. First, from Russia's viewpoint, the Asia-Pacific region has become more and more important to Russia's future. Russia has in the past, as now, regarded relations with members of the Asia-Pacific region as multilateral. Therefore, Russia has maintained sound relations with all countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The same principle has been reflected in Russia's treaties with China, India, and the Republic of Korea, and in Russia's ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Russia's relations with Japan, with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and with other countries of the Asia-Pacific region have all been established under the same principle. Kozyrev said: At present, the Asia-Pacific region faces the least likelihood of large-scale conflicts since the end of the World War II. However, the threat exists in the region whereby new tense situations may occur, and existing tense situations may worsen. An example in this regard is the resumption of civil war in Cambodia. I believe that both Russia and China can facilitate an end to the bloody conflicts in Cambodia. Nowadays, other issues bothering the Asia-Pacific region include the possibility of extracting and developing abundant resources in the Pacific Ocean, including the extraction of undersea oil and natural gas that have already been discovered, and that have been termed as very massive. I should remind our listeners: Some countries of the Asia-Pacific region have, for a long |
FBIS3-35997_0 | U.S. Firm To Build Nuclear Waste Storage Facilities | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Ukraine appears to have secured at least a five decade respite from its insistent nuclear waste disposal headache caused by Russia's stubborn reluctance to admit Ukraine's nuclear fuel waste material to its reprocessing facilities now that the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant production association is reported to have signed a contract with the U.S. Duke Power company for construction of nuclear waste storage facilities. The contract materialized as a result of an international contest for nuclear waste disposal projects that the production association had to organize in view of the relevant governmental bodies' obvious indifference, inaction, and incompetence. The contest reportedly drew participants and tenders from Germany, Britain, France, Canada, the United States, Spain, and [word indistinct]. The Zaporizhye nuclear power plant management chose the project drafted by the Duke engineering and service affiliates of the Duke Power company (?as specially) following the Ukrainian nuclear power industry's technological [word indistinct] and requirements. The project reportedly provides for storing used nuclear fuel cases in armored concrete cylinders. Despite their relative simplicity and cheapness, they are said to be both durable and reliable for storing fissionable materials, nuclear safety experts maintain. Currently, ecological and feasibility studies are under way in these sites. If everything goes well, the first storage facility is expected to be completed by late 1995. Similar storage facilities are being contemplated for construction at other Ukrainian nuclear power plants. |
FBIS3-36078_61 | Last Dash to the South By V.V. Zhirinovskiy RUSSIANS, THE DESTINY OF RUSSIA IS IN THE HANDS OF EVERY ONE OF YOU | Obviously it was fate. And all this, taken together, affected my life. Maybe it's like an artist or a composer who needs unhappiness in order to create, in order to bring inspiration. It was the same with me -- so I could develop a better and more profound understanding of political processes in society, I experienced a degree of disadvantage in all other respects. The wrong food, the wrong clothes, maybe the wrong comrades, the wrong entertainments, the lack of brilliant successes during my early education, in sport, and in any other forms of activity. In fact maybe this is an objective process. All my energy had to be focused on one thing. If there had been a girl I loved maybe I would have devoted half my energy or a large part to her, if I had had a very close friend this would have taken up time. If I had had very good relations with my family once again I would have spent a lot of time on contacts with them. But things worked out in such a way that, willy-nilly, I constantly devoted myself to social questions. I felt constant social concern, and I thought about society and its problems, about social questions, and about relations between people. The constant sense of dissatisfaction was a stimulus. After all, you cannot engage in politics for no particular reason. It's not a favorite school subject, physics, say, where there are specific laws associated with the theory and the subject. Politics as an art is a special sphere of activity, and not everyone can grasp it. Perhaps anybody can go to a rally, stand there, and listen; anyone can make a few comments of their own and put forward slogans, but to get thoroughly to grips with politics requires knowledge, above all of the humanities. Knowledge of history, economics, philosophy, and jurisprudence. And also the potential to make you want to do this. Like an artist, someone who wants to engage in politics must formulate his own ideas, find an opportunity to express them, and meet with approval. Without recognition, a politician will get nowhere. Just like an artist who cannot find anyone who admires his talent. But artists sometimes get posthumous recognition. It is harder for politicians. A politician has to secure recognition during his lifetime. Otherwise he simply does not make it as a politician, people simply forget |
FBIS3-36078_62 | Last Dash to the South By V.V. Zhirinovskiy RUSSIANS, THE DESTINY OF RUSSIA IS IN THE HANDS OF EVERY ONE OF YOU | and its problems, about social questions, and about relations between people. The constant sense of dissatisfaction was a stimulus. After all, you cannot engage in politics for no particular reason. It's not a favorite school subject, physics, say, where there are specific laws associated with the theory and the subject. Politics as an art is a special sphere of activity, and not everyone can grasp it. Perhaps anybody can go to a rally, stand there, and listen; anyone can make a few comments of their own and put forward slogans, but to get thoroughly to grips with politics requires knowledge, above all of the humanities. Knowledge of history, economics, philosophy, and jurisprudence. And also the potential to make you want to do this. Like an artist, someone who wants to engage in politics must formulate his own ideas, find an opportunity to express them, and meet with approval. Without recognition, a politician will get nowhere. Just like an artist who cannot find anyone who admires his talent. But artists sometimes get posthumous recognition. It is harder for politicians. A politician has to secure recognition during his lifetime. Otherwise he simply does not make it as a politician, people simply forget about him, and his name does not feature anywhere. "Does not feature on the lists." An artist can leave pictures, a writer an unpublished work, but it is very difficult for a politician to appear anywhere in the annals of history. He is usually topical. He is of the present. My disadvantaged personal life helped make me a good student, I tried to find some sort of satisfaction from this, and I graduated with distinction from the Institute of Asian and African Countries. Then came the army. For some reason everybody is reluctant to join the army, but I felt I needed this. I was drawn to politics, and I realized that army service would help me, even with regard to my biography, because people can always ask: Why did you not serve in the army? Why did you avoid this extremely important institution in our social life? Especially as I served as an officer in the Transcaucasus Military District Staff Political Directorate. At that time Georgia was still ruled by Mzhavanadze, he was the next-to-last Georgian "czar" and first secretary of the Georgian Communist Party Central Committee. Bribery and nepotism flourished luxuriantly under him. This was the period I |
FBIS3-36078_119 | Last Dash to the South By V.V. Zhirinovskiy RUSSIANS, THE DESTINY OF RUSSIA IS IN THE HANDS OF EVERY ONE OF YOU | Under the one-party system everyone who did not join the CPSU experienced a sense of political hunger. They were totally cut off from political life. This is the trouble with the one-party system. The point is not just that communists formed the basis of the one-party system. In itself a one-party system is unviable. In those circumstances in general there is no need for any party, since there are no competitors and there is no opportunity for various political forces to take part in elections. The one-party system exists as cover for dictatorship by a force in power, for there is a need to maintain an apparatus at local level that can be used somehow to influence the masses. That is why there is a need for a party. Clearly, this is necessary at a certain historical stage. But this was a one-party regime not in purely state interests, for the benefit of Russia as such -- it also had an ideological complexion. There was the idea of building communism, and also its spread beyond the country. This was the communists' second mistake. Okay, have a one-party regime only in our country and try to build communism, but what was the point in going further? Because if all the aid that was given to foreign countries had been left in the USSR, we would have been a very rich, highly developed, cultured country even under the one-party regime. Because even with all the flaws we have tremendous achievements. What if we had not had these flaws? The one-party regime is flawed in itself because there is no competition between ideas, competition between positions. They decided to implement the idea of communism here -- both here and abroad. All the efforts and resources were expended on this. In any case, you need a multiparty regime to ensure that there are no protracted experiments. If a party comes to power and for five years tries to squander resources, distributing them all over the world, it will lose the next elections, and this experiment will end. So, for all the pros and cons of both a one-party and a multiparty regime, the latter nevertheless comes out on top. Pluralism is better. It's better when there is a choice. Here is a simple illustration from personal life. Imagine you get married at 25 and have no right ever to form any relationship with a |
FBIS3-36078_185 | Last Dash to the South By V.V. Zhirinovskiy RUSSIANS, THE DESTINY OF RUSSIA IS IN THE HANDS OF EVERY ONE OF YOU | conflicts with relatives -- this will always happen. And it is the same between peoples. People will still tell jokes about Chukchis or Jews, about Russian Ivan or about the Caucasians, about khokhols [derogatory term for Ukrainians] -- one way or another, we will always go in for some kind of "hazing." But it should not end in the grave, as happens in our army. A river carries away stones, sand, and silt. It moves. This is nature, and man is part of nature. But it is essential to regulate the processes -- so as to eliminate fascism, so as to eliminate communism, so as to eliminate the seizing of other people's countries, lands, airplanes. Suppose one of the passengers on an aircraft has too much to drink. By doing this, he harms himself. But if a terrorist comes along, a hijacker -- that is a threat to hundreds of people's lives. We must resist him. His actions must be neutralized. Similarly, in a geopolitical formula, you cannot find some kind of ideal solution for everyone. I know there will be many protests in Kabul, Tehran, Ankara. But why do they think we should not be opposed to their plans for creating a greater Turkic state? What was Colonel Turkes, founder of the party of national order, put in prison for? For his ideas about Turan, a greater Turkic state from Istanbul to the Altay. The Turks themselves put him in prison for that. These nationalist ideas, these pan-Turkic sentiments, have come to the fore periodically, but in any case they have always existed in Turkish society, among academics, students, civil servants. The same is true of Tehran's attempt to disseminate the ideas of the Islamic revolution. In Afghanistan this has almost succeeded, but Iran has not yet succeeded, but is clearly trying to extend this to Azerbaijan and subsequently Turkey. Do pan-Islamic ideas help to improve the world order? Do they not constitute a threat to mankind? To all mankind. What about Kabul? It is perpetual war there. Zahir Shah, President Daud, the Afghan communists -- from Nur Mohamed Taraki to Najibullah. There is no such people as the Afghan people. There are various peoples -- Uzbeks, Kharizeytsy [as transliterated], Tajiks, Pushtuns, Daris. Why should they not live as they wish, without breaking up into gangs headed by field commanders? Is this not a threat to peace? And what |
FBIS3-36094_2 | Official Assesses Situation in Crimea | completely different personnel and intellectual potentials than a supreme one. It was naive to believe that the Oblast Council would improve its way of thinking. This is our analysis. The quicker the powers of Crimean authorities grew, the more subsidies they demanded from the center. Today, although per capita income in the Crimea ranks in the top 20 among other oblasts, the region is in the top 10 in terms of consumption. When Crimean deputies adopted a law on education, which practically eliminated the Ukrainian language, we swallowed this. We also swallowed an electoral law which eliminated Ukrainian parties from the Crimean electoral process. They have established their own banks and customs services to separate even further from Ukraine. In Kiev meanwhile, we have observed this and kept silent, hoping that Bagrov would not forget and repay our services. Today, Bagrov has ceased to exist as a political figure. [Nepomnyashcha] How do you assess the position of Yuriy Meshkov? Where will he lead the Crimea, having become president? [Tkachuk] I have heard several of his speeches delivered in the Crimean Supreme Council. I will quote him by heart: The yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag wants to once again tie a noose around the necks of the long-suffering people of the Crimea... This is his style. [Nepomnyashcha] While signing the tripartite statement on Ukraine's nuclear disarmament, the Ukrainian side put emphasis on a paragraph concerning the inviolability of borders, assuming that the statement will contribute to positive resolution of the Crimean issue. [Tkachuk] What does a statement mean? If they had signed an agreement or treaty, which would have legal consequences -- meaning that it does not matter if Yeltsin or someone else is in power in Moscow, and that a country is obliged to fulfill the agreement... What, I repeat, is the legal status of a statement? [Nepomnyashcha] What is your prognosis for the development of events on the peninsula? [Tkachuk] Unfortunately, one can smell gunpowder in the air there. The situation will much depend on the Crimean Tatars' position. The Russian population of the peninsula is not very happy about returning there [to Russia]. Yuriy Meshkov emphasized this issue during his campaign. Many Ukrainians who have settled in the Crimea have lost their national roots, and the mentality of our people is rather peaceful. Tatars, on the other hand, have repeatedly stated in the Mejlis [National Assembly] their intention to fight |
FBIS3-36095_0 | Chernobyl Plant Operation, Use After Closure Viewed | Language: Ukrainian Article Type:BFN [Article by Viktor Demenyev: "The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Generates 5 Percent of Ukraine's Nuclear Energy. Soon It Could Generate More"] [Text] The Ukrainian parliament adopted four different resolutions regarding the Chernobyl nuclear plant over the past four years. The station was "executed" three times (deadlines for its stoppage were set for the beginning of 1995, then 1992, and 1993); and in October 1993, the Supreme Council "pardoned" it, permitting it to function until the exhaustion of its technical resources. The last decision was forced by life itself, with the parliament just affirming it. Losing 5 percent of Ukraine's electric energy, generated by the Chernobyl plant, means death for our state -- electricity frequency is on the verge of normal levels, reaching at times 49 hertz. Experts know very well that if the frequency goes down, this might trigger a ripple effect paralyzing all industries. This is another case confirming the proverb that every cloud has a silver lining. It is not the market economy or competition but the station's dire situation that forced its staff to fight for survival on three fronts at a time -- to maintain the system of nuclear units, to prepare those units for their decommissioning, and to produce electricity with a 110-118 percent completion of its monthly production plans. As long as the government was handing out subsidies to unprofitable enterprises or even entire industries, fueling inflation, the Chernobyl plant undertook expensive safety measures and at its own cost, carried out a considerable amount of work necessary to put the plant out of commission. During nine months of 1994 alone, safety and reliability outlays amounted to 14 billion karbovanets -- one-fourth of the revenues. At the same time, production costs for one kilowatt-hour produced at the Chernobyl plant proved 1.5-fold less than at thermal electric stations, even though it pays world prices for its nuclear fuel. In terms of security, Chernobyl nuclear units today are as good as comparable Russian ones. As the honorary president of the World Association of Nuclear Plant User States (WANO), Lord Marshall, emphasized ("ATOMNAYA TECHNIKA ZA RUBEZHOM" [Foreign Atomic Engineering], No. 6, 1993), that the "safety of RBMK-type reactors was brought up to quite acceptable levels." Paradoxically, it was opponents of nuclear engineering that helped achieve this condition. Following the accident in 1986, the plant has been working under the constant pressure from the "Green" |
FBIS3-36179_1 | Declaration on Inheriting Supreme Soviet Rights Viewed | joint document of the State Duma and the Federation Council which, "recognizing the historical responsibility for the fate of parliamentarianism and expressing anxiety at the state of the legal system" of the country, state their claim to the entire legacy of the Congress and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation. True, the greater part of the powers of soviets is recognized as forfeited, and the right of succession is being declared only to that part which "does not contravene the Constitution of the Russian Federation." All the laws passed by the Supreme Soviet that do not contravene the Constitution are recognized as "having the same juridical power" as the laws passed by the Duma. As for edicts, Mr. Isakov here goes back to his pet idea of ousting the president and the government from the realm of lawmaking. Edicts and "other normative acts" contravening laws passed by the Supreme Soviet and the Federal Assembly are proposed to be recognized invalid. Claims to "rights of succession" in the legislative sphere, however, is not the whole story. The present deputies also long for the Supreme Soviet's and the Congress' property. Considering the current problem of accommodation for the parliament, one can suppose that what they have in mind first and foremost is the building at 2 Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya, and only then do they have in mind the car pool, the vacation home, and so forth. In addition to the White House, parliamentarians are showing a certain interest in the mass media founders rights remaining from the Supreme Soviet, and in that body's right to representation in international organizations. To be quite fair, it is necessary to say that following a long process of approvals and introduction of amendments, the text would probably lose much of its bite. But it is simply impossible to describe the draft declaration as the first attack "along the president-parliament front of the new convocation." One can only add that the above draft does not quite correspond to the Constitution, which specifies that parliament passes "laws and decrees," and there is no mention of any declarations. Besides, Mr. Isakov's intention to reduce presidential edicts to the level of economic management directives does not agree with the text passed on 12 December. At any rate, the Duma bloc of Communists and Agrarians, to which Vladimir Isakov belongs, is known for its program aspiration to dispute the referendum results. |
FBIS3-36208_1 | Zhirinovskiy on Community of Slavic States | order will return. [Scaglione] You will be visiting Poland, where you are not much liked. Why? [Zhirinovskiy] I will be visiting Poland, true -- but Slovenia, too -- and I have been to Bulgaria. I am in solidarity with them: We should form a community of Slavic states together, but with no ideology, no pan-Slavism. This is demanded by the compactness of our territories, our customs, our history, and our culture. Be that as it may, the Poles must not be afraid: We are in favor of the inviolability of borders. Unfortunately we are forced to defend ourselves because the West is trying to change ours, despite the accords signed in Helsinki in 1975. [Scaglione] I beg your pardon? [Zhirinovskiy] Those accords envisaged the inviolability of borders in Europe. Why, then, were the Soviet Union's borders changed? Who gave them the right to do that? France cannot be touched. We will not even mention Germany. Only in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union have the borders been changed -- as it so happens, the Slavic countries. These are double standards: How can we be happy with that? There is nothing fascist about it. They call us fascists to denigrate us and to frighten our supporters. They will pay for it: We have sued Yegor Gaydar over this, and have demanded 100 million [currency unspecified] in damages. [Scaglione] Why do you take issue with the West so much? Not long ago you said that Russia needed technology and aid. [Zhirinovskiy] This business of Western aid is just a provocation. Nobody gives us a cent: In fact they only come here to take. This IMF is just an illusion; it does us harm, and that is all. The tide of profiteers will gradually be eliminated: By 1995 we will have thrown them all out, we will have a new government and a new policy. [Scaglione] Is there no European political leader that you respect? [Zhirinovskiy] None. They all hate Russia. But we will get along on our own -- and better. [Scaglione] If it is as you say, why sell so many weapons abroad? To China, for instance? [Zhirinovskiy] We will continue to sell weapons everywhere. Whoever wants to buy will always be welcome. But we will ensure that our weapons do not end up in the hands of those who have aggressive intentions with respect to Russia. So to our neighboring |
FBIS3-36211_0 | Plans To Enhance Trade, Economic Ties With Cuba | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Russia and Cuba are restoring traditional trade and economic cooperation and intend to enhance it. The Russian Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations told Interfax that the two states were to increase mutual deliveries of oil and sugar in 1994. Russia would export 4 Mn [million] tons of oil by the end of 1994 (instead of 2.5 Mn tons, the delivery of which was coordinated in late 1993) in exchange for 2.5 Mn tons of cane sugar, exceeding the earlier expected volume of deliveries by 2.5 times. According to Russian Foreign Economic Relations Minister Oleg Davydov, "Russia is very interested in importing Cuban sugar since it has big industrial capacities specially established for processing of cane sugar." Russia and Cuba also intend to develop bilateral cooperation in other spheres. An International Russian-Cuban Trade Economic Association Roskuba was established last week in accordance with the inter-government agreement of December 24, 1993. The association includes more than 10 Russian state and commercial structures, for instance the joint stock companies Aeroflot--Russian Air Lines, Ingosstrakh, Vneshtreidinvest, Rosdetspetsprodukt, the state committee Rosvooruzhenie and the Russian Federation Trade Industrial Chamber. The association's main purposes are to contribute to the development of trade, direct relations between enterprises and organizations, mutual utilization of industrial capacities and investment and to establishment of trans-national commercial, finance and industrial structures. |
FBIS3-36273_8 | `Part Two' in Series Views Leadership Succession | opposition. Even the president has expressed a desire to cooperate with all forces in the Federal Assembly. It can be said that attempts are being made to get along with one another. The only exception in this is the main participant in the process, the ruling elite itself. So far, its backbone in the State Duma intends to demonstrate the principles of the noncontamination of the democratic ranks by the influence of extreme forces. Although, as is well known, the stance taken by extreme elements changes with time. It is not just caprice, of course. These are the torments of Tantalus. After all, behind every compromise lies the need to moderate one's appetite in the consumption of power and make room for others in these very ranks. But there is no going back. No less than 40 percent of the electorate in our country are romantics. The 40 percent who did not turn up to vote. The "left wing" and the "right wing" are in a hurry to enter them in their assets. A futile exercise. These people are not yours. Most of them say: "We do not trust anyone." So they are waiting.... They are waiting for the right person to come along. In a country which still has open wounds left by the destruction of a great state. They wait, scornfully observing the petty intrigues "above." They wait, with no future, soaring prices, and rocketing crime. They include a vast mass of people who know from experience how you have to go about begging for something. Where is the guarantee that this wave of desperation, fearlessness, and need will not one day surge through the country, sweeping aside everything in its path, to the impassioned appeals of the latest spokesman for the aspirations of the masses? If the present elite is really an elite, its direct duty is to make room for others, cultivate a leader capable of balancing on the cutting edge of the interests of all strata of the population, and promote a figure on whom the main political forces will agree. Only then will they have to bury their vast talent -- their ability to make our life hell. If the elite does not do its duty, the time of noble heroes, the Minins and Pozharskiys of this world, will come. How do we know who they are? Where are they now: In the crowd |
FBIS3-36380_0 | Press Review for 5 Feb | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["Press Review" -- ITAR-TASS headline] [Text] Moscow February 5 TASS -- IZVESTIYA and TRUD frontpage today materials dealing with the economic situation, investments and, in connection with them, the social security of the population. IZVESTIYA writes that the Ministry of Labour summed up some results of the year 1993, describing as accomplishments "the stabilisation of the living standards of Russian citizens, as well as the non- coming of massive unemployment." "Incomes have grown, but the number of the poor has increased," the newspaper writes, pointing to the fact that last year the incomes of the population went up by nine per cent. "Most probably, this is true only of the part of the population whose income exceed those of the poorest people by 27 times. A major part of the Russian population (77 per cent) had an income lower than the double subsistence wage, which stood at 50,000 roubles in December. One third of them got even less than the subsistence level ... The situation on the labour market resembles a lull before a storm. Officially, unemployment continues to be insignificant and does not exceed one per cent of the workforce. However, the so-called hidden unemployment is growing. According to various estimates, between four and seven million people have a shorter working day or are having unpaid vacations." "The government is granting easy-term credits to the agrarian sector. The inflation rate will grow in the forthcoming months," TRUD writes, calling attention to the latest government resolutions. "During the current year, 14.1 trillion roubles of direct subsidies will be paid out of the budget. The creation of a federal food reserve will require another 14.5 trillion roubles. Add some other privileges to it, and the total will reach 34.7 trillion. The experience of the past several years shows that, in the long run, about half of easy-term credits are turning into cash money and finding their way to the currency market. There is no doubt about the effect: First of all, the prices of durables will grow, because people buy them in the expectation of further inflation." ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI began today the publication of a series of articles about the logic and the character of the formation of the executive local authorities. The first article has been contributed by Nikolay Medvedev, head of the department for relations with regions at the administration of the president. According to |
FBIS3-36407_0 | Foreign Ministry Condemns Sarajevo Market Attack | Language: Ukrainian Article Type:BFN [Text] Radio Ukraine World Service has received the text of a statement by Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry. It says: An act of terrorism was committed at the Markale market in central Sarajevo on Saturday, 5 February, leaving dozens of innocent people dead and hundreds injured. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine resolutely condemns this act of terrorism that has considerably aggravated tension in the Balkans, at a moment when parties interested in the settlement of the Yugoslavian problem are involved in an intensive search for ways toward a peaceful solution to the crisis in the region. The Foreign Affairs Ministry appeals to the United Nations for a detailed investigation into the tragedy in Sarajevo and urges the warring sides to call an immediate cease-fire, get down to the negotiating table, exercise political will, and do their best to prevent the Sarajevo events of 5 February causing an escalation of military confrontation in the Balkans and provoking a geographical expansion of the conflict. This act of terrorism once again raises the issue of the need for an all-around examination of the Balkan crisis and a comprehensive approach to its settlement. |
FBIS3-36439_7 | Stepashin Interviewed on Security Changes | only to our state officials but to rank-and-file citizens as well. They simply are not aware that such recruiting attempts are being made. This is the first point. Second, we are really seriously concerned about a leakage of nuclear, military, and other technologies, which today is quite considerable, and about attempts to recruit our scientists and experts. We have information about many incidents of this kind. These are only a few facts that show that foreign secret services are intensifying their activities in the Russian Federation. [Kiselev] What about a situation when, for instance, reports appear in the press that the Dutch company GMM financed Zhirinovskiy's electoral campaign? Is it part of the responsibilities of the federal counterintelligence service to verify reports of this type? [Stepashin] If we look at it from the point of view of our charter and our direct functions, then no. Moreover, you will recall that when President Yeltsin signed the decree of 21 December [on restructuring the Russian security services], he said at a news conference before the New Year that he had abolished political investigations and everything they are based on. But political investigation in its literal meaning is activity of special services directed against opposition parties. [Kiselev] Right. How can you draw a line between gathering information about organizations that might potentially become extremist or begin to threaten citizens' safety, the security of the state and society, on the one hand, and political investigation on the other? [Stepashin] This is a very subtle matter. Everything should be known, but our service will not be involved in active measures or operations against opposition parties, movements, and organizations. [Kiselev] But it will collect information? [Stepashin] Well, not quite collect information -- or perhaps yes, collect information. When this party or organization turns up here, weapons in hand, and takes over power -- then it will be too late. We must be aware of this and must prevent this. For this, protective measures must be taken. We must obtain information -- including information from the parliament, the government, and the president. So, I agree with you on this point. Incidentally, 10 days before the final election results were published, we conducted our own poll in five regions, and we predicted Zhirinovskiy's victory with 23 percent, falling short of the actual result by just 1 percent. [Kiselev] Did you make this information known to the higher authorities |
FBIS3-36460_0 | Report Attacks Results of Market Reforms | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Igor Ivantsov] [Text] Moscow February 4 TASS -- The market reforms of the past two years have not yielded the expected results. This was not due to some individual mistakes, but due to the incorrectly chosen course of switching over to a market economy by "shock" and monetaristic methods. This conclusion is contained in a report, drawn up by the Economics Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the international "Reform" fund. The report analyses the current situation in the Russian economy and outlines new approaches to reforms. Continuation of the chosen course, the authors of the document claim, will produce "disastrous consequences" and drive the country into an impasse. The Russian economy is in a critical state already today. The production slump has reached 40 per cent, and the total volume of investments has dropped by 150 per cent. Moreover, the production slump is of a universal character and has affected the most technologically advanced sectors of economy. Most alarming is the fact that depreciation of fixed production assets has reached 60 per cent, which is the limit, after which the country's production potential is bound to collapse. "In view of the fact that the key role in the ongoing inflationary processes is played by the inflation of outlays," the authors of the report claim, "it is impossible to combat it by purely monetaristic methods, because restrictions on the amount of money in circulation and reduction of the budget deficit will obstruct rational structural changes and aggravate the production slump." Proceeding from the results of a complex analysis of practically all the spheres of the national economy, the authors of the report have drawn the conclusion that it is not only necessary to correct the course, but to work out new approaches to the strategy and tactics of the socio-economic reforms in Russia. In their opinion, stabilisation measures, like the ones used by many countries in such situations, are most expedient in this case, too. This must include some short-term measure to effect state control over prices for raw materials and railway carriages. The state must also pay its debt to individual sectors of the national economy and to other spheres of economy. The correlation of prices and the level of wages must then be normalised by means of a conciliatory process. According to figures furnished by the Economic forecasting Institute |
FBIS3-36483_0 | Spokesman Favors Diplomacy in Resolving Nuclear Issue | Language: Korean Article Type:BFN [From the "Today's World" program] [Text] We will talk about the possibility of resolving diplomatically the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula. This concerns a plan under which the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] will inspect the DPRK nuclear facilities to confirm whether any attempt is made to produce atomic weapons in those facilities. DPRK and IAEA representatives have held several rounds of talks on inspections. However, the IAEA says it could not find a solution to this DPRK issue. Of course, [words indistinct] in connection with nuclear inspections aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula, and [words indistinct]. Washington warns that unless the DPRK resolves the issue concerning international nuclear inspections by 21 February, it will present this to the UN Security Council for deliberations. The United States says international economic sanctions [kyongje cheje chochi] can be imposed on the DPRK. Moscow has different views on resolving the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula. At a news conference, Mikhail Demurin, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman [as heard], said: [Begin Demurin, recording in Russian fading into Korean] The Russian Foreign Ministry thinks diplomatic means to resolve the nuclear issue have not been completely exhausted. Therefore, it is necessary to persistently and continuously try to find solutions to all the problems. [end recording] The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman also said: Russia is working in three directions. Russia supports dialogue between the DPRK and the United States, dialogue between the DPRK and the IAEA, and dialogue between the North and South of Korea. He stressed that it is fully possible to solve the problem of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula by working in these directions. Russian Ambassador to the ROK Georgiy Kunadze has the same view. He told the YONHAP News Agency that no tactics of pressure must be used against the DPRK and that the DPRK must not be driven to a difficult situation. We concur with these remarks. It is clear how Pyongyang will react if further pressure is brought on it. This may bring about an opposite result. Therefore, diplomatic efforts will be better than the tactics of ultimatum or pressure in resolving the nuclear issue on the peninsula. |
FBIS3-36527_4 | Aliyev Interviewed by Turkish Reporters | postponed. [Aliyev] Hmmm. I do not know. There might be something to it, but I am not aware of it. [Third unidentified reporter] Why has the military cooperation agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan not been signed yet? Will you take initiatives during your visit to Turkey to sign the military cooperation agreement? [Aliyev] I do not know why it was not signed. However, we have no such plan. [First unidentified reporter] The Turkish press reports that PKK [Kurdish Workers Party] terrorists are going from Syria to Armenia by various routes and then are fighting against Azerbaijan. Do you have information to this effect? That is, do you have information proving that PKK terrorists are fighting against you in the Armenian ranks? [Aliyev] As you know, many join the Armenian ranks in the war against us. There are people from many countries. It could be that they [PKK] too are taking part. But, I have no definite information on this. However, I know that there are soldiers from Russia, European countries, and other countries fighting against us on the Armenian side. We have documents proving this, the prisoners confirm this. As for the PKK members' participation in the fighting, that too might be possible; after all, the PKK has close ties with Armenia. It could well be. [Fourth unidentified reporter] There are reports that this terror organization is trying to establish bases in Sharur, Dashan,and Devekoy in Nakhichevan. Mustafayev, the former police chief of Devekoy, has declared himself president of a self-styled [Kurdish] region in Shushinskiy and Lachinskiy rayons. [Aliyev] In whose name has he done that? [Fourth unidentified reporter] In the name of PKK. [Aliyev] I see. [Fourth unidentified reporter] There are reports to this effect. What measures are you thinking of taking against the PKK in Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan? [Aliyev] As you know, we have not made any decisions against the PKK. When I was in power in Nakhichevan there was no overt [PKK] activity, though they might have carried out secret work in the villages you mentioned. Therefore, I cannot say anything on this subject at this time. However I do know that there is a power line from Turkey to Nakhichevan and they have sabotaged that line two or three times and they have again sabotaged it. Turkey informed us that the lines were damaged by PKK members or by people who had come from Armenia. They |
FBIS3-36529_0 | U.S. Decision To Lift Trade Embargo on Vietnam Viewed | Language: Korean Article Type:BFN [Commentary by Krechevisky from "Today's World" program] [Text] An event took place which can be pointed out as a complete historical event. This is because it will open a new chapter in the relations between Vietnam and the United States, and it reflects the process of a new international situation since the end of the Cold War. Clinton pointed out that the current decision does not mean complete normalization of relations between the two sides and that there still remains the problem of clarifying the fate of all the missing U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam war. Therefore, a plan is being set up to establish a U.S. liaison office in Hanoi. According to political observers, the lifting of the trade embargo is nothing but an initial measure in the road for achieving complete normalization between Vietnam and the United States. This process itself shows that a lot of time will still be consumed until diplomatic relations are restored. The important thing, however, is that the lifting of the trade embargo was achieved. The door for carrying out trade relations has opened. Hanoi is linking the lifting of the trade embargo with the great hope of introducing U.S. capital. According to Vietnamese economists' estimates, this will make it possible to enhance the role of Vietnam in the current international economic-related system which puts into practice important reforms and strengthens market organizations. The Vietnamese side was successful in changing the position of the Washington administration by consistently overcoming various barriers. For example, the Vietnamese Government carried out much work to clarify the fate of all the missing U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam war and prepared and handed over original documents regarding this matter to the U.S. side. The U.S. side is willing to conduct future joint searches to finish this task. In a word, Hanoi has shown sincerity, ended the era when bombs and bullets determined the relations between the two countries, and has shown a good intention. Promoting economic relations and commercial cooperation is a top priority. U.S. businessmen who consider the tremendous potential of the Vietnamese market to be good have expressed great interest in the development of working relations between the United States and Vietnam. They were allowed to make preliminary contacts with their Vietnamese counterparts in December 1992. Ten representative offices opened. The U.S. Treasury Department allowed U.S. companies to participate in economic reforms |
FBIS3-36530_0 | Commentary Applauds Lifting Embargo | Language: Mandarin Article Type:BFN [Announcer-read commentary by station commentator Kondratyev; from the "Good Evening, China" program] [Text] The U.S. Senate's vote to lift the trade embargo on Vietnam in late January to a great extent heralded President Clinton's announcement on Thursday [3 February]. Needless to say, the announcement is an important event which will exert a favorable influence not only on U.S.-Vietnamese relations but also on the situation in Indochina as a whole. In recent years, Vietnam has done a host of work searching for U.S. soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam war. It can be stated with certainty that after the lifting of trade embargo, Hanoi will more actively cooperate with Washington in solving this issue which is rather sensitive to the American people. Another factor in lifting the trade embargo is economics. U.S. business circles have estimated that their losses in Vietnam resulting from the trade embargo amount to $700-800 million annually. It is true that U.S. companies are allowed to do business in Vietnam, but this is only in partnership with companies of other countries. Such business restrictions can, of course, limit the profits of U.S. businessmen. According to experts' estimates, Vietnam is one of the few Southeast Asian countries with the best potential for economic cooperation. Undoubtedly, Vietnam is also an indispensable springboard for economic cooperation with other countries on the Indochinese peninsula. The lifting of the trade embargo on Vietnam will also exert a favorable influence on restoring U.S.-Vietnamese diplomatic relations and political contacts. Washington has decided to set up a liaison office in Hanoi, and it can be converted into a diplomatic mission in the future. What is noteworthy is that the lifting of the embargo on Vietnam has also activated the campaign in the United States to end the trade embargo on its neighbor, Cuba. Many mass organizations and business representatives have taken part in the campaign. U.S. businessmen are dissatisfied over being deprived of the opportunity to invest in Cuba while their competitors from Europe and Latin America are actively exploring markets in Cuba. As time passes, the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba will likely become a more heated issue. |
FBIS3-36549_0 | Far East Leaders Appeal for State Support | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [By ITAR-TASS correspondent] [Text] Khabarovsk, 7 Feb -- The heads of Far Eastern krays and oblasts who participated in a conference on the region's energy supply problems in Khabarovsk have adopted an appeal to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The slump in production in the Far East has reached a critical point, it stresses, and a further reduction in the production and supply of energy cannot be permitted. The cost of a kilowatt-hour of electricity in some parts of the Far East has reached 200 rubles, whereas in central parts of Russia it is 16 rubles. The decisions of government bodies for the development of the Far East's fuel and energy base are not being fulfilled. In order to avoid the complete shutdown of industrial and other enterprises, the heads of administration of krays and oblasts in the Far East are asking the Russian president to urgently examine the question of state support for the region's economy. In particular, the Far East workers are hoping to obtain loans and credits amounting to 140 billion rubles to settle their debt for petroleum products sent to the region. The territories are also asking for the federal budget debt to enterprises in the state sector amounting to 450 billion rubles to be written off. A number of other questions regarding the supply of vital needs to the region are also raised in the appeal. |
FBIS3-36566_5 | Yeltsin Adviser Baturin Discusses Security Issues | great power, then it must take care of the "Russians abroad." The United States already views Russia as a developing country. That might be true from the economic angle. However, in the past we were also never leaders in world markets, but were still considered a great power. Why was that? Because everyone was afraid of a country that was full of nuclear weapons and had an enormous army. Now the West is afraid that the collapse of the Union will produce an explosion that will make itself felt in Europe or in other parts of the world too. So, according to that criterion, we are still a great power. [DER SPIEGEL] Those sorts of views have turned the Baltic states, where you see the Russians as being discriminated against, against you. [Baturin] There must a tough reaction to tough action.... [DER SPIEGEL] You mean stopping the withdrawal of your troops? [Baturin] A great power cannot duck for cover every time, that is not the way for a great power to behave. [DER SPIEGEL] Yeltsin has welcomed the NATO "Partnership for Peace." Will that kind of cooperation not just boost support for nationalists such as Zhirinovskiy? [Baturin] One cannot exclude the possibility that they will get more wind in their sails as a result. Besides, Yeltsin did not "welcome" this kind of cooperation with NATO. He expressed himself in a rather more restrained manner. [DER SPIEGEL] In the Army, the number of votes cast for Zhirinovskiy was particularly high. How would you interpret that warning sign? [Baturin] It was a protest. If there had been reformers who could sell themselves as well as Zhirinovskiy, then the result would have been different. [DER SPIEGEL] Your tasks include the reform of the state security service. What is to remain of the old KGB? [Baturin] In the new Russia, there should be no more political persecution, no campaigns against those who think differently, and no ideological uniformity imposed by force. In reforming the Security Ministry, we have disbanded the departments that operated in those areas. We are now forming a civilized counterintelligence service. [DER SPIEGEL] But the security service generals have doubts about your competence. Are you not afraid that you will fail in the same way as Vadim Bakatin, whom Gorbachev charged with reforming the KGB? [Baturin] If I was not afraid, then that is precisely what would happen. I have to |
FBIS3-36616_0 | Premier Deems Social Tax Increase `Fatal' | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["News Release"] [Text] Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar, in answer to parliament's social committee question about the possibility of increasing social tax, told the parliament that the government considers such a step "fatal" for Estonian economy. Laar affirmed that the government has repeatedly analyzed the decrease in retired persons income due to inflation and price rise, and has prepared a bill on increasing retirement benefits that should reach Riigikogu by April 1. At present the pension is approximately 300 ($21) kroons, depending on the years of labour, per month. Prime Minister said that increase of pensions would demand an additional 200 million kroons (about $14 million) to increase pensions by 50-60 kroons ($4). He said that the situation could possibly be solved by dividing the social tax, which at present is 20 per cent for companies, between the employers and the employees, a move, which is not supported by the social committee of the parliament. Also turnover tax or excise duty on tobacco and alcohol could be increased a couple of per cent or the tax payment control increased by Tax Board, which, however, demanded higher budget for the board. Prime Minister added that it might be possible to substitute the retirement benefits by pension insurance in the future. |
FBIS3-36624_3 | Official Reaction to Proposed Bombing of Bosnia Churkin Defends `Quiet Diplomacy' | The United States also seems to be starting to think about this. THE NEW YORK TIMES recently carried an interesting item, namely CIA forecasts from which it follows that the economic embargo against Serbia has outlived its usefulness and will very soon be lifted. Assessments by such a powerful organization as the CIA and published, moreover, in such an influential newspaper represent a kind of trial balloon. How realistic, in your view, is a revision of the U.S. positions on the sanctions issue? [Churkin] It is obvious to me and to many other observers that the U.S. position is changing substantially. At first, after acceding to power, the Clinton administration believed that the events in Bosnia represented aggression by Serbia. But now the United States is increasingly realizing that a civil war is at the bottom of the conflict. It is interesting that, whereas a year ago the Americans did not accept our approaches at all, they now sometimes quote us when they speak of their understanding of what is happening. In general there is evolution. But I do not believe that it will quickly result in the question of lifting the sanctions being raised, since the U.S. internal political struggle over the "Yugoslav issue" is even more complex than in our country. Europeans frequently criticize the Americans for not taking an active enough part in the Yugoslav business. But I believe, and I try to prove this to them, that the conflict is taking place in Europe, where primarily European interests are concentrated, and the Americans simply do not want to get involved. [Kalyadina] The Belgrade newspaper POLITIKA, which reprinted the article from THE NEW YORK TIMES, arrives at this remarkable conclusion: If it revises its views on the Yugoslav crisis, Washington could gain prestige by once again acting in the role an omnipotent peacemaker, and the Europeans should reflect on this. But maybe we should too? Is it not time for Russia to take the "Balkan question" into its own hands? [Churkin] When a problem involves many countries it is essential to start by asking ourselves: Just what do we want? A real solution to the problem, or a propaganda effect? We have all emerged from the Cold War, when there was little policy and a lot of propaganda. The main thing was to make some kind of grand initiative. And it was not important that everyone then |
FBIS3-36646_4 | French Defense Minister Leotard Continues Visit Discusses Bosnia | distinction, which is usual in the Western general staffs and that they have stuck to their previous concept based on the offensive. The second point seems even more fraught with misunderstandings. It relates to the idea which the Russians have of what is called the security "architecture" in Europe and, through this collective notion, the security area proper to their country and the sphere recognized as that of "nearby foreign countries" [countries of the former Soviet Union] according to an expression used in their new doctrine. In other words, as Mr. Leotard asked his interlocutors, when and where does Russia's security start if it does not want to be accused of making the limits of its interests coincide with the borders of the former Soviet Union? The answers may have varied from one interlocutor to another, but they were close in substance. According to Gen. Lobov, Russia has 60,000 km of borders to protect -- half of which are not currently protected -- and, with its 2.1 million men under arms in 1995, it would respond to the countries which might seek its aid. According to Gen. Grachev, Russia is the only state in the world to have currently deployed so many "peace soldiers" (1,200 "blue helmets" in the former Yugoslavia and 16,000 of its men in Moldova, the Trancaucasus, or Tajikistan without any UN mandate). In reply to the Russian minister who wanted France to send observers to Georgia under UN auspices, Mr. Leotard said that it would send around six "White Helmets" of the 55 originally planned. Mr. Kozyrev, for his part, summed up the Russian position on "nearby foreign countries" by rejecting the accusation of "imperialism" or a return to Greater Russia which has often been made against his country's military doctrine. He asked Mr. Leotard how, from this viewpoint, France justified "the legal basis" of its military presence in Africa. He expressed the hope that he should be sent -- as a source of inspiration if necessary -- the defense agreements on which France bases its interventions on that continent. Despite the many differences of opinion, Gen. Grachev and the French defense minister nonetheless signed two framework cooperation agreements one of which -- by far the most important -- establishes the conditions in which France will help to renovate old Mig-21's, delivered for export, and to produce a twin-jet training plane called the Mig-AT [Advanced Trainer]. |
FBIS3-36758_0 | Poll Results Indicate Local Election Preferences | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Report by Oleg Savelyev, All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion sociologist, under the "Sociology" rubric: "Another Election on the Way"] [Text] In a survey conducted by the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion in the second half of January, approximately 1,600 adult urban residents of the Russian Federation answered the question: "With the upcoming elections for local bodies of power, whom are you going to vote for in these elections: democrats, communists, Agrarian Party representatives, V. Zhirinovskiy's party, or some others?" The answers in percentage points are as follows: Democrats -- 26 Communists -- 8 Agrarian Party -- 6 Zhirinovskiy's party -- 9 An independent candidate --12 Someone else -- 5 Not going to vote -- 14 Hard to say -- 20 Those going to vote for democrats are, more often than not, entrepreneurs, managers of various ranks, specialists, students, and men generally, persons below 40 with a secondary and higher education, with an income per one member of the family of more than 48,000 rubles a month, and those who voted for Russia's Choice, the Party of Russian Unity and Accord, and the Democratic Party of Russia. Those who want to elect communists, more than others, to local bodies of power are executives, pensioners, and generally women, persons above 50 with a per capita income of less than 30,000 a month, and those who voted for the Russian Federation Communist Party. Those wishing to vote for representatives of the Agrarian Party are mostly pensioners, workers and men generally, persons of above 55 with an education of less than secondary and an income of 30-45,000 rubles who voted for the Agrarian Party and the Yavlinskiy bloc. Those going to vote for Zhirinovskiy's party candidates are most often military men and militiamen, workers, men on the whole, persons below 25, and between 40 and 54 years of age with an education of less than secondary and an income of less than 30,000 and of more than 65,000 rubles, who already voted for this party on 12 December. Those who prefer to vote for independent candidates are more often than not specialists, executives, and generally persons between 25 and 39 years of age with a higher education and an income of more than 65,000 rubles, and who voted for the Women of Russia and for the Yavlinskiy bloc. Those who are not going to |
FBIS3-36774_0 | Obstacles Facing Arms Exporters Viewed | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Report by military observer Viktor Badurkin: "We Write Dollar. Russia Loses Billions, Surrendering Arms Market to Competitors"] [Excerpts] I remember five years ago when I first wanted to write an article about the arms trade I was advised not to touch on this "slippery" subject. They said that it was shameful to make money from other people's blood and that I should on the contrary advocate universal disarmament. And we have acted, and in such a way that the whole world has gasped. First we axed the army then the defense industry and we have "surrendered" the world arms market with virtually no resistance. We were applauded and warmly supported (verbally) but for some reason there were none who were eager to follow the example. Today we have come to our senses. We have realized that it is shameful to squander irreplaceable natural resources, shameful when a great industrial power is assigned the role of a raw material tributary, shameful to ask for help and credits. And we have looked hopefully to our censured and destroyed defense industry: Save us, dear defense industry, earn currency for the country. But what can it do if the majority of the sector's plants are still on compulsory Christmas vacation because of the shortage of funds and resources, if the state has still paid less than half of what it owes for output bought last year and the financing of science has been reduced almost tenfold?... [passage omitted] Gennadiy Yampolskiy, deputy chairman of the State Committee for the Defense Industry, admits that so far warehouse stocks of arms and equipment have been sold off -- mainly items with which our army is "stuffed full." The producers of new output have mostly remained without orders. Because "fresh" models cannot be exported. And if someone does try to overcome these bans and restrictions he soon realizes it is a hopeless business. At the "Fakel" plant near Moscow they designed a very "intelligent" air defense missile. And they did so at their own initiative and using their own funds. There is no shortage of people anxious to buy it, including the Russian Defense Ministry. But the trouble is that no one in this country has money and it cannot be sold abroad without special permission. And the "commodity" is left with no demand for it. [passage omitted] It would be all right if |
FBIS3-36774_3 | Obstacles Facing Arms Exporters Viewed | Chinese that the latter would pay for their deal half in currency and half in barter but the joint government commission gave our southern neighbors the go-ahead to reduce the currency proportion to 35 percent. Here barter is subject to such taxes that it is becoming disadvantageous to import it to Russia. Or take another example. Our aircraft industry officials reached an agreement with the United Arab emirates for the delivery of output worth several hundreds of millions of dollars but after Vice Premier Shokhin's trip there it emerges that three quarters of the profits will go to pay state debts. Enterprises naturally do not like this "aid" from the state -- they have to pay their workers' wages, settle accounts for deliveries and taxes. No one now wants to work at a loss. It is an open secret that one of the main aims of any international meetings at all levels is to "push" one's own goods on the foreign market, including the market in arms and military equipment. Our defense industry officials expect as much from their own government. And not directives with a mounting list of countries with whom it is "not recommended" that contracts be maintained for various short-term political reasons. There should be a reduction in the export duty, not an increase in taxes. You can only shear a sheep which has managed to grow a fleece, you can take nothing from a naked sheep except its skin and its meat. [passage omitted] Our newspaper recently wrote about the fiber-optic equipment developed at Chelyabinsk-70, which surpasses in quality any foreign counterparts and is far cheaper. And then what? The Americans intend rapidly to lift the ban on the sale of their fiber-optic technology to Russia which, according to their calculations, could bring in about $100 million in annual profit. But the Russian Federation Communications Ministry is signing documents on the construction in Voronezh of a plant for the production of cable using the technology of British and German firms. Again the result is that no one is a prophet in his own country. We subsidize foreigners and bar the way to our own people. It is naive and futile to hope that the defense industry will become a "golden fish" by itself and bring the state sufficient currency without support. The hen which lays the golden eggs is also in need of care and feeding. |
FBIS3-36790_5 | Yeltsin Adviser Views Political Developments | receive as many trade benefits and monetary injections as possible. We will not allow ourselves to be taken in by this demagogy. We can also mention Zhirinovskiy, because a few more such initiatives and power will fall into the arms of Zhirinovskiy. I was one of those who publicly urged discarding the Brezhnev-doctrine, but one of our main arguments at that time was that no one wants to fill the vacuum left by the Soviet Union in Central and Eastern Europe. Such agreements emerged later. The German reunification did not take place in order to allow NATO to expand. The fact that Soviet Union collapsed does not exempt the West and the United States from the obligations they took upon themselves at the end of the eighties. One should not forget that, in the meantime, Russia got even farther from the region, and it has become weaker in every respect that the former Soviet Union. It is ridiculous to come up with the "Russian threat" today. [Vida] One of the conclusions of your studies is that the post-Soviet region is the first test of the partnership relations between Russia and the West, where the West has to recognize Russia's special role. Has Clinton's visit given any hopes in this respect? [Migranyan] The United States is exercising pressure on Ukraine in the nuclear arms affair. In Clinton's presence, Yeltsin made a tough statement about the situation of the Russian population in the Baltic states. They probably reached a certain agreement on the use of Russian troops as peace-keeping troops in the crisis points of the former Soviet Union: over the Caucasus, in Tadjikistan. It seems that the idea that Russia plays a particular role in guaranteeing stability in Euro-Asia is met with increasing support and understanding in the leading Western power. [Vida] In your study, you repeatedly emphasized that the borders between the successor states, including Russia's borders, were determined artificially and they are far from being final. What do you suggest by this? [Migranyan] Nothing more than the fact that, for the time being, we do not even know where Russia's borders lie: The situation of Chechnya, Tuva, Tatarstan, and Baskyria is flexible. The same way, Georgia's borders or Ukraine's borders are also unclear, because it has not been decided whether they will remain as independent states at all. The border issue first of all depends on this and, therefore, |
FBIS3-36817_4 | West's Aid Policy Seen As `Shortsighted' | who must and who must not be a member of the government, for instance. The political conditions also include attempts to tell Russia how to deal with close neighbors and what it can and cannot reach agreement with them about. The second group of conditions is exclusively economic. The IMF is particularly bad in this regard. The IMF makes the allocation of funds conditional on permissible -- in its view -- levels of inflation, pace of privatization, and other criteria which undoubtedly relate to the internal competence of sovereign states. Naturally, the IMF takes no responsibility for the consequences of fulfilling its conditions, which it prefers to call recommendations. The third group of conditions relates to the desire to hinder Russia's access to world markets and to undermine the competitiveness of its exports. There are more than enough facts here. There is a mass of artificial obstacles to exports of Russian uranium, although you would think that all the agreements on this had been reached long ago. There is the demand to reduce Russian aluminum exports by half a million tonnes. There are the obstacles to Russia's involvement in commercial launches of spacecraft. And much, much more besides. When speaking of all these conditions, finally I cannot fail to mention the direct blackmail to which Western countries sometimes resort. I have already spoken of the numerous assurances that Russia will be given very broad assistance and support. But I could also cite many statements threatening to end all assistance. "The United States could revise its policy of giving aid to Moscow if the Russian Government embarks on a path of slowing the process of economic reforms," the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR pointed out, citing officials in the Washington administration. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has disseminated a report that the G-7 countries might not agree to the proposal to include Russia among the full participants in their annual meetings, although only recently this idea was being discussed actively. Such a policy toward present-day Russia can only be called shortsighted. What our country needs is not mythical "aid" -- hedged about, moreover, with a mass of conditions -- but equitable cooperation with Western states and broad access to world markets, where in an honest competitive struggle Russian producers would be able both to show and to see for themselves what they are worth. Precisely this idea was championed by Russia's representatives at the |
FBIS3-36824_0 | Kozyrev Details Russian Foreign Policy Agenda | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Article by Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev: "The Guideline Is Russia's Interests. Russian Federation Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev on the New Tasks of Russian Foreign Policy"] [Text] Russian diplomacy has entered the new year, 1994, with a wide agenda for both the immediate and medium term. The consistent orientation of our foreign policy toward the promotion of national interests through openness and cooperation with the outside world strengthens Russia's positions in the international arena and creates a favorable climate for internal development. At the same time the end of the Cold War certainly does not mean that international relations have become idyllic. The emerging multipolar world is in many ways more complex and unpredictable than the old bipolar world. Instead of two rival blocs there exist many "centers of influence" with different and sometimes competing interests. New threats to our interests are appearing, above all in connection with instability and armed conflict in the area of the former USSR. In these conditions we are faced with the task of energetically -- and where necessary, uncompromisingly -- defending and promoting our interests, while, of course, remaining within the bounds of international law and the search for a rational balance of interests. In order to carry out this policy we need a robust democratic state system. The new Russian Constitution creates the necessary prerequisites for this. Foreign policy remains in the president's hands, which rules out its invasion by manifestations of adventurism and self-interest. In the practical sphere we shall operate in the following main areas. In the past two years Russia has concluded dozens of bilateral treaties and agreements, joined the key international economic organizations, and acquired a whole series of partners in various regions of the world. Now these accords must be given substance. This is not a departmental, but a statewide task. In the sphere of national security our priorities will be, as before, to eliminate hotbeds of armed conflict along Russia's borders, to reinforce the arrangements relating to the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the latest military technologies, and to increase the accountabilty and transparency of the international arms trade, while unconditionally safeguarding our commercial interests in this sphere. The START II treaty and the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons need to be brought into force. The former Supreme Soviet ducked out of ratifying these important disarmament treaties. I hope that |
FBIS3-36869_2 | Health Official on Drug Situation, Growing Problems | from medicine already containing the narcotic. It is a very effective drug which creates distinct addiction. Heroin is usually injected one to three times a day, whereas it is necessary to inject efedron as many as 15 times a day. Marijuana and hashish are being found less and less frequently. But, as J. Stradins stated, there is presumably still quite a considerable volume of trade in these substances. The most alarming aspect today is the appearance of cocaine. The appearance of this drug is linked primarily with the stabilization of the lat, and there is good reason to think that when the lat becomes convertible, it will be possible to purchase any drug in any amount throughout Latvia. A letter has been sent to the prime minister, in which he was asked to support the operation "Poppy," similar to one that was organized in 1987, when the growing of poppy was outlawed, reported J. Stradins. In those times, local authorities used to organize campaigns to destroy them. Taking into account the present situation in Latvia, a similar action is now being planned. Stradins said: We understand we cannot gain much by restrictions, but to some extent it is a cry of despair. Data from Riga police and the Ministry of Home Affairs suggest that there might be between 2,500 and 6,000 drug users in Latvia. According to J. Stradins, these numbers are more close to reality than the number of addicts estimated by the medical service -- 800. The most unfavorable situation is in Olaine, also in the district of Riga, in Riga itself (mainly in the suburb of Latgale), Ogre, Jurmala, and Tukums. Drug abuse is widespread mostly among "Russian speakers," as well as among people from the Caucasus, and Gypsies. Between 80 and 90 percent of addicts receiving medical help are Russian speakers. The most important element in the fight against drugs is prevention, as was stressed by all members of the conference [not further identified]. It is more effective than any control. Therefore the news that an agreement has been reached with the Scandinavian organization "Parents Against Drugs" to hold their plenary meeting in Riga on 25 February, with the aim of establishing a similar organization in Latvia, is very encouraging. The experience of these states shows clearly that parents can help their children much more, if they have met, discussed their problems together, and exchanged experiences. |
FBIS3-36870_0 | Non-Latvians Show Small Progress in Learning Language | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Riga, Feb 09, BNS -- The Latvian society is not ready for a mass integration of non-Latvians on the basis of the language skills, said MP [member of parliament] Dzintars Abikis, of the parliament Latvia's Way faction. The priority in naturalization should be granted to those non-citizens who have finished educational establishments with Latvian teaching language rather than to the spouses of citizens, as stipulated by the present bills, said Abikis. Non-citizens should take another state language exam before getting citizenship because the present language commissions often issue undeserved language certificates, he said. In addition, state language inspectors in Riga have faced violence on several occasions, said Abikis. An inspector in the Latgale district, for example, was severely beaten recently. Abikis claims that the brutal acts are directed against the Latvian state and evidence of reluctance of part of non-Latvians to respect the Latvian nation and its language. The State Language Center has applied to the Justice Ministry in a bid to receive salary additions from collected fines for breaking of the state language law. State inspectors presently receive 59 lats per month. The language learning among adults proceeds with difficulties but the younger generation gives grounds to hope for the better, said Abikis. In the largest cities, especially in Daugavpils and Kraslava, many non-Latvian children learn in Latvian-language schools. The Latvia's Way faction believes that professional training in Latvia should fully transfer to the Latvian teaching language, said Abikis. |
FBIS3-36894_3 | Research Center on 1993 Government Results | key reason for the current social situation and its possible deterioration in the future is the continuing dangerous decline in Lithuania's industrial and agricultural production. For example, in 1993, sales of industrial production plunged by 46 percent, those of cattle, poultry, and milk -- by 30 and 12 percent, respectively. The volume of construction and retail turnover skidded by 40 and 37 percent. Thus, there is a basis for stating that the decline in industrial and agricultural production is continuing and even gaining momentum, and that the so-called "bottom of the pit" has not yet been reached. This fact is also dangerous in terms of hiding in itself and bringing ever closer an outburst of the most painful effect -- mass unemployment. In 1993 alone, hidden unemployment in industry effected about 335,000 people. [passage omitted] III. Looking for Ways Out One of the key reasons for the crisis we are experiencing is that the laws of a command economy ceased to operate in Lithuania, while those of a market economy have not yet begun to function. This is a peculiar "death zone" from which one can get out only by applying special tough measures of state regulation. The liberalization of prices under conditions of macroeconomic instability and a high level of monopolistic capital have highlighted the position of the monopolistic capital that overshadows the emerging shoots of an open market. The power of the Energy Ministry, whose price policy is leading producers to bankruptcy, or the monopolistic dictate of food processing enterprises to farmers could serve as examples. Meanwhile, the essence of state regulation or antitrust measures is that a flexible financial and credit policy should create equal conditions for competition among different economic units. Positive moves in improving people's social situation are largely associated with the introduction of the litas and a tough monetary policy. However, there are also some shadow elements in this sphere of economic policy. It need not be reiterated what negative effect the artificially high litas exchange rate exerts on Lithuania's industry. The current credit system may have the most negative effect on producers. Actually all enterprises are indebted and driven to bankruptcy by force by remarkably high credit interest rates, and they are choking in the financial policy loop. Given the fact that a large part of the current budget revenues (more than one-third) comes from industrial enterprises, we can understand what is in |
FBIS3-36901_1 | Paper Publishes Friendship Treaty With Russia | the nonuse of force or threat of force, including economic and other methods of pressure, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, cooperation and the conscientious fulfillment of international obligations, and also other universally recognized rules of international law. Article 2 The high contracting parties will interact in order to strengthen peace, and increase stability and security both on a global and regional scale. They will contribute to the continuation of the process of disarmament, the formation and strengthening of systems and institutions of collective security, the strengthening of the peacekeeping role of the UN and the CSCE, and increasing the effectiveness of regional mechanisms of security and cooperation. The sides will promote the settlement of regional conflicts and crisis situations and correlate their positions in order to implement coordinated actions when necessary. The high contracting parties will hold consultations on a regular basis on issues mentioned in this article that are of mutual interest. Article 3 The high contracting parties recognize each other's inalienable right to take the necessary measures in order to protect their state borders, being guided by the principles of good-neighborliness and the mutual consideration of their interests. In cases of mutual interest, on the basis of separate agreements, the sides will determine the procedure and the conditions for joint protection of agreed sections of state borders. The high contracting parties, independently resolving questions of ensuring national security and the organization of defense, will, to this end, engage in close cooperation and practical interaction. The forms of and procedure for interaction in this sphere will be regulated by separate agreements. The parties will adopt measures on the effective implementation of agreements on the temporary presence of Russian Federation military units on the territory of the Republic of Georgia and also conclude agreements on rendering assistance in the creation of the Republic of Georgia Armed Forces and equipping them, and procuring weapons, military hardware, and technology without the right to transfer them to third countries other than with the consent of the Russian Federation. The parties will determine by a separate agreement the procedure for using the means of control of air space and space and also other technical means of control. Article 4 The high contracting parties will not participate in any kind of alliances or blocs that are directed against either of them. Each of the high contracting parties will |
FBIS3-36939_2 | Report Summarizes Progress of Privatization | to the distribution of plots of land. Sanctions envisaged for law violations have not been appllied. Gross violations of the land legislation were made during the privatisation of land. The pace of the setting up of peasant economies in the country has slackened. As many as 47 thousand peasant economies were formed in the first quarter of 1993, 28,300 in the second quarter, 7,200 in the third quarter and only 3,400 in October and November. What is more, 15,700 peasant economies gave up their plots of land by late 1993. Farmers are not given the necessary material and technical support, are unsatisfactorily supplied with funds and other resources. Quite often they are given plots unsuitable for farming. As many as 117 peasant economies, or 6.2 per cent, were liquidated for this reason in the Ryazan region by early October in 1993. More than 500 peasant economies, or 16 per cent, were liquidated in the Sverglovsk region. Funds allocated by the state to aid farmer economies are quite often spent for other purposes. The enhancing of the efficiency of farmers is checked by delayed payment for the produced and marketed output. The state owes more than 800 billion roubles to grain growers. Efforts of officials of the control agency were also aimed at veryfying the implementation of the Russian president's decrees "On the Speedy Privatisation of State and Municipal Entreprises", "On Organisational measures To Transform State-Run Entreprises and Voluntary Associations of State Entreprises into Joint-Stock Companies", "On the Regulation of Lease and Privatisation of Property of Leased State and Municipal Entreprises". During checks special attention was given to enhancing the effectiveness of privatised facilities. Checks indicated that committees for the management of the state property of territories and regions in many cases failed duly to organise privatisation of state property and veryfication of the procedure. Questions of turning entreprises into joint-stock companies are resolved with delay. State funds resulting from privatisation are sometimes used for other purposes. The Russian president's decree envisaging that the transformation of state-run entreprises and their voluntary associations into joint-stock companies be completed in 1992 has not been fullfield completely in all of the surveyed regions. According to the information of the Russian State Property Committee, out of the 4,859 entreprises that were to be turned into joint-stock companies, only 2,545 joint-stock companies, or just over half the expected number, were registered as of December 1, 1993. |
FBIS3-36942_1 | Commentary on NATO Warning to Serbs | people. As for the Serbs, they deny their involvement in the crime and argue that the tragic outcome runs counter to their interests. Such events could only play into the hands of their rivals, the Bosnian Muslims. Therefore, Moscow believes it is necessary to look into what happened first. And the Russian leadership also believes the military operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina cannot be stopped by their escalation, that is by resorting to NATO's air strikes. Moreover, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has warned any assault plane will be shot down and UN peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia are jeopardized, though NATO has said that in case they are attacked retaliatory strikes will follow immediately. But in this case Serbia may interfere and the scope of military operations will considerably expand. On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austrian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed in Sarajevo and that sparked off World War I. The tragedy in Sarajevo on 5 February 1994 could prompt a chain reaction, the tragic outcome of which is difficult to foresee. Russia's negative attitude to the NATO ultimatum determines another set of questions which have a direct bearing on the internal situation in the country. One has to view the historic past in this particular case; as a rule it is closely linked with the present. With Russia it was a tradition to support the Serbs, the ethnic Slav people who are Orthodox Christians. After they suffered a defeat at the battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Serbs came under the rule of the Ottoman empire but they would not accept such a destiny. The Serb uprisings at the beginning of the past century caused wide sympathy among the Russians toward their Slav brothers. There were Russian volunteers among these Serbian rebels. With Russia's active support, Serbia became an autonomous principality in the year 1833, attaining its full independence at the 1878 Berlin Congress. During the Balkan wars earlier this century, Russia took the Serbian side once again, and in World War II the Soviet Army liberated the Serbian territory from the German Fascists together with the Yugoslav People's Army. It goes without saying that the Russian leadership takes into account all these historic facts and circumstances. It is also forced to account for the opinions of members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, which is clearly dominated by the pro-Serbian majority. |
FBIS3-37148_0 | SNARK Responds to TURAN Allegations of PKK Activity | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Stepanakert, February 14 (SNARK) -- The reports issued by TURAN NEWS AGENCY caused at least a surprise -- to the great surprise of Levon Melik-Shakhnazaryan, a parliamentary of the Karabakh Supreme Soviet, a Chairman of the Permanent Commission on External Relations, [who] according to these reports participated in a alleged meeting of the social and political leaders of Armenia with the representative of the Kurd Labour Party [Kurdish Workers Party, PKK] Zahir Bardani. TURAN says the meeting took place in Echmiadzin (Armenia) at the end of 1993. "It was for the first time when I knew about such a meeting and my participation in it from TURAN reports issued on February 12", Mr. Melik-Shakhnazaryan told SNARK. The report mentions that the result of the as if [i.e. supposed] meeting was the as if partial move of the PKK Headquarters from Turkey to Armenia and the appearance of 600 Kurd mercenaries within the Armenian detachments fighting in Azerbaijan. "Official Baku is for numerous times trying to play the `Kurd game' to justify his unprecedented military failures at the Karabakh fronts", Mr. Melik-Shakhnazaryan underlined. According to him, the Azerbaijani authorities sometimes announce the Lachinskiy, Kubatlinskiy and Kelbadzharskiy regions which are under the control of Karabakh forces to be "Kurd lands", sometimes accuse Armenians of the cooperation with Kurds. The fact that the Echmiadzin town was elected by them as a place of the as if meeting is not occasional, Levon Melik-Shakhnazaryan considers. It's known, the Echmiadzin town is the center of the Armenians' spiritual life. So, Azeris make their provocation report the religious coloring. Nevertheless, such statements are of the aim to justify the Afghan mujahedeens' participation in clashes against Armenians, the Azerbaijani Army's training of military instructors from Turkey, the USA and some states of the CIS. But such statement can't mislead the world community. |
FBIS3-37172_4 | Shevardnadze Grants Weekly Interview 14 Feb | a commitment to bring in its contingent on a peace mission. There is no other way. If we speak of a peace settlement, there should be either international forces or a Russian contingent. There is a third way, I mean another decision can be taken within the CIS but this will apparently be a repetition of a Tajik model. And this is obviously not quite desirable. It is difficult to argue against the righteousness of this stance. I mean the Russian statement that supports the introduction of international forces but, if that is not possible, Russia will undertake to bring in its contingent. It is really difficult to argue against this. We ourselves are primarily interested in what we are asking Russia to do. The idea that we are asking Russia to do what Russia is interested in can be reversed like this: We are asking Russia to do what we ourselves are interested in. No other way out can be seen. [Oniani] One deputy has suggested that Russia close off the border and we shall fix Abkhazia. [Shevardnadze] There is that idea. But this request is rather naive and I think the main point is what I have just said. [Oniani] I would like to remind you of your words said at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. The whole country should turn toward the economy. A morbid politization of our community is a deviation from the proper coursel. An anticrisis government program was made public last week. How effective do you think this program will be and how likely do you think the government crisis or even resignation is in the near future in the light of numerous complaints against the government and an idea that our government is not a unified team? [Shevardnadze] The presented program is a maximum of current abilities. All existing forces participated in the work; I mean ministries, agencies, institutes, individual experts, and so on. The work took months. I also joined at the final stage and I was also involved, in a way. The principal thing is that the country should really turn toward the economy and everyone should care about the economy and think and care about escaping from the crisis. The presented program is realistic. I said in a speech that an optimistic scenario was mentioned as well as a pessimistic scenario. I can say that the maximal version |
FBIS3-37230_2 | Zhirinovskiy Wants Revision of Post-War Border | is closely linked to the German group. Why should this issue not best be settled by the voters, as in the Crimea? Why do we not let ourselves be guided by democratic principles? [Correspondent] How do you see the development of democracy in Central Europe? [Zhirinovskiy] To what extent is it a democracy and to what extent is it a media democracy? To what extent do the masses of the voters decide and to what extent are decisions made by a few thousand journalists, some of whom bitterly hate their fatherland? To what extent does the law decide whether undesirable events are permitted, and to what extent is this decision made by a few thousand bandits of the so-called autonomous scene? The state is strong enough to show criminals their place. Desired rallies take place without problems. The rule-of-law state is called upon to punish criminal gangs, which are specialized in terror against rallies. [Correspondent] The judiciary in our country is overtaxed when, half a century after World War II, it is still having to pursue proceedings against more than 8,000 accused on the defeated side for war crimes or Nazi crimes that were committed half a century ago or more. [Zhirinovskiy] What is the purpose of that supposed to be? How is one supposed to reach just judgments such a long time after the alleged deeds? These defendants must be very old and seriously ill. How can a clever and intelligent people like the German people permit this to be done to it? Germany must be freed from this Babylonian captivity, and it can be freed by Russia as a partner and a friend, by a Russia that loves the Germans. [Correspondent] Such statements.... [Zhirinovskiy] ...will increase the hatred of the anti-German opinion industry against me. [Correspondent] It is implied that you do not want to withdraw Russian troops from Germany but increase them by a factor of 10. [Zhirinovskiy] Quite the contrary: I have repeatedly demanded that all foreign troops be withdrawn from Germany. I cannot understand that, on the one hand, the Bundeswehr is to be reduced and, on the other hand, U.S. soldiers, British, French, Belgians, Dutch, and even 100 Canadians are to remain stationed in Germany. Do the German people expect any protection by a few tens of thousands of foreign soldiers? Naturally, Germany needs effective, strong armed forces, but it needs German armed forces. |
FBIS3-37231_1 | Brazilian Magazine Interviews Zhirinovskiy | former KGB agent, and that the Soviet political police created your party to bother Boris Yeltsin. [Zhirinovskiy] Never. All that is propaganda. Just like they say that I am a Zionist, anti-Jewish, a member of the radical right or left, or Jewish. Nothing of the sort. I am Russian, Russian, Russian. [Lando] You were elected thanks to a million-dollar campaign, by Russian standards, with expenses surpassing $800,000. Who sponsored that financial support? [Zhirinovskiy] Everyone. Two years ago, in the elections for president, I received more than 6 million votes. If each one of them had given me 1,000 rubles, I would have had 6 billion rubles, which is equivalent to approximately $3.5 million. Everybody? We receive money through the mail. But I will not disclose the name of the main sponsors: Secrecy is the essence of business. [Lando] What are the grounds for your criticism of U.S. foreign policy? [Zhirinovskiy] We believe the U.S. people are good-natured. And this is the reason why they should stop meddling in world affairs. I warn President Bill Clinton: Do not repeat the mistakes of Napoleon and Hitler. The United States will soon begin to deteriorate because of its ethnic conflicts. It then will have its own perestroyka, with its degradation and iniquities. We, the Russians, will not hail the day when the United States stops being united, when factories stop, when there is no more food and medicine, and when all the U.S. people migrate to Russia, Europe, or Japan. The United States exists simply because it robbed Latin America and Africa. It became rich with two world wars and because, over the past 50 years, it took the best brains -- almost all U.S. mathematicians are Russian Jews. [Lando] Can you give your opinion on some outstanding figures in Russian history, beginning with Mikhail Gorbachev? [Zhirinovskiy] Very weak and very naive. [Lando] Leonid Brezhnev. [Zhirinovskiy] A selfish person who lived only for his own family and himself, but not for Russia. [Lando] Stalin. [Zhirinovskiy] Rude and criminal. [Lando] Lenin. [Zhirinovskiy] Magnificent. A genius, as a theoretician. A wise man, but a failure as a politician. [Lando] What was the best and the worst of the communist government during the USSR's existence? [Zhirinovskiy] There were many victims; we lost 60 million people. It is absurd. But there are positive things in the economy -- the construction sector, the schools. Even with that, the |
FBIS3-37340_0 | Situation `Tense' | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Correspondent Aleksandr Starikevich report: "Strike in Belarus Has Not Been General, But Situation Is Tense"] [Text] Minsk -- The first few hours of the strike give no grounds for concluding that any one has won the strike committee versus government confrontation. A draw seems to be the most likely outcome of the first round of the strike. Right until the last moment the republic authorities did everything they could to slow the strike movement down somewhat. The day before several people who distributed pro-strike leaflets were arrested by the militia. Printing of SVABODA, one of the largest democratic newspapers, was wrecked thanks to an anonymous phone call. The telephones and the heating have been cut off at the republic strike committee building itself, so strike committee representatives lack complete information at present as to what is happening on the ground. They know that some workers at Soligorsk's no. 3 mine have joined in the strike. The management of that enterprise is threatening to count strike days as absenteeism. The strike committee members consider that a reliable picture of what is happening will become clear as evening approaches, but meanwhile they could be receiving both accurate information and disinformation. Your IZVESTIYA correspondent visited several enterprises in the Belarusian capital in the morning, including notably Belvar and Tranzistor, which are the most explosive centers. But so far those plants are working as normal. They began paying out wages at Belvar at 0800 hours. By 1100 hours around 5,000 people were gathered on Minsk's main square in front of the parliament building. These included representatives of the wheeled truck tractor, automated production line, and other Minsk plants. The demonstrators were kept back from the government residence by a cordon of militiamen. A rally began at which strike committee leaders and people's deputies of the Republic of Belarus spoke. "I think that everything has begun better than could have been expected," Sergey Naumchik, one of the parliamentary opposition leaders, told your correspondent. "Those already gathered in the square and demanding the resignation of the government and the Supreme Council will be joined by others. I think that the strike will be wave-like in nature: It can fall and then rise. At any rate, the main events are due in the spring." The strike committee members who spoke in the square hold roughly the same opinion. According to them, the strike |
FBIS3-37387_10 | Colonel Says CIS Defenses Not Yet Totally Secure | there are no jobs. For instance, 100 engineers are needed, but 200 turn up. "But we don't need 200." Where are they to go? They will no longer be welcomed at their former post in Russia -- they have been crossed off the unit's rolls. They are told: Take discharge. These people have ended up wanted by no one. We now have servicemen in Central Asia, for instance, who do not know to whom they belong. They have no status. They are not being given dual citizenship. Some would like to continue their service, but they are told: Take local citizenship. "I don't want to." "No? Get lost." Many problems would be settled if the parties to the Treaty on Collective Security signed an agreement on dual citizenship. [Lenskiy] Won't the Baltic states' involvement in the NATO "Partnership for Peace" military program threaten the security of the Commonwealth? [Samsonov] That is not an easy question. There must be an in-depth investigation into the real idea behind this program. At first glance the NATO plan, as it is being presented to the Western public, does not aim to pose additional dangers to anyone. However, the fact that this document emerged shortly after the North Atlantic alliance's official decision not to expand the bloc by admitting new members does cause some concern. This decision was adopted under pressure from the world and European public, as well as owing to Russia's tough stance. There is doubt as to whether the new program constitutes a veiled means of expanding NATO, establishing its strategic influence in East Europe, and bringing the bloc's front lines right up to Russia's western borders. If that is the case, this move could upset the balance of forces in Europe as enshrined in the CFE Treaty -- which is unacceptable to us. [Lenskiy] However, NATO does not cease to assure us of its peaceableness.... [Samsonov] As if we had been friends for ever and ever. But then the commander in chief of the NATO southern theater travels to Greece and Turkey. To what end, do you think? [Lenskiy] Probably to reduce their military presence. [Samsonov] If only! He went to strengthen NATO's southern flank. That is the point. But you were saying about the Baltic.... [Lenskiy] Do you believe in the future of a single security system in Europe with NATO and Russia under the same "umbrella"? [Samsonov] Not right |
FBIS3-37389_1 | ITAR-TASS Carries Press Review for 15 Feb | wth cadres from the provinces... I return to the Crimea with the sole aim -- to promote economic reforms on the peninsula. Its potential has not been used to the full so far... It is too early to speak about a specific programme. It is necessary to cast a more attentive look around on the spot". KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA runs a sensational item, in which it is asserted that Georgian ex-President Zviad Gamsakhurdia "is alive and will soon place himself at the head of a Georgian government-in- exile in a foreign country. This was stated in a rather categorical form by a Georgian Zviadista delegation who paid an unofficial visit to Stavropol, to their sympathisers, Russian nationalists, and the Georgian diaspora". KRASNAYA ZVEZDA (RED STAR) on the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and on the consequences of that war for Russian society: "The main thing is to show care for Afghan war veterans -- commissioned and non-commissioned officers -- for them to remain on active duty and form the backbone of a new professional army, to draw on the combat experience as the basis of the training of troops, and to protect the people socially and morally". ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI on rumours about change in banknote denomination and the rouble rate: "The rumours that the denomination of banknotes is expected to be changed and the rouble rate is expected to be set in a one-to-one ratio against the U.S. dollar are a sheer invention". The newspaper quotes Aleksandr Khandruyev, deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, as saying that he believes that "the question of a change in banknote denomination is usually raised only after prices in a country stabilise." RABOCHAYA TRIBUNA carries an interview with Yuriy Shafranik, Russian minister of fuel and power, who emphasises that "notwithstanding the overall slump in the Russian industry by 16-17 percent on average, our fuel-producing sectors operated in a relatively steady way. Oil production decreased by only 12 percent, that of coal by nine percent, gas by three percent, and the generation of electric power by six percent, thereby ensuring a sufficiently stable provision of the national economy with energy resources". SOVETSKAYA ROSSIYA runs an an article by Yegor Ligachev, former Politburo member of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee, who writes: "The work of the parties that are members of the Communist Parties' Union -- CPSU is as |
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