id stringlengths 9 20 | title stringlengths 0 3.57k | text stringlengths 35 6.13k |
|---|---|---|
FBIS3-58560_0 | Karayalcin Supports Iraqi Territorial Integrity | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Text] Murat Karayalcin, state minister and deputy prime minister, has said Turkey will not allow Iraq's territorial integrity to be disturbed. In a speech at the Washington ball of the Turkish-American Friendship Council, where he was the guest of honor, Karayalcin said peoples of many races and ethnic background have been living in Anatolia and the Middle East for hundreds of years. This created the mosaic we have today, he added. Karayalcin stressed that any border changes that might take place in the region from now on will create great problems. That is why, he stated, it is of great importance to protect Iraq's territorial integrity. Karayalcin pointed out that it will be a grave mistake to confuse the PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] terrorism with the Kurdish problem. Turkey is determined to end PKK terrorism, he stressed. Karayalcin will conclude his contacts in the United States and leave Washington today. |
FBIS3-58565_1 | Papoulias, Owen Brief Media on Bosnia Talks | Athens. We also welcome Ambassador (Marsais) and Messrs. (Landlow), (Ramsarand), (Sabenoir) and (Dan) from the European Commission. The subject of our talks is known; it is the crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We exchanged views, we briefed each other on the latest developments and the ongoing effort by the cochairmen [of the Geneva conference on the former Yugoslavia] and the Greek Presidency of the European Union. You know things are difficult. We are trying to do something better than has been done. We always hope. We hope the Geneva talks will be positive. The Greek Presidency will make every effort to achieve a positive outcome in Geneva, doing as much as it can to influence things with the interested parties. You also know that today we begin what is the first chapter in the efforts of the Greek Presidency toward achieving an immediate cease-fire in Bosnia-Herzegovina and promoting the Franco-German plan we have accepted in the European Union, enforced as I said with the thoughts and views of the Greek Presidency, especially as Greece is a Balkan country. Thank you very much, now I turn the podium over to Lord Owen. [Owen, in English followed by Greek translation at the end of his remarks] Mr. Foreign Minister, first of all, Mr. Stoltenberg and I thank you very much indeed for your hospitality. As you say, the meeting will continue but it is very important at this early stage in the Greek Presidency that both of us should exchange views with you. As you say, as a Balkan state, you contribute to the European Union from the depth of knowledge and of your proximity to this tragic situation. There is no doubt that the neighbors to the former Yugoslavia are paying a very heavy price, not just financially but in many other respects for the continued fight and the destruction that this is causing in the region. Therefore, we must profoundly hope that we can make a comprehensive peace settlement and we certainly approach the talks in Geneva with that intent, that one has to say that if the public statements of the parties are to be believed, then the prospects are not very good. But let us hope that those are statements for the morale of the fighting forces and that when it comes to the actual negotiations, the parties will seek the difficult compromises which can alone achieve a peace settlement. |
FBIS3-58588_0 | Government Imposes Sanctions on Libya | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] The Swiss Government has threatened sanctions against Libya in line with the United Nations sanctions imposed in connection with the Lockerbie airliner bombing. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said Libyan state assets in Swiss banks would be frozen, all air traffic connections with Libya would be banned, and oil industry supplies would be stopped. A ban on weapons exports is already in force. The Swiss Government said the measures, taking effect on Thursday [13 January] were taken in solidarity with international efforts against terrorism. |
FBIS3-58617_4 | Alphandery on Economic Policy, 1994 Prospects | recovery. [Robin] The French people have only recently rediscovered the market economy and its cyclical fluctuations, which are well-known facts in the United States. What are you saying to them to make them accept that such developments are normal and are better than the rigid and interventionist economic system which has prevailed in our country since 1945? [Alphandery] The previous recession in France dates back to 1975 and was the result of the first oil crisis. When the world was suffering the effects of the second oil crisis in the early eighties, France thought it could escape them by pursuing a counter-cyclical policy. It must be admitted that the recession was avoided temporarily but at what a cost! It subsequently gave us permanently slower growth. Our economy only returned to cruising speed from 1988, whereas the United States, Germany, and Japan returned to growth as early as 1983. [Robin] The recession of the nineties lasted three years, assuming it is now over. Does it not reflect more fundamental problems? What is this feeling of doom which prevails among many French people? [Alphandery] The recession appears to be so painful in our country because it is accompanied by the need to tackle some major structural problems, especially on the employment front. The two phenomena must not be confused. In 1988, amid economic euphoria, France already had a 9-percent unemployment rate, much higher than in Germany and the United States. The Japanese economy experienced a serious recession in 1993. And yet the unemployment rate is still around 2.5 percent. [Robin] The prime minister has just admitted that "the crisis is even worse than we thought when we came to power." In what respect in particular? [Alphandery] In March 1993, everybody still underestimated the scale of the recession which we had inherited. It had grown considerably worse from fall 1992. We only realized that six months later when the final figures for the fourth quarter of 1992 and the first quarter of 1993 were known. Not In Favor of Social VAT [Alphandery continues] It is clear that the employment problem will not automatically be solved with the end of the recession. The Giraud law's five-year employment plan clearly identified the three key factors on which we must take action. First, the lack of flexibility in the job market; the law contains several initial responses on this point, like the annual calculation of working |
FBIS3-58623_0 | Islamic Group Supports UN Air Strikes on Bosnian Serbs | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Geneva, Jan 17 (AFP) -- The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called Monday [17 January] for UN Secretary General Butrus Butrus-Ghali to authorise air strikes "without delay" against Bosnian Serb forces. Foreign ministers from leading nations of the OIC met here with Butrus-Ghali to urge the UN to follow through on a pledge at the NATO summit to use air strikes if necessary to ensure the passage of aid and the safety of UN troops. "We hope that this NATO declaration will not be construed as an empty threat and that it will not be the subject of procedural wrangling," said OIC Secretary General Hamid Algabid. "We request that the UN secretary general authorise such strikes without delay," Algabid said after a meeting with the Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. Butrus-Ghali said through a spokeswoman that his meeting with the foreign ministers was "very positive" and that the ministers had "expressed their profound concern about the human tragedy" in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Algabid also urged the lifting of the arms embargo on the Moslem side to allow them a greater chance to defend themselves agains the better-armed Serbs and Croats. The meeting of the OIC Bosnia group -- the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey and the deputy minister from Saudi Arabia -- comes a day before peace talks are due to resume here between the three sides involved in the Bosnia conflict. But Algabid expressed the OIC's dismay about a plan on the table to divide Bosnia into three mini-states ruled by Serbs, Croats and Muslims. "It is unacceptable to accommodate the expansionist territorial ambitions of Serb nationalism," he said. "The present approach in the negotiations would in fact amount to the virtual partitioning of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina." The OIC was also to meet with EC and UN negotiators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg to urge them to reconsider plans for a gradual lifting of sanctions against the rump-Yugoslavia. Algabid also called on the UN to accept offers from the OIC to send troops to serve in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR). |
FBIS3-58624_0 | Pakistani Minister on Bosnia Declaration | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] The Islamic Conference Organization [ICO] has demanded immediate lifting of arms embargo against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The call was made in a joint declaration adopted at the end of a special ministerial meeting of the ICO contact group in Geneva. Giving details of the declaration, Foreign Minister Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali said: [Begin Asif Ali recording] The declaration stresses that the legitimacy and success of the peace process would be ensured only if it aims at preserving the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and unity of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The declaration reiterates the well-known position of the Islamic countries that the arms embargo against Bosnia is contrary to Article 51 of the UN Charter and cannot be applied to that republic. The declaration also expresses concern over the increasingly volatile situation in (?Sanjak), Kosovo, and Vojvodina. It calls for the maintenance and strengthening of the sanctions against Serbia until a comprehensive and final settlement is achieved. On the question of NATO air strikes against Serbian positions, the ministers urged that this decision be implemented, as already authorized by the Security Council. [end recording] Sardar Asif Ahmad Ahmad Ali called on the Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegovic, and discussed with him the latest situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The foreign minister briefed the Bosnian president about the efforts being made by the ICO contact group for halting Serbian aggression against the Bosnian people. The foreign minister conveyed the good wishes of the president and prime minister of Pakistan to the Bosnian leader, who deeply appreciated the support extended to them by Pakistan. Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali also held talks with the Iranian foreign minister, Mr. Ali Akbar Velayati, on matters of common interest as well as bilateral relations. Both the foreign ministers exchanged views on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. |
FBIS3-58628_0 | Klima Concludes Economic Talks in Southeast Asia | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report: "Good Chances in Southeast Asia"] [Text] There are good prospects for Austria's export trade to the Southeast Asian threshold countries. Transportation Minister Viktor Klima, who visited Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, accompanied by a delegation of leading industrialists and business managers, describes the region as a promising growth market with very tough competition. In order for Austrian exporters to be successful on these markets, the state should grant them the same competitive conditions their foreign competitors enjoy, said Klima in a report on his talks. Specific projects worth approximately 5 billion schillings were negotiated, Klima told Austrian radio correspondents following his visit. Klima is expecting the talks to yield tangible results within the next two or three years. There is particularly great interest in equipment for local infrastructure programs, such as special rails, rail production machinery, locomotives, and freight cars. In Vietnam, a bilateral railroad cooperation program is in the offing, and in Malaysia, a relevant railroad agreement, including the Austrian Rail Engineering (ARE) company, was discussed. In addition, Klima said deliveries in the area of power plant engineering and sewage treatment were discussed. However, real successes require soft loans. Klima said he would discuss this in the government. Austrian suppliers will also set up, step-by-step, local production facilities in Indonesia and Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur, the extension of the current air transport agreement with Malaysia and MAS was discussed. Detailed negotiations are scheduled to begin in the next few weeks. The talks will be aimed at offering Vienna Airport increasingly as a bridgehead for Far East air connections. At present, MAS supplies a Kuala Lumpur-Vienna service twice every week. |
FBIS3-58631_0 | Foreign Office Denies Approving Lockerbie Trial Plan | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Severin Carrell report: "Reports of UN Venue for Bomb Trial Denied] [Text] The Foreign Office yesterday strenuously denied reports that it had approved a proposal to try the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing at a United Nations court in the Netherlands. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said last night the Government was determined that their trial should take place either in Scotland or in the United States. It emerged yesterday that a proposal has been developed by an independent intermediary, suggesting that the trial could be held at the UN International Court of Justice at The Hague. It would be held under Scottish law and rules of evidence with a Scottish judge presiding over an international panel of judges sitting without a jury. The plan is the latest in a string of compromises put forward with the approval of the Libyans' lawyers. It is to be put formally to Lord Rodger, the Lord Advocate, this week. It will also be raised with Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, by the Tory MP, Teddy Taylor, who recently visited Libya to investigate their complaints about the Lockerbie case. 'Abd-al-Basit 'Ali Muhammad al-Meqrahi and Al-Amin Khalifah Fahimah were accused by both the UK and US in late 1991 of planting the bomb, killing 259 passengers and crew onboard PanAm Flight 103 and 11 Lockerbie inhabitants on 21 December 1988. The Government has been informally aware of the plan, disclosed yesterday in Scoland on Sunday, but has refused to endorse it. The FCO spokesman said: "Our position remains the same. We expect the two suspects to be surrendered for trial in either Scotland or the United States. This is a UN Security Council requirement." The proposal, which has been provisionally accepted by the Libyan accused, is to be discussed in detail by their legal team in Geneva this week. Alistair Duff, the Edinburgh-based solicitor-advocate acting for them in Scotland, is expected to fly out tomorrow. It was designed to overcome Libyan claims that pre-trial publicity has destroyed the chances of a fair jury trial in either Scotland or the US, and the Government's refusal to countenance Libyan schemes for a trial in a neutral country. A Scottish Office spokesman said it would not comment until it had seen the proposal. But it is understood the Government believes it is unworkable as there are no legal mechanisms |
FBIS3-58637_0 | Coalition Develops Growth, Employment Program | Language: German Article Type:BFN ["hen."-initialed report: "Government Intends To Become Active on the Labor Market Before the Election"] [Text] Bonn -- In view of growing unemployment, the Federal Government is planning to extend the existing instruments in terms of labor policy in the course of the year. Hence, subsidies to wage costs should be paid in the old laender, too; people receiving unemployment benefits should be used for seasonal work; and private labor exchanges should be licensed throughout the federal territory. This has been established by an "Action Program for More Growth and Employment," worked out under the auspices of Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt. It is to be presented to the Bundestag coalition groups on Tuesday [18 January]. The program, previously announced by the federal economics minister, was worked out by Rexrodt with Ministers Waigel and Bluem as well as Schaeuble and Solms, the heads of the CDU/CSU [Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union] and FDP [Free Democratic Party] Bundestag groups. It should be presented by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl shortly, following discussions in the Bundestag groups and the cabinet. It essentially consists of elements from the Rexrodt paper on securing Germany as an economic center and of proposals included in the CDU economic program that the CDU Executive Committee adopted last weekend. As early as last Friday, Rexrodt hinted about certain points of the program, such as the continuation of the policy of easing the tax burden and a number of initiatives to simplify the tax system. Moreover, an equity capital relief program should be reintroduced to promote medium-sized enterprises in the old laender, the establishment of innovative enterprises and master craftsmen courses should be promoted through low interest loans, and the transition from unemployment to self-employment should be subsidized by six months of bridging money. To improve and expand the set of instruments of labor market policy, the paper proposes to permit the conversion of unemployment benefits into wage subsidies also in regions of the old laender that are particularly badly hit by structural crises. This measure is intended to expire at the end of 1996. It is limited to one year in each individual case, and should be based on special rates that must not exceed 80 percent of the income for comparable work under applicable wage agreements. Moreover, the amount of income that can be subsidized is limited to 4,323 German marks [DM] per month in the |
FBIS3-58644_0 | Daily Comments on Clinton's European Policy | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Jacques Amalric commentary: "Europe After Clinton"] [Text] Officially, all of President Clinton's European interlocutors are satisfied: The Twelve, who heard the White House chief praise the European Union and recognize its separate identity in the security and defense sphere; the NATO members; and, above all, the Alliance bureaucracy, which heaved a sigh of relief when Bill Clinton reaffirmed that he would keep a minimum of 100,000 men on the Old Continent and confirmed that the Europeans could "borrow" the organization's logistics for missions in which the United States did not wish to participate; the Central and East European countries, which certainly did not secure integration into NATO but who were assured that the security of their states "is important for the security of the United States;" and finally Boris Yeltsin, who was once again accepted as the only Russian interlocutor for the United States and whose claims to the former Soviet Republics have not been thwarted. That makes a large number of people, not counting saxophone lovers, who are beginning to find the presidential tone a little thin. Perhaps too many people. And everybody is already wondering: Who will pay for the U.S. President's ulterior motives or errors of analysis? President Clinton's behavior on the Bosnian issue has not allayed these fears; quite the reverse. Despite the efforts made, particularly by France, for the United States to become involved, Bill Clinton turned a deaf ear; there is no question of Washington intervening in the crisis or encouraging the Muslims to accept the peace plan laboriously drawn up by the Europeans. All the information we have suggests the opposite: U.S. services are not refraining from secretly arming the Muslim forces which have launched a counteroffensive. The Bosnian crisis does not jeopardize American interests. The Europeans, who last year rejected the American proposals for attacking some Serbian positions and lifting the embargo on arms for Bosnia, will therefore have to extricate themselves from the mess. Although things are even less clear, the Twelve must expect more unpleasant surprises as regards the Central or East European countries, toward which they have shown far too much indifference: There will be growing American pressure to make the European Union bear more of the burden and be less reluctant to open its borders to the products of these fragile democracies. The United States will be in a good position in this sphere |
FBIS3-58656_1 | * Favorable Outlook for High-Tech Exports | research and development expenses are in excess of 4 percent of sales volume is considered to be high tech in the Statistic Center's calculations. High-tech products accounted for 12.6 percent of Finland's exports last year, which was 1.6 percentage points more than in 1991. The most important high-tech exports were communications equipment, electrical appliances, and ADP equipment. The technology products most frequently imported by Finland were ADP equipment and chemicals. Drugs and Communications Tops in Technology Products According to a study conducted by Markku Virtaharju and Mikael Akerblom for the Statistics Center, high-tech development in Finland has focused especially on the drug industry and the manufacture of communications equipment. These industries clearly stand out above the others if the so-called intensity of the R&D--that is, the ratio of expenditures for research and development to the value of production--is used as a yardstick. The industries differ from one another like night and day as concerns research and development activities. The communications equipment manufacturing industry, which received the highest rating for R&D intensity, a parameter used in the Statistics Center comparison, was 236 times higher than the publishing industry, which received the lowest rating. In terms of general technology levels, the highest-level industries are manufacturers of instruments, computers, and electrical appliances, in addition to drugs and communications equipment. The ratio of direct and indirect investments in technology to production value was used as a yardstick of the technology level in the study. Like investment in research, according to the Statistics Center study, technology as a whole is at its lowest level in the production of foodstuffs, textiles, and wood products, as well as in the publishing industry. The order corresponding to the technological levels of the industries remained in the main the same throughout the 1980's. Finlandia Interface Lives Product Development According to production chief Karl Lahtinen, Finlandia Interface, which manufactures electrical equipment, puts well over 10 percent of its sales volume, which will come to about 58 million markkas this year, into product development. In the Statistic Center's classification, the industry, represented by the company, comes under the heading of industrial electrical equipment, which in Finland includes mostly industries that invest in research and development activities. The sales volume of the company, which develops and produces power sources, that is, certain kinds of electrical transformers suitable for various kinds of equipment manufactured by client firms, has quintupled over the past eight |
FBIS3-58659_1 | * Survey Shows Satisfaction With Health Care System | survey of randomly selected consumers of health care services undertaken by Finland's Consumer Association and Finland's Patient Association in October-November is to be believed, Finns are quite satisfied with the health care they receive. Fully 84 percent of the 1,043 individuals who answered the questionnaire were either satisfied or very satisfied with their care, and even slightly more felt that doctors, nurses, and other personnel treated them well or very well. Patients in the private health care sector believed they were better treated than those in the public sector did. Very few patients had much comment upon the professional skills of the medical personnel. Even so, it appeared that they placed greater confidence in doctors and other health care workers in the private sector than in the public sector. Nor did patients complain about the information they received. Over 80 percent believed that they had received adequate information from doctors and nurses. The general opinion seemed to be that nurses were a little better than doctors in giving out information expected of them. And once again, the new survey showed a slightly better percentage for the private sector than for the public sector. And yet, the large majority felt that health care services should be financed entirely (24 percent) or partially (72 percent) through taxes. Only 23 percent of those queried felt that health care was expensive or very expensive. Should more health care services be subject to fees, the consensus was that families with children should receive special access to care. The survey was undertaken in eight areas: Bjorneborg, Helsinki, Jakobstad, Joensuu, Jyvaskyla, Rovaniemi, Salo, and Tammerfors. Unfortunately, local results were not yet available when the Consumer Association announced the results yesterday. The survey left many unanswered questions. It will likely be repeated next year in order to get a better idea of the recession's effect on health care standards. For example, in Jakobstad, the questionnaire was divided between Jakobstad's hospital and Ostanlid's hospital. "We do not know whether the patients were actually satisfied at Ostanlid, which is threatened with closure, or whether they gave the care there very high marks in order to show that they wished to keep the hospital," said Karl-Gustav Sodergard, chairman of Finland's Patient Association. The patients' message to the policymakers overwhelmingly concerned the standard of care. The unanimous opinion: Do not cut costs to the extent that the quality of care will suffer. |
FBIS3-58660_1 | Prime Minister on NATO Evolution, Partnership for Peace | those terms. For a long time there have been talks among all the NATO nations and there have been gradual developments. After the last summit the NACC (North Atlantic Cooperation Council) was the concrete response for increased cooperation between NATO countries and the former WP countries. Now we are building further on our experiences and are entering into even closer cooperation. Norway wants openness, in future developments too. [Knudsen] So former East bloc countries could become members in the longer term? [Harlem Brundtland] Yes, that is possible. We are offering a process toward ever increasing cooperation. [Knudsen] Would new members and an extension of NATO's borders toward the East have a destabilizing effect in the present situation? [Harlem Brundtland] Yes, membership for a few selected countries would be a less satisfactory solution. The new proposal for cooperation, "Partnership for Peace," is a concrete and good response. Nor will such a response create uncertainty in other countries. [Harlem Brundtland ends] The prime minister stressed that this response is flexible and adapted to individual countries: "NATO is offering similar bilateral agreements with interested countries, and also additional agreements for each individual country adapted to its cooperation needs." [Knudsen] Could Russia also join "Partnership for Peace?" [Harlem Brundtland] Russia will also receive an invitation. We are not creating divisions, but are aiming at developments involving democratic controls over and structures for the military forces. [Knudsen] What will NATO's main future role be in this scenario? [Harlem Brundtland] NATO will continue to build on what was contained in the original 1949 package: Looking after the territorial integrity of member nations. Now that we are extending cooperation to the east, we must not throw out the baby with the bath water. The responsibility NATO has had must continue to exist; new cooperation with other states is something additional. [Knudsen] But NATO's traditional enemy image no longer applies? [Harlem Brundtland] That is correct, but nor do we have any guarantee that we could not be attack by other countries. We still need mutually committed cooperation. [Knudsen] The United States is scaling down in Europe. Will not the Western European Union assume a larger part of the burden? [Harlem Brundtland] The Western European Union will be given the additional role of NATO's European pillar. But this will not mean that the original role underlying NATO will disappear. [Harlem Brundtland ends] Gro Harlem Brundtland also stressed that the |
FBIS3-58661_1 | Editorial Views Partnership for Peace, Bosnia Threat | If only these Serbs, the strongest side in war-torn Bosnia, were to finally say to themselves that this time NATO is in earnest about its warning. Then the UN peacekeeping forces could at least perform some of their humanitarian mission among people who are under threat from the horrors of a second winter of war. However, in reality NATO is restating its previous, never tested readiness to intervene using aircraft, if General Secretary Butrus-Ghali at the request of the UN commanders on the ground orders the first armed action. But as a result of losses among French soldiers French President Mitterrand has finally been forced to back a seemingly new purposefulness. NATO is also making a direct linkage not only (at Clinton's request) to the lifting of the Serbs' strangulation of Sarajevo, but also to demands for a change of guard in besieged Srebrenica and the opening of the airport at Tuzla to Hercules aircraft with necessary supplies for a suffering civilian population. Tuzla's role in this context is of direct significance for Sweden. According to the warning that has just been repeated in Brussels, NATO aircraft could be deployed where the Nordic battalion has its headquarters in direct combat against Bosnian Serbs. We can ponder what this could mean for the Nordic troops' activities on the ground, but NATO's attitude illuminates as if by lightning the potential importance of the PFP offer. NATO's plans, whose aim is to hold back outside countries' wishes for full membership, opens up what are perhaps completely new cooperation possibilities that have never been on the agenda before as far as Sweden is concerned. In its diffuseness PFP clearly does not go far toward giving central Europeans a feeling of increased national security. But through joint exercises, maneuvers, consultations, and liaison officers a country like Sweden would have an insight into and be involved in the planning of peace operations that are of importance to the security of the whole of Europe. The Bildt government's reaction has been one of welcome, and the Social Democratic Party suddenly seems to see PFP as something operationally better than a role in the consultative NACC [North Atlantic Cooperation Council], of which it was until recently a keen supporter. The idea is that the PFP will be tailor-made for each country, and Sweden must of course take a closer look at the possibilities -- particularly in the light |
FBIS3-58673_0 | Ciller Comments on Clinton, Middle East Issues | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Announcer-read report over video] [Excerpt] [passage omitted] Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, addressing a True Path Party assembly group meeting today, said U.S. President Bill Clinton's contacts regarding the Middle East constitute a significant development for world peace. She pointed out that PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] terrorism and the Hezbollah issue were first raised during these talks. Ciller noted: [Begin recording] This is what we have always advocated: If the borders in the Middle East budge in one way or another -- if, that is, Iraq's territorial integrity is threatened in any way -- this would endanger peace in the Middle East, which is considered an energy warehouse and which is extremely important for the world's productive and economic power. This, in turn, would immediately impose a liability on world peace, a question which concerns the West very closely. The struggle against terrorism is not only supported by the Vienna summit and the statements issued by the United Nations; it is not merely discussed on the international arena within the framework of NATO; but, the fact that this struggle is an extremely important issue for the stability of the Middle East has also been revealed. In addition to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the request for this peace to be embraced by Syria as well, the importance of the struggle against the PKK and the need to act in cooperation against these terrorist organizations in the Middle East were stressed for the first time during the meeting between Mr. Clinton and Mr. al-Asad. [end recording] [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-58675_0 | Message to Baghdad, Kurdish Problem Viewed | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Column by Ertugrul Ozkok: "Message to Saddam: Talk With Kurds"] [Excerpts] The talks that have been held with the Iraqi delegation in Ankara did not focus only on the question of the oil in the pipeline between Turkey and Iraq. The question of northern Iraq was also discussed, as we mentioned that it would in our column last week. The Turkish side brought up the matter. The Turkish delegation headed by Ozdem Sanberk, under secretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, outlined Turkey's position on the matter and said that "tension continues to exist in northern Iraq." Let Them Come To Hold Talks "We support Iraq's territorial integrity. We want the situation in northern Iraq to be resolved within that framework. However, you should first disclose that Iraq will comply with the UN resolutions." That was Turkey's general approach. The Turkish delegation also conveyed a direct message to Baghdad, which Ankara has wished to do for a long time: "Hold talks with the Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and resolve that problem among yourselves." Apparently, the Iraqi delegation was prepared for that message. The Iraqi officials said: "You have always said that you support Iraq's territorial integrity. However, you have allowed the Hammer Force, which is opposed to Iraq's territorial integrity, to remain in your country." That brought Turkey's problem into the light. However, Turkey's initiative was based on its conviction that the Hammer Force will not remain in the region indefinitely. Regarding Turkey's message to Baghdad that it should hold talks with the Kurds in northern Iraq, the Iraqi officials failed to respond by saying that they "agree to hold talks" with them. They merely said "we can hold talks with them if they wish to do so." Obviously, Democratic Party of Kurdistan Leader Mas'ud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Leader Jalal Talabani will not be satisfied with that reply. It can be easily assumed that Barzani and Talabani, who are pressed by the United States "not to hold talks with Baghdad," will be dissatisfied with the Iraqi official's unwilling compliance and refuse to hold talks with them. BOTAS Cannot Resolve the Problem by Itself A certain amount of progress was made on the question of the withdrawal of the oil in the Karkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline. The matter was also discussed with BOTAS [Pipelines and Petroleum Transport Corporation] officials yesterday. However, the problem cannot be resolved |
FBIS3-58677_0 | Interview with UK's Douglas Hurd | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Interview with Douglas Hurd, British secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, by satellite from his London office by Mehmet Ali Birand on the "Crossfire" program -- live, in English with superimposed Turkish translation] [Text] [Birand] Now, sir, there are a number of reports circulating in the Turkish press that you have given the green light for an independent Kurdish state. Is this true? [Hurd] We do not believe that an independent Kurdish state is possible. [Birand] Let us move on to the PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] problem. What is your government's position on the PKK? [Hurd] We are against the violation of laws. The London metropolitan police units have established a special unit to deal with PKK crimes. We are very familiar what it takes to fight terrorism. We, therefore, will not allow any acts of terror and violence within our borders. [Birand] But you are not banning the PKK? [Hurd] Our laws do not permit such a measure. This alone cannot be effective. The important thing is the effective enforcement of the laws. [Birand] You and your prime minister, John Major, met with the Turkish Prime Minister in Brussels. Did she promise you that she would be solving the Cyprus problem? Your prime minister, addressing the British parliament, said that she did make such a promise. Is this true? [Hurd] Mrs. Ciller said that she very much wants progress on the Cyprus issue. The two prime ministers share the same views on the issue. We, the British, believe that this problem has lasted for too long and that it will become more dangerous with time. Now we are faced with an opportunity. The UN secretary general is exerting efforts toward development. He is waiting for a reply, a result. The Turkish government is standing by these efforts. There is a Turkish Cypriot community and elected officials in Northern Cyprus. I hope that they will be in favor of a development as well. I hope that they will establish cooperation with the officials in Nicosia. Now is the right time. If we miss this opportunity then I am concerned for the future. [Birand] Now, you are going to be in Ankara on Wednesday [19 January] be the main topic of the talks? [Hurd] Yes this is true, I am looking forward to this visit. I want to listen to the views of my |
FBIS3-58698_1 | EC, U.S. Agree To Boost Uruguay Round Results | with certain Asian countries; - The situation in some specific sectors (maritime services, financial services); - The situation concerning public procurement. The GATT agreement covers the contracts concluded by the central authorities. The EC attaches great importance to further progress by the United States in liberalization at the level of the States of the Union; - The subsequent efforts to go beyond the results of the Uruguay Round. The World Trade Organization (WTO) will not only have to implement Uruguay Round agreements and manage the new system to settle differences and the mechanism for examining trade policies, but it should also develop new working programs on trade/environment and trade/competition problems. The EC and the United States are in agreement about the importance and urgency of these developments. Mr. Kantor also discussed the aspect of "working conditions and standards" which the EC is examining. The two interlocutors also brought up the subject of aluminium. A third multilateral meeting (after those in Moscow and Washington) between the main producer countries and main importers will take place next week in Brussels. Mr. Bangemann and Mr. Kantor discussed: - Telecommunications. Mr. Kantor confirmed that the central government was pressuring the states of the Union to free access to their public contracts. As for standardization, a few problems exist on copyright and European standards; Mr. Bangemann will go into more depth on these matters with his American interlocutors when he visits the United States in spring; - Shipbuilding. Mr. Bangemann and Mr. Kantor agreed that the negotiations had to be concluded urgently in the framework of the OECD on aid and trade; - Aluminium. The multilateral approach is considered by far preferable to unilateral restrictions. That is why both the EC and the United States would like successful talks next week in Brussels between the main producers (including Russia) and importers. Mr. Vanni d'Archirafi and Mr. Kantor examined; - Financial services. The significance of the result of the Uruguay Round (involving the inclusion of financial services in the GATT rules, through the General Agreement on Trade in Services, GATS) has perhaps not yet been understood by the business world; an effort to clarify this seems appropriate. The fact remains that the agreement must be completed and improved; - Public procurement. The Commissioner reaffirmed the importance that the EC attaches to the application by the United States of the commitments of the memorandum of understanding of |
FBIS3-58721_0 | Attack on Plane Halts German Flights To Sarajevo | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Excerpts] Bonn (DPA) -- A German supply aircraft was hit by a projectile today, the second such incident since the start of the UN airlift to Sarajevo. The German Defense Ministry confirmed that a projectile hit the wing of a Luftwaffe Transall as it was approaching to land in the Bosnian capital. The aircraft then immediately regained altitude and returned to Falconara in Italy. The crew were unhurt. A ministry spokesman said the incident occurred at 1145. The Transall, with which the Luftwaffe is supporting UN aid flights between Falconara and Sarajevo, was been hit in the starboard wing near the engine. The five-man crew immediately turned around and landed safely back in Falconara shortly after 1300. [passage omitted] The spokesman added that the UN airdrop has not been officially suspended. There will be no German aid flights for the next two days, however. A decision will be made on further German participation as soon as a replacement aircraft arrive in Falconara. A German Transall first came under fire about a year ago, when a projectile tore off parts of a propeller and penetrated the fuselage. The aircraft's chief loader sustained serious shrapnel injuries. |
FBIS3-58741_0 | Defense Minister on European Union Membership | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Interview with Defense Minister Werner Fasslabend by Peter Pirker; place and date not given -- recorded] [Text] [Pirker] As far as the timing and the priority of participation in Partnership for Peace with NATO are concerned, are you siding with the chancellor rather than your party chairman, who wants cooperation with NATO as early as now? [Fasslabend] This would certainly be far too one-sided or an incorrect representation of a contrast that does not exist. The first priority of Austria's security policy is entering the European Union, integration within the joint security policy of the 12 states. Ranking second are integration and active participation in the Western European Union, whose importance will probably further increase in the future because the Europeans themselves will have to do more for their security in the future. Third, cooperation with NATO certainly is to be continued and developed. I have clearly expressed this. In the future, our relations with NATO will be as friendly and based on partnership as those with Sweden and France were in the past. |
FBIS3-58753_0 | Editorial Views Clinton's First Year | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Editorial by Leo Wieland: "Clinton's First Apprentice Year"] [Text] New bumperstickers can be seen in the United States marking the anniversary of Clinton's first year in office. They read: "Don't blame me -- I voted for Bush." However, this criticism is not representative. Most Americans do not regret the change. This applies both to those 43 percent who voted for Clinton and to some who prefered Bush or Perot. On his first anniversary, opinion pollsters affirm to the President, whose popularity dropped to an unprecedented low for newcomers in the middle of last year, that some 60 percent are now satisfied again with his performance. It was the same percentage that had expressed their advance confidence when Clinton first took office. That Clinton is seen as a man on whom people can pin their hopes has something to do with his personality. His engaging manners blend with the stylistic elements of a Kennedy and the communicative talent of a Reagan. At home, he is seen as a pragmatic worker who is ready to make compromises. Abroad, he is self-assured and presentable, which could be seen in his recent trip to Europe. One can hardly criticize anything about the form; if anything, one can find fault with the political substance, which sometimes appears to be lacking body. Clinton, who presented his administration as a clean prototype of a "new ethic," is nevertheless being followed like a shadow by the "question of character." The damage caused by old stories of women and business deals in Arkansas is still limited. The voters, who had heard about it, gave him a kind of absolution in the polls in November 1992. If the "revelations" that are still to be expected remain confined to his term as governor -- and do not extend to his time in the White House -- he will probably get out of it without much harm. However, since in the view of the U.S. media, presidents do not have a private life and have a transparent past, Clinton has to be watchful regarding everything that might look like an attempt to cover something up. The slow, albeit meanwhile recognizable, upswing is Clinton's most valuable political asset. Strictly speaking, the recovery may have more to do with Bush's careful laissez-faire and the responsible and flexible attitude of the U.S. Treasury than with Clinton. Still, he is profiting from |
FBIS3-58776_3 | German Foreign Minister Views Ankara Talks | raised with our Turkish friends. [Correspondent] You have given me a clue, Mr. Kinkel. Turkey has been seen not exactly as a bastion of human rights. Its policy toward the Kurdish minority, in particular, is being criticized strongly. What will you tell your Turkish counterpart in connection with this? [Kinkel] Douglas Hurd and I will tell our Turkish partners--the prime minister and the president, whom we will also meet--clearly and unambiguously that Turkey must, of course, play its part in this respect. It must solve its internal problems. There is the difficult problem of PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] terrorism. We understand it has to be fought, but we point out urgently that this must be done by means that are compatible with the rule of law. There are the continuing problems with the Christians in the southeast. There is the Kurdish problem in general. There are also human rights abuses in police custody. My approach has always been and will continue to be to remind Turkey from a friendly position to respect human rights--from a friendly position--while at the same time stating very clearly where the journey will have to take us in this respect. [Correspondent] Do you believe the persecution and the fight against the PKK is currently not being conducted in a lawful way? [Kinkel] I cannot say anything generally, but there are indications again and again that there are problems with this. We have our own problems in our country. You know that I have always very strongly urged a ban on the PKK in Germany. The Turks are grateful for this now. Naturally, we have every reason -- after Moelln and Solingen -- to say clearly that we too, in our own country, want to and must meet the responsibility of ensuring the welfare of the 1.9 million Turkish fellow citizens. We also have a specific need to explain what is happening in our own country. We must acknowledge this clearly. [Correspondent] As a NATO partner, Turkey receives large quantities of weapons, not least from Germany. There are repeated reports that these weapons are being used by Turkish Government troops in their fight against the PKK as well as against civilians. How do you ensure that this does not happen? [Kinkel] I cannot ensure this. In all my discussions, however -- and I have a very amicable relationship with Mr. Cetin, who is a Kurd |
FBIS3-58777_1 | Foreign Ministers Hold News Conference | and views were exchanged on international and regional issues at this first meeting, which is part of the consultative mechanisms that have been set up. He added all participants shared the view that Turkey -- as a European country -- needs to get closer to the continent's political, economic, security and defense structure. The post-cold war reality was discussed and Cetin added that they have realized that the initial optimistic expectations have not materialized. He continued: [Begin Cetin recording] The most prominent examples are the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans and the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus. We, therefore, assessed the issue of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the developments in the Balkans. We assessed what we can do to solve the problems in the Caucasus and the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We assessed how Armenia can withdraw from Azerbaijani territory and the problem can be solved through peaceful means as soon as possible. We further assessed that this problem should be solved within the framework of the Minsk group. [end recording] Cetin said Turkey is fighting against terror within the framework of democracy and the laws, adding that the visiting ministers were told of Turkey's determination on the issue. He noted that Turkey is at a turning point in its struggle against terror and that the support to be extended by its European friends is most important. Speaking at the news conference, Hurd said Turkey's importance and role in the international arena has increased in recent years. Noting that Turkey has significant experience in the region, Hurd added that they found the opportunity to benefit from this experience during the talks. He noted that Turkey's political, economic and security relations with Europe were discussed at the talks, stressing that a rapprochement among the policies of the participants was achieved. Kinkel said Turkey constitutes a bridge between Europe and Asia and the Christian and Muslim worlds. Pointing out that this role increases the importance of the rapprochement between Turkey and Europe, Kinkel added that his country is extending every possible support on the issue. In reply to a question by a Turkish Radio and Television correspondent on establishing an independent state in northern Iraq, Kinkel said: We do not want any change in the region. We are not in favor of border changes. We are in favor of Iraq's territorial integrity and the preservation of the current border. |
FBIS3-58778_0 | Government, Syria Reportedly Sign Security Agreement | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Text] It has now been learned that a top secret agreement was signed between the Turkish Republic and the Syrian Arab Republic on 1 December. The 15-point agreement mostly deals with security issues. The second article of the agreement, which provides for "joint operations against terrorism," stipulates that "Syria's water needs will be met without restrictions." With this agreement, which stipulates that in the talks with Israel and the United States, Turkey will speak out in defense of Syria; the Syrian Government consents to Turkey carrying out cross-border operations on its territory. The Foreign Ministry sources reported that, in addition to the security agreement, three separate complementary agreements were also signed at close intervals. The signatures of the foreign ministers of the two countries are on the agreement. It was reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shar' and Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin signed the agreement through senior ambassadors. The Foreign Ministry sources explained: "Such agreements of utmost secrecy could, in exceptional cases, be signed by the sides even without a meeting of the foreign ministers by simply calling each other's ambassadors to the Foreign Ministry." The agreement was initialed soon after the secret protocol signed in Ankara on 20 November by General Badr al-Hasan, the commander of the Syrian Secret Service, al-Mukhabarat, and Mehmet Agar, head of Security Directorate. It was learned that the following were the main topics of the agreement: Joint Stance on Kurdish Problem 1. Cooperation shall urgently be forged between the two countries. 2. The parties shall fulfill the commitments indicated in the agreements. The Turkish Republic shall meet Syria's water needs, one of Syria's urgent requests, without restrictions. 3. Turkey and Syria shall act jointly on the Kurdish problem. 4. There shall be cooperation against destructive activities threatening the national unity and regimes in both countries. 5. Turkey and Syria share the same view on Iraq's territorial integrity and the unalterability of its borders. 6. Turkey shall provide the utmost support to Syria against anti-Syrian initiatives in international forums. 7. Turkey shall defend Syria's policies on contentious issues between Syria and Israel vis-a-vis the United States and Israel. 8. Turkey shall support Syria's policies on the Lebanese problem. 9. The Syrian Government shall help the Turkish Government prevent destructive activities against Turkey on Syria's own territory and in northern Lebanon. Both sides reject terrorism and agree not to interfere in |
FBIS3-58779_0 | Commentary on Clinton-Al-Asad Meeting | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Commentary by Sami Kohen: "All Right, But a Disadvantage Exists" -- punctuation as published] [Text] As far as Turkey is concerned, President Clinton's decision to include the Workers Party of Kurdistan [PKK] problem in his talks with President Hafiz al-Asad in Geneva and to urge Syria to adopt a clear approach on that terrorist organization is a favorable development. The matter indicates that Ankara's contacts with Washington and the views Prime Minister Tansu Ciller conveyed to President Clinton when they met some time ago have been effective. It is meaningful that President Clinton placed the PKK at the top of the list of terrorist organizations during the joint news conference he held with his Syrian counterpart. President Clinton's initiative has not yet yielded concrete results, however. As he himself has said, the United States and Syria continue to differ on the activities of organizations such as the PKK and Hizballah. So, Syria has continued to remain on the U.S. list of terrorist countries. Nevertheless, Clinton and al-Asad have decided to establish a mechanism to remove their differences of opinion. The U.S. secretary of state and the Syrian foreign minister will hold talks on the matter from time to time. President al-Asad, who has successfully played on the Middle East chessboard for 25 years, obviously intends to use his pawns slowly and very carefully. He has apparently scored favorable points in his lengthy meeting with President Clinton on the question of peace in the Middle East.... President Clinton's talks with President al-Asad on the PKK problem and the support he has given to the Turkish viewpoint on the matter are undoubtedly an advantage for Turkey. That the U.S. suggestions or pressure have not yet yielded results must not be taken to mean that they will not be effective in the future. Nevertheless, the other side of the coin also has to be considered. President Clinton and President al-Asad held talks on the PKK problem within the framework of the effort that is being made to establish peace in the Middle East. One aspect of the problem between Syria and Israel is terrorism. As far as Israel is concerned, one of the preconditions for peace is that Syria end its support of the activities of Hizballah and other organizations in the occupied areas, southern Lebanon, and even in Israel itself. In view of the fact that Clinton also |
FBIS3-58788_0 | Government Issues Complaint to Iranian Ambassador | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Switzerland has protested to Iran over its alleged failure to help a Swiss investigation into the murder in Geneva four years ago of an Iranian opposition leader. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said it had formally complained to the Iranian ambassador that the Tehran government had not reacted to Swiss requests for legal cooperation. The move comes two days after Iran denounced what it calls Switzerland's unfriendly attitude. |
FBIS3-58799_1 | Editorial Views EP Session, Threat Balkans Poses to EU | chorus of the litany of many political parties, and over the next few months the population will continue to be confronted with it. After all, the European election campaign will soon be starting, and a not inconsiderable number of candidates will declare their great belief in the European idea. Their words will meet with great skepticism, not least because of Europe's dramatic failure in the former Yugoslavia. Exactly how great and total the debacle really is, was once again illustrated all too clearly yesterday in the European Parliament [EP] in Strasbourg. European Commissioner Hans Van den Broek called for the curtailment of European attempts at negotiating peace, claiming that after all they lead nowhere and invariably end in failure. Despite the many conferences that have been held, the prospect of peace is further away than ever. And whenever agreements were reached in the past, they were not respected. The warring factions in Bosnia are continuing to give priority to their armed struggle and Europe is powerless to convince them to do otherwise. The European Union lacks the military might, a coherent concept, and, above all, the single-mindedness to do so. It is no coincidence that Van den Broek should specifically choose the Greek presidency to propose that Europe wash its hands in innocence, echoing the legendary cowardice of Pontius Pilate. After all, the Greeks are allies of the Serbs, and will do nothing that ruffles the feathers of Milosevic & Co. Under these circumstances, it can virtually be ruled out that the Union will succeed in acting firmly or coherently. After nearly three years of war, an exhausted Europe has had enough of the misery in Bosnia. Yesterday, an isolationist appeal was made by EC Commissioner Van den Broek, but there were also the decisions by the Netherlands and Germany to send thousands of Croatian refugees back home. The question remains, however, as to what the consequences will be of any further spreading of the fighting and ethnic cleansing. Bosnia is not the only powder keg in the Balkans. There is also Kosovo, and Macedonia. If their fuse is ignited, then the fire could spread right through the Balkans, and the European Union would have no alternative but to fear the collapse of that entire flank of the continent. The belief that the Union can isolate itself from the rest of Europe is a dangerous misconception, and a foolish illusion. |
FBIS3-58801_1 | EEA Oversight Body Begins Reviewing EFTA Laws | [European Union] are agreed that the last unresolved issues in the supplementary protocol to the EEA [European Economic Area] agreement must be resolved before the end of January. The two sides fixed this deadline at the first meeting of the EEA Mixed Committee in Brussels yesterday. The issues have to be resolved if the supplementary protocol is to be able to come into force by the beginning of July at the latest. Before it comes into force it has to be ratified by the parliaments of the EU countries and those of the five participating EFTA countries -- something that will take a few months. "If matters are not completed by then the supplementary protocol could be delayed until the beginning of next year -- something that we must avoid at all costs," said the EC Commission's Hans van der Pas, who is the chairman of the Mixed Committee in the first half of 1994. The supplementary protocol contains around 400 EU laws which have come into existence since the negotiations for the EEA agreement were completed. Around 10 questions remain unresolved, but both Van der Pas and the EFTA countries' representative on the Committee, Antti Sauli, believe that it will be possible to resolve them. Yesterday's meeting was devoted chiefly to organizational matters, but a first bone of contention regarding the interpretation of the EEA agreement has already surfaced. Norway and the EU Commission take different views as to whether the Norwegian state alcohol monopoly can be reconciled with the EEA agreement, and the Commission has asked EFTA's oversight body, the ESA [EFTA Surveillance Authority], to look into the matter. Norway wants to retain its wholesale monopoly, but the Commission wants it abolished. With Finland and Sweden the EU has reached agreement regarding their alcohol monopolies in their membership negotiations. The solution was that all monopolies apart from that in the retail sector will be abolished. The ESA is currently beginning its work by going through all legislation regarding the EEA agreement of the five EFTA countries participating in the EEA. This review of Finland's, Norway's, Iceland's, Sweden's, and Austria's legislation will cover laws on alcohol and other monopolies, and also the free movement of people, and the abolition of tax and other obstacles to trade. The ESA will also look at all state support paid out in the five countries. The work is expected to take several months. |
FBIS3-58816_1 | Economic Institute Sees Signs of Growth in East Europe | figure in 1989. Hungary, the favoured country for Western investment, would again experience zero growth this year, but Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria would go through their fifth consecutive year of a decline in GDP of about two percent. But this would represent a sharp improvement from a decline of about six percent in 1993. The institute here was less optimistic about former members of the Soviet Union, chief among them Russia and Ukraine. It said that GDP in Russia would decline by seven percent and in Ukaraine by 12 percent. In 1993 their GDP figures had fallen by 15 percent. Most of the countries in East Europe would also improve their performances on inflation. The Czech Republic might reduce its inflation rate from 21 percent to 11 percent, Poland from 39 percent to 28 percent, Slovenia from 30 percent to 20 percent and Slovakia from 23 percent to 18 percent. But in Hungary inflation would rise slightly from 24 percent to 25 percent. In the Balkans, it would fall to 55 percent in Bulgaria from 75 percent, and to 200 percent in Romania from 300 percent. The main indicator weighing on the outlook was unemployment. Privatisation, and increase in the number of bankruptcies and a strengthing of corporate financial discipline, would increase unemployment further despite a general improvement in the economic situation. Poland, leading the way to growth, would have an unemployment rate of 18 percent representing more than three million people, at the end of 1994. Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia would have an average rate of about 18 percent. The rate of unemployment in Hungary and Romania was likely to stabilise at about 12 percent. The Czech Republic, owing to an ingenious system of early retirement and strong growth in the private sector, should achieve the best result with a rate of seven percent. Another worrying aspct of these economies was the trade deficit which appeared in 1993 and was likely to increase this year, the economists said. The institute said that it expected the overall deficit for the seven countries to total 7.2 billion dollars from 6.8 billion dollars in 1993. Hungary and Poland, which in 1992 had achieved spectacular surpluses, would be the most affected. Hungary was likely to report a deficit of 2.7 billion dollars and Poland of 1.9 billion dollars. Exports to industrialised countries were likely to increase slightly but imports would again rise strongly. |
FBIS3-58826_3 | Hurd Views NATO Summit in Brussels | NATO treaty says an armed attack against one signatory should be considered an attack against them all. Britain has gone to war twice this century in Europe on behalf of others. Through NATO we would be ready to do so again if necessary. But a decision to extend NATO's territory and commit our troops to the defence of new borders cannot be taken lightly. We are not talking about membership of a social club. Deep down we know NATO cannot remain closed. I do not see how we could deny to other Europeans the benefits which NATO has brought us. The summit recognised this. It took decisions which opened the clear perspective of NATO's eventual enlargement. We agreed it would require great care: the object, after all, is to strengthen peace and stability in Europe. Any hasty decision about who does and does not belong to NATO risks creating a new division in Europe. We do not want to set Russia's teeth dangerously on edge. Hence the idea of Partnership for Peace, which everybody, including Russia, is invited to join on the basis of shared democratic principles and military co-operation. The idea is simple: all members of the old Warsaw Pact will have the chance to enter into individual partnership programmes with NATO. Each country possesses different military assets and different experience, so each will choose different dishes from the NATO menu. Each will undertake, with NATO, to meet specific political objectives. These could include joining international treaties, civilian control of the military, transparency in defence budgets. In return, NATO will draw each partner into its mechanisms for planning, training and consultation. If partners are ready to participate, we would hope to involve them in NATO-led peacekeeping operations. This is a sensible and practical way forward. It means that NATO is committed to the principle of enlargement, but we are not determining in advance who or when or under what precise conditions. So the summit has left us much clearer about how to handle our friends in Central and East Europe. Some of those friends would have liked us to go further. All accept that we have moved a good way. We also talked in a new way about how to handle the threats we face. Most of the security threats we can foresee will require a mobile and flexible response from NATO, as the Gulf and Bosnian conflicts have |
FBIS3-58827_3 | Sinn Fein Leader Discusses Peace Initiative | which wasn't agreed, but within a broad time frame, moving us all in that direction. In other words, the British joining the persuaders. The British moving, with Dublin. And all of it done in consultation with ourselves and seeking the consent and the maximum consent and participation of the Unionists. Now that clearly, if that is contained in the Downing Street Declaration, then I wish, I am anxious, I want to be convinced that that is the case. The standoff from my point of view is intolerable. It's silly and it's bizarre that a British Government which says it has a settlement won't explain the basis of that settlement. [Davenpower] But most of what you've outlined is in fact contained in Paragraph Four of the Downing Street Declaration. If we just refer to here the relevant section is that the British Government agree that it's for the people of the island of Ireland alone, which is what you want, by agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise their right of self-determination, and the British Government's representative here, Patrick Mayhew, has further said that any conclusion is possible as a result of that act of self-determination --even a united Ireland if that's the conclusion, so be it. [Adams] Well you see, well that is making, if I can say so, a virtue out of a necessity. If the Irish people have the right to self-determination it isn't up the British to have any say in how that right should be exercised or even to put in any predetermined end to that. But the questions which, David, which run from that -- I mean are we now to accept that the six-county state is a nation, that the six-county state has the right to national self- determination, or are we to accept that a united Ireland is dependent upon Patrick Mayhew. What, if the Irish people have the right to self-determination of course we have always had that right [as heard]. I mean Ireland has only been divided for the last 70 years and if the right's been denied us how do we exercise that right? [Davenpower] If that's the nub of it then, you want a vote -- an all-Ireland vote -- on the same day to decide which way the island proceeds politically? [Adams] Well, we cannot even collapse the principle of national self-determination into one of being a |
FBIS3-58827_29 | Sinn Fein Leader Discusses Peace Initiative | IRA will come to a decision to come to a cessation by taking its own counsel. Secondly, I wish to assist that process, as I have said. I've been part of a broad peace process and hopefully as a strand of that by finding a proposition to put to the army leadership. The reason I haven't put that to the army leadership isn't because I'm afraid of anything. It's because I don't have it to put to them. Now, can I also say, there is going to be no Republican split. There's no potential for it, there's no reason for it, and there's no proof whatsoever anywhere in the broad Republican family of any indication that there's going to be any Republican split. So these things, while they're legitimate enough curiosities for journalists to investigate, the only reason why I cannot put forward any proposition to anyone is because there isn't a proposition there. And the reason there isn't a proposition there is because the British Government have decided not to give clarification to the people that I represent. It's OK to give clarification to everyone else but not to Sinn Fein. [Davenpower] As we draw towards the conclusion of this interview -- and we've gone on I think for longer than we anticipated -- can I ask you about some features of your letter to John Major? I know you were angry that this was made public, but you do say that, in the letter, that the document that was forwarded to the British Government by the Irish Government earlier this year in April or June -- I can't remember which month -- was a suitable basis and contained enough of the Hume-Adams principle to have been endorsed by the IRA. What happened to that? [Adams] I don't know. I mean this is, this is one of the imponderables of the situation. And, you see, all of this as we, as we develop it may become more difficult and more confusing. I remember on a number of times when there was a lot of deadlines being set and false hopes being raised where I said, look this situation is liable to be protracted, it's dangerous, risky, and people are going to try and confuse us. All I know is that the propositions that John Hume and I were working on were that both governments were informed at every stage |
FBIS3-58828_7 | Foreign Minister Interviewed on Diplomatic Issues | nationals live in Canada, because Quebec religious figures have been working in Haiti for many years, because there are deep-rooted ties." After two years with no apparent progress, the foreign minister suggests it is time for Canada to abandon its passive stance and "lean on the Americans." "They need to start speaking with one voice. Because the State Department says one thing, then the military and the CIA say something else. After that, they need to be persuaded to act." High on the list of concrete steps recommended by Mr. Ouellet is the formation of a Haitian police force. Canada suggests a good beginning would be to provide training for police officers "who could become a counterweight to the military." "As long as the military exercise complete hegemony over the country, they're going to impose their own rule," says Mr. Ouellet. "The balance of power needs to be changed." The Governor's Island Pact signed last July by President Aristide and General Cedras, commander in chief of Haiti's Armed Forces, called for measures to be implemented last fall to separate the police from the Army. So far, the Haitian military have blocked this reform. Minister Ouellet proposes to move ahead now on training of Haitian policemen--in Canada, if it cannot be done in Haiti. The core of the police force could be constituted by the presidential guard that provides protection for President Aristide in Washington. All of its neighbors have taken up the call for democracy in Haiti, but not to the point of strictly enforcing the UN sanctions against the Haitian military. One of the weakest links in the pro-Aristide coalition is the Dominican Republic whose land border with Haiti on the Isle of Hispaniola is used to circumvent the oil embargo. Mr. Ouellet thinks that if sanctions against Haiti are to have any chance of success, the Dominican Republic must be induced to enforce them to the letter. "We need for everyone to stand united and severely tighten the screws on the Haitian military. We would also like to persuade the Dominican Republic to take an active part in these efforts." Referring to Canada, France, the United States, and Venezuela--the countries that compose the group known as the "Four Friends of the UN Secretary General on Haiti" and serve as advisers on the Haitian situation--Mr. Ouellet thinks the Dominican Republic should be persuaded to join the "Four Friends" group. |
FBIS3-58830_0 | Government Demands Standard EU Regulations on Refugees | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Report signed "ban": "Bonn Concerned About Refugees"] [Text] Bonn, 21 January -- In spite of opposition from other European states, the Federal Government is demanding a common European Union (EU) regulation on accepting refugees from the former Yugoslavia. On Friday [21 January], during the first reading of the ratification act on the "Dublin Agreement," Lintner, the state secretary in the Interior Ministry, said a "fair distribution" of refugees from the civil war zones must be safeguarded throughout the European Union and other European states. "So far, we have met with strong opposition from several West European states." Lintner pointed out that Germany has accepted some 370,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia. This is approximately two-thirds of all the refugees who fled to the European Union from the civil war zones. In the summer of 1990, the European Community members had concluded an agreement on asylum proceedings. Under this agreement, asylum seekers entering the European Union have the right to only one such proceeding. The responsibility lies with the country that has allowed the foreign national to enter, or that was the first one he entered. The agreement shall prevent foreign nationals from applying for asylum in more than one EU member countries, either concurrently or consecutively. Lintner said the agreement is an important step toward harmonizing the community's asylum laws. The Dublin Agreement is to be seen in connection with the abolition of border controls agreed on by the community. He said the reason given for the change of the asylum law that was passed by the Bundestag last year was the European agreements. Lintner said that beside the Dublin Agreement, the government is aiming at a standardization of asylum policies and procedures throughout the European Union. A short debate showed that the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union agrees with the Social Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Party on this matter. The Party of Democratic Socialism and Alliance 90/Greens opposed the idea. Deputy Weiss of Alliance 90/Greens warned against "isolation measures," which would create the preconditions for criminal organizations trafficking in asylum seekers. |
FBIS3-58841_11 | Research Institute Reports on Economy | on the causes of the recession, it leads to confusion to repeatedly mention dues that are "too high" and "too high" a level of social benefits. These assertions do not tally with the fact that the enormous expansion of employment in the late 1980's and the 1990's took place within such a social framework. It makes just as little sense at a time of declining demand for labor to make the seemingly inflexible range of jobs offered ("excessively high benefits") responsible for unemployment. No one "suddenly" decided to become unemployed in 1992 to take advantage of the high level of unemployment benefits. To redefine the current level of unemployment, which is due to economic factors, as "voluntary" unemployment rules out finding a solution that tackles causes. Of course, in a recession, the social insurance burden on companies is much higher than in an economic upturn. The social welfare system must be maintained in a crisis. It will now become apparent whether the system operates efficiently -- that is, is it in a position to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis on those who have been affected involuntarily and, thus, contribute to stabilizing the entire system. Like wage costs, in a recession, social insurance payments -- and taxes -- cannot be low enough for companies. However, what might appear right for a businessman in a given situation is not necessarily advantageous for the economy as a whole. What economic policy requires at the present time is not a limit on employment market instrument but the expansion of such instruments. This particularly applies to eastern Germany, where the state will bear a responsibility for developments on the labor market for a long time to come. Today -- and this discussion also has a cyclical character -- the social welfare system is seen as being too costly to finance. It should not be forgotten that the current low level of public funds is the product of taxation (redistribution) measures in the 1980's and the beginning of the 1990's. The declared aim of the policy was to increase incentives in order to make the economy more competitive internationally. This policy not only failed to prevent the recession but could not succeed because the international race to lower taxation has resulted in all economies having a high level of state debt. When there is an economic upswing, the condition of public finance almost "automatically" |
FBIS3-58841_15 | Research Institute Reports on Economy | inflation rate will remain stable. The reduced supply of one particular commodity does not automatically lead to a decline in the demand for other goods, because as a rule, a reduction in supply is accompanied by the redistribution of income, which does not have to affect effective demand. As a result, a reduction in demand for other goods must be achieved through monetary policy. However, that can only occur by way of rising interest rates and rising unemployment, as described above. Nevertheless, monetary policy does not have to prevent an increase in price levels that stems from a real shock, because after a certain period of time, the rate at which prices grow returns to its previous level if waged-induced secondary inflation does not occur. This cannot be expected under the conditions that exist in western Germany if unemployment increases. In the case of the FRG, the real shock was unification at the beginning of the 1990's. It entailed an enormous redistribution of state resources that was to a large extent financed through raising indirect taxes. Such measures have a direct impact on prices. The housing shortage in western Germany has also become more acute through migration. In view of the liberalization of the housing market, this has resulted in rapid increase in rents. At its highest point, the increase in rents amounted to over 6 percent (at the end of 1992). Rents and administrative prices have had a big impact on the rate of inflation. They kept the rate at which prices were rising high well into the recession. A monetary policy that is oriented toward the inflation rate is led of course by this effect. That is precisely what happened in Germany. German monetary policy has not followed a medium-term oriented strategy, but starting in the middle of 1992, sought to limit the risk of inflation, which no longer existed, with an approach based on small steps. Once the recession had started, the Bundesbank, following a medium-term course, should have sought to reduce its key interest rates quickly and by substantial amounts to support and accelerate the fall in long-term interest rates stemming from the worldwide recession. The Bundesbank did not do that and the consequences are grave. To express things clearly, the German Bundesbank's policies are forcing industry into a crisis in terms of costs and earnings, because more housing is needed in Germany. This policy means |
FBIS3-58844_0 | Antifascist Group Says Police `Obstruct' Activities | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Report signed "sp": "Antifascists Criticize Police"] [Text] Hannover, 18 January -- The Goettingen "Autonome Antifa" group has accused the police of attempting to obstruct its antifascist activities. The Lower Saxon Land Office of Criminal Investigations [LKA] has been investigating the group for more than two years on the grounds that some of its members are suspected of belonging to a terrorist group. The "Autonome Antifa" on Tuesday [18 January] described the effects of the police investigations on the group. The members of the group are exposed to permanent harassment, including regular observation of their meetings and even their private apartments. Telephones have been bugged. Their publications and press releases are picked up at the receivers and the papers are then examined for fingerprints by the LKA. Whenever the group rents halls for meetings, LKA officers have questioned the owners of the premises and even showed them files with photographs. For one rally, the group rented a loudspeaker van; the officers later confiscated the files of the car rental place and even questioned employees. Over the weekend, the Greens party of Goettingen stated that representatives of their party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany [SPD], and the Federation of German Trade Unions [DGB] received summons from the LKA. They were asked to testify in the preliminary procedures against members of the "Autonome Antifa." Last March, this group assumed the initiative for a demonstration against neo-Nazi activist Hans-Michael Fiedler and his training center in Adelebsen (Goettingen district). Some 2,000 demonstrators participated in the nonviolent protest march after the appeal was also backed by members of the Greens, the SPD, and the DGB. The "Autonome Antifa" has concluded from the LKA actions that "efficient, broadly based antifascist work is to be prevented." Neo-Nazi activists such as Fiedler, however, are able to enhance their activities under the eyes of the state prosecutor and the LKA, it was said. When asked about this by FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU, a spokesman for the Lower Saxon Interior Ministry said the LKA was conducting its investigations on the instructions of the chief state prosecutor of Celle. |
FBIS3-58847_1 | Schoenhuber Says 1994 `Year of Decision' | than the present generation. Moreover, one must take into account that resistance in those unfortunate 12 years not only meant restrictions or even the loss of one's civil existence, but that quite frequently it even lead to death. We Republikaners are filled with great pride that a man such as resistance fighter Hans Hirzel, member of the "White Rose," has found his political home in our party. What legitimizes those who were born later to condemn those who were maneuvered into a bitter time by fate? The regime was criminal, but the people who lived under it were not. They were victims of a megalomania that covered up its real intentions very well at the beginning. However, they were also victims of the failure of the parties in the Weimar Republic. Those who, today, want to spare the FRG the fate of Weimar, and who want to save our people from another moral and cultural decline, have to go to the roots and not just treat the symptoms. The renewal and consolidation of democracy must be everyone's cause and not be left only to those who call themselves representatives of the people, and who frequently only represent interests of their own or of certain groupings. Petitions for referenda and referenda must be rated more highly. The watering down of traditional links and values must end, liberalism must not be confounded with libertinism. The harmful influence of the American way of life, which is characterized by success-based thinking at any price, must be forced back. These influences are particularly strong in the sphere of movies, radio, and television. The struggle for audience rating eliminates the last ethical and moral scruples. Women are made the object of lusty craving, degraded into merchandise and cheap labeled articles. The sexual act is exhibited on the screen, just like that between apes in a zoo, in all its varieties and deviations. While Africa is putting on clothes and listening to Mozart, we are taking off clothes and discovering the particular artistic value of the bush drum. Even children are harnessed to the cart of the advertising industry and confronted day after day with the representation of violence of the worst kind. Such representations seduce people into imitating them, and we citizens even promote these activities by paying excessively high fees. One has to think intensively about abolishing these fees. The churches bear a great part |
FBIS3-58847_2 | Schoenhuber Says 1994 `Year of Decision' | own or of certain groupings. Petitions for referenda and referenda must be rated more highly. The watering down of traditional links and values must end, liberalism must not be confounded with libertinism. The harmful influence of the American way of life, which is characterized by success-based thinking at any price, must be forced back. These influences are particularly strong in the sphere of movies, radio, and television. The struggle for audience rating eliminates the last ethical and moral scruples. Women are made the object of lusty craving, degraded into merchandise and cheap labeled articles. The sexual act is exhibited on the screen, just like that between apes in a zoo, in all its varieties and deviations. While Africa is putting on clothes and listening to Mozart, we are taking off clothes and discovering the particular artistic value of the bush drum. Even children are harnessed to the cart of the advertising industry and confronted day after day with the representation of violence of the worst kind. Such representations seduce people into imitating them, and we citizens even promote these activities by paying excessively high fees. One has to think intensively about abolishing these fees. The churches bear a great part of the blame for the moral decline. They subject themselves almost unconditionally to the zeitgeist to deviate attention from their failure in the Third Reich. Here it is also true that churchmen showed more backbone in the Nazi state than their successors do now. I would like to mention Cardinal von Galen or Pastor Niemoeller in this connection. I am of the opinion that the spying activities of Manfred Stolpe, the current minister president of Brandenburg and Evangelical churchman, must be regarded as worse than the divisive and ingratiating attitude of the then "Reichbishop" Mueller in the Third Reich. Mueller acted openly, while Stolpe was spying behind people's backs. We Republikaners are in favor of the separation of Church and State. What Frederick the Great said is valid for us, namely that each may be saved after his own fashion. Where is the Christian way of doing things of political pastors from Hintze to Thierse? As we can see, even for somebody like Mr. Hintze a lie is a "bourgeois prejudice" -- just as it was for Lenin. The church tax has favored this moral degeneration. Church servants have become church earners. Moral regeneration of the churches will only be |
FBIS3-58847_5 | Schoenhuber Says 1994 `Year of Decision' | state. Besides, we regard it as legitimate to hold a referendum on whether the church tax makes sense or does not. What must also be exposed is the hypocrisy, particularly in the case of "Christian" politicians, who are least qualified to moralize. In my former capacity as a journalist I repeatedly had the experience that the first thing leading Christian Social Union officials did once they arrived at their destination on an official visit was to ask for the address of a brothel, and then they exchanged their "experiences" with a twinkle in their eyes. They are the same politicians who appeared with their entire families at Catholic Church or Evangelical Academy receptions, effectively displaying their deep piety in public. If we Republikaners were to strike back with the same instruments the established parties and their foundations are using against us, I would guarantee the moral "decapitation" of quite a few Christian politicians and even Catholic dignitaries, who clandestinely live in pseudomarital conditions, while calling from their pulpits for compliance with the Church's commandments. We are all human beings. And who will throw the first stone? We will not! We will not even throw back the stones that bear a signature and are aimed at us. We want an open exchange but will not hit below the belt. We have political opponents but not enemies. If a politician like Mr. Stoiber says the "enemy stands at the right," then this proves, first, that he does not know the first thing about the rules of the game of democracy and, second, that in order to stay in power he is capable of doing anything. After all, as everybody knows, he is determined to conduct the election campaign with ideas right of center. Let us not deceive ourselves. Even our party is not yet everywhere in the best possible shape necessary to credibly represent our causes. Self-criticism must not become a foreign word for us. Our program is good. We must manage to bring our program and members to one level everywhere. The year 1994 is the year of decision -- not only for our party, but also for our people. The zeitgeist is abdicating; it has no more money. That gives us a chance! Let us do everything we can to make sure people cannot say at the end of the year: tried and found wanting! I believe in our success! |
FBIS3-58859_0 | Authorities Place Kurdish Leader Under House Arrest | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Paris, Jan 22 (AFP) -- French authorities have placed under house arrest a Kurdish leader and are planning to expel him despite his assertion that his political actions are legal, an anti-racism group said here Saturday [22 January]. The Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between People said Azad Dere had been questioned by police in Paris on Thursday and then ordered to remain at home in the south of France. Interior Minister Charles Pasqua signed an expulsion order for Azad Dere on December 30 as part of a Europe-wide crackdown on Kurdish activists. Dere told AFP by telephone he had been detained while acting as an interpreter for a visiting Kurdish delegation. "My activities in France are perfectly legal," he said. "I have a resident's permit that is valid until 2003." Police have placed him under house arrest "until they can find a country that will accept me after my expulsion from France," he said, adding that the expulsion order was a result of pressure from the Turkish Government. On November 18, police carried out an operation against Kurds suspected of involvement with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is fighting the Turkish Government for an independent state. Sixteen of the Kurds detained in the raids are still being held and three others are under house arrest. Azad Dere slipped through the net while he was attending a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. In a statement, the Movement Against Racism demanded Azad Dere's immediate release, charging that "this new act of complicity (with the government in Ankara) dishonored France." |
FBIS3-58871_0 | * Admiral Says Russian Military's Goals Uncertain | Language: Norwegian Article Type:CSO [Article by Trond Bo: "Increasing Russian Military Activity"] [Text] The election in Russia could lead to a more unstable military situation with additional forces put into position, a Norwegian admiral feels. The unstable situation in Russia and a reduction in advance stockpiling for allied air support were the central topics at the annual news conference at the Southern Norwegian Defense Command in Stavanger yesterday. Vice Admiral Bjorner Kibsgaard, the commander in chief in southern Norway, said that the result of the Russian parliamentary election points toward a more unstable situation in Russia. He characterized statements made by certain new leaders after the election as blatant ambition. Kibsgaard indicated that in the last two months there has been intense training activity on a Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kusnetsov, but that it will take years for the ship to operate with the planned air strength of Flanker and Frogfoot--NATO terms for Russian aircraft. "The Russian military is undergoing a hefty downsizing, but remains a modern and effective force despite extensive reductions," said Captain Christian Grundt, who is chief of intelligence and security at the Southern Norwegian Defense Command. Since 1992, the standing forces in Russia have been cut to 1.2 million soldiers, but a combat-ready, standing emergency force of 200,000 men is maintained. Training activity has increased in the last year, and there have been 150 sorties along the Norwegian coast as far south as Stavanger. The strategic submarine fleet with nuclear weapons onboard is on maneuvers just as before and moves continually with its nuclear cargo in the Barents Sea. There continues to be a capability ready for use whenever called upon. Parallel with this plan, the NATO countries, with Norway leading, are planning joint exercises in the northern regions, in which Russia would participate. These would not be complex military exercises, but rescue exercises and training aimed at working together in a UN context. The Russians have also adopted a new military doctrine, passed by the Russian security council on 9 November and approved by President Boris Yeltsin. "What is new in the military doctrine is the fact that the Russians state they do not have any declared enemies and that their security goal is to prevent war," said Kibsgaard and stressed that the old political ideology was now gone. Russia promises not to use force against other states unless their nation or other allied nations |
FBIS3-58873_0 | Iranian Kurdish Activist Injured by Letter Bomb | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] A letter bomb has badly injured an Iranian Kurdish activist in Stockholm and police say the attack was likely to be politically motivated. A spokesman for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, based in Paris, blamed the Iranian Government for the bombing. The injured man is a member of the party's Swedish committee. |
FBIS3-58880_0 | Twenty Reportedly Killed in Mardin `Terrorist' Raid | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Announcer-read report over video] [Text] Terrorists raided the Akyurek and Ormancik villages in Mardin's Savur District last night, killing a total of 20 persons, mostly women and children. Seven persons were injured in the incident. Two of the terrorists who participated in the massacre were killed near Akyurek village. According to information received by a TRT correspondent from the State of Emergency Region Governor's Office, a group of terrorists who raided Akyurek and Ormancik villages martyred four of the village guards who resisted them. The terrorized and frightened villagers gathered together, whereupon the terrorists hurled a hand grenade and a deadly gas bomb on them. Fifteen persons were killed immediately and a child died later in hospital. The injured persons were taken to Mardin State Hospital. Extensive operations continue in the region to catch the terrorists. Unal Erkan, State of Emergency Region governor, left for the area of the incident this morning to hold contacts. |
FBIS3-58926_1 | Energy, Technology Assistance to Bulgaria Outlined | and East Europe. Over the past few days, he has established contacts for projects concerned with the improvement of gas supplies, the generation of electricity, coal vaporization, the cleaner combustion of lignite, and technological training in his country. Bulgaria relies heavily on Russian supplies of natural gas, nuclear energy, and lignite for its energy requirements. Lignite is the only energy source that is amply available in Bulgaria, but the processing and combustion of lignite cause tremendous environmental pollution, forming dust and emitting sulfur into the atmosphere. Consequently, Deputy Minister Angelov is enthusiastic about the new technology that the Rotterdam-based company Ecofire is implementing at a lignite mine to the northwest of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, following arbitration by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and E&EN. "The pilot project that Ecofire is putting into practice in conjunction with us is working superbly. I hope that it will be extended rapidly on a commercial scale, because we want to comply with Western environmental standards as soon as possible." [passage omitted] Over the past few days, Angelov has also signed a contract with several Netherlands companies covering technological training for Bulgarians who are going to set up a gas distribution system in his country. A next step, which could also mean orders for the Netherlands, will involve the construction of pipelines, control equipment, pumps, and compressors. The engineer Hans de Ruiter, the CEO [chief executive officer] of E&EN, believes that Netherlands energy companies like Gasunie, and the major distribution companies in this sector, can do far more to conquer a share of the East European market. "Look at what British Gas, Gaz de France, and German companies are doing in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. They pay for the first feasibility studies and then receive contracts as a matter of course." De Ruiter believes that the shareholders of Gasunie -- Shell and Esso -- are clinging to the brakes. As a result, the ideal envisioned by Prime Minister Lubbers, who saw a leading role being set aside for Netherlands companies with his energy plan for East Europe, is materializing slowly. Probably together with the Delft-based company Hagoort, Gasunie will advise Bulgaria on the storage of natural gas in an empty gas field to the north of Sofia. Bulgaria urgently needs a buffer of this kind, because the supply of Russian gas is being interrupted due to technical or political problems. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-58935_1 | Berlusconi Would Privatize Health, Pensions | colored cards that the candidates of the new party "Forza Italia" are committing to memory. In reading these cards, one gets the impression tht the only way to enter fully into the Berlusconian neofree-enterprise universe is to picture Italy as an enormous supermarket in which all citizens are basically potential consumers and are differentiated among themselves in terms of the differences in income that they individually represent. And so you have the superconsumers; the medium consumers; the anticonsumers (these are the worst, because they are that way ideologically, not because of their income); and finally, those who have little or no income: the very poor. Anyone who believes, however, that Berlusconi's proposed reforms are grimly classist in nature--as might appear at first sight--is mistaken. He also has an idea and a proposal to benefit the so-called new poor (estimated--in one study by the office of the prime minister--to number approximately 3 million citizens). For them, the Knight proposes the distribution of free "vouchers" (as they are defined in the "Forza Italia" programs), which resemble meal tickets except that they cannot be spent at lunch counters, to be sure, but at private clinics or in the very same USL's [local health units] which operate in merciless competition with the private clinics and all of which, in any case, require payment. Here is the great change that Berlusconi would like to make in the system: Welfare will no longer be the responsibility of the state and guaranteed to everyone; the very poor will have their vouchers, and the others will pay for their own health care by purchasing the best coverage they can obtain in the market. All of us should, therefore, become more judicious and think of the future, because Mother State that today provides for our health and our old age will gradually be dismantled. But will all Italians be foresighted enough to provide health care insurance for themselves? And who is giving a thought to the overconfident and the irresponsible? The truth is that Berlusconi has not neglected them either: his recipe is a kind of American-style free enterprise system (the one propagandized throughout the world during Ronald Reagan's reign), diluted by Milanese circumspection. Everyone--even the improvident--will accordingly be compelled to acquire--at their own expense--an insurance policy that will cover at least the major risks (accidents, serious illnesses, operations, and lengthy hospitalizations), as occurs today in the case of |
FBIS3-58937_0 | Defense Minister Comments on Europe, Bosnia | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Berlin (DDP/ADN) -- The "political revolution in Europe" is not yet over, in the view of German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe. Germany wants to contribute toward integration and cooperation with East and Central Europe very much in the spirit of the last NATO summit, through an international security policy conference entitled "Stability as a Pan-European Task," which began in Berlin today, the minister said prior to the start of the conference. As can be seen by the composition, with representatives of 14 European countries and the United States, this is a conference at the heart of Europe, "where -- as people used to say -- East meets West." This is also important for Berlin, Ruehe stressed. He knew of no better place, "when it is a matter of extending the stability we enjoy to all of Europe." Asked about a possible NATO mission in Bosnia, Ruehe said it is a matter for the United Nations to decide. In any event, things cannot continue as they have until now. The world organization has "to stand by what it has said." Germany has "a perfectly normal influence" on the United Nations, Ruehe said. The defense ministers of Denmark, Austria, and Slovakia, high-ranking officers and civil servants as well as leading academics, are taking part in the conference. They intend to work out specific steps for fashioning fresh political prospects in Europe. The individual rounds of talks at the German defense minister's official residence in Berlin will deal mainly with NATO and the European Union transfering stability, as well as central Europe's security expectations. The conference will conclude tomorrow with an exchange of opinions on European stability as a focus of Russo-American security interests. |
FBIS3-58938_1 | Weekly Describes Serbian, Libyan Ties | country. From Libya, Serbian trading activities are being extended to other countries in the Middle East and the entire world: from Cairo to Nicosia and via New York and Ottawa, as far as the Caribbean Cayman Islands. Succeeding the largest Yugoslav foreign trade concern, General-Export, which was dissolved in 1989, the Serbian syndicate now operates under the name of Genex. Acting in a manner that is a combination of gangsterism and secret service activities, 45 department heads and 200 former Communist Party functionaries are organizing the worldwide transfer of booty from the war in Bosnia and the laundering of money from criminal business transactions -- it is the main lifeline for the regime of Greater Serbian warlord Slobodan Milosevic. "Only this network of deals permits the financing of the war in Bosnia," reports a Belgrade agent who is tired of taking risks, "the secret reserves have been used up and the economy is on its knees." There is no doubt that the Serbian military apparatus consumes huge sums every month, the domestic defense industry lacks spare parts as well as electronic logistics, and the generals also are becoming increasingly worried about troop morale. With earnings of under $10 a month, there are fewer and fewer troops going to war voluntarily. Since the beginning of the year, most wages in Milosevic's poor house are being paid out in goods. Wage packets usually consists of 10 kilos of potatoes, as well as bread and milk coupons -- four-fifths of families live below the official poverty line. Inflation, which reached the surreal level of 1 million percent in December, has eliminated the last savings that people had. Milosevic was aware of what was happening at the beginning of the war: In view of the UN sanctions, the regime could only survive on dollars earned abroad through trade. Above all, Arab states that were founders of the nonaligned movement along with Tito's communist Yugoslavia, became important centers of activity for the Serbian leader. "We are running around there, the way the Italians used to in Chicago," says the Genex dissident. One important Genex center is on Cairo's Nile island Gasira. Retired Colonel D. Dragan Petronjevic, who represents the import-export company Direkcija za Robe Rezerve, a company that deals solely in parts for defense machinery lives there in a luxurious residence. Vladimir Jovanovic, military attache at rump Yugoslavia's Cairo embassy, is behind all the deals |
FBIS3-58938_4 | Weekly Describes Serbian, Libyan Ties | been transferred from states formerly belonging to the Soviet Union via Cyprus, a further $10 billion came from East Europe, and possibly as much as $5 billion from Serbia. Genex bosses already talk of Cyprus being a "financial parking place" that should be used, but with caution. That is because there are agents of all political colors there, from the CIA to pro-Bosnian Arab circles. That does not discourage Israeli arms dealers from also getting involved in Serbian business on the island. Jezdimir Vasiljevic, a Belgrade banker resident in Tel Aviv, has been running a lucrative deal benefiting both sides for over a year. Jewish firms have received prospecting rights for several gold mines in Serbia, and, in return, the Israelis are providing electronic equipment for military purposes. The bank accounts are being administered by Daniel Roman, president of the Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society based in the Cypriot capital Nicosia. Sofia, Bucharest, and Budapest also serve as centers for such activity. Genex trade representatives used the Bulgarian capital to arrange the purchase of Russian T-55 tanks worth $360 million, forged documents in Bucharest for the transportation of goods via the Danube, and in Budapest, they negotiated a long term contract, one that will extend until the year 2013, for the supply of 3.3 billion cubic meters of Siberian natural gas at a price of $270 million. However, the Genex traders nevertheless prefer business in the Arab world. It is easier to pull things off there and the profits are better. Thus, the weapons dealer Bekir Trhulij (whose nickname is Georgy) outbid the Russian and Slovakian competition to obtain handguns worth $290 million from the Lebanese Kataib Christian militia. Military equipment can be sold at a high price to buyers in Latin America and black Africa -- some items get back to the old country by way of the Danube. There was a second coup a few weeks ago: Along with his friend Copa Babic, nicknamed Peg Leg, Georgy supplied electronic equipment manufactured in Serbia under U.S. and Swiss licenses, worth $100 million to Saudi Arabia. During the Gulf War, he supplied 40 M-84 tanks, based on the Russian T-84, to the Saudis and thus gained their confidence. Through Riyad, he has thus been able to set up arms deals in all the regions of the world. That was at a time when official Belgrade was helping out Iraqi leader Sadam Husayn |
FBIS3-58938_5 | Weekly Describes Serbian, Libyan Ties | that will extend until the year 2013, for the supply of 3.3 billion cubic meters of Siberian natural gas at a price of $270 million. However, the Genex traders nevertheless prefer business in the Arab world. It is easier to pull things off there and the profits are better. Thus, the weapons dealer Bekir Trhulij (whose nickname is Georgy) outbid the Russian and Slovakian competition to obtain handguns worth $290 million from the Lebanese Kataib Christian militia. Military equipment can be sold at a high price to buyers in Latin America and black Africa -- some items get back to the old country by way of the Danube. There was a second coup a few weeks ago: Along with his friend Copa Babic, nicknamed Peg Leg, Georgy supplied electronic equipment manufactured in Serbia under U.S. and Swiss licenses, worth $100 million to Saudi Arabia. During the Gulf War, he supplied 40 M-84 tanks, based on the Russian T-84, to the Saudis and thus gained their confidence. Through Riyad, he has thus been able to set up arms deals in all the regions of the world. That was at a time when official Belgrade was helping out Iraqi leader Sadam Husayn with the same equipment: It was a double game that the Iraqi leader still holds against his Serbian friends. Relations between the two nonaligned states are strained. The visit that Zivota Panic, the former head of the general staff, paid in March of last year did not produce the fundamental change that had been hoped for. The Iraqis maintained their reserve vis-a-vis Belgrade, and Milosevic's wish to acquire Scud missiles and the know-how for long-range missile systems remained unfulfilled. Only by acquiring such weapons would Milosevic have been in a clear position to win the war in Bosnia -- Colonel Qadhdhafi in the role of mediator is Belgrade's new hope now. Time is running out. Research carried out by U.S. secret services indicates that Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Albanians are trying to develop international criminal syndicates. Milosevic's opponent in the war, Alija Izetbegovic, is organizing the supply of weapons through Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Algerian military government with apparent success. That, at least, is what the Muslim president has been suggesting. Over the last few weeks, his troops stopped the Serbian advance and gained substantial territory from the Croats. Izetbegovic's optimism provides some puzzles: "We will shortly succeed in beating |
FBIS3-58943_5 | Article Views Concern About Ostpolitik | therapy." One can only hope that the change in the government improves the disastrous mood in the country and thus, takes the "wind out of the sails" of Zhirinovskiy (Hornhues). Just prevent things from hardening -- that is the motto of Bonn's Russia policy. Carefully, but consistently Russia should be guided into the market economy with Western aid. At the same time, this dual strategy says, the security needs of the countries between the NATO area and Russia should be contented and their move toward European integration be speeded up. A tricky balancing act. Any shift of interest in favor of Moscow upsets Germany's neighbors in the immediate East. The Central European countries -- from Latvia to the Czech Republic and Croatia -- feel left in the lurch by the entire West, anyway. Their drive to get under NATO's military protective umbrella quickly is being slowed down by the Western powers. The Eastern countries have the impression that the World Bank and the IMF are applying double standards: While Warsaw and Prague have to fulfill strict conditions, the Russians get what they want. Disappointment about Bonn is greatest among the Poles and the Balts. Politicians and publishers in Warsaw already see the effects of an "appeasement ideology," which might lead to new brotherhood between Germans and Russians. Diplomats from Warsaw have noticed with great attention that Klaus Kinkel did not contradict his Russian counterpart, Kozyrev, who, in late December, enthusiastically spoke of the "German-Russian axis." They were also shocked when Kinkel spoke out against a Kohl visit to Poland at the moment on the grounds that Russia was more important. After the Balts also stepped up their criticism of Bonn's allegedly over-friendly attitude toward Moscow, Foreign Minister Kinkel invited his counterparts from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to Bonn for "consultations." According to staffers of Kohl, the chancellor is "still optimistic." Based on the trust in his sauna-companion Yeltsin, Kohl ordered in the Cabinet last week that the defense budget be cut from the planned DM48.6 billion to DM47.3 billion in "a haggle as in an Oriental bazaar" (Defense Minister Volker Ruehe). Helmut Kohl stressed in public: "I want Boris Yeltsin to succeed." Yet, the Federal Government is pursuing an austerity course in foreign policy, too. It no longer wants to issue blank checks for huge programs. Bonn's purse "is empty," as Kinkel put it: "Now it is the others' turn." |
FBIS3-58969_0 | * Toxic Waste From Continent Greatest Threat | Language: Norwegian Article Type:CSO [Article by Ole Mathismoen: "SFT Fears Hidden Environmental Catastrophe"] [Text] Norway's Pollution Authority [SFT] fears that the tolerance threshold for environmental toxins will soon be reached in Norway. "We are concerned. There are enormous gaps in our knowledge about the effects of environmental toxins. We know they are extremely toxic even in small quantities and that they become concentrated in the food chain and in nature because they fail to break down," said SFT Director Harald Rensvik. Yesterday SFT published its new comprehensive report on environmental toxins in Norway. The previous one came out six years ago. The main conclusions are clear: Norwegian emissions have been radically reduced since 1985. In the case of many environmental toxins, industrial spillage into the waterways has been reduced by more than 90 percent. Nevertheless, environmental toxins are a greater threat to nature and the health of Norwegians than ever before. The problem is that, once emitted, pollutants remain in nature, and with the constant influx of toxins from abroad, environmental authorities fear that the tolerance threshold will soon be reached. Although unable to predict what will happen, where it will happen, or when, environmental authorities know that serious environmental problems are developing in the natural world around us. We receive greater quantities of many of the most dangerous environmental toxins from abroad than we produce ourselves. The major portion is carried on the air and wind from power plants and industries on the continent. Some also come on the ocean currents. "Approximately four tons of cadmium is dumped on the Norwegian environment each year. Three of these come from other countries, while our own emissions account for just one ton. The proportions are similar for other toxins," said Rensvik. SFT says in its report that the work of reducing Norwegian emissions must continue. "We used the easiest and cheapest methods. The percentage that remains must also be eliminated if the fjords and nature areas ruined by Norwegian pollution are to be completely restored. There is still a long way to go before crabs can be fished out of the Frie Fjord. But it is entirely within the realm of possibility to get there," Rensvik said. While most Norwegian toxic waste has a concrete source that can be identified and cleaned up, it is harder in the case of foreign pollutants. Norwegian pollutants harm one end of a fjord or |
FBIS3-58969_2 | * Toxic Waste From Continent Greatest Threat | to go before crabs can be fished out of the Frie Fjord. But it is entirely within the realm of possibility to get there," Rensvik said. While most Norwegian toxic waste has a concrete source that can be identified and cleaned up, it is harder in the case of foreign pollutants. Norwegian pollutants harm one end of a fjord or the flora and fauna of a limited region. Pollutants from abroad are spread over the entire country by means of rain, wind, and ocean currents. This means that the authorities have limited knowledge of how long it will be until nature's tolerance threshold is reached: "In terms of climate, the Norwegian environment is in grave trouble. We fear that unforeseen harm can arise as a result of constantly increasing amounts of cadmium, mercury, and other environmental toxins that are out there," said Rensvik. The director of SFT points out that scientists know too little to say what will happen on the day the tolerance threshold is exceeded. But Rensvik can mention several possibilities: severe poisoning, species that become extinct, species that have problems with reproduction, mutations, injury to the nervous system. Because substances are concentrated in the food chain, they can affect people through eating such things as reindeer meat. "We conclude that Norway must continue to work for further reductions both at home and abroad. Because even though our own emissions have been cut down, the danger to Norway's natural resources has not been dramatically reduced," said Rensvik. The report reveals that scientists have discovered disturbing amounts of the environmental toxins PCB [polychlorinated biphenyl] and PAH [expansion unknown] in the Skagerrak trough and the Norwegian channels, in addition to the known quantities of imported pollutants. Recent investigations have also evidenced high concentrations of PCB's in the fatty tissues of polar bears and Arctic foxes on Spitzbergen. It is believed that PCB's can lead to a reduced capacity to breed, a weakened immune system, and behavioral disturbances--especially in sea mammals. The toxins congregate far from the source, and the effects of this are unclear. The reason why advisories have been issued to those who eat fish and shellfish caught in the fjords is because of earlier toxin emissions from Norwegian industries. For some of these fjords, the restrictions have been reduced. In the meantime, they have been expanded somewhat in other areas because new and better studies have been done. |
FBIS3-58977_2 | Ciller Cited on Russia, Greece, Kurdish State | and Greece? [Ciller] Disappointment awaits those countries that are not friendly to us. They will not get what they are after and will suffer enormous losses. I am stating this openly. I am saying this with a pride derived from being an Islamic country and a Muslim. They might threaten us and shout war cries, but they cannot give the slightest trouble to us. They will be the losers. I am not engaged in empty talk, and I am not issuing threats. We are an extremely powerful country. We are a very dynamic country in international forums. Threats are not the object of our power. No one should fear Turkey. I repeat, we will do what is required in case of any development to the detriment of Turkey's interests. Let them not harbor enmity, they will be sorry for it. [Acikel] Britain and France are working to establish an independent Kurdish state within Iraq. They want to use their power as big states. What will Turkey's stance be on this issue? [Ciller] We are opposed to the violation of Iraq's territorial integrity; we will not allow it. Those are oil regions. Any change or wrong move will set the place ablaze. Iraq's territorial integrity should be preserved not only for Turkey's interest but also for international stability. The creation of a Kurdish state will push that region into a historic mistake. World peace might be disrupted. Turkey is opposed to the creation of an independent Kurdish state; we will never allow it. [Acikel] Why were discharges from army service postponed for three months? Do you not think that those who completed their service to the country were adversely affected by this decision? [Ciller] As you can see, there are problems all around Turkey, undesirable developments are taking place. We extended the discharge periods to forestall painful developments. The situation in the north, west, and south is obvious to you. We could not have moved troops from our borders with Greece to the southeast, and from the southeast to our northern borders. We are thinking of Turkey's interests, and are protecting our people and country. We could not have pretended not to see these developments just because we are peace-loving and friendly country. To reduce the number of troops in these regions through discharges would have been a blow to our deterrent power. Neighboring countries might have taken advantage of it. |
FBIS3-58991_0 | Chirac, Juppe Refuse To Head EU Election List | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Paul Guilbert commentary: "The Shadow of the Presidential Election"] [Text] After Chirac, Juppe: The rejection by the president and then the secretary general of the RPR [Rally for the Republic] of the idea of heading the majority's list in the European elections, goes beyond reasons of personal comfort in both cases. "It is not the course I planned," the Chirac said. "I cannot see myself in that role," the Juppe said. If we add to this Edouard Balladur's variations on the theme, we quickly understand that the plan to attach no more than a European value to the June 1994 election, dissociating it from the presidential election, was pure otherworldliness, and that instead the calculations of strategy for the presidential election determined the motives for refusal or uncertainty by the various people. It is not the essential issue which is under debate: Everybody knows that the single RPR-UDF [Union for French Democracy] list is not only possible, but technically agreed, that the formal conditions laid down by Valery Giscard d'Estaing are scarcely in dispute, that there is a return to the commonsense thinking shown initially by the prime minister: How could people tasked with implementing the same policy in March 1993 put themselves forward on different lists one year later? Therefore the resolution to draw up a joint program, which could be drafted "in 15 minutes at the corner of a table," to cite Balladur, is merely a pretense: It enables, in the meantime, the clarification of what individuals symbolize, which is particularly important for what comes later. The Pros and Cons Why did Chirac, "approached" by his comrades, say no? What is interesting in his sudden reply is less the expected decision than his speed in ending the scenario. He could have allowed the pressure to mount, and maintain the suspense about his intentions. It is easy to imagine the debate between the pros and cons. Pro: The opportunity to return to the front of the stage, to end a tiresome wait, to bring his image into line with a heroic tradition of Gaullism, which brings him the unconditional support of the members. And also the opportunity to be seen as a unifying figure in the majority. Con: Becoming bogged down in bargaining among the parties and also the risk of failing in his demonstration of unity. It is important to remember that, of all |
FBIS3-58992_0 | Rocard Accuses Government of `Spineless Diplomacy' | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Editorial by Michel Rocard, former prime minister and Socialist Party secretary general, under the "Opinion" rubric: "France's Image Questioned: `Spineless Diplomacy Hurts France's Image'"] [Text] Sarajevo, Taiwan, Bern; what is the connection between these three distant places? Answer: A policy which is a disgrace to France. Let us review the facts. Sarajevo. General Cot, like all his predecessors, denounces the absurd conditions imposed on the troops he commands and whose dedication is nothing short of admirable. He has barely finished speaking when we -- government included -- unanimously proclaim our approval and our hope that his urgent warning will precipitate the Security Council meeting which will make the required decisions. What happens instead? Not only is the general prematurely discharged by the United Nations, but we hear that the government, which lauded him so last week, has agreed to the disciplinary measure this week! France keeps its mouth shut. Government Decisions Taiwan. A communique written in Beijing and endorsed in Paris tells us that France purely and simply aligns itself on mainland China's position and foregoes the relationship it had begun to establish with Taiwan. Forgotten, the Tiananmen massacre; forgotten, the human rights violations; forgotten, the fact that all other countries have managed to establish balanced relations both with Beijing and Taipei. The question would simply be to let it be known that under no circumstances would France condone any attempt from China to forcibly regain control of Taiwan, and that it is therefore committed to fulfilling the island's military needs. But China demands that France -- and only France -- give it its undivided attention. And France complies. Bern. Two Iranians facing murder charges in Geneva have sought refuge in France. Switzerland asks that they be extradited. The French Government quietly flies them off to Tehran. No explanation given. Not a word to the opposition, even though it was ready to listen to the language of national interest. Not a word to Switzerland, even though it was ready to listen to the voice of reason. But instead, a shady deal: "Free our executioners, and there will be no bombing in your country." Such a deal -- which is what France's friends are suspecting may have taken place -- is not only shameful, it is also ineffective. A deal with terrorists is always a fool's deal. I do hope that this is not what happened in |
FBIS3-58993_0 | Antiterrorist Police Arrest 10 Alleged PKK Supporters | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Marseilles, France, Jan 25 (AFP) -- Ten alleged supporters of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) were arrested here on Tuesday [25 January] on suspicion of extorting funds for the separatist organisation, which is banned in Turkey. Police, including officers from an antiterrorist unit, carried out the sweep following the arrest of the presumed head of the network on Monday. Police, who searched the homes of the ten, said the PKK contributions were "not always voluntary, violence was often used to get the money." |
FBIS3-58994_4 | * Economic Intelligence Model Outlined | might thus prove counterproductive in some cases. Moreover, the indispensable rules for protecting confidentiality constitute obstacles, in a number of cases, such that the sharing of the wealth contained in information is impossible. And so it is that overall the norms for classifying information in the public departments and the private sector, with all texts being drafted in isolation, constitute a jungle of prohibitions and procedures rather than a clear and consistent system adapted to the operational needs imposed by the new stakes in world economic competition. The difficulty is even greater if the problem is considered on the European level. The Europol project designed to combat the traffic in drugs is coming up against national regulations that are blocking the creation of a complete central index for the use of the police and customs authorities in all of the signatory nations. Thus, the government departments, which are oriented more toward the upper levels and toward themselves than downward, or even toward their neighbors, constitute in themselves the framework for constraints and major contradictions that are hindering the establishment of a state economic intelligence dynamic. In the majority of the enterprises, the absence of an economic intelligence background is reflected in numerous ways. The problems include the intermingling of espionage and open research (the only realm of interest to us here), the inadequate mastery of the realities in the war of competition, the resistance to the compartmentalization of sensitive intelligence because of the fear of internal repercussions on human relations, the difficulty of expressing information needs, the refusal to recognize that useful information has its price, the limitation of practical use to the single realm of technological oversight, the lack of awareness of the collective aspect of the problem on the part of personnel, and a decision-making process that gives the owner's intuition priority over a rational analysis of the factors involved. Within the context of the war of competition, these errors spell eternal doom for those enterprises--particularly those in the key industrial sectors--that fail to learn to correct the situation through the specific integration of economic intelligence, specifically in their patterns of thinking and their practice. In the banking sector, which is a pillar of the economy and the information crossroads, one must mourn the lack of a global apparatus for collecting and processing information. This is "each man for himself" elevated to a system that does not work |
FBIS3-59001_1 | French Senate: Schengen `Inapplicable' by 1 Feb | the German secretary of state to the Chancellery responsible for European questions, said yesterday morning that the elimination of identity checks at the borders of the nine European Union countries would have to be postponed again because it is "totally impossible on 1 February." The implementation of this agreement is encountering one main difficulty: The establishment of the Schengen Information System (SIS), the joint computer facility which should make it possible for the Schengen signatory states (namely the Twelve minus Britain, Ireland, and Denmark) to consult police and legal data. Paul Masson (Rally for the Republic, Loiret), chairman of the Senate fact-finding mission, blames "the dilution of responsibility," the "bad choice of technicians" responsible for designing the SIS, the conditions in which the contract was awarded, and the loss of control over technical tests. "The current failure of the SIS results from a series of dysfunctions in the Schengen system without it being possible to identify a single culprit," the report stresses. "The failure is collective. It is grave, serious, and bitter, and it undermines the credibility of an entire organization.... It is the system as a whole which must be reviewed." The Senators' disappointment is particularly great because France has launched a complex process of adapting its Constitution (twice), its legislation (six laws passed), and its regulations to conform to the Schengen agreement. Cornerstone The Senate mission also heard European Affairs Minister Alain Lamassoure on 11 January and he confirmed this assessment: "The internal legal provisions we have made in connection with the implementation of the Schengen convention will not be implemented on 1 February," the minister stressed, explaining that internal border controls and the police system would not be relaxed "until the Schengen convention is implemented." In the view of Xavier de Villepin and Paul Masson, the delay in the implementation of the SIS cannot be made up in less than a year. This computer network, costing 30 million francs (France contributed 26.8 percent of its financing), was designed badly from the start, and it is, in a way, "the cornerstone" of the Schengen agreement. The direct result of this is that all the joint policies drawn up in the Schengen framework (in the area of the right to asylum, the granting of visas, external border controls, airport equipment, combating illegal immigration, and drug trafficking) are blocked "for an indefinite period" creating "a major legal and technical vacuum." |
FBIS3-59008_0 | Postponement of Schengen Accords Expected | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Article signed ABS (ADB): "Expected Postponement of Schengen Measures Until Latter Half of Year"; as released by Brussels BELGA Database] [Text] Brussels, 14 Jan (BELGA) -- The implementation of the Schengen accords (Benelux, France, Germany) on exempting travelers from controls at stations, ports, and airports is unlikely to take effect before next July. Belgian aviation circles (Sabena, BATC, aviation authorities) and the European Affairs Ministry (office of Robert Urbain) expect this further delay following the postponement of deadlines set previously (1 November 1993 and 1 February 1994). The software of the central computer (in Strasbourg) containing vital programs for identification, formalities, and other control operations linked to the application of Schengen are apparently not yet perfected and do not permit a normal functioning of equipment. The decision has therefore been made in principle to postpone once again the application of the accords. But it is not until a meeting of the relevant European ministers -- scheduled for February -- that a decision may be made on the exact date for implementing the accords. It seems this date will be in the second half of 1994, according to a spokesman for Mr. Urbain. A Sabena spokesman believes the application of Schengen is now likely to be very close to the date for the final opening (next November) of the new Brussels-National air terminal, which would simplify the problem of making provisional arrangements in the old airport terminal to separate the flow of passengers coming from or going to the five Schengen countries. If there remains just a short period between the new date of entry into force of Schengen and the opening of the Brussels airport terminal, the aviation authorities believe a pragmatic solution could certainly be found, making it possible to apply the provisions of the accord (almost total elimination of the risk of fraud, and in particular the exchange of travel documents between Schengen and non-Schengen passengers) to a sufficiently effective degree for a few months. The Schengen accord is soon to be extended to include Portugal and -- in subsequent stages -- Greece and Spain, and finally the British Isles and Denmark. |
FBIS3-59017_0 | Regions Urged To Set Up Direct Links With EU | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Report by Ian Murray: "Regions Bypass Whitehall To Cash In on Helpful Brussels"] [Text] Britain's regions are being urged to use Brussels as "a Whitehall bypass" to promote projects that are blocked by central government. They believe bureaucrats in Brussels are more accessible and sympathetic than their own Government. Frustrated by the way in which government departments delay or refuse to support pet schemes, the regions are increasingly pleading their case directly with the European Commission instead of waiting for what they regard as half-hearted help by Whitehall. Regional power has been recognised and strengthened by the Maastricht Treaty which set up a Committee of the Regions with the duty to advise and consult the Commission. The first meeting takes place next month and many of the 24 British representatives joined a Commission conference in Lincolnshire last week to discuss tactics and hear complaints from local organisations about central government. Philip Jagger, of the TUC's [Trade Union Congress] Yorkshire regional council, summed up feelings. "We can hardly find anyone in Government to listen to us in London these days but in Brussels they are always prepared to give us time and help," he said. William Newton Dunn, Conservative MEP [Member of the European Parliament] for Lincolnshire, agreed. "If you put things through the British Government then you will often find it sells you down the river," he said. "They do their best to balance things but they are more concerned about achieving something else." Scotland and Wales, with their clear regional identities, have led the way in Brussels where the "Tartan Mafia" and the "Taffia" [Welsh mafia] are recognised within the Commission. They have their own offices in Brussels and their example has been followed in England by the North West, the West Midlands and Kent. Britain's nine other regions, designated after the Maastricht Treaty, are being actively encouraged to set up their own Brussels operations. Treasury sources at the conference urged delegates to learn quickly how to pull their weight. With Britain a net contributor of 2 billion pounds a year to the Community budget, the Treasury does not want to waste any chance of "getting our money back." "This is subsidiarity in action," one official said. In the short term these offices are likely to be more effective than the Council of the Regions, which has no powers yet and only a tiny budget. |
FBIS3-59019_0 | Industry Survey Confirms Steady Recovery in Economy | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Article by Phillip Coggan: "CBI Survey Affirms Steady Economic Recovery"] [Text] The UK economy is improving steadily with few signs of an upsurge in inflation, according to yesterday's Confederation of British Industry's [CBI] quarterly industrial trends survey. The survey endorses recent official data showing a pick-up in output and contradicts more gloomy reports, notably last week's survey by the British Chambers of Commerce. Positive trends found by the CBI include improved business confidence, an increase in manufacturing orders and output, and the first sign of an increase in investment in plant and machinery since July 1989. There appears to be continued downward pressure on costs with more manufacturers expecting to cut costs than at any time since the first survey in 1958. However, the CBI said it had two main areas of concern about the UK's economic prospects in 1994. The first was the tax increases and government expenditure cuts which "will remove a significant proportion of purchasing power from the economy." The second was the recent appreciation of the pound "which may well hold back export growth." Sir David Lees, chairman of the CBI's economic affairs committee, said "the survey alone would not indicate a need to relax monetary policy further." But in view of "the shadow of those tax increases," he thought it would be "necessary and desirable to reduce interest rates." Business confidence increased for the fifth quarter in succession, according to the survey. The number of firms which were more optimistic about business in general exceeded those which were less optimistic by 27 percent. This balance, which indicates the trend, compares with plus 1 percent in October. Optimism has been fuelled by an increase in output and orders. The balance of companies reporting an increase in manufacturing output was the highest quarterly figure since July 1989. |
FBIS3-59026_0 | Government Approves Agreement on Czech Border Traffic | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Bonn, Jan 14 (CTK) -- The German Government approved a Czech-German Agreement on Border Area Traffic today, the German Interior Ministry said. The document is ready for signing, the ministry said, adding that it enables people in both countries to cross the border into the other country regardless of official border crossings and to stay in the other signatory country's border area. The agreement includes third country nationals exempt from visa requirements for both of the two signatory countries and the European Union. The agreement is a sign of good relations between Germany and the Czech Republic, German Interior Minister Manfred Kanther said, adding he hoped it would spark development in the tourist industry and other kinds of enterprise in the area. The Czech Government approved a Czech-German Border Treaty on Thursday [13 January], Czech Government Office Spokesman Ladislav Pistora said, pointing out that the agreement on border area traffic approved by the German ministry is a separate and different document. Governments of neighboring countries conclude agreements on border area traffic as a matter of routine, Czech Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Lucie Pilipova said, adding that such documents include an arrangement on border facility maintenance. |
FBIS3-59042_0 | FRG's Kinkel on Turkey's Regional Role | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Ankara (DPA) -- Germany's Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel met Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller in Ankara today. He was also received by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. Kinkel held joint consultations beforehand with Douglas Hurd and Hikmet Cetin, his British and Turkish counterparts,. Kinkel said in Ankara that Bonn backed cultural autonomy for the Kurdish minority and firmly rejected frontier alterations in the region. He spoke in favor of a stronger regional role for Turkey, which was an important partner for Europe. Germany supported Ankara's efforts on the path toward the European Union (EU). The meeting with Hurd and Cetin, which was organized at Kinkel's initiative, also focused on developments in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Iraq. Kinkel said the talks highlighted Turkey's special role in Europe's new security structure at the frontier with Asia as well as between Christianity and Islam. Ankara would have to carry out domestic reforms in the field of justice, for example, and still had "a certain amount of homework to do," Kinkel said. In this context, he drew attention to the human rights situation, the Kurdish question, and the fight against the banned militant separatist organization PKK (Workers Party of Kurdistan), as well as to the burden that Islamic fundamentalism posed for the NATO state Turkey. He reaffirmed Germany's obligation to look after almost 2 million Turks, who must not, however, be allowed to settle political disputes on German soil. "My party and I support dual nationality as well as local election voting rights for foreigners, including citizens from countries such as Turkey, which are associate EU members," Kinkel said. |
FBIS3-59043_0 | UK, Germany Promise Support, Warn About Human Rights | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Ankara (DPA) -- Germany and Britain have promised support to Turkey, as an important country on the border between Europe and Asia, but also warned it to adhere to human rights. After talks with Douglas Hurd and Hikmet Cetin, his British and Turkish counterparts, Federal Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel underlined in Ankara today Turkey's role as a factor for stability in the region. Kinkel and Hurd stressed Turkey's increasing importance as a country "on the border between Europe and Asia, between a disintegrating communism and an Islam that has regained strength." Turkey should therefore be supported in its regional role, which is important for the stabilization of conditions in the region, Kinkel said. Kinkel, who also met President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Tansu Ciller as well as the national-liberal opposition leader Mesut Yilmaz, reminded Turkey to speedily implement the reform of the judicial system and improve the human rights situation. Turkey must conduct the struggle against the militant Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK) in line with democracy and principles based on the rule of law. "We are not speaking with an admonishing finger, but with a well-disposed view of Turkey," Kinkel said. Cetin said Turkey is conducting the struggle against the PKK in line with democracy and human rights. He confirmed that Hurd and Kinkel also raised the situation of the Orthodox Christians in southeastern Turkey. "However, it is not Turkey but the PKK which drove the Christians out of their villages, and the Christians themselves are calling on us to help them return to their villages," Cetin said. Kinkel and Hurd confirmed their adherence to the inviolability of the borders of the states in the region. "What we want is not new states, but cultural autonomy for the Kurds to enable them to preserve and cultivate their identity," Kinkel said. He spoke in favor of supporting Turkey in overcoming its problems and bringing it closer to Europe as a politically, economically, and culturally important partner. Other topics in the trilateral meeting, which, according to Turkish information, will be repeated in London this year, were developments in the Caucasus and in the Balkans. |
FBIS3-59052_3 | Russian Officers Reportedly Involved in Illegal Trading | Wuensdorf was suspected of smuggling cigarettes. While the final withdrawal of the troops, scheduled for the end of August, is approaching, greed amongst the WGT troops is on the increase. Military prosecutors are investigating the case of officers selling off a complete set of aerial photographs of the former GDR territory from the headquarters "topography section" to a Berlin company via middlemen. The 11,000 photographic plates on the scale of 1:22,000, were made in the early 1950's, and were used, among other things, to spot inherited environmental problems. The 48 crates were traded in return for a shipment of computers from Singapore worth 90,000 German marks [DM] -- a nice bargain for the Russians who are getting worried about their future: Later on, back home in Russia, a colonel has to make do with the equivalent of DM120 per month. Even more bizarre is a deal that is currently being investigated by the military authorities, and that again involves Lieutenant Colonel Golubev, who has established a trading company at Berlin-Karlshorst, together with other partners. Recently, Golubev received 17 wagons containing parts for prefabricated houses produced by the Russian Army. According to Army lawyers, the imports are to be sold as hunting lodges in Germany for DM50,000 each. The contract was signed by resigned Lieutenant General Maganov, the head of the Army's Hunting Club in the Moscow Defense Ministry. Another officer who profited from good German contacts is the former deputy chief of staff of the Western Group, General Lieutenant Leonid Cherbakev. He was deputy head of the Konversion Wohnraum [living space conversion] company, which also owns Army enterprises and WGT land. Investigators accuse him of trying to smuggle money and raw material out of the country in an Army aircraft last April, controlling the action from Moscow. When the load was checked, trading documents on weapons, raw material, and radioactive material were seized. Another officer accused of embezzlement and customs offenses is General Lieutenant Seliverstov, a former general with the WGT Air Force. Seliverstov is considered the organizer of a sensational transfer of presents: In 1992, via middlemen, WGT officers had procured an S-class Mercedes worth over DM150,000 for the leadership of the Defense Ministry and shipped it to Moscow. The moral decline within the troops makes their boss gloomy. "The vices of society," Grachev tells his Wuensdorf governor Burlakov in a telegram, "are seeping ever deeper into officers' circles." |
FBIS3-59060_0 | Restrictions on Exports Viewed | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report: "The Customers Stay Away"] [Text] Asylum experts in the Interior Ministry feel that they have been made fools of. The 7 May 1993 asylum treaty with Poland had already been settled, when the Federal Export Office (BAFA) performed its duty: It raised objections. The supply of night vision devices to Poland's Border Guard was a violation of the export ban on industrial goods that can be used for either civilian or military purposes ("dual use"). A German manufacturer of optical and electronic sensors started producing civilian rather than military goods ("conversion"). Instead of guidance systems, the optical sensors now guide probes used in medical endoscopy. His exports are a success. Israel is also a customer. However, German officials are placing massive obstacles in the way of delivering spare parts to Israel: The sensor technology could be converted to military use in the recipient country. Nothing but theory? German foreign economic policy knows better since German firms industrial equipment for the Libyan chemical weapons plant at Al-Rabitah. "Auschwitz in the desert," were the comments that William Safire, the NEW YORK TIMES columnist, made. Al-Rabitah and "civilian" German goods supplied to Iraq have led to controls on all "dual-use" exports to suspicious countries. The United States has deemed the effort "exemplary." Nevertheless, Bonn is not happy. Industry is using the economic crisis as a means of attacking excessive controls. They have resulted in "massive international competitive handicaps." That has drawn a positive reaction from the CDU/CSU [Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union] Bundestag group. The main advocate of a relaxation of controls is the spokesman on foreign policy, Karl Lamers. What has now given a new lease of life to the debate is the tug of war in the European Union (EU) regarding uniform export regulations for "dual use" goods. Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, FDP [Free Democratic Party], has doggedly been demanding that the strict German law should be recognized as being a national exception under EU law. The CDU/CSU is opposed, and the Federal Chancellery is vacillating. Lamer's parliamentary colleague, Andreas Schockenhoff says: "What is at stake is the ability of German industry to cooperate on joint projects with EU and NATO partners." In plain English: This does, of course, apply to what are solely defense projects. There are more and more reports from the aerospace and marine industries that German partners are no longer being |
FBIS3-59081_0 | Rehn Cited on EU Membership, Partnership for Peace | Language: Danish Article Type:BFN [Report on interview with Defense Minister Elisabeth Rehn, Swedish People's Party presidential candidate, by Maria Romantschuk in Helsinki; no date given: "Finnish `Queen' Wants To Be President"] [Text] Helsinki -- "My leadership will be synonymous with more openness. Hopefully we will be spared behind-the-scenes politics. I pay no attention at all to whisperings in the lobbies." So said Finnish Defense Minister Elisabeth Rehn, who is well on the way to making history. She is the first woman in Finland to have a real chance of becoming president -- the highest office in political life in Finland. A month ago few would have guessed that she would do well in the presidential election. Few believed this only two weeks ago, but then came the boom. Her star moved into the ascendant in opinion poll after opinion poll; she became a phenomenon. Her pet name of "Lillan" gave this boom the name of the "Lillan phenomenon." Suddenly many people realized -- and women in particular -- that there was a possibility of getting a woman placed at the absolute political summit. And this in a country where the president is not a ceremonial figure, but a person with real power, as in the United States and France. The Finnish president controls foreign policy and can do so without any interference. In the past the president alone could appoint the government and demand its resignation; now this happens to an ever increasing extent in consultation with the political parties and the Eduskunta. However, even today the president can express a wish for particular ministers. The choice of prime, foreign, and defense ministers normally happens in consultation with the president. Today the president no longer has the power to dismiss the government and dissolve the Eduskunta. The initiative must come from the prime minister. "Very different views are taken of the powers the president has, depending on who is the president. Some, in harmony with the constitution, have exercised great power. Others have not made use of the opportunities in the same way and have been relatively modest in their exercise of power," Elisabeth Rehn said in a special interview with BERLINGSKE TIDENDE. Rehn has followed the debate on whether Finland should have a woman president with some amusement and puzzlement, particularly that section of the debate which has speculated that a woman would would make less use of power |
FBIS3-59089_4 | Foreign Minister Pangalos Views Turkey, PKK | the crisis of 1987 erupted. [Pangalos] We did not start it. Look, even this discussion is ridiculous. All this should be settled in line with international rules. If there is a settlement, fine. If there is not, then the question must be taken to the International Court of Justice in the Hague and settled there. [Birand] Another development which disturbs Turkey is Greece's positive attitude toward the PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan]. While the PKK is being banned in several European countries, Athens is signaling that it will grant extensive freedoms to that organization. PKK militants can demonstrate in Athens and be active as political refugees. Greek parliamentarians frequently show their solidarity with the PKK. This situation greatly disturbs Turkey. Turkey describes Athens' attitude toward this most sensitive issue as a show of hostility. [Pangalos] The PKK does not base itself in Greece. We do not allow any political activity against Turkey. There are certain Kurds here. They have the status of political refugees as recognized by the United Nations. These people stage demonstrations. They have the right. Everybody has the right to demonstrate in the city. If they create incidents, they are arrested. It happened recently. Some of them hurled stones. They were caught, prosecuted and punished. [Birand] Is the PKK a terrorist organization or not? [Pangalos] Listen, there is a people living in southeastern Turkey. They want their identities to be recognized. If you can resolve this, the problem of terrorism will automatically be resolved. If, after that, persons emerge trying to use terrorist methods, they will be isolated in the community. [Birand] It is not that simple. They resort to extreme violence. Everybody knows that. While this happens, we turn to Athens and we see that the PKK is there. [Pangalos] No, the PKK has no official bureau here. You cannot find the PKK here. They cannot carry out any activities. There are Kurds here. Their representatives talk to the press on behalf of the Kurds, not on behalf of the PKK. Do not forget that we are not a police state. We cannot drag Kurds from the street, torture them, and interrogate them to find out if they are PKK members or not. [Birand] Another point that disturbs Turkey is the fact that Greece places obstacles in the relations between Turkey and the European Union [EU]. Under the pretext of the Cyprus problem, Greece tries very |
FBIS3-59094_0 | Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Reportedly Damaged by PKK Bomb | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Text] The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline sustained heavy damage after PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] militants bombed it last night. The damage to the pipeline, which was sabotaged at a point near the town of Cizre in Sirnak district, is estimated to be 500 billion Turkish lira. BOTAS [Turkish Pipeline Company] has started work on repairing the pipeline. [Begin correspondent recording] PKK militants who attacked two villages in Mardin Province on Saturday night massacred 20 citizens, eight of them children, using chemical gas. The PKK members attacked Cizre in Sirnak district the next day but were repulsed. One police officer was martyred during the clash. After being defeated in Cizre, the PKK militants bombed the crude oil pipeline at around 0100 this morning. A highly explosive bomb was used in the attack in the Duzova area between Idil and Cizre. Cizre, which lies 6 km away, was shaken by the force of the explosion. Smoke rising from the burning crude oil covered the Cudi Mountain and most of Cizre district. The fire was put under control when the valves were shut. The equivalent of 50,000 barrels of oil spread throughout the surrounding area and caught fire. Damage caused by the pipeline fire is estimated at almost 500 billion lira. [end recording] |
FBIS3-59095_9 | Delay of Army Discharges Viewed | result of escalating events in the southeast region. Statistics from 1993 indicated that, despite official statements, there was a 100 percent increase in the number of armed activities in that region and Kurdish separatism had claimed a twofold increase in lives that year compared to 1992. As Tolon put it, Turkey was seeking now to keep trained personnel at hand in the combat zone, especially before the military launches its massive crackdown. In the words of Interior Minister Nahit Mentese, winter operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are to continue with full steam in the coming days. And in the spring and summer, the "final blow" is to be delivered. As Golhan has put it, "We need trained soldiers for several months. We have ordered a freeze on the discharge of trained soldiers in view of the continuing domestic threat and the upcoming operations to be carried out in southeast Anatolia during the winter and spring." Thus, there is no doubt that the main reason behind the freeze is neither "the increased threat from Greece," as some papers have reported, nor the developments in the former Soviet republics. Perhaps these have had some influence on the decision, but the extension appears primarily as a result of domestic issues. Several issues ago, TURKISH PROBE had informed its readers that a countdown had begun for the southeast region and that by March 1994, there would be an immense operation in this trouble spot of Turkey. It now appears as though the operation is currently underway and may gain momentum in the coming weeks. March, though, is still the most crucial month. Not only because it is the month of "uprisings" for the PKK, but also because all developments during that month are to affect the whole of Turkish democracy, most probably to be reflected in military appointments, promotions and retirements in August. During the debate over military service, one "leak" to the press was of interest to the outside observer, although the military later denied its authenticity. According to several reports in large circulation newspapers, along with the extension of military service, "all resignations and retirements from the Armed Forces" had also been frozen. This is indeed not true -- for the time being. But cynics say there may be a reason behind such a "leak." Perhaps it was aimed at putting the possibility into the heads of millions of |
FBIS3-59101_1 | U.S. Bosnia Policy Ascribed To Lack of Vital Interests | is causing problems for Bosnia's Serbian and Croatian armed forces. As in May 1993, the United States is still in favor of lifting the arms embargo which is affecting Bosnia -- a measure to which the European countries which have sent contingents to the former Yugoslavia are still hostile. If the UN bodies agree, Washington will not oppose the use of air strikes to break the stranglehold on Sarajevo, reopen Tuzla airport, and free the city of Srebrenica, but is, however, completely opposed to sending American troops to Bosnian soil to impose a settlement. The French officials clearly did not expect such an outright rejection. There was "misunderstanding" or "misinterpretation" of our position, the Quai d'Orsay [Foreign Affairs Ministry] said on Tuesday. We did not ask for U.S. military intervention and we did not put forward a new plan for a conference; we simply asked them to support a political plan and to accept increased cooperation with the Europeans and the Russians who, within the Security Council framework, are increasingly clearly opposing the use of force against the Serbs. And the question was asked: "How can the Americans refuse this dialogue?" The Twelve's plan, it was added, is not "intangible." Although the Bosnians must be deterred from reviving the war, pressure must be envisaged on the Serbs to make them concede certain regions to the Muslims without which their territory would not be "viable," and on the Croatians to accept that the Bosnians should have access to the sea. But these geographical changes in a plan which is changing constantly, because each side is trying to maximize its profits and minimize its risks, cannot be entrusted to the result of armed conflict. A resurgence of the fighting would place the UN Protection Force troops in an impossible situation which would result in their withdrawal. But it is clear that for Washington, which only has a few hundred men in Macedonia, the Bosnian crisis does not require an urgent decision, because it does not threaten any vital American interest: Bosnia, from this viewpoint, is much more similar to Lebanon than to Kuwait. A top U.S. official passing through Paris, who does not wish to be named, said on Tuesday morning that pressure must naturally be brought to bear on the Serbs and Croatians, but the best means of pressure is still the force of Bosnian arms. And, after once again mentioning |
FBIS3-59118_2 | Trade Prospects With Australia Viewed | recent deals -- such as Tate & Lyle's 325 million Australian dollar purchase of Bundaberg Sugar, or United Biscuits' acquisition of Smiths Snackfood -- have sustained the UK's relative position, while the U.S. share of foreign investment in Australia has slipped and Japan's has grown. The steady deregulation and privatisation of Australian industry has also thrown up new opportunities which UK companies -- in some cases recently privatised themselves -- have been prone to seize. BT's telecommunications contract with the New South Wales government or British Airways' minority stake in Qantas are cases in point. From an Australian point-of-view, then, the British interest holds out the possibility of new capital and, to some extent new jobs. At a time when the unemployment rate is in double-digits, Japanese investment is at low ebb and the smaller Southeast Asian countries have yet to show much interest in placing their funds in Australia, this is welcome. Arguments put forward by British trade officials for the continuing interest in Australia are more subtle. They like to stress the possibility of using the country as a route into the Asian markets, a thought which the Australian trade lobby eagerly encourages. "There's a comfort level," says David Richard, senior trade commissioner at Austrade. He cites the nations' similar legal systems, the availability of professional services in Australia, the pleasant climate, and so on. For British companies with existing operations in Australia, there is some merit in this argument. The Allen report, for example, cites the experience of P&O (Australia), whose container handling, distribution, catering, maritime and port management arms all have expanding interests in Southeast Asia. But for companies seeking to set out a stall in Asia for the first time, the merits of the Australian route are more debatable, and even British trade officials admit it is a matter of "horses for courses." The downside is that, while Sydney or Melbourne are within the "Asian time zone," they still face a three-hour time difference with most Southeast Asian countries. A flight between Sydney and Bangkok, say, takes eight hours. Moreover, while Australia has been moving to reduce its tariff barriers, restructure labour market practices, and shed its bureaucratic image, this process is not complete. Then there is investment by Australian companies in Britain. This has increased sharply over the past decade, after the removal of exchange controls, and amounted to about 15.9 billion Australian dollars |
FBIS3-59128_0 | Police Seize Evidence from Right-Wing Extremists | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Berlin/Bonn (DPA) -- In large-scale raids against right-wing extremists mainly in Berlin, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, police today seized evidence. Flats in Lower Saxony and North-Rhine Westphalia belonging to members of the "Direct Action/Middle Germany" group were also searched and the contents of post office boxes were seized. According to the security services, the organization pursues right-wing extremist and anticonstitutional goals. The group emerged from the "Middle German Youth Association" (FMJ), which originally saw itself as a "mass organization" to complement the "cadre and elite party" "Nationalist Front" (NF). The NF was banned on 26 November 1992. According to the Interior Ministry in Bonn, the activities of "Direct Action" are particularly concentrated in Brandenburg, where it has about 100 members. German Interior Minister Manfred Kanther said in Bonn the investigation demonstrated once again that the German Government was determined to fight extremism in close cooperation with the federal states. People who engaged in extremist violence and caused incitement to racial hatred would be countered with the full force of the law. The interior senate administration [Interior Ministry] said written documents and diskettes were found in Berlin during the search instigated by the state of Brandenburg and the city of Berlin. The documents are said to contain information regarding the group's organization and membership. A spokesman for the State Criminal Investigations Office said 43 items of written propaganda material were also seized in Brandenburg. The searches in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania focused on the town of Neubrandenburg. |
FBIS3-59141_1 | Editorial Views Clinton's State of Union Address | world, but the economy is our fate." With these words, the foreign minister, who was murdered by the Nazis, anticipated several cubic meters of political literature: A purse that is doing all right is a nice pillow to rest on for those in power. But if the man in the street gets the feeling that his material existence is suffering in line with the economy, the ballot paper turns into a letter of dismissal. Whether chancellor or president, with the economy going down, they may have to go. George Bush had to experience this. In March 1991 he was still the glorious winner of the Gulf War (with an approval rate of 91 percent), and in November 1992 he was the loser in a domestic war called "presidential elections." "Not the world, but the economy," was, therefore, the unwritten motto of this year's State of the Union Address, which the president gives on Congress' return from winter recess. Of the total 11 pages, only one and one-half were on foreign and security policy; the rest concerned domestic and economic policy. The speaking notes were full of success figures: 1.6 million new jobs in the private sector alone during Clinton's first year in office; the tackling of the seemingly eternal budget deficit, that -- according to Clinton -- will be only 180, instead of 300 billion next year; the cutback on bureaucracy; the removal of trade barriers in North America; the plans for a general health insurance. Today, the "state of the nation" looks as if Clinton might come out with flying colors in the 1996 election year -- at the height of an economic upswing, the most secure basis for reelection that the Democrats know. But there is another reason why things are better in America, and this has something to do with the electoral system. In practice, this system creates more frequently clear-cut majorities than the German one. In a majority voting system you tend to have two parties, one in power, the other in opposition. Proportional representation, on the other hand, creates many parties, and thus the need to form coalitions. This obviously does not bring about any clear mandates for change, but compromise cabinets maintaining the status quo. In good times, the Germans, the Europeans, were quite well advised with this system. But when there are fires burning everywhere, coalition governments are not an effective fire brigade. |
FBIS3-59168_0 | PKK's `First Time' Use of Toxic Explosives Noted | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] A group of Workers Party of Kurdistan [PKK] terrorists killed 20 people, including four village guards, in two villages in Mardin's Savur district. For the first time, the terrorists used toxic explosives to attack the villages. Two PKK groups attacked Ormancik and Akyurek at about 2000 last night. The village guards resisted and clashes continued until the early hours of the morning. Several women and children gathered in a house during the clashes. The PKK terrorists fired on the house and threw hand grenades and toxic explosives into the building before leaving the area. Several explosions occurred in the house. Officials have said that 15 people were killed and eight others, affected by the explosives, were taken to hospital to receive medical treatment. A 12-year-old child died en route to the university hospital in Dicle. The officials said that two terrorists were killed in the clashes. They also said that for the first time, the PKK militants used toxic explosives in their attacks on the villages. But they declined to reveal the type of explosives or their effectiveness. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-59232_0 | Air Force Operation Into Northern Iraq Detailed | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Announcer-read report over video] [Text] Air Force Command warplanes carried out an operation against the Zhalah camp of the terrorist PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] organization in northern Iraq. Heavy losses were inflicted on the PKK terrorists in the camp, who are believed to number around 1,600. Fifty F-16 and F-4 warplanes, one reconnaissance plane, and five helicopters took part in the operation. The warplanes made 52 sorties during close to 30 minutes. They dropped a total of 132 bombs, including cluster bombs and 500- and 2,000-pound bombs. The photographs taken at the end of the operation show that the camp administrative units, as well as the ammunition depots and shelters, were destroyed. The planes returned safely to base. At a briefing at the General Staff Headquarters this morning, Admiral Attila Tuzman, acting deputy chief of the General Staff, and Lieutenant General Ali Gullu, Air Force staff commander, discussed the details of the operation. [one-minute indistinct passage] Prime Minister Tansu Ciller went to the General Staff Headquarters this morning and was briefed on the operation. [Begin Lt. Gen. Gullu recording] At 0600 [0400 GMT] this morning, two reconnaissance planes took off, and from 0700 to 0710 reported that the meteorological conditions were suitable for the offensive. Our honorable chief of the General Staff then declared that we could begin the offensive. Our planes began to take off at 0810. The offensive began at 0900 and lasted until 0928. At 0936, the last air photograph of the region was taken and the mission ended. All our planes returned safely to base after successfully fulfilling their mission. On the basis of the reconnaissance results, we will resume the operation whenever ordered. [end recording] |
FBIS3-59233_0 | Ciller: Air Strike `Political Decision' | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [News conference by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller at the chief of the General Staff's Office on 28 January -- recorded] [Text] At 0900 this morning, our Air Force hit the Zhalah camp. As you know, the Zhalah camp recently replaced the al-Biqa' Valley. The terrorists were being trained and sheltered in this camp, and they were providing logistics support to the PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] organization in Turkey. Approximately 1,600 terrorists were nestled there. We also received intelligence information to the effect that the leaders of the PKK were among these terrorists. We also know that of the 1,600 persons, approximately 300 were armed, female militants. Our Air Force launched an operation at 0810 this morning. Our planes took off and the Zhalah camp was bombed at 0900. This operation will continue. To my satisfaction, I was informed a while ago that the operation was completely on target. This was a political decision, and it had to be made. As I stated earlier, 1994 must be an important turning point in the struggle against terrorism. In order to turn 1994 into a year in which terrorism is placed under control, we, on one hand, waged our struggle abroad on a diplomatic level by explaining our just cause and, on the other, displayed our political determination today by hitting the Zhalah camp, which had become the most important region providing logistics support for the PKK. |
FBIS3-59247_2 | New Balladur Stability Pact `Anodyne' | horrifying prospect for many East European states and an idea which, interestingly, was also rejected by the Hungarians, the nation traditionally thought to have most to gain from any border revisions. Furthermore, the French were initially vague about U.S. participation in the plan, so heightening suspicions that their main aim was still to drive a wedge between Washington and the Europeans. Finally, the implication that, once the East Europeans had concluded bilateral treaties, these could be upheld by Brussels raised the spectre of security guarantees of the worst kind: ones given by an institution--the EU--that still has none of the necessary military instruments. Much of the criticism was unfair. Balladur did not advocate territorial revision; he merely wanted the possibility of frontier adjustments kept under review, should it be contemplated by the negotiating parties themselves--a principle that already exists in international law. Moreover, the French never suggested that, in return for signing stability treaties, the East Europeans would be offered security guarantees. Nevertheless, the mere mention of this possibility elicited universal criticism, an indication of just how little the French thought through the implications of their ideas. Unabashed, however, Balladur applied the approach that has by now become his trademark: dogged determination, coupled with occasional pragmatism. And he was helped by the British who, though harbouring grave reservations about the proposal, did everything possible to accommodate him. A team comprising the brighter bureaucrats in the European Commission in Brussels ultimately ironed out the differences and the Americans were kept informed. The result was the stability pact, adopted by the Union weeks before NATO's summit stole the limelight. Gone are all implicit references to the possibility of territorial revision, security guarantees, or conditions for eventual EU membership. Instead, the pact envisages a process of consultation, bilateral and multilateral, starting with a summit in Paris this April. After the initial meeting, individual East European governments will be expected to discuss their problems with each other, with the Union standing ready to help when required. Further, since the process is an exercise in preventing future, not existing wars, the republics of former Yugoslavia are to be excluded. Although no final list of countries concerned has been provided, it is clear that the process will involve primarily the six countries of Central and East Europe that have signed a treaty of association with the Union, but it will also involve some neighbouring countries, the |
FBIS3-59248_0 | Rabin Addresses Council of Europe | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed article: "Rabin Addresses Council of Europe"; as released by Brussels TEXTLINE database] [Text] Mr. Rabin tells the Council of Europe assembly that "I come from Jerusalem to tell you that the government of Israel yearns for peace... Israel will be very forthcoming in its quest for peace, but it will not compromise on its security. As chief of staff during the Six-Day War, I promised myself that I would be the last commander of the Israel Defense Forces who would have to face untenable borders... If we have security, we will also have peace." Thus, Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Rabin, addressing the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe on Wednesday [26 January]. Mr. Rabin added that he was convinced that "temporary setbacks and difficulties in our negotiations with the PLO will not stop us from reaching an agreement. We do not have any territorial designs in Lebanon and our problems with Jordan could be solved fairly easily. However, Lebanon will not budge without Syria's blessing," asserted Mr. Rabin, who noted that "our negotiations with Syria have been, since their beginning, serious and open, and progress has been made." The Prime Minister called on President al-Asad to "walk the extra mile to meet us in the middle of the road for peace." Mr. Rabin also requested Europe to "increase its involvement in the peacemaking process" because Europe's support can consolidate peace in its real dimension: open borders, free movement of goods and people, coexistence and cooperation. The prime minister nevertheless said he feels a certain "ambivalence" in the European attitude toward Israel and would like to see more understanding concerning his country's political positions, security concerns and economic needs. For years, he said, "we have heard sermons and advice" but only a small minority of European states have taken concrete steps to eliminate the Arab boycott. In his view, no one would have dreamt, after the progress achieved in recent months, that the boycott would still be used as an "illegitimate weapon against Israel." Regarding the new agreement the European Union is to negotiate with Israel, Mr. Rabin affirmed that it must take account of Israel's ability to contribute to the economic activity of Europe and said "Israel's role as a stabilizing factor and locomotive for growth in the region cannot be minimized." |
FBIS3-59250_0 | European Cogeneration Technology Association Established | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed article: "Environment -- Six Member States Set up Cogen Europe (Association for Promotion of Cogeneration Technology (CHP) Throughout Europe)"; as released by Brussels TEXTLINE database] [Text] The Cogen Europe association has been set up to promote the implementation throughout Europe of cogeneration schemes, a technology of certain ecological interest and allowing major savings of primary energy, which is also known as CHP (combined heat and power). It was launched this month with the support of six member states (UK, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France and Greece) and with the financial aid of the Energy Directorate of the European Commission. Its first chairman is Ton van der Does, director of the Dutch CHP office. Cogen Europe, with its main office in London, will have the task of: (a) identifying the regulatory and institutional barriers to cogeneration development in Europe and acting to reduce them at the policy level; (b) collaborating on relevant issues with other key European energy associations and industries; (c) quantifying the potential for cogeneration in Europe. Speaking at the launch, Mr. van der Does said that the association will work toward better cooperation between key actors in the European energy scene in order to "establish a clear and positive policy framework for cogeneration." "The Brussels institutions now have a professional and focused organization with which they can work to resolve the many challenges facing cogeneration in the 1990s," he continued. The creation of this association, he feels, reflects the absence of clear recognition by EU and many national policy makers of the significant benefits of cogeneration schemes, whether industrial, small-scale or city-wide. While conventional power generation is often only 35 percent efficient (up to 65 percent of the energy potential being released as waste heat), cogeneration technology stops this by using the heat for industry, commerce and home heating. Cogeneration therefore increases the overall efficiency of energy use -- up to 85 percent and beyond -- giving primary energy savings of about one-third. |
FBIS3-59255_5 | Article Reviews Western Economic Policies I. Emphasize Stimulating Economic Growth; Besides Monetary Policies, Attention Is Focused on Fiscal Policies, Especially Direct Government Investments II. Putting Industrial Policy on the Government's Policy Agenda III. Trade Management Has Become the Theme of the West's Trade Policies | interests while the rise and fall of industries should be determined by the market. Although some European countries and the United States have at times adopted policies to help certain industries, they have mostly been in the form of assistance and not direct promotion, and they have never been systematic. Since the late 1980's, the end of the Cold War has made economic competition, especially competition in science and technology, the focal point of international relationships. Amid the intense competition, Japan, which has a clear industrial policy, has seized the upper hand, and increasingly European and American industries are unable to compete. This is demonstrated by the large trade deficits against Japan and the fact that they are gradually losing ground to Japanese advanced technologies. In 1992, the United State ran up nearly $50 billion in trade deficits against Japan, which accounted for more than half of its foreign trade deficits. The European Community also has more than $30 billion in trade deficits against Japan. Faced with Japan's overwhelming offensive, and upon studying the Japanese government's success with the development of its automobile, electronics, and computer industries, advocates of European and U.S. industrial policies believe that the "market economy by itself cannot nurture industries deemed vital to the national economy, and therefore the government must intervene." To win in future economic competition and come out ahead in international competition, European and American governments have formulated important industrial development policies and plans, the most important of which are: 1. Setting up specialized government agencies to lead and coordinate national scientific research work. U.S. President Clinton has already proposed the setting up of a federal science, engineering, and technology coordination committee to plan government-funded R&D projects. The committee will be headed by the President's science and technology adviser and chairman of the White House Science and Technology Policy Office. The European Community Committee proposed a new set of scientific research guiding principles in March of this year which suggested setting up a technical assessment agency responsible for coordinating regional, national, and European Community tasks to strengthen the integration of their scientific and technical work. 2. Putting the emphasis on high-tech industries. With the constant development of science and technology, what determines the comparative advantage of a nation in terms of its ability to compete is no longer natural resources but scientific and technological resources. Therefore, a policy on science and technology has |
FBIS3-59259_4 | Liu Guoguang Interviewed on Role of Foreign Banks | mechanisms, and technical equipment. Therefore, foreign banks hold a marked advantage in both their operation and the attraction of capable people. Practice in China during recent years shows that in areas and business fields that foreign banks have entered, such as the international clearing business and the foreign exchange credit business, China's domestic banks have been stricken in varying degrees. This has showed up in a fall off in business volume, a loss of customers, and the flight of skilled personnel. If foreign banks are permitted to do business in the renminbi, the predicament of the domestic banks will be even worse. These are inescapable facts. From this point of view, I feel that some people's worries about the wolf coming make sense. They should not be regarded as groundless fears. On the other hand, we must realize that what follows from the influx of foreign banks is not all negative. There are many positives. For example, the presence of foreign banks will make it easier for domestic banks to learn sophisticated foreign bank management methods and the newest business techniques. This will enhance the domestic banks' ability to provide services, and to upgrade domestic finance and banking in terms of management, service, and skills. it will help increase the competitiveness of domestic finance and banking institutions, enliven financial markets, and accelerate the modernization of domestic finance and banking. It will also help develop new financing methods and bring in foreign capital. It will increase Sino-foreign economic and technical cooperation, and it will promote the integration of Chinese finance and banking with world finance and banking, etc. The benefits are numerous. At the same time, we must also realize that as the lifeblood in operation of the national economy, finance and banking truly power the national economy. It is also for this reason that even nations that have opened their financial markets to the outside world have instituted strict and effective control over foreign banks. Cases in point are Japan and South Korea, which have strict regulations regarding the sphere of business of foreign banks. Australia and Malaysia likewise have strict restrictions on foreign banks establishing branches in their countries. The current situation in China suggests implementation of a limited and gradual deregulation of the sphere of business and the operating area of foreign owned banks. The "Shanghai Foreign Owned Finance and Banking Institution and Sino-Foreign Joint Venture Finance and |
FBIS3-59260_0 | ECONOMIC DAILY on Merits of Tax Sharing System | Language: Chinese Article Type:CSO [Article by Gao Shusheng (7559 2579 3932): "The Tax Sharing System Is Spreading Like Wildfire"] [Text] As fiscal system reform is playing a very key role in China's reform process, the significant new fiscal reform measures that are going into effect are arousing widespread attention in all circles. As fiscal macroeconomic regulation and control capability is being tightened, particularly over central finances, the tax sharing system reforms that "seem ready to happen" have naturally become the focus of attention of people in all walks of life. "Down With the Package" Has Become a Militant Slogan Is China now capable of carrying out tax sharing system reform? Theoretical circles have not yet reached a consensus on this. One of the focuses of the debate is how to assess the fiscal package system. Academics who strongly oppose the tax sharing system fully affirm the merits of the fiscal package system, holding that it helps to stimulate local fiscal initiative, while those who favor implementing tax sharing as quickly as possible strongly attack the current fiscal package system, on which grounds they promote tax sharing system reform. These latter hold that while the fiscal package system has pros, such as package figures being simple, clear, and easy for all to grasp, its many existing practical defects fully prove that it has completed its hstorical mission. Scholars who favor tax sharing system reform list the following major defects of the fiscal package system: 1. Fiscal package bases are set irrationally, protecting vested interests, creating "injustice and taking more from the best," and further widening the interregional economic and social development gap. 2. The local revenue package weakens tax regulation capability, reinforces "regionalism" and "feudal separatism," and blocks commodity circulation and the formation of a uniform market. 3. The fiscal package slants revenues toward localities, leaving state revenues, particularly central ones, without strict guarantee and oversight mechanisms, and creating a severe loss of central revenue. 4. The fiscal package contributes neither to the thorough conversion of government functions or to genuinely pushing enterprises toward the market, while causing local governments to guide the disposition of resources unilaterally in the interests of increasing local revenues, which leads to duplicate production, construction, and importing, as well as to wars over all types of raw materials and to the assimilation of local industrial structures. 5. The fiscal "separate kitchens" results in localities haggling with |
FBIS3-59261_2 | Commentator on Personal Income Tax Reform | countries as a reference. 1. Efforts have been made to expand the sphere of the Individual Income Tax Law to include Chinese citizens, foreigners and self-employed industrial and commercial establishments into a single uniform individual income tax law. 2. In accordance with international practice, the concept of "resident" is introduced to differentiate the taxpayers' limited liabilities from their unlimited ones in paying taxes. 3. Five more taxable items have been added according to the actual situation in social and economic life. They are "incomes of self-employed industrial and commercial establishments in production and business," "income of institutions and enterprises from their contracted and rental businesses", "income from the transfer of properties," "income from authors' remuneration" and "unexpected incomes." 4. Tax burdens have been properly adjusted. The tax rate table for income tax from wages and salaries is divided into nine steps instead of six steps. The "Decision" stipulates that self-employed industrial and commercial establishments in production and businesses must pay income tax at progressive rates ranging 5 to 35 percent levied on their income in excess of specific amounts. Those who are paid extremely high remunerations for a certain type of work may be asked to pay higher income tax on a percentage basis. In addition, people are allowed to deduct from their income taxes the amount of their donations to education or public welfare funds. 5. More items have been added for tax exemption in accordance with the state of affairs in China. It is important to enact a good tax law, but even more important is that we must do a good job in enforcing such a law and ensure that laws are observed, that their enforcement is strict and that law breakers are dealt with. To levy the individual income tax constitutes an important means of the state in strengthening its macroeconomic control. We must earnestly carry out this work in levying and collecting the individual income tax. This law directly affects the distribution of individual benefits. It is an important issue of policy, and it involves many aspects of life. It is difficult to levy and enforce this law. In enforcing this law, the tax authorities must not only work hard, but also acquire the full understanding and support of the large number of taxpayers and people in all sectors of life in society. It is for this reason that the local party and government leadership |
FBIS3-59263_0 | Article Suggests Countering Antidumping Actions | Language: Chinese Article Type:CSO [Article by Zhang Yuqing (1728 3768 0615) of the Treaties and Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade: "New Trends in Foreign Antidumping Actions Against China's Export Products"] [Text] On 7 July 1993, the U.S. Department of Commerce gave its final judgement on the antidumping case of nodular cast iron tubes exported by China, deciding to levy a high antidumpting tax of 127.38 percent on all such products of Chinese export enterprises. Thus, this product of China's will be completely squeezed out of the U.S. market. Before 1988, on the antidumping issue the U.S. Department of Commerce, because China was a country with a centrally planned economy, decided to levy an antidumping tax in line with a standard tax rate, on a Chinese enterprise that was ruled as exporting a commodity in a manner that constituted dumping. After 1988, changes were made in this U.S. policy: Provided that a Chinese import or export company could prove that in a given enterprise, in both law and fact, there did not exist government control, the U.S. Government could, in line with the difference in the export prices of the commodities of different companies, separately lay down different antidumping tax rates. For example, in the May 1991 electro-optical fireworks case and other cases, the U.S. Department of Commerce gave rulings according to separate tax rates. However, after Joseph Spetrini, new acting chief of the International Trade Management Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce, took his post, changes were made in this policy. The signed ruling on this states: "In the investigations and administrative reviews of the past, separate tax rates were always applicable, but the Department of Commerce has not yet differentiated on the basis of ownership and export businesses; state ownerhsip is not a barrier to the obtaining of a separate tax rate by an export company. We have now reconsidered this policy and have decided that it is improper to give separate tax rates to state-owned enterprises. We have determined that an entity owned by the central government cannot be completely divorced from the central government's control, and that state-owned enterprises provide an opportunity for the central government to control prices. Therefore, with regard to future investigative cases and administrative reviews, the Commerce Department will not consider the request of a state-owned enterprise for a separate tax rate." This ruling was filled with extreme |
FBIS3-59264_6 | Comprehensive Family Planning in Impoverished Areas Major Characteristics of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas The Current Situation Regarding Comprehensive Handling of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas | cadres and employees. They also attack people and matters which damage family planning work and forcibly enforcing the policy with "nail families" and "nut families" who have had excessive births; major administrative departments, including industrial and commercial, civil affairs, urban construction, insurance, revenue and expenditures, auditing, etc. have all performed certain functions in supporting family planning work; functional departments including planning, statistics, health, family planning, etc., have all made massive contributions to enforcing the population plan, supervising implementation policies, supply services, adopting birth control measures, etc. So we can say, the framework for handling family plan work in impoverished areas has been initially formed. C. The single-vote denial system for family planning has been implemented to a certain degree. In order to implement the basic national policy for family planning, some Party and administrative departments in the impoverished areas have implemented the single-vote denial system to a certain degree and scope. For example, in Liuling County, of only 40-some cadres promoted in the past year, 15 had their eligibility cancelled because of excessive births; when the education department was involved in converting compensated volunteer teachers to regular State employees, 18 of these people were turned down for family planning reasons; the land department denied approval to 57 excessive birth counters' land applications for housing construction; the operations management department took back grain rationed land and contracted land from 265 families with excessive births. In addition, some localities combined the single-vote denial system with such matters as small valley management, orchard contracting, extension of credit, competition in submitting tenders, etc. There is no doubt that these steps played a positive role in family planning work in the impoverished areas. D. Some counties and towns have issued a series of social and economic policies favorable to family planning work. In recent years, in accordance with the Central Party and government's spirit of family planning "decisions", many impoverished areas have put developing the economy and controlling the population in the same position of importance, linked them with the actual situation of the localities, and issued some social and economic policies which were favorable to family planning work. Some examples: in Shelou County, when the small valley management policy was published, the ability to practice family planning was factored in, which resulted in favorable treatment for over 2,000 families; Lang County took as its overall concept "possessing land, this life resource, blocking the big |
FBIS3-59264_11 | Comprehensive Family Planning in Impoverished Areas Major Characteristics of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas The Current Situation Regarding Comprehensive Handling of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas | cultivated land divided into two parts--the grain ration land and the responsible contracted land--the former is allocated according to number of family members, and the latter according to number of people in the labor force, but some places allocated lands totally according to number of family members. When allocating disaster relief materials or money, the civil affairs department bases their allocations on number of family members. In this distribution system, more family members means more cultivated land, which strengthens the peasants' desire for early births, multiple births, and having boys. In addition, most departments only worked on the framework of family planning work. When dealing with circulating population, the public security and the industrial and commercial departments completed their work after checking certification regardless of whether it was true or false that the applicants would have multiple births later on. Law enforcement officers often fall back on excuses such as: there are too many procedures, the measures are too complicated, or they lack proof to not strictly enforce the law on "nail families" and "nut families" of excessive births. They cannot deal effectively with cases of abuse or beatings of family planning cadres; they have let the perpetrators go scot-free, with extremely bad effects. When issuing marriage certifications, the civil affair departments have not strictly enforced age limitations, plus there has always been the possibility of "relationship certification" and "friendship certification". They have shown a lack of enthusiasm and energy in encouraging marriages and births at a later age, abandoning "two later" education among young men and women. There have been some departments doing more verbal and written work in family planning, but little of an operational nature. When dealing with Party members and cadres who violate discipline, some disciplinary examination and supervision departments have only discussed the matter but not done anything. Personnel and labor departments did not practice what they announced they would do in employing, accepting new cadres, and in raising wages and promoting employees. Cultural, broadcasting, motion picture, and television departments have very few programs which propagate family planning ideas. C. The system of encouragements, rewards, and penalties in family planning is an "unhealthy situation". In the impoverished areas, family planning's measures of rewards and penalties hardly work. On the one hand, in most places, there are no rewards at all, the so-called preferential treatment of having only one child with even a five yuan health |
FBIS3-59264_14 | Comprehensive Family Planning in Impoverished Areas Major Characteristics of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas The Current Situation Regarding Comprehensive Handling of Family Planning Work in the Impoverished Areas | multiple excessive births, they only charge something over 100 yuan, and call it a minor penalty; some excessive birth parents roam about or cause trouble, beyond the reach of village cadres' power; also the latter dare not take forceful measures, and this is called a difficult penalty. Some family planning cadres did not concern themselves with family planning work for long periods of time, which led to a great many excessive births, and formed a protective circle for excessive birth parents: If they punished one of them, it would anger a group of them, so in the end they didn't charge penalties at all. All of these basically had no economically restricting function. D. There are some "blank points" in family planning work about which no one seems concerned. Early marriages, early births, unmarried couples, the rate of these are quite high in impoverished areas, and is tending to expand. This has a very great effect on family planning work, but there is no department dealing with this--that is one point. The geographical region from which the marriage partners come is extremely small, they do not have a premarital health examination, and there is no guarantee of a woman's "three items" of health care. There are still some individual places where intermarriage of close relatives exists, and there are very serious instances of marriage among retarded people or people with hereditary diseases. These are detrimental to improving population quality--this is the second point. We call these: "blank points". E. There is a tendency for less and less in the social restriction system which is favorable to family planning. In the new situation of the socialist market economy, some new situations and problems are appearing in the family planning social system. One is that since opening up the grain price, the original urban residence card has lost its original meaning, and the restriction system of a grain residence card which was exploited by family planning departments doesn't exist. Another is that when contracting enterprises, stores, orchards, lands, uncultivated lands, etc., competition depends on how much you can put on the bid without any consideration of the family planning factor. A third is that strengthening the role of the family has increased the peasants' freedom, so that they think more about their family and individual profits, and less about national and collective profits. This is especially prominent in birth matters. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-59267_5 | PLA Use of Force Against Taiwan Assessed New Developments in the Combat Strength of Taiwan's Armed Forces Speculation Over the Chinese Communists' Use of Force Against Taiwan Submarine Mines Are the Weapons That Cause Headaches to Taiwan Military Taiwan Relies on Imports for Raw Materials and Oil, It Is Hard for Its Economic Lifeline To Survive Long-Term Blockading | anti-submarine warfare, though the Chinese Communist navy has more than 100 submarines, it is estimated that only about one half of them can be put into use during the initial stage of fighting while the rest will remain in a state of maintenance or refitting. Moreover, among the usable submarines of the Chinese Communist navy, the Type 33 are the mainstay. This kind of submarine emits loud noise which can be easily detected by the other side's anti-submarine sonar. For some of the submarines, the original advantage of "surprise attack" has been lost. Weapons used by Type 33 submarines are torpedoes and mines. The torpedoes' range is 10,000 meters and most of them are direct charge and do not have directional guidance. The mines, however, are the weapons that cause headaches to the other side, and can play a big role in destroying the other side's shipping, and in blockading ports. Taiwan's navy has only four submarines, namely the Sea Dragon, Sea Tiger, Sea Lion, and Seal. But two of them are much improved and they voyage quietly with little noise. In addition, they are equipped with excellent sonar systems and guided torpedoes. Their overall performance is far above the Type 33 submarines, and also superior to the Type 35 submarines. However, it is impossible for only two advanced submarines to cope with the general situation. Before Perry and Lafayette destroyers can be put into service, the Yang destroyer will have to single-handedly shoulder the main naval tasks. Though the destroyer has advanced weapons and equipment, it is too old, and in anti-blockade confrontations it will have to deal with both submarines and numerous warships on the sea. It will not have the capability. The Chinese Communists' Fighting Force on the Sea In the area of sea warfare, the Chinese Communists can probably use 12 of their 20 destroyers (while at least two of the rest will patrol the Spratly Islands, two will stay in the Yellow Sea, and the other three Type 7 Anshan class will undertake blockading tasks). Forces that will collaborate with the destroyers will include all the forces of the East Sea Fleet, some of the South Sea Fleet, and a convoy ship of the North Sea Fleet. The total number may reach 20. The Chinese Communists' destroyers and convoy ships have powerful sea warfare capabilities. They are equipped with cruise missiles including the Seagull I-A |
FBIS3-59270_3 | Poll on `Deteriorating' Local Political Ecology | election. Now that all political parties and candidates are well aware of the voters' discontent with interference in politics by landholding financial groups and the underworld and are trying to break off relations with them, what are the images of the candidates of various parties in the eyes of voters? According to the poll, though the Kuomintang has put forth the slogan of "opposing embezzlement and ferreting out vote buying" in its election campaign, the voters' greatest concern is still the relations between the Kuomintang candidates and land holding financial groups, considering the fact that it is hard for the Kuomintang, a longtime ruling party, to sever its mutually dependent ties with local political factions and financial groups. Close to 40 percent (37 percent) of the voters express concern about the Kuomintang candidates' relations with land holding financial groups. Although the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] has pledged to be corruption-free, still over one-quarter (26.3 percent) of the voters express concern about the relations between the DPP candidates and land holding financial groups. [passage omitted] While the Kuomintang and DPP candidates, in the voters' eyes, have different degrees of relations with land holding financial groups, the two big parties' relations with the underworld are more or less the same and equally deserve concern according to about one-third of the voters. Of the three principal parties, the Chinese New Party [CNP], which was founded not long ago, has nominated only a few candidates for the election. The vast majority of the public still take a cautious and reserved attitude toward this party, which styles itself as a party "opposed to embezzlement and with a new clean image." Upwards of 60 percent of the voters say that they are unclear about the CNP candidates' relations with land holding financial groups and the underworld. Who should be held responsible for the serious political irregularities and the deteriorating social and political style in various localities? Now that all kinds of political irregularities have sprung up, who should be relied upon to improve the local political style? Most people say it is necessary to rely upon "the public themselves." It appears that the awakening of the local "people's force" has loomed up in our country. According to the poll, over 30 percent of the people interviewed hold that "the public themselves" should undertake the greatest responsibility for the deteriorating local political style, and they are also |
FBIS3-59284_3 | Journal Examines Criminal Societies Overview of Organized Crime Main Occupation of Criminal Gangs: Smuggling, Drug Trafficking | in smuggled pornography throughout the entire Huanghuagang district. Control of all underground trades in Guangzhou is divided up between different gangs, a fact that has already been verified very early by security personnel. Most of the independent small street vendors in the country's largest small commodities market, the Hanzheng Street in Wuhan, are being harassed by hosts of self-styled "secret societies." They enforce payment of "protection money," and it is suspected that some wear military police uniforms, so that the vendors are reluctant to report them. Main Occupation of Criminal Gangs: Smuggling, Drug Trafficking Whether in the market towns of the southwestern border region or in the "opened-up" zones along the southeastern seaboard, underground secret gangs have arisen everywhere in recent years, and they live by victimizing the people. They expand their power by depending merely on five lines of "trades," namely smuggling, drug trafficking, arms trading, controlling the immoral trade, and controlling gambling houses. The following are some instances of such: Car thefts and smuggling of stolen cars has been a serious vexation for the police in Hong Kong and Macao since 1987. The underground gangs in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan collaborate with underground gangs in Hong Kong, have them steal lots and lots of high class Hong Kong limousines, and then get them shipped over in repeated successful operations. In 1992 alone, 6,500 limousines were stolen in Hong Kong, and every month over some 600 cars were transported to the mainland along secret routes. Guangzhou's public security department acknowledges that the criminal gangs on the mainland that steal and smuggle motorcars are broadly organized and have also infiltrated security, customs, and border defense agencies. In Huizhou City alone, security personnel received "goodwill fees" from criminal gangs amounting to over 10 million yuan. A certain Tan [6223], leader of the car theft criminal gang in the Huiyang district, has 34 underlings, and their equipment, from communications to transportation, is much superior to that of the security forces. Some gangs have set for themselves extremely strict regulations as "society admission" or "gang admission" rituals. The reason why people are willing to face the risks and join the gangs is no other than the lure of high reward. The sale of one stolen car in Guangzhou can often bring a profit of from 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. Quite a few gangmembers are former convicts or former inmates of "reform through labor" |
FBIS3-59284_5 | Journal Examines Criminal Societies Overview of Organized Crime Main Occupation of Criminal Gangs: Smuggling, Drug Trafficking | institutions, or have escaped from prison. They will risk their everything to fight the police to take personal revenge. Arms Trading, A Casual Affair On New Year's Day of 1986, a military convoy on its way to relieve a garrison on the Sino-Vietnamese border was stopped when it approached a small town near Menglian. A crowd of young girls and boys swarmed around the vehicles, peddling pornographic books and magazines and golden trinkets to the soldiers. In the baskets of some of these people there were, open for everybody to see, Soviet-made pistols and ammunition. One pistol, to be given with 50 bullets in the bargain, was marked out at 50 yuan. These trading activities were completely uncontrolled, going on as nonchalantly as fruit sales on inland railway stations. A few steps further on, in the people's homes, you could discover baskets full of hand grenades and U.S.-made semiautomatic weapons. Arms trading in the border region seems to be a relaxed and free occupation, but actually in most cases firmly in the hands of some criminal gangs. Some of these people are indeed the "little Red Guard generals" who 20 years ago had gone to Vietnam and Cambodia to "support the world revolution." They have settled and become lawful residents in Laos and Cambodia and have become quite powerful members of local gangs. Some have mounted gangs at their disposal and have hired gunman to protect the arms smuggling and trading on both sides of the border. The local criminal gangs have their own "Ho Chi Ming Trails" and are hard to catch and to bring to justice. All these large and small weapons have a ready market among Hong Kong's criminal gangs and among the bands of drug dealers in Southeast Asia. On some routes of the drug trade, local people serve as well-paid hired guards. The following are some figures released by southwest border defense units and other related agencies: Nov 1988: Sichuan Province broke up an arms case, seized 17 pistols. Sep 1989: Fujian broke up an especially large arms smuggling case, seized over 1,000 pistols and arrested 30 gangmembers. Apr 1990: Guangzhou broke up a gun and ammunition case; seized over 100 rifles and over 1,000 bullets. In 1992: the two provinces of Yunnan and Hainan broke up 21 arms smuggling cases; involved were 84 rifles, 1,100 bullets, and 90 suspected gangmembers. In the public security |
FBIS3-59284_10 | Journal Examines Criminal Societies Overview of Organized Crime Main Occupation of Criminal Gangs: Smuggling, Drug Trafficking | dispute. In actual fact, much of the immoral trade in Shenzhen is tacitly permitted by the police, and the criminal gangs have their informers right inside the police. 6. It has come to light in recent years that the criminal gang organizations, for more effective operations, have started to hire intellectuals at great expense. For instance, the criminal gang organization in Xiamen already has highly educated people as ringleaders, and they even have the services of specialized lawyers who will absolve them from guilt or blame, besides criminal gangs do not just rob, kill, and commit misdeeds all day long. They are also very much engaged in legitimate trade as a shield, and that fact creates great difficulties for investigating personnel. "Secret Societies Have Become Part of Society" It is not possible to narrate one by one all the large cases of national significance, but it has to be emphasized: Although their history is a short one, the underground criminal societies on the Chinese mainland have a savage and cruel character that is frightening, as they display an extreme hatred for society. In April of this year, at the Mudanjiang railway station in the Northeast, it was necessary to call up 300 fully armed policemen to prevent interception by powerful criminal gangs of the transfer to jail of a group of 15 prisoners convicted of serious crimes, because the gangs had threatened that they would use their guns to rescue the prisoners. Interrogation of the 15 prisoners led to the breakup of a criminal gang of over 90 persons. As a show of force against the police, these people had committed over 200 crimes of various kinds and had publicly declared that they would fight the police to the very end. This case was a great shock to the state's public security and to the heads of the Chinese communist regime. To sum up, "secret societies have become part of society" was the conclusion reached in one of the internal documents of the public security department of Guangdong Province. Communist China has for a long time boasted that secret societies like the "Qing Bang" and the "Hong Bang" societies, have disappeared from mainland society. Now we witness their revival in such cities as Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. As I finish these lines, there is news that the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province has won a "complete victory" in |
FBIS3-59287_0 | Taiwan Import-Export Controls Analyzed | Language: Chinese Article Type:CSO [Article by Zhang Shanbin (4545 0810 2430), Research Office, Anhui Provincial Superior People's Court: "Critique of Taiwan's Import-Export Control Laws"] [Text] I In the course of trading with foreign countries over a long period of time, the fiscal and legislative authorities in Taiwan have gradually formulated and perfected basic laws and regulations for the control of imports and exports. The most important of these are the "Draft Trade Law," the "Commodity Export Examination Regulations," the "Commodity Import Examination Regulations, "Import-Export Classification, Examination and Control Methods" and applicable rules and regulations. Standards for imports and exports are found in the "Classification Table for Imports and Exports," which prescribes methods for controlling imports and exports of all categories of commodities. Using these laws and regulations as a basic framework, a fairly complete and integrated legal system for the control of imports and exports has been fashioned. These laws play an extremely important role in promoting the development of Taiwan's externally oriented economy. The purpose of this article is to explore the pros and cons of Taiwan's import-export trade control laws, summarizing how well they have succeeded or failed in developing Taiwan's foreign trade economy to provide lessons that we might use. 1. Import Trade Legal System Article 3 of Taiwan's Import-Export Classification, Examination, and Control Methods" divides imports into three types, namely prohibited imports, controlled imports, and permitted imports. Prohibited Imports. This applies mostly to the prohibition of imports to safeguard social order or public health. It applies specifically to 14 harmful substances including narcotics and toxic drugs. Controlled Imports. This category includes mostly things in which Taiwan Province is self-sufficient or luxury goods that need not be imported. In principle, traders may not import them. However, should an enterprise have a genuinely special need for them application may be made to import them within certain limits. The purpose of controlled imports -- conservation of the province's foreign exchange aside -- is to protect the development of Taiwan's industry. In general, the control period for controlled imports is two years. If the original reason for control has not been eliminated by the time the control period expires, the control period must be extended. Special regulations also apply to methods for certification of this category of commodities: First, Taiwan's "International Trade Bureau" must approve. After obtaining an import license, certification procedures are completed at a designated bank. At the |
FBIS3-59289_13 | Xu Jiatun's Memoirs on Drafting Basic Law British Cooperation Still Needed After 1997; Britain Participates in Entire Process of Basic Law Drafting Tan Yaozong's Proposal To Protect Labor Interests Rejected; Nomination of Li Zhuming and Liao Yaozhu to Drafting Committee Provokes Controversy Misunderstood Zheng Weirong But Nominate Him to Drafting Committee; Britain Pleased Tan Huizhu, Li Fushan To Join Committee Youde Waives Registration for Advisory Committee; Zhong Shiyuan, Deng Lianru Decline To Participate | because they might need to draw on me to make arrangements for some specific tasks. Ji Pengfei convened a meeting of the chairmen and vice chairmen of the drafting committee to discuss this proposal. The vice-chairmen from Hong Kong all actively approved, Y.K Pao being the first to express approval. An Zijie mentioned that according to Hong Kong law an organization established in Hong Kong must register wth the Hong Kong Government. It might be awkward, however, for an advisory committtee on the Basic Law to register. He felt that we should ask the Hong Kong British Government to waive the registration requirement. He suggested that we discuss this with Tan Huizhu and ask her to communicate with the Hong Kong British Government. Everyone agreed we could try this. After the meeting, An Zijie and Tan Huizhu, Huang Lisong, and Situ Hua [Szeto Wah] (Chairman of the Hong Kong Teachers Professional Association) immediately contacted Hong Kong Governor Youde who was then in London, by long-distance telephone. Youde immediate agreed that the advisory committee would not need to follow the procedures to register as an organization. An Zijie indicated that we should ask the Hong Kong Government for written confirmation of this and also for full support. No one would openly indicate their views on this. Privately, Ji Pengfei asked me to urge An Zijie not to push the Hong Kong Government on this. After registration was waived for the advisory committee, the charter of the committee then did not require the approval of the Hong Kong Government and there was no requirement to report on the activities or membership list to the Hong Kong Government. To establish the advisory commmittee, we first had to arrange for a draft charter and funding. The five vice chairmen from Hong Kong consulted on whether to call a meeting of the drafting committee members from Hong Kong to talk over this issue. An Zijie again raised a question. If we held a meeting in Hong Kong would we run up against Hong Kong law and be labeled an illegal gathering? The other vice chairmen all felt that since the Hong Kong Governor had already indicated that the advisory committee would be treated as a special case which did not need to register, holding a meeting should not be a problem. Thus we decided to invite all the drafting committee members from Hong Kong (the |
FBIS3-59294_8 | Article Says State Revenues Falling Rapidly | sorts of extravagance and waste prevalent, and social group consumption up sharply. In the first three quarters of 1992, nonproductive group-consumption spending grew over 30 percent in 21 mainland Chinese provinces, cities, and autonomous regions. There is basically no way to calculate the group-consumption spending through other channels. Corruption and Abuse of Power Are the Causes. This revenue erosion is essentially due to those with varying amounts of power and influence taking advantage of their authority to plunder public assets unscrupulously, with the opening of all ways being subject to the means of corruption and bribery. In recent years, there have been numerous major cases of graft and bribetaking involving millions and tens of millions of yuan, with such graft and corruption having spread to all government-authority sectors, such as public security, industrial commercial, taxation, banking, land management, administration and law enforcement, and labor and personnel. This lamentable reality shows that the mainland Chinese government is beyond cure. It could be said that it is precisely the corrupt political system that has created this corrupt bureaucracy, with China's current overall situation being the result of the "endeavors" of those so corrupted. The Chinese Government also seems to have awakened to the cause of its current plight, with its "rectification of the financial order" being accompanied by an "anti-corruption struggle," which the people call anti-corruption led by the corrupt," so whose effects will certainly be suspect. As so many central figures of authority have princes, princesses, and sons-in-law doing their utmost to get by improper means, what hope is there that those below will not follow the example of those above throughout China? As China is now on the verge of paying for its autumn grain harvest, with peasants holding IOUs for years angry to the point of bursting, any further passing out of IOUs will be bound to touch off an "autumn-harvest uprising." So in order to bridge this pass, all specialized banks throughout China have turned over to the PBC all of their savings that are not out on loan (it is still not known how interest is to be paid on this), with recent transfers of 13 billion yuan from Guangdong and nearly 8 billion yuan from Jiangsu. While this is injecting a little blood into the exhausted state revenues, it is undoubtedly merely a drop in the bucket. With such a state financial capability to undertake the |
FBIS3-59306_3 | Impact of Sino-British Agreement Assessed | for making suitable plans. Furthermore, as the Hong Kong Government becomes increasingly a "lame duck" government, it will have even greater difficulties gaining majority support in the Legislative Council. At the same time, as the Hong Kong Government must perforce concentrate on managing the difficult Sino-British relationship, it will also have to devote what energy it has left to solve the larger issues of people's livelihood, and many problems such as housing (particularly the problem of subdivided, multi-storied buildings) will become even more difficult to handle. Another example is medical services, where the whole set of concepts is no longer applicable; with costs of medical care continuing their upward climb, the per-bed intensive care cost is over a thousand Hong Kong dollars but patients now pay only some 40 dollars; the government in fact will not be able to continue to provide large scale subsidies to medical care, and without such government support, the standard of medical services will certainly decline. The government should encourage the younger generations to purchase their own medical insurance before this problem can fundamentally be solved. But if the government lacks the political will, how can it proceed to institute such reform? Confronted with [challenges of] the 1990s, the Hong Kong government should have new policy measures to deal with such issues, but the government has dragged its feet, not getting adequate support from the Legislative Council to take any action, and leaving many social problems of people's livelihood begging for solutions. We can well imagine in the days to come, the government will need to cope with the 1994 and 1995 elections on the one hand, and with the transition in 1996-97 on the other; larger issues of people's livelihood may well have to be put off to the next century before they can be dealt with. Aside from the above, in a situation of Sino-British contention, with two clearly defined camps facing each other, both sides may well lack the ability to compromise. The closer we get to 1997, the stronger the pro-China forces will become; among them, some political parties may well decline to take part in elections, and the democratic faction facing no opposition will score another big win. This type of situation will make things much more difficult, for while it is normal for any political party to win big under normal competitive circumstances, the situation would be much more |
FBIS3-59308_11 | Wang Ruowang on Politics of Three Gorges Project Compatriots Are Responsible for Stopping the Chinese Communists' Wanton Behavior | If workers at the lower levels have problems, do all of them need to ask the commander-in-chief on the work site to solve them ? The work site covers an area about dozens of li in diameter. If anything goes wrong in terms of quality, how does the commander-in-chief at the top know who has caused all this? As soon as this anonymous person in responsibility opened his mouth, we knew that he was deeply poisoned by party culture. This kind of person can be an outstanding cadre in doing political work, but he is definitely not a man of action. As the responsible person for the project, this vice minister mentioned nothing about quality first. He was only responsible to Li Peng and Zou Jiahua. He did not assume responsibility for the lives and properties of millions of residents along the Chang Jiang. No wonder disastrous things happen! We can predict the future if we carefully examine what is happening right now. The Three Gorges Project is destined to end up in the following three disastrous ways: 1. Changes for the worse, such as ecological imbalances and dropping of the groundwater level, take place after 10 to 15 years of hydroelectric power generation at the Three Gorges Dam; just like the Aswan Dam which caused mass desertification in the lower reaches of the Nile River. Egyptians now regret what they had done in building the dam. 2. Due to the improper handling of the silt problem, the water level in the section of the Chang Jiang between Chongqing and Yichang will continue to rise just like what happened at the Sanmen Gorge Dam. 3. The tragedy caused by the burst of the Gouhou Dam in Qinghai on 27 August which killed more than 400 people serves as an advance warning from God to Li Peng, Jiang Zemin and Zou Jiahua that whenever work is not properly done in strict accordance with specifications in a certain location in a huge systems engineering project, an irremediable dam burst would occur when torrential floods come down from the hilly areas in late spring and early summer. This will be a catastrophe beyond redemption. Compatriots Are Responsible for Stopping the Chinese Communists' Wanton Behavior In one of his poems, Mao Zedong seemed to foresee this catastrophe. In his poem "Kunlun" (source of the Chang Jiang), he wrote: "In summer days, your melting torrents, |
FBIS3-59320_2 | Article Describes Root Causes of Corruption | and small-scale activities need administrative approval at every turn; without it, nothing can be so much as talked about. Therefore, making and using connections, doing business through influence, "greasing palms," and "cutting red tape" have become the "standard topics" in economic life. From this, there have arisen all kinds of bad practices, bribery, and the perversion of justice. Second, improper hiring is a major breeding ground for corruption. Interpersonal relationships are complex, leading to tangled webs of interrelations, where "one bureaucrat protects another." In some units, only relatives, or only mediocrities, or only slavish-minded people can be hired. Such bad practices as hiring people related through marriage, forming cliques, and bureaucrats protecting one another have been going on for a long time; the masses have been angry, but do not dare to speak out. These bad hiring practices are both a major manifestation of corruption and a source of it. Third, there is a lack of suitable control over government actions, or even on the exercise of personal authority. There is no objective mechanism for preventing excesses, and no effective system of oversight. This is a major reason why corruption has persisted despite repeated prohibitions against it, and even became more and more rampant. For these two reasons, the original mechanisms of vertical and horizontal supervision have become weak. Moreover, it has been extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies and the media to carry out their functions independently. When the masses have made reports, usually very little has come of it, and it has also invite open or disguised retaliation. Over time, the exercise of authority has become unconstrained and "omnipotent," and when it has become thus corrupted, then it "does as it pleases." Fourth, corrupt activities and corrupt elements often cover themselves with a camouflage or veneer of high-mindedness. Many bad practices, or open corruption, are not only dressed in official garb, but are carried out under the banners of "public spirit," "principle," "guidance," and the like. When something goes wrong, then the corrupt elements can still drag in all sorts of irrelevancies, and shift between soft and hard tactics, plus bringing in exculpations and intercessions from above, until things are hopelessly confused. This concealment in formalities has created the present pattern of widespread, semi-public corruption, and the difficulty of suppressing or striking out against such corruption so that the perpetrators can rest easy, knowing that they are well-protected. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.