id stringlengths 9 20 | title stringlengths 0 3.57k | text stringlengths 35 6.13k |
|---|---|---|
FBIS4-42_106 | PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIC REVIEW -- 20 APRIL 1994 | Advanced countries allegedly are using exceptions in the GATT relating to environment and safety as a means of excluding ROK exports, according to two Seoul press reports. South Korea's Trade Ministry is responding by devising quality standards that will enable exporters to prepare for these "technical barriers" in advance, and is cooperating with other agencies to maintain a database on technical standards by product and country. The South Korean Government's Industrial Advancement Administration (IAA) has concluded that "advanced countries" are using exceptions in the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) involving environment and safety to strengthen their "technical barriers" to ROK products, the 11 March CHONJA SINMUN reported. Identified by the newspaper as "hidden barriers" that focus on particular technologies, both CHONJA SINMUN and the 11 March HANGUK KYONGJE SINMUN (HKS) accused the United States, Japan, and other countries of exploiting the allegedly harmful effects of these technologies to exclude ROK products. As an example, HKS cited a GATT notification prohibiting use of a "cancer-causing" dye in ROK textiles imported into Germany, and the use of PCP as a preservative. The newspaper also complained about a contradictory requirement that plastic materials imported by Denmark and other European countries pass a non-combustibility test, but that a key material used to retard flammability in the products cannot be used for environmental reasons. Similarly, the paper stated the United States is considering banning all chlorofluorocarbons products, while Canada and Japan may set limits on radiation emitted by portable communications equipment. To combat these barriers, the IAA (part of the ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy) is developing a comprehensive plan that includes establishing and disseminating nationwide standards for export products and building a database of regulations by product and individual country, CHONJA SINMUN reported. For goods with a high export ratio, the South Korean Government will enact quality standards to be followed by domestic industries based on the standards of the main importing countries. Individual companies will monitor their compliance with these standards themselves. For newly developed products which "have a high probability of causing bodily harm," separate safety standards will be created and the products will be subject to government inspection, according to HKS. CHONJA SINMUN reported that the ROK Government will build a database in the first half of 1994 on "trade and technology barriers" by country and product and make this information available to domestic exporters. Finally, the |
FBIS4-42_114 | PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIC REVIEW -- 20 APRIL 1994 | will be equipped with modern devices, including global positioning system navigators and pollution prevention devices. (Seoul MAEIL KYONGJE SINMUN 11 Apr 94 p 11) Firms Invest in Overseas Spinning Plants - The Kabul Spinning Company will increase its production capacity by building four more overseas plants. These include a $24-million investment in Jiangsu, China (subject to PRC Government approval), a $15,000 investment in Tajikistan, a $15,000 investment in Pakistan, and possibly a plant in Alabama. The Tajikistan plant will begin operating in the latter half of 1995. Kabul is still reviewing its plans for the Pakistan plant and has just secured a plant site in Benton, Alabama. (Seoul MAEIL KYONGJE SINMUN 11 Apr 94 p 10) Taenong has begun operating its cotton spinning plant in Qingdao, China. The company invested $19 million in the plant, which can produce cotton thread, linen, as well as finished garments. (Seoul MAEIL KYONGJE SINMUN 9 Apr 94 p 9) Daewoo Gets Financing From Exim Bank for Overseas Plant - The Korea Export-Import Bank has approved an $80-million overseas investment fund loan for Daewoo to build a car factory in Uzbekistan. The loan will carry an annual interest rate of 6.72 percent and have a 10-year payback period. The total budget for the joint venture, called UZ-Daewoo Motors, is $635 million. Daewoo and Uzbekistan's Selcho Znash will each invest $100 million and borrow the remainder. UZ-Daewoo Motors will produce 200,000 vehicles annually and export 78 percent of them to neighboring countries. In Uzbekistan, the government has taken steps to boost the project, such as lowering various taxes for the joint venture. (Seoul YONHAP 0210 GMT 13 Apr 94) Hyundai Active in Saudi Power Plant Construction - Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. has won an order to build an extension to the Tabuk Gas Turbine Power Plant II. The Saudi Arabian Electric Power Authority placed the order for the turnkey project, which is worth $61 million. The project will include installation of two 65-megawatt gas turbines. Hyundai will begin the project this month and complete it in two years. The company is also negotiating an order for a 110-km power cable project and two other orders worth $100 million from the same Saudi authority. (Seoul THE KOREA TIMES 14 Apr 94 p 8) SOUTHEAST ASIA - BURMA: Joint Venture Brewery To Be Established - The Asia Pacific Brewery of Singapore and the Union of Myanmar Economic |
FBIS4-42_119 | PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIC REVIEW -- 20 APRIL 1994 | able to participate. PHILIPPINES: International Consortium Seeks To Operate Bataan Nuclear Plant - A Malaysian-U.S. consortium has submitted a proposal to the Philippine Government to convert the $2.3 billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) with a capacity of 600 MW, into a 1,890- MW power facility, on a 25-year build-operate-transfer arrangement. The consortium would raise $1.5 billion to cover such costs as installing the transmission lines, building the necessary infrastructure, establishing a natural gas vaporization plant, laying a gas pipeline, etc. The conversion plan also calls for the plant to use pollution-free liquefied natural gas from Malaysia, and its output is to be sold to the National Power Corporation (Napocor). (Kuala Lumpur BERITA HARIAN 20 Mar 94 p 7) THAILAND: Oil-Related Joint Venture in Vietnam Reported - The Petroleum Authority of Thailand and Charoen Phokphan plan to establish a $28-million oil-related venture with Saigon Petro. The new company, PetroAsia (Saigon), will establish oil depots and terminals, a retail oil network, and a liquefied petroleum gas distribution and trading operation. (Bangkok BANGKOK POST 12 Apr 94 p 15) First Quarter Rice Exports Reach 1.3 Million Tons - Thailand exported about 1.3 million tons of rice during the first three months of this year, compared to 960,000 tons during the same period last year. The increase in exports should lead to an increase in the domestic rice price of $220 a ton. (Bangkok Radio Thailand Network 0000 GMT 14 Apr) Firms Form Consulting Company With Burmese State Agency - GCN Holdings Ltd, Siam Commercial Bank, and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, Ltd. recently announced the formation of a new consulting company for investors wishing to explore business opportunities in Burma. Thai investors own 30 percent of the new firm, called Myanmar Consultants (Thailand) Co. Ltd., while the Burmese partner owns the remainder. (Bangkok THE NATION 8 Apr 94 p B2) CP Group To Invest in Shanghai Industrial Park - The Charoen Phokphan Group plans to invest $400 million in an industrial park in Shanghai, and has identified three counties as possible sites- -Pudong, Songjiang, and Jiading. The company has asked the governor of Shanghai to grant investment incentives similar to those offered in Pudong regardless of which county is selected. Incentives in Pudong include a 15-percent corporate tax exemption for the first two years, a 50-percent tax reduction in the following three years, exemption from the 10-percent tax on profits transferred |
FBIS4-44_1 | FOREIGN PRESS SURVEY--FB PSE 94-016--WEST EUROPE | contents in no way represent the policies, views, or attitudes of the U.S. Government. All comment or analysis contained herein is attributable to the cited media source, unless otherwise indicated. TABLE OF CONTENTS EU Brittan Comments on U.S., Kantor FINLAND Report Proposes Reducing Unemployment Compensation FRANCE Editorial on Labor Minister Giraud Statements; Seguin Denies Large Creation of Jobs; Editorial Cautions on Air France Referendum; Balladur To Delay Work Hour Decree; Territorial Management Plan Seen as Return to 'Dirigisme'; Aid to Government-Owned Companies Reviewed; Poll Finds Acceptance for Economic Policy Change GERMANY Country Seen Lagging in Industrial Innovation; German-Turkish Economic Ties Expanding; 600,000 More Private Companies in East; Most Eastern Steel Plants Privatized, Downsizing; Governments Negotiate Post-1994 Job Market Support GREECE Conditions for OTE Sale Detailed PORTUGAL Poll on Government Subsidies SWEDEN Labor Market Measures Seen Replacing Job Creation TURKEY Businessmen View Economic Prospects ECONOMIC BRIEFS EU, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Sweden EU BRITTAN COMMENTS ON U.S., KANTOR--An article in the economic supplement of the Paris daily LE FIGARO on 14 April reports an interview with Sir Leon Brittan, the EU foreign trade commissioner, in which Brittan stated that he believed the United States intends to "obey the rules" of the new international agreements even though doing so reduces U.S. ability to apply Section 301 trade sanctions. Brittan added that for the first time his U.S. counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor, acknowledged the "constraints" on U.S. trade sanctions that the agreements would have when they were officially signed in Marrakesh. Moreover, Brittan states in the interview that he has the "deep feeling" that the United States is on the defensive, that U.S. conduct is dictated by domestic political concerns linked to the agreement's ratification in Congress. The article additionally claims that it is "noteworthy" that Kantor mistrusts discussions with Brittan, "who always pulled new concessions from Kantor." The article cites Brittan as "smilingly" saying, just before meeting with Kantor in a quadrilateral meeting, "I am pulling concessions from him gradually." (DiI) (Paris LE FIGARO Le Fig-Eco supplement in French 14 Apr 94 p I, X) FINLAND REPORT PROPOSES REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION--A working group commissioned by the government to study reducing the cost of Finland's generous social benefits system has proposed cutting the duration of unemployment compensation from 500 to 400 workdays. This would apply to persons receiving payments based on their payroll-deducted contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund as well as |
FBIS4-53_0 | Beijing Angles for MFN Renewal, Makes Gesture on Human Rights | SUMMARY With the deadline for a U.S. decision on renewing most-favored- nation (MFN) trading status for China fast approaching, Beijing has made a gesture on human rights by releasing Tiananmen-era dissident Wang Juntao even while continuing to reject formal linkage between MFN and human rights. Seeking to influence the annual MFN debate as the deadline for renewal approaches, Beijing has also widely publicized its alleged compliance on a number of other issues of concern to Washington. In addition, it has reemphasized the negative economic consequences that will result should the Clinton administration fail to grant China MFN trading status this year. However, Beijing's current anxiety about stability suggests that repression of dissidents will continue. END SUMMARY Playing an important trump card in the annual MFN debate, Beijing has repeated its practice in recent years of releasing a jailed dissident as the deadline for MFN renewal draws near. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice on 23 April, Wang Juntao--who had been serving a 13-year sentence for his alleged role in the Tiananmen Square prodemocracy protest--was released "on bail" because of the "conditions of his illness" and had "left for medical treatment abroad" (Xinhua, 23 April). Last year Beijing had similarly released from jail Democracy Wall activist Xu Wenli. Wang's release, however, does not appear to reflect a fundamental change in Beijing's attitude toward dissident activity. Western media since mid-March have reported the detention of a number of leading dissidents, including Xu Wenli himself and his former colleague, noted dissident Wei Jingsheng. Although in most cases the detentions have been brief, Xu and Wei are still in custody. According to a 13 April report carried by the French press agency AFP, Xu appears to be under some sort of "house arrest." A "special dispatch" in the 15 April edition of the PRC-owned Hong Kong daily Ta Kung Pao quoted a PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman, at a press conference on the 14th, as indicating that Wei may be facing criminal charges. He reportedly said that the case of Wei is "not an issue of human rights" and that the "so-called human rights" issue does not mean "simply releasing criminals." Beijing in recent days has been taking a particularly hardline stance on human rights, rejecting Washington's insistence that progress on human rights is a condition of MFN renewal. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Wu Yi, for example, showed no |
FBIS4-53_3 | Beijing Angles for MFN Renewal, Makes Gesture on Human Rights | be in a state of chaos or weakness." Images of Compliance In an apparent effort to demonstrate Beijing's compliance on other MFN-related issues of concern to Washington, even while rejecting Washington's demands on human rights, PRC media have claimed progress in protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), stemming illegal textile exports and emigration, and cracking down on traffic in endangered species. In addition, they have warned of sizable economic losses if MFN is not renewed. IPR Protection Beijing in recent days has taken particular pains to emphasize its efforts to protect intellectual property rights. Speaking at the recent National People's Congress (NPC) session on 15 March, Supreme People's Court President Jen Jianxin, for example, claimed that China's new system of IPR courts has demonstrated the "great importance" Beijing attaches to IPR protection by handling "2,777 cases of IPR and technological contract disputes" last year--an increase of 16.39 percent over 1992 (Xinhua, 25 March). A 29 March article in Beijing's English-language paper China Daily also enumerated Beijing's progress in prosecuting IPR cases. Quoting an unnamed "court official," the paper noted that Beijing's IPR courts, since being established last July, have "heard 125 cases and issued rulings on 87 of them," while the courts in Fujian have "investigated 47 suits." According to the official, the courts in Shanghai have been even more active, handling "more than 600 cases" since their establishment in February this year. Suggesting that Beijing intends to expand its efforts in this area, the official indicated that more courts are being established as "part of a nationwide effort to safeguard trademarks, copyrights, and patents." At the same time, a 17 March report in Hebei Ribao on the work report of the Hebei Provincial Higher People's Court suggested that, even without the establishment of special IPR courts, the provinces are prosecuting IPR violations. Delivering a report to the second session of the eighth provincial people's congress on 1 March, Ping Yujie, president of the court, said that in 1993 the provincial courts tried "8,907 cases on compensation for damage, intellectual property rights, and labor disputes." Other Chinese media reporting has also sought to demonstrate China's progress in protecting IPR: -- A 25 March Beijing radio report on an international seminar in Kunming on copyright protection and economic and cultural development in Asia claimed that China has made "major progress" in IPR protection, bringing its own legal system "into line" with international |
FBIS4-53_7 | Beijing Angles for MFN Renewal, Makes Gesture on Human Rights | their illegal textile exports. -- Two companies in Guangdong Province's Shantou City--Shifa Dressmaking Company, Ltd. and the Yongjia Garment Manufacturing Company, Ltd.--had their goods seized and their textile export rights "suspended" for two years. In addition, Guangdong's textile quota for 1995 was "reduced" and MOFTEC "suggested" that "administrative punishment" be meted out to those "directly responsible" for the fraud. -- Xiamen City in Fujian Province also had its textile quota for 1995 reduced as a result of transshipments by the Guangyu Shareholding Xiamen Company, which in turn was fined a sum equal to "20 percent of the value of the contract" and lost its textile export rights for two years. -- However, the harshest penalty was meted out to a company in Shenyang--the Shankou branch of the Dongmao Industrial Company- -whose shipment of goods was "tracked down and seized" by U.S. Customs. The company lost all its textile product export quotas as well as its right to apply for an export quota in 1994. In addition, MOFTEC "ordered" Shenyang City's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission to "suspend all business activities" of the Shankou branch of the company and "suggested" that "administrative punishments" be meted out to those "directly responsible." While MOFTEC has announced punishments for illegal third country textile transshipments in the past, the punishments this time appear harsher than those given five firms at the "third national working conference. on cracking down on illicit textile transfers" last December. At that conference, it was announced that, while all five firms were to have their "illegal incomes" confiscated, only three would have their textile trading rights and their 1994 "home regions'" export quotas "slashed." In addition to announcing punishments for the four textile firms, the speakers at the conference indicated that MOFTEC plans new steps to stop illicit shipments. Speaking on 10 April, MOFTEC Vice Minister Shi Guangsheng said that the ministry would "strengthen" its efforts to prevent illegal shipments, even though the "amount of illegal transit textiles exported after clearing customs is really insignificant" (Xinhua, 10 April). In 1994, he noted, M0FTEC will continue to carry out "random checks of key areas and enterprises." In addition, he said the ministry would "strengthen" its training of personnel assigned to crack down on illegal shipments and "coordinate closely" with other countries and the authorities in "relevant regions" in order to curb the illegal transit trade. Illegal Emigration Reporting on Beijing's efforts |
FBIS4-85_0 | Court Silences Scientists on Nuclear Weapons Projects | BFN [Report by Stephanie Bothma] [Text] Pretoria -- The Transvaal Supreme Court has placed a gagging order on former Armscor [Armaments Corporation of South Africa] nuclear and rocket scientists, preventing them disclosing details about the supply, export, import, manufacture or research of any armaments. Armscor brought an urgent application against 16 former employees -- who were among 60 people retrenched last February when Armscor subsidiary Denel rationalised its Advena division. The arms manufacturer argued in court that publication of arms secrets could seriouly damage SA's newly acquired standing in the international defence industry. The move followed a report that the scientists had threatened to disclosed nuclear secrets unless they were paid R4.5m [million rands] in compensation by their former employer. The scientists admitted that their demands amounted to blackmail. Judge TT Spoelstra prohibited the scientists from disclosing information to the media or unauthorised people about the obtaining, supplying, marketing, importing, exporting, development, manufacture, maintenance or repair of armaments by Armscor or its subsidiaries. In an affidavit supporting the application, Armscor guided missile systems chief Gideon Smith said all the scientists had signed on oath of secrecy. Armscor's mission to secure SA's armament needs as effectively and economicallly as possible meant that technology, knowledge, material and equipment had to be obtained from abroad. All dealings with overseas countries or companies were extremely sensitive and secrecy received absolute priority, Smith said. Last November SA had entered into an agreement with the U.S. on the restriction of missile-related export and import, including guarantees that secret information would not be disclosed. Adherence to this agreement would result in the U.S. recommending SA's admittance as a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime [MTCR]. "To be accepted as a member of the MTCR would be beneficial to Armscor and SA. Armscor would have access to technology and foreign markets currently not available to it. Should sensitive information be made available, SA's chances of being admitted would be very poor." Smith said that on November 11, four scientists, Christiaan du Plooy, Eldrid Fick, Klaus Muller and Jan Frederik Combrink, had informed Denel about a potential labour dispute. They had demanded re-employment or further compensation, a demand rejected by Denel a month later. Since then, nothing had been heard from the scientists until last Sunday, when a newspaper article appeared headlined "Nuclear Scientists Threaten To Tell All." Smith said the report had sparked immediate inquiries from Switzerland |
FBIS4-121_5 | Chief Minister, Others on Lebowa Corruption | down here for a political ploy and political posturing, then he would like to control everything. The decisions he is referring to -- there is no decision that we can take and it doesn't interfere with our decisions. For an example, the items of expenditure -- very important, essential services that are to be rendered to our people, he stopped everything and that is not only a question of financial control. If he goes out there to stop the project like the erection of (Mankueng) Nursing College, like the tarring of roads, like stopping the old age pensions because all our old age pensioners, as I'm speaking now, have not as yet received their pensions. Now is that my fault? How can you give a man administrative accountability and remove political accountability, political authority, political power, and political functions. [Mashokwe] Mr. Ramodike, I am running out of time. Why did you remove 2 million rands from the Legislative Assembly's pension fund to the police. [Ramodike] Those monies and three other accounts are directly under our control in spite of the fact that the minister took over the financial control. He doesn't have a right to tamper with money accruing from our resources. [Fourie] Just two remarks. He just now accused us of a blatant lie. I want to say that it is a blatant lie if anybody says we stopped the pension monies. I want to say categorically, especially to the pensioners in Lebowa, the money is lying in the bank. The reason why the pensioners are not getting their money is because the civil servants do not pay it out to them. The last remark I want to make is, just for an example, if President de Klerk would take 2 million rand from the parliamentary pension fund and hand it out to the police in South Africa, do you not think that would be a banana republic decision. [Mashokwe] Ramodike? [Ramodike] Well, I think that could be said by an inexperienced minister. It does happen that if you have got a crisis in one department, then you could always shift funds from one department to the other department and when the next year's financial year comes, then that other department would make provision on its budget to refund the amount taken from other departments. It happens. On several occasions, since the days of the late Dr. (Pathudi), and |
FBIS4-123_4 | Poll Predicts ANC Victory; 17 Percent `Undecided' | IFP showed a one percent increase in voter support. Separate articles on this page spell out the other detailed findings of the survey. In the first survey 19 percent of people said they were undecided and 6 percent refused to name their choice. How the poll works The second phase of The Star-Marketing and Media Research (MMR) poll is comparable to the first in terms of the size and the methods used. A total of 2,590 people over 18 years old were interviewed face-to-face in their homes, in their chosen language, by trained Market Research Africa (MRA) interviewers. Areas representative of the whole of South Africa were chosen and random samples were then taken in these areas. This sample is representative of just under 90 percent of voters living in cities, towns and larger villages in South Africa. The survey excludes communities of fewer than 500 and, therefore, is not representative of the "deep" rural vote. The fieldwork for the second phase was carried out between February 9 and March 7, about three months after the first phase. The survey was designed and analysed by MMR, which will be happy to answer any queries about the reliability or significance of the findings. But remember this... Although the survey used scientific methods, and interviews were carried out by trained people and analysed by unbiased experts, factors outside their control could influence the final result of the election. Among these are: - When the first poll was carried out the Freedom Alliance, which included the IFP, had not decided definitely on whether or not to take part in the election. Since then IFP has refused, but the Freedom Front has decided to come in. - No one can accurately predict the voter turnout -- polls on this vary from 60 percent to 90 percent -- or spoilt papers. - Violence and intimidation. - Uncertainty in Natal. - The position of a party on the ballot paper. - The ability of rural voters to get to polling stations. - Voter education and party propaganda. - Coloured and Indian "swing" vote. - Processing of valid identity documents. - Survey sample error and the lie factor in answering questions. - Undecided voters. - Lack of accurate census figures. - Difficulty in predicting who, or if, those who support the IFP, CP [Conservative Party], Azapo [Azanian People's Organization], etc, will vote for. - Apathy or uninterest. |
FBIS4-124_1 | Factors Affecting Voting Outcome Assessed | uncertain about their choice? The two main reasons are uninterest and ignorance. These were the answers by people who are still undecided about their choice: I'm not interested in politics or the election (25 percent, who were more likely to be coloureds or Indians). I don't know what is going on politically (19 percent, coloureds, Indians, lower income, over-50s). I like more than one party and can't decide which to vote for (15 percent, upper income whites). I don't know what each of the parties stands for (12 percent), and I don't like or trust any of the parties or leaders (9 percent). Minor reasons were: I don't know how to vote; I don't know where to vote; my vote won't make a difference; promises are not being kept; have not decided yet; parties are changing their policies and, lots can still happen. FREEDOM FRONT, 7 PERCENT? General Constand Viljoen's Freedom Front (FF), the electoral vehicle of conservative whites, is the wild card in next month's election. A late entrant to the race, the front's showing is unpredictable as fieldwork was conducted before it decided to take part in the election. However, if we assume a large proportion of CP [Conservative Party] and some white IFP and most Volksfront [National Front] supporters will vote for it, the FF could get as much as 7 percent of the vote. This is not a scientific research prediction but only an estimation. NATAL Natal is the area where those who want a free and fair election just do not know what is going to happen. Will most people be able to vote? How much violence and intimidation will there be? Will voting in all areas be declared valid after the election? There are all these doubts, but of those who were prepared to name a party 85 percent had no doubt they would stick to this party "no matter what happens". Only 54 percent of people polled were prepared to name their choice. The remainder were either not sure who to vote for (19 percent), not prepared to say (15 percent) or said they could not or would not vote (12 percent). Of all those polled in Natal, 22 percent said they would vote for the ANC, 16 percent for the NP [National Party], 12 percent for the IFP and 4 percent for "others". The overall result could be greatly effected by those |
FBIS4-155_0 | Violence Increasing in Natal; 19 Killed | BFN [Text] Nineteen people were killed in incidents of violence in Natal last night. Forty people have been killed in the province since the declaration of a state of emergency on Thursday [31 March]. Nine of the latest victims were killed in Port Shepstone and another four died at Eshowe. The others were killed in kwaMashu, Umlazi, Verulam, and the lower Umfolozi area. About 1,200 SADF [South African Defense Force] troops have been deployed in kwaZulu-Natal over the past few days. |
FBIS4-156_0 | Further Details on Violence | BFN [Text] Durban April 3 SAPA -- Nine African National Congress supporters were massacred in their kraal outside Port Shepstone, Natal South Coast, on Saturday [2 April] and an Inkatha Freedom Party [IFP] supporter was allegedly shot dead by ANC supporters while praying in Durban's Bhambayi shack settlement on Sunday, police said. And police on Sunday said at least another eight people were murdered in Natal since the declaration of a state of emergency in the province three days ago, bringing to almost 40 the number killed since then. SA Police spokesman Lt-Col Marzedt de Beer said Ethel Danisa, 25, was shot dead in war-torn Bhambayi while she and others were praying. Another woman was injured. Col de Beer said gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles fired at the group from an ANC stronghold in Bhambayi. The women were praying beside a cross, recently erected there by clerics after a peace march. In Port Shepstone at about 8.30pm on Saturday the kraal of the Mzelemu family in the Nkulu ward was approached by men who identified themselves as policemen and forced their way into the homestead. One family member fled the area immediately. Nine others, including a five-month-old baby and two other children were chopped and stabbed to death. The dead were identified as: Gugu Mzelemu, 5 months; Ciyisa Mzelemu, 70; Philisile Mzelemu, 3; Hlengiwe Mzelemu, 13; Phindile Mzelemu, 8; Phumele Mzelemu, 18; Prudence Mzelemu, 13; Lindiwe Mzelemu, 16; and Doris Mzelemu, 46. Milfred Mzelemu was wounded in the attack. "The above are all ANC supporters," Col de Beer said. Meanwhile in Inanda, near Bhambayi, three people were murdered on Saturday night. Police also reported a rape and armed robbery in the Amatikwe area where two of the killings occurred. Aaron Sibisi, 49, an unidentified 15-year-old girl and an unidentified 26-year-old man were shot dead in separate incidents. In Eshowe, Natal North Coast, five people were killed since Thursday. On Friday in the Gezinsila township three people were shot dead. The body of Bonginkosi Biyela, 42, was found on a footpath in the area. Lindi Nxumalo, 18; and Nkosinathi Mkhize, 18, were shot dead while sleeping. In the nearby Umhlalazi area, Bongokwakhe Mthimkulu, 23, was fatally shot on Friday. In Gezinsila on Thursday night Solomuzi Mthambu, 38, was shot dead by unknown killers when he went to close the gate to his yard. |
FBIS4-194_0 | Human Rights Groups Report Massacre in Eastern Town | BFN [Text] Ndjamena, April 1 (AFP) -- Human rights groups here Friday [1 April] deplored a massacre in the eastern town of Abeche which left over 200 dead and missing in January. A report issued by a commission of enquiry set up by five human rights groups said 201 people had been killed and 23 were missing in the wake of clashes between government forces and Chad National Front rebels in the town located 500 kilometers northeast of here. The government at the time said that 30 rebels and two soldiers were killed when the armed opposition group attacked the garrison in Abeche on January 23. Most of the rebels, who had earlier agreed to a ceasefire and then reportedly turned on the government forces, reportedly escaped with a number of weapons. But the commission of enquiry said that 201 people had died, either in the original clashes or in army mop-up operations in the town afterwards, and that there had been numerous cases of torture, rape and pillage by government forces against the civilian population. "All cases of summary execution were the work of the gendarmes and of the soldiers, mostly the Republican Guard whose main leaders are known and have been identified," the report said. The Republican Guard is an elite army unit which takes its orders directly from the head of state. The government forces combed the city looking for rebels who might have gone into hiding after the original clashes "and this operation very quickly turned into a man-hunt", according to the report which spoke of 136 people killed in the city and the others nearby. The investigators also met with 23 captured rebels who were being held in very poor conditions and of whom those wounded were not receiving medical attention. |
FBIS4-236_0 | 88 Killed in KwaZulu Since State of Emergency | BFN [Report by Craig Doonan and Clive Govender] [Excerpts] Durban April 5 SAPA -- At least 88 people have been confirmed killed in six days as violence continues to sweep the politically charged Natal/kwaZulu region despite last Thursday's declaration of a state of emergency. The toll could climb as reports from far-flung rural settlements only reach police liaison officials days later. Natal unrest monitor and academic Mary de Haas on Tuesday reported 16 additional weekend deaths in northern Natal townships and rural areas which police have not yet confirmed. Police reports put the toll at 88 since last Thursday -- a staggering average of 14 killings a day under emergency rule. Violence in Natal has reached unprecedented levels with 300 deaths reported in March -- the highest in the province in several years. [passage omitted] The confirmed death toll following violence in kwaMashu near Durban on Sunday night has risen to 12, the KZP [kwaZulu Police] reported on Tuesday, adding seven to the earlier report of five hostel dwellers killed. Capt Zakwe said the latest killings were linked to the ongoing political feud which erupted in the township after "Zulu royalists" occupied the venue of an African National Congress rally three weeks ago. In other recent reports, kwaMashu police said another person was shot dead in the township on Monday night. Four youths were gunned down at Folweni south of Durban, also on Monday night. The badly decomposed body of a man was found in Esikhawini on the north coast on Sunday night. [passage omitted] Pietermaritzburg police spokesman Maj Henry Budhram said two people were killed after a "kangaroo court" hearing on Saturday. He said both men were tied to a chair and set alight at Maphumulo near Greytown. The KZP also reported the killing of a man in Mpumalanga near Durban at the weekend. He was shot. |
FBIS4-237_0 | 13 More Killings Reported | BFN [Text] Durban April 6 SAPA -- Police have reported 13 further killings in Natal this week, pushing the death toll since last Thursday's declaration of a state of emergency in the region to at least 101. It emerged on Wednesday that there were some overlaps in violence reports from the kwaZulu Police, SA Police [SAP] and the SA Defence Force [SADF]. The latest confirmed deaths, however, put the toll at 101 since last Thursday. Among the overlapping reports was one of six deaths in Ndwedwe at the weekend, reported by the SAP on Wednesday. The kwaZulu Police on Tuesday reported 10 weekend killings in Ndwedwe and it emerged that this included the SAP's report of six murders there. The Natal Security Committee -- comprising the SAP and SADF -- said 11 more people had been killed in the region since Tuesday morning. After investigation, however, it emerged that four of these deaths had already been reported. The latest deaths included the fatal shooting of a man at Batania mission, near Port Shepstone. In war-torn Bhambayi, north of Durban, a woman was shot dead and another injured. In kwaMbonambi, on the North Coast, a man was shot dead. In the nearby Masekane area, a school child was fatally shot. In the Northern Natal area of Newcastle, two people were killed and seven were injured in an attack at the Mfolozi reserve. At the Mashenga reserve, also near Newcastle, a man was shot dead. The committee said three houses were burnt down in the Drycott area of Estcourt, in the Midlands, and two houses were petrol bombed in the Northern Natal area of Dundee. At kwaKhoza, near the North Coast area of Eshowe, security forces confiscated sticks, spears, and a firearm from a group of 20 men. In Wembezi, outside Estcourt, participants of an Inkatha Freedom Party [IFP] march were searched and a revolver and homemade gun were confiscated along with a quantity of ammunition. IFP supporters en route to Tuesday's march in Empangeni were stopped in two buses and a shotgun, ammunition, and three homemade guns were confiscated. Meanwhile, Wednesday's toll includes six deaths reported earlier in Nongoma, Zululand, where three people were shot dead in a car, and another three were murdered in a minibus in a suspected taxi feud. |
FBIS4-241_4 | Parties' Views on Wealth, Capital Gains Tax | either a wealth or capital gains tax. Generally speaking, the IFP is against increasing the already high tax burden. High taxes serve not only to destroy entrepreneurship and initiative, they also encourage the hoarding of resources and thus stunt potential for growth. While the IFP is keenly aware of the need to narrow income and wealth disparities between population groups, we are not convinced that either a wealth or a capital gains tax will prove effective in achieving this objective. Importantly, the implementation of either tax, while having negligible effect on total revenue collected, will have a negative impact on the ability of this country to attract foreign investment. One of the few benefits of such taxes would be their symbolic value. However, the frightening away of investment is a high price to pay to create the illusion that there is a redistribution of income and wealth. Further, a capital gains tax is neither equitable nor "fair". For it to be equitable and fair, all capital gains would need to be taxable. Such an approach is needed especially since the rich -- having access to better credit facilities -- can always avoid asset sales which attract taxes. The middle and lower classes, on the other hand, are most likely in times of need to be forced for sell their assets and thus incur the tax. Secondly, SA does not have the administrative capacity to successfully implement a capital gains tax system which would, in turn, demand greater tax administration without actually substantially increasing government revenue. National Party The NP [National Party] does not support a wealth tax because that would amount to double taxation -- the wealth in the hands of a person or company has been taxed before by way of income tax, estate duty and indirect taxes. Capital gains tax is something that could be considered, but it should be done very carefully because it could discourage investment. Pan-Africanist Congress The PAC [Pan-Africanist Congress] of Azania will use wealth and capital gains taxation to address extremes of wealth and poverty. Wealth taxation and capital gains tax will be part of a broader economic strategy. Capital gains and wealth taxes, far from being punitive, are distributive and reconstructive in the short and medium term. In the long term, the capital and wealth base will be sufficiently broadened to ensure taxation is borne by the Azanian society as a whole. |
FBIS4-277_0 | Citizen Force Deploying 850 Soldiers in Natal | BFN [Text] The South African army has strengthened its force in the volatile kwaZulu-Natal area. Eighty-eight people have died in the area since the state of emergency was declared last month. Seven hundred members of the Citizen Force Unit have arrived in Ladysmith and 150 more are expected tomorrow. [Begin recording] [Correspondent Veronica van der Westhuizen] Citizen Force members arrived at the Ladysmith base early this morning. They were called up and mobilized within two weeks. The men will be joining other troops in northern Natal and Zululand. Welcoming the troops later in the day Brigadier Deon Ferreira of Natal Command emphasized that their main task was to help restore peace and stability. Brigadier Ferreira said there was a perception that the army was against the Zulu nation. This he said was not the case. He added that a lack of tolerance had resulted in the callous murders of people. The army was deployed to help stop this ongoing tide of violence in the area. Ninety percent of the Citizen Force come from Natal. [A-Company Commander Maj. John Rutherford] We are all family people. We are here basically so that there is stability -- to ensure stability in the country so that there can be free and fair elections at the end of the day and then go home and then be happy again, really. [Van der Westhuizen] The force members wasted no time in making sure their vehicles were in tip-top condition. The troops will leave for Eshowe tomorrow from where they will be deployed in volatile areas. With the arrival of the 850 members today and tomorrow there will be over 2,000 additional troops in kwaZulu- Natal. [end recording] |
FBIS4-320_0 | Low Turnout Reported in Constituency By-Elections | BFN [Text] Voting in the Lukasha constituency by-elections started at (?a) low key this morning, with some polling stations recording as few 38 voters by midday. A ZANA survey revealed that (Chikambi) had the highest number of voters by noon, having a relatively good turnout at 69 votes out of 1,664 registered voters. Presiding officers in most polling stations visited attributed the low turnout to people's preference to cultivate their gardens in the morning, but that the situation could change by late in the afternoon. There was also the problem of people present outdated voters' cards or [words indistinct] cards of the late 1980's. Voting in the Mufulira constituency by-elections started on a very poor note, with some polling stations recording as few as 10 voters by mid-morning today. The voting, which started at 0600 has been characterized by apathy, as a snap survey carried out by the Zambia News Agency shows, most polling stations visited recorded below 30 voters by 1100. At (Antanshe) Primary School in Kamuchanga, only 39 voters had cast their votes by 1050, out of a total of 1,032 registered voters. In Kahoma East and Kansuswa the presiding officers, who did not want to be named, said the turnout was very poor. In Kamuchanga, the situation was not different from Kahoma and Kansuswa where, by 0900, only about eight people had cast their votes. At Kachironda, the turnout was (?a bit) [words indistinct] the presiding officers said the turnout was good so he could not [words indistinct] actual figures of people who had voted. Meanwhile, voting in the Chinsali by-elections went on (?fitfully) at a number of polling stations visited by ZNBC [Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation]. By 1630 about 1,000 people had cast their votes at (?all) polling stations. Four of the polling stations visited by ZNBC did not have permanent independent observers to monitor the elections and the United National Independence Party [UNIP] did not send its agents [words indistinct] stations visited by ZNBC. Counting of the votes is expected to start before midnight. |
FBIS4-355_0 | Kigali Erupts in Violence; Ministers Killed `At Least' 22 Clergy Killed | BFN [Text] Paris, April 8 (AFP) -- At least 22 priests and nuns have been killed in Rwanda since clashes began there Thursday [7 April], church officials said Friday in Kigali, reached by telephone from Paris. Six priests and nine nuns were killed in Kigali itself and six priests and a nun in the town of Nyundo, in the northwest province of Gisenye, the official at the papal nuncio's office said. |
FBIS4-380_0 | Aid Group Reports 8,000 Killed in Kigali | BFN [Excerpt] The Medecins Sans Frontieres organization says that in the past few days 8,000 people have been killed in Kigali alone. It is said that throughout Rwanda several tens of thousands of people have been killed in the troubles. Refugees who have crossed the border with Zaire speak of brutal massacres by the government soldiers. [passage omitted] |
FBIS4-381_0 | Massacres, Manhunts Continue | BFN [By Marie-Goretti Uwibambe] [Text] Kigali, April 10 (AFP) -- Ethnic killings, mainly of the Tutsi minority, and manhunts were still under way in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Sunday [10 April], leaving many bodies lying in the streets. The massacres were taking place mostly in working-class districts, an AFP correspondent reported, four days after Rwanda's president and his counterpart from neighbouring Burundi were slain when their plane was reportedly shot down. The correspondent saw at least 20 bodies piled up in front of her own home in a northeastern part of Kigali. Vans were picking up the dead to take them off for burial in mass graves. Many people were murdered in their homes, and most Kigali residents dared not venture into the streets except to purchase essential food supplies. Residents of the Hutu majority in the capital, sometimes backed by members of the Rwandan army, were murdering Tutsis in the latest flare-up of the central African nation's endemic ethnic strife, following the death of the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana. Red Cross workers reported light arms fire in the morning Sunday, but said they could no longer hear any heavy weapons fire. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also stated that there were "too many bodies in the streets and the ICRC is giving priority to the living, the injured." The ICRC earlier reported that "thousands" of people had been killed and wounded in ethnic bloodletting which brought the country to the brink of civil war since the death of Habyarimana in what the Rwandan government described as a rocket attack on his plane. The president had been on his way home from a regional summit in Uganda to discuss UN-sponsored peace-making efforts in Rwanda and Burundi, also troubled by strife between Hutus and Tutsis. His government last year signed a ceasefire and political deal with Tutsi rebels of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), but the front had yet to be brought into government. |
FBIS4-384_0 | Resumption of Artillery Fire Reported in Kigali | BFN [Text] There was another day of man-hunts and looting in Kigali on Sunday [10 April]. The corpses lying around on the ground are being picked up in vans and buried in common graves. Alongside these ghastly events, there has been fierce fighting on the outskirts of Kigali between the army and the Patriotic Front. Jean Helene is there: [Begin Helene recording] Firing started close to the Meridien Hotel, 200 meters from the frontline -- or at least the one in Kigali. Government sources speak of three other combat zones in the north. In the capital, the troops of the Rwandan Patriotic Front [RPF] are still fighting around the former parliament building against the Presidential Guard, which is probably supported by units of the Rwandan Armed Forces. After a calm morning, heavy artillery could be heard throughout the afternoon, and violent shelling shook the town for 20 minutes this evening. The RPF reinforcements that have been announced are still awaited. Evidently they have been slowed down in their advance toward Kigali. UNAMIR [UN Mission in Rwanda] soldiers are making forays every day from the Meridien, where stray bullets burst from time to time: They are going to fetch expatriate families scattered around the districts affected by the fighting. There are nearly 500 expatriates in the Meridien today, waiting for evacuation, which can only be done when there is calm. [end recording] |
FBIS4-398_0 | Correspondent on `Hunt for Belgians' in Kigali | BFN [Excerpt] The night seems to have been calm in Kigali, although some sporadic fire is reported. Yesterday, 400 Belgian paratroopers took off to take part in the evacuation. The Rwandan Government has officially authorized our planes to land, but, according to the Belgian Defense Ministry, it is not at all clear whether the Rwandan Army is obeying the new government's orders. Kigali airport remains blocked, and the situation is becoming more and more dangerous for Belgian nationals. Jean-Philippe Seti of Radio Suisse Romande reports from Kigali: [Seti] The white population is not being directly targeted, but it is becoming increasingly dangerous to step out into the street, since you can be murdered for your valuables. There is, however, a new element: The hunt for Belgians has begun. It is very dangerous to be a Belgian in Kigali. I have been stopped at several checkpoints and brutally asked whether I am Belgian. It is clear that Belgians are being targeted. The Belgians are particularly afraid. [passage omitted] |
FBIS4-463_0 | Citizens Return From Kigali, Recount Atrocities | BFN [Text] Nairobi, 11 Apr (KNA) -- The first batch of over 20 Kenyans from Kigali, Rwanda, arrived in Nairobi today with horrifying accounts of the carnage in that country. The Kenyans, who were evacuated by the U.S. Air Force plane, included Kenya Airways employees, embassy officials and their dependents. Also in the same plane were over 40 American citizens. They were met on arrival by the American ambassador to Kenya, Ms. Aurelia Brazeal, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy chief of protocol, Mr. F.O. Oyaya. Those interviewed by the press narrated about the brutal ethnic killings since the death of the Rwanda and Burundi presidents. The Kenyans expressed gratitude to the U.S. officials in Kigali, who provided escort to their convoy from Kigali to Bujumbura. |
FBIS4-511_0 | HRC Reports Deaths From Political Violence Double | BFN [Report by M Merten] [Text] Johannesburg April 10 SAPA -- Five hundred and fifty two people died in politically related violence during March, reversing a seven month-long downward trend, the latest Human Rights Commission [HRC] report said on Sunday [10 April]. It was more double the 245 deaths recorded in February and also the fourth highest monthly death rate since the HRC began monitoring politically related violence in 1990. The HRC recorded 640 incidents of political violence, compared with February's figure of 361. Nearly half of this year's total of 1,529 incidents took place in March. The death toll in Natal in March increased by 73 percent to 311 deaths compared to February. This was "the most concerning element of this months' figure as it is the only region in which high levels of ongoing violence are occuring", the report said. The HRC recorded 4,139 deaths since the election date was announced in July 1993 and 13,464 deaths since July 1990. The number of injuries has increased more than three times from 302 in February to 1,053 in March. The 643 political arrests were made in March. This was the highest number of arrests during the past 18 months, excluding August 1993. The figure was inflated by the arrest of 405 prison warders taking part in an illegal gathering, the report said. The Bophuthatswana uprising, the Zulu royalist march through Johannesburg on March 28 and prisoners' protests contributed to the high figures, according to the report. |
FBIS4-512_0 | 34 Killed in kwaZulu/Natal Over Weekend | BFN [Text] Durban April 11 SAPA -- The kwaZulu Police [KZP] on Monday [11 April] reported 10 weekend murders in the homeland while the SA Police [SAP] in Natal reported at least 24 deaths, pushing the violence toll in kwaZulu/Natal since Friday to at least 34. The number of reported killings in the province since the state of emergency was declared on March 31 now stands at at least 167. Most deaths have been politically linked, while some have resulted from ordinary crime. The SAP on Monday afternoon reported three further killings in separate weekend attacks in Ladysmith's Ezakheni township. In total, four people were killed there since Friday. The KZP, meanwhile, reported 10 killings in kwaZulu -- most in townships south of Durban. Two people were also killed in a taxi dispute in the Nongoma area of kwaZulu, said the kzp. Reports indicated violence was widespread in Natal at the weekend. Among the victims were three people who were shot dead in the North Coast area of Stanger on Friday night when gunmen opened fire on pedestrians. Two people were injured. The dead were named as Nanthani Mbonambi, Lizwe Gcaleke and Walter Magwaza. The motive for the attack appeared to be political, police said. KwaMashu and Inanda remained flashpoints of violence in areas north of Durban. Police said three suspected robbers were caught by community members and stabbed to death in the Amawoti area of Inanda on Sunday. Local police said a man was shot dead in nearby J section of kwaMashu while a man was fatally shot at the township's Tembalihle railway station on Sunday. |
FBIS4-515_0 | SACOB to Businesses: Plan for `Worst Case Scenario' | BFN [By Sean Feely] [Text] Johannesburg April 8 SAPA -- The SA Chamber of Business [SACOB] has alerted its 40,000 member enterprises to set up contingency plans in the run up to and after the April elections, SACOB legal affairs Director Ken Warren said on Friday [8 April]. Speaking in Johannesburg, Mr Warren said businesses should plan for a "worst case scenario", in view of the social turmoil and violence which has gripped the country ahead of its first all race polls. SACOB tentatively defined the worst case as a scenario in which the level of violence rises to a point that damages business property and the security of staff. The chamber sent in early March a circular advising all its members to bolster and check their provisions with regard to security, fire-fighting equipment, communication networks and the supply of essential production materials. Mr Warren said business had also set up day-to-day communication channels with the civil protection authorities in each area to monitor potential flashpoints. Violence has escalated, specifically in Natal-kwaZulu, ahead of the poll scheduled for April 26-28. More than 130 people have been killed in Natal-kwaZulu since the imposition of a state of emergency in the province on March 31. More than 50 people were killed in central Johannesburg and neighbouring areas in late March in confrontations during a Zulu protest march, disrupting many companies and threatening the safety of staff working in the central business district. An accountant died after being hit by bullets while working on his personal computer in his downtown office. The pc had been situated near a first floor window. The turmoil has raised fears in the business community that plant, equipment, raw materials and products could be damaged or destroyed, as well as employees wounded or even killed. "Planning and precautionary measures should commence immediately... Great care will have to be taken to prevent or minimise unnecessary anxiety or panic among employees," the SACOB circular advised. It recommended that plans be implemented to ensure the safety of employees travelling to and from work, and it could be necessary to house key personnel on the business premises. "Vehicle hijacking can be expected to increase, with freight vehicles and combis as likely specific targets, as a result of inter alia, pressure to transport voters to polling booths." In addition, the chamber urged enterprises to plan for power disruptions, and the provision of essential |
FBIS4-519_0 | Mercenaries in Angola Said Threatened With Death | BFN [Report by Nick Bezuidenhout] [Text] Mercenaries serving in the controversial company Executive Outcomes have reportedly been threatened with death should they "speak out" about the war they are conducting with the Angolan MPLA [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola] government against the rebel group, UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola]. The men, mostly former soldiers of the South African Defense Force or former members of Koevoet [Crowbar; Namibia police counterinsurgency unit], returned to South Africa at the beginning of this year when they found they were not only supposed to train Angolan soldiers, but also fight against UNITA. The operation in Angola is believed to be under the command of former members of the Civil Cooperation Bureau [CCB]. Executive Outcomes is alleged to be hiring former South African soldiers under the pretext of training soldiers in Angola and guarding the oil refineries. They receive salaries of between 7,300 and 14,000 rands, paid in U.S. dollars. Eben Barlow, Nico Palm, and Lafras Luitingh are among the people running Executive Outcomes. Mr. Barlow is the director, and Mr. Palm is the financial manager. Mr. Luitingh, former CCB member, was the "handler" of Mr. Ferdi Barnard, a former CCB member accused of having killed human rights activist, David Webster. Reliable sources have disclosed to BEELD that the men employed by Executive Outcomes heard at the beginning of January that they had to fight against UNITA as well. A group of about 20 refused to carry out the instruction and were sent back to South Africa. Another group was also sent back about three weeks later because they had also refused. It is also alleged they were told that they would be "eliminated in a natural manner" should they talk about what is going on in Angola. A Namibian newspaper reports that UNITA itself had said that it had shot dead 12 South African mercenaries. One of them was Lieutenant Steyn Marais, who had grown up in Namibia and served five years in the South African Defense Force's reconnaissance commando. |
FBIS4-529_8 | President Issaias Discusses Political Issues | country. [Dahli] What reasons led you to disband the party at the end of 1989? [Issaias] When we reached the firm conclusion that there were no fundamental differences dividing the members of the People's Front and those of that party, we decided to disband it, to avoid getting into the predicament of duplication, and to prevent party members and the rest of the base of the Front creating problems from nothing. [Dahli] What standards were used in choosing party members? [Issaias] We had secret cells studying the readiness of this or that person to enlist under the party's banner. [Dahli] What were your relations with the leadership of the secret Marxist Labor Party that existed inside the ELF? [Issaias] There were several secret meetings between the leaders of the two parties with the objective of uniting them as a prelude to the uniting of the two fronts, the ELF and the People's Front. It became clear in our meetings that there were no essential conflicts in our general proposals. [Dahli] In spite of that, no unity was effected between the parties. To the contrary, Eritrea was the scene of ruinous civil wars. Why did that happen? [Issaias] In my view, the leadership of the Labor Party in the ELF was dealing with Marxism on the basis of opportunism, totally unrelated to the ideology as an ideology. [Dahli] Did the dissolution of the party coincide with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union by coincidence, or was there a cause-and-effect relation between the two events? [Issaias] There was no cause-and-effect relation between the two issues. We reviewed events, and our ideological positions with the end of 1978, when the Soviet Union, former South Yemen, and the progressive forces in the Palestinian revolutionary factions aligned themselves with the enemies of our revolution. We had considered them strategic allies, and included them in our ranks in our political party schools. [Dahli] Did your ideological position change with the Soviet Union's change of policy vis-a-vis your revolution? [Issaias] No. It was not that easy or that simple. Without going into too much detail, we may say that starting that day we freed ourselves from rigid and sterile ideological positions, and adopted a realistic, pragmatic policy in our dealing both with the situation in Eritrea and with the outside world. [Dahli] Now that so many historical changes have taken |
FBIS4-541_0 | Fighting Between Army, RPF Continues in Kigali RPF Radio Reports on Clashes | BFN [Text] Reports reaching us say that heavy fighting took place yesterday in the areas of Mutara, Byumba, and Ruhengeri. In the Mutara Zone, our forces inflicted heavy casualties on government forces. Some of the government soldiers surrended to our forces voluntarily. Many were taken as prisoners of war, while others went into disarray. And in Kigali, Presidential Guards fired heavy rockets at King Faysal Hospital killing 29 people and wounding 70 others. This took place on 10 April 1994, just two days ago. |
FBIS4-554_2 | Monsengwo on Law on Premiership, Rwanda Crisis | presidential circles of this, was voted on in the normal way. That left a minor point of disagreement on the fact that the HCR takes control of the issue if there is disagreement within the political class; it has been removed because we found a compromise wording which satisfied the concerns of all sides. The disputed phrase has become: "Once this period is over (10 days -- L'ECHO editor's note), the HCR takes control of the issue." This document has therefore been adopted in an absolutely proper way. I think that there is not the slightest doubt and that the document will not be resubmitted to the plenary session because the latter has given full powers to the office to verify that the text is in order. That has been done. The document has therefore been adopted by everybody and even the USORAS [Sacred Union of the Radical Opposition], which left during the vote, came back for the closing ceremony. [Grogna] You spoke of difficulties encountered by the transitional document adopted by the CNS. Some importants points from that document seem to have been excluded, like the one making provision for the prime minister to be one of the transitional institutions.... [Monsengwo] Certain points were not excluded. We simply left it to those who refer to the CNS institutional order to act accordingly. It is for them to say what they believe. [Grogna] Knowing very well that, if they continue to support Tshisekedi, there will be deadlock.... [Monsengwo] I do not see why there should be deadlock. The question is why some people express reservations about Tshisekedi. They must have a motive and the opposition can try to find a solution to this problem. The opposition should respond to the reasoned views of the various sides to reassure them. Dialogue is vital. We aim to create a government of national unity. It cannot be formed without consultation and dialogue. This dialogue must start at the level of the appointment of the prime minister in order to encourage the formation of the government. It is not enough to impose a prime minister, those who are appointed to work with him must agree to join his government. The problems connected with the formation of such a government can be cleared up during discussions relating to the prime minister. We must succeed in reassuring each other. I do not see things in terms |
FBIS4-560_0 | Rwandan Shells Hit Southwest Areas; Border Calm | BFN [Text] Kampala, 12 Apr (KNA) -- Ugandan border villages in Ntungamo and Kabale districts came under attack from Rwandan troops on Sunday [10 April], the independent MONITOR newspaper reported Tuesday. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, works, transport and communications minister and National Resistance Council (NRC) (Parliament) member for Kabale Municipality, on Tuesday confirmed the shelling, but said he lacked details. "We don't have any specific details of the incident," he said. The state-owned NEW VISION newspaper said four artillery shells form the Rwandan hill of Muriha landed in Kamwezi in Kabale District on Sunday near the UN Military Observers' team [UN Observer Mission for Uganda and Rwanda -- UNOMUR] station. The shells from Rwandan Government troops currently engaged in a shoot out with the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) hit Kamwezi at midday, but caused no injury or damage to property. Increased fighting between the Armed Forces and the RPA has been reported since the death of Rwandan President Major General Juvenal Habyarimana in a plane crash on Wednesday. The situation along the Uganda-Rwanda border areas is, however, said to be calm, although World Food Program (WFP) relief supplies for Rwanda have been stuck in Uganda's border town of Kabale. The trucks were headed for Kigali and other turmoil-hit areas in the north of the country before the outbreak of the chaos in Rwanda. UNOMUR is meanwhile reported to have increased the frequency of its patrols across the border. When the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda from Uganda in 1990, Rwanda Government troops retaliated with artillery attacks. Rwanda has accused Uganda of active support for the RPF rebels. Meanwhile, hundreds of Rwandan civilians from the Ruhengeri region have continued to enter Uganda and Zaire as they flee the fighting between the RPF and government troops, THE NEW VISION reported. Reports from the border adjoining the three countries said civilians had not been directly affected by the fresh clashes between the two sides, but had been scared away by the sound of gunfire, which could be heard from a close range. In spite the growing chaos in the troubled state, a number of Rwandan refugees have continued to enter Rwanda through safe areas under the RPA after leaving camps in Uganda. A lorry full of refugees was reportedly seen crossing into Rwanda through an unofficial entry point on Sunday. |
FBIS4-648_0 | `At Least 20 Dead' in Renewed Cuito Fighting | BFN [Text] There has been a revival of the war in Angola. This afternoon Cuito, the capital of Bie Province, was the scene of heavy fighting between government and UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola] forces. At the moment no one has given an explanation for the flare-up, which has already caused at least 20 deaths. Our correspondent Paulo Juliao reports: [Juliao] Fighting between government and UNITA forces has been resumed and the city of Cuito is once again under heavy shelling. The clashes started at about 1600. The causes of this new flare-up between the Luanda and Savimbi forces are still unknown. A source here in Luanda has said that 20 people have been killed in Cuito in the past few hours. There are no figures for the number of wounded. The Cuito clashes are being interpreted here as a counter- offensive by UNITA forces following their loss of a substantial part of the city of Dalatando, capital of Cuanza Norte Province, occupied by the rebels for over two years now. It will be recalled that Cuito was recently visited by UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. Some believe that he instructed his forces to resume the fighting, hence today's developments. Paulo Juliao reporting from Luanda for Radio Renascenca. |
FBIS4-711_0 | Massacres Continue as Fighting Enters 2d Week | BFN [Text] The killing of innocent people in Kigali by MRND [Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development] youthwingers and Presidential Guards continues. In commune Bicyumbi, Kigali Prefecture, 350 people have been killed. The organizer is the chief of commune Bicyumbi, Mr. Juvenal Rugambarara. Yesterday, Chief Rugambarara killed 200 people who had taken refuge in a missionary station at a place called (Mushya). (Mushya) is in Commune Gikoro, which the neighboring commune [word indistinct]. Mr. Rugambarara has said that he has [words indistinct] deal with, after which he will move to neighboring communes. The Presidential Guards and the MRND youthwingers are conducting killings in other prefectures of Rwanda, notably Cyangugu and Gisenyi. These killings should be stopped before anybody can talk about a cease-fire between the Rwandese Patriotic Front and those killing the innocent people. Those calling for a cease-fire, either they are not willing or unable to stop the killing of innocent people in Rwanda. A cease-fire is not therefore a solution. The only option is to arrest the killers and restore law and order in the country. |
FBIS4-714_0 | 1,200 Reported Massacred in Church | BFN [Excerpts] Heavy fighting took place last night in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. [passage omitted] The situation is confused. Some parts of the city are in the hands of government troops, others in the hands of the rebel Patriotic Front or civilian militias. Yesterday afternoon more foreigners were evacuated from Kigali. They were about a dozen Belgian journalists and around a dozen other foreigners. They were flown to Nairobi. Two hundred Belgian paratroopers also left. Another dozen or so Belgian journalists are still in Kigali. This morning flights were delayed by mist. [passage omitted] The Belgian troops under the United Nations have gathered at the airport, awaiting a decision from the United Nations Security Council and the government to withdraw. Information has also been received of the death of around 30 Rwandan Red Cross workers and seven UNICEF staff. [passage omitted] Supporters of the killed president, Habyarimana, have also perpetrated a massacre in a church not far from Kigali. Almost 1,200 people were murdered. The majority were children. [passage omitted] |
FBIS4-729_0 | Reports Nearly 30 Employees Killed | BFN [Text] Geneva, April 14 (AFP) -- Nearly 30 Red Cross workers have been killed in the recent carnage in Rwanda, the relief organization said Thursday [14 April]. Rwanda has born torn by ethnic bloodletting since its president and the president of neighboring Rwanda died in a plane crash last week. |
FBIS4-768_1 | Potential Disorder in Election Process Examined | lower key -- the breaking up of NP [National Party] and DP [Democratic Party] meetings. Next is the polling period when intimidation is likely to intensify (especially if the IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party] stays out of the election and the very act of voting becomes a public political statement). Confusion and panic are possible at the polling stations, where most voters have absolutely no experience of the process. Attempts to interfere with the polling process are possible, while tensions could be created by people marching in large groups to cast their vote, out of a sense of insecurity. A period of over-exuberance could threaten public order immediately after the results are made known. It would be exacerbated if the ANC should register the kind of runaway victory that could encourage some of its supporters to press for a scrapping of the power-sharing mechanisms of the interim constitution. It is possible elements of the disadvantaged classes will have totally unrealistic expectations and will stream into the suburbs to claim their houses, swimming pools and cars. And the losers could seek to give forceful expression to their rejection of the outcome. Finally, a phase of disillusioned anger is almost certain, and this could occur after the military reservists have been demobilised. Chris de Kock and Charl Schutte, of the Human Sciences Research Council, examine this question in depth in an empirical study of the question of violence over the elections. They note that posters promoting voter literacy pose the question: "Why vote?" then answer: "Education, housing, jobs and peace." They ask if the compilers are ignorant of the theory of rising expectations or whether they want to pass on a subtle message stimulating such expectations. "Whatever their reasons, there can be little doubt they are doing an elected transitional government a great disservice. Expectations of immediate gratification in terms of housing, education, work and peace are being aroused in the largest segment of the South African population." They say no transition government could meet such expectations in a short period, which will cause high levels of frustration and aggression to be exploited by enemies of the transitional government. "One should also not lose sight of the fact that the black population in particular, after a decade of ungovernability and not paying for services and alternative structures, will not recognise the authority of a transitional government that does not 'deliver the goods' overnight." |
FBIS4-804_0 | RPF Radio Says Death Toll Exceeds 26,000 | BFN [Text] As the war continues in the country, a sense of insecurity has gripped the nation. Many people continue to die under the hands of the Presidential Guards, the MRND-CDR [Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development-Coalition for the Defense of the Republic] youth wingers and some elements of the Rwanda Army. So far the death toll is exceeding 26,000 people. Yesterday, reports said that Dr. Theoneste Gefaranga was murdered in his hiding place. Dr. Gafaranga was the second vice president in the PSD [Social Democratic Party]. In Commune Rukira, about 800 people were found by RPF [Rwandan Patriotic Front] soldiers locked in one place since the death of President Habyarimana. Some had died, and others were badly injured due to grenades that were thrown at them regularly. Others were dying of hunger. Those who were survived were rescued by the RPF troops. Reports say that the road from Kigali to Gitarama is ringed by dead bodies and starving refugees. The government is using trucks to clear the bodies. Another incident took place at the Zaire Embassy in Kigali, where 22 people were killed. Some of these people could have been Zaire nationals. And, in another turn of events, people in Commune Bicyumbi [Kigali Prefecture] have started defending themselves against the killers. They use traditional weapons like spears, bows and arrows, and pangas. Meanwhile, the Belgian foreign minister expressed fear that all the Belgians remaining in Rwanda were in imminent danger. He had information that the Rwanda Government soldiers had plans to kill Belgian soldiers who were part of the UN mission in Rwanda. Yesterday 440 Belgian soldiers were still stranded at the Kigali Airport. The foreign minister, Mr. Willy Claes, continuously appealed to his government to do all possible to evacuate them. |
FBIS4-839_0 | Security Committee: 20 Killed in Natal Over Weekend | BFN [Text] Durban April 18 SAPA -- The Natal Security Committee on Monday [18 April] reported at least 20 killings in the province at the weekend, raising to at least 237 the toll from violence in Natal since a state of emergency was declared 18 days ago. Most of the weekend killings were in townships north of Durban and at other trouble spots. Additional reports were expected from the kwaZulu Police later on Monday. South African Police spokesman Maj Bala Naidoo said two men, Mr B. Dlamini and Mr T. Dlamini, were burnt to death when their shack was set alight at Bhambayi on Sunday night. He also reported the killing of headman Mr Jacob Magwazi in the Port Shepstone area. There were no further details. Inkatha Freedom Party spokesman Mr Ed Tillett reported the killing of kwaZulu self-protection camp instructor Mr Bheki Vilakazi at kwaMashu and the murder of Mr Senzo Dwara, the son of a kwaMashu councillor. Maj Naidoo could not immediately confirm these reports. |
FBIS4-863_0 | Kigali Battle Intensifies; Heavy Shelling Reported | BFN [Text] Kigali, 19 Apr (AFP) -- Fighting intensified in Kigali early Tuesday [19 April], with "heavy shelling and lots of gunfire" as rebels battled government forces for control of the body-strewn Rwandan capital, a United Nations official said. The increase in fighting followed an admission by Army commanders Monday that 1,000 rebel reinforcements had entered Kigali. Acting Armed Forces chief of staff General Marcel Gatsinzi said the military was prepared to consider all rebel conditions for a ceasefire. But UN officials contacted by telephone in Kigali said the two sides had failed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire because they had rejected each other's demands. The rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front wants the disbanding of the interim government proclaimed after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana in a mysterious April 6 plane crash. Habyarimana's death triggered a frenzied bloodbath as hardliners from his majority Hutu tribe, led by the presidential guard which accused the rebels of shooting down the president's plane, massacred members of the minority Tutsi group that dominates the rebel movement. The Red Cross said tens of thousands of people had been killed in the past 12 days of frenzied ethnic carnage in the capital and around the small central African highland nation. Most of those killed were Tutsis or people accused of supporting the rebels, though some witnesses have reported revenge killings by rebel guerrillas or Tutsi civilians. The massacres triggered an exodus of tens of thousands of refugees to neighbouring countries, the Red Cross said. |
FBIS4-872_1 | President Ousmane Speaks on First Anniversary | livestock rearers, and workers and employers. On the economic scene, the report on the ad hoc commission's review of the country's economic situation revealed the catastrophic situation in which our country found itself on the advent of the institutions of the Third Republic. This report stated, first of all, a great imbalance in public revenues, which resulted in arrears in salaries, scholarships, student allowances, and the inability of the government to pay other state expenditures. Then there also was the weight of the external debt, estimated at several hundreds of billions of CFA francs, and domestic debt, which was estimated at dozens of billions of CFA francs. Dear Niger citizens and countrymen, as you know, our country has had to cope with many socio-political difficulties within the past 12 months. These difficulties include a refusal to carry out a democratic change in the government, ethnocentrism, regionalism, an armed rebellion, and religious intolerance, which caused losses in human lives. [passage omitted] Apart from these numerous difficulties we have to cope with, it should be admitted that the bottom line of the situation we are dealing with is that there is an unprecedented financial crisis, a loss of working hours due to the intransigence and impatience of social partners, rallies and demonstrations which are often marked by violence, acts of vandalism, and organized insubordination. These, dear countrymen, are some of the many dangers which threatened our young democracy, social peace, and national cohesion throughout the year. Therefore, in order that the democratic process, so dearly acquired, is not perverted or spoiled, it is important to emphasize once and for all that democracy does not mean anarchy, a license to do whatever one likes, or apathy towards the state. [passage omitted] Fellow Niger citizens and dear countrymen, the difficult situation, we inherited as well as the numerous obstacles we have encountered, have at no moment shaken our firm and irreversible will to successfully implement our program. Our members of parliament were conscious of this indispensable reality, when they courageously and massively approved the government's general policy statement, after detailed study. Our action program gives priority to the settlement of social issues, and that was why high priority was given to the settlement of the problems affecting the university and other schools, notably the payment of arrears in scholarships, allowances, and registration fees. On the health scene, considerable efforts were made to provide our |
FBIS4-880_3 | Prime Minister Discusses Economic Measures | decision to devalue the CFA franc was made on 12 January. Considering the fact that these mining companies import a great quantity of other materials, they were obliged to review their production costs. Generally, the price of uranium is [word indistinct] price which is fixed according to the production cost of the mining companies. So, as the production costs have changed, the price must also change. Consequently, we have decided to meet with the buyers again to hold fresh discussions in order to fix a final price for uranium considering the devaluation. [Unidentified correspondent] Soon after the devaluation of the CFA franc, the government took a number of steps to exempt some goods from customs duties. This measure must end in April. Have you already thought of the end of April? Have some measures already been taken to prevent the situation from worsening? [Issoufou] You have asked an important question concerning the CFA devaluation. Before answering your question, I would like to remind you of the arguments on which this devaluation decision was founded. Our governments had outlined a program of stabilization and economic reforms. These programs were intended to streamline the public finances and boost the economy through internal adjustment measures. This is why, from the beginning, the program was drawn up on a number of factors, based first on the rate of growth of the gross domestic product which was fixed at around 4 percent. [passage omitted] This is why we have decided to reflect on the issue of devaluation. This is why we have analyzed the positive and negative effects of devaluation. Among these effects is the fall in the purchasing power of the people. This in turn is linked to the subsequent increase in inflation which we estimated to be a level which, fortunately, was not attained. All the analyses made and all the information received from the statistics department have shown that the average inflation is currently around 22 percent. As a first step, we reacted by freezing the prices of essential goods because we felt that the stocks of these commodities were in the stores; they were acquired before the devaluation. So there was no reason for increasing their prices. This is the reason for the government's first decision to freeze prices, but the government cannot keep prices frozen forever. This means that imports must continue under new post-devaluation conditions. This is why we |
FBIS4-912_0 | Government Forces Shell Stadium; 25 Killed | BFN [By David Chazan] [Excerpts] Nairobi, April 19 (AFP) -- At least 25 civilians were killed and nearly 60 wounded when Rwandan Government forces shelled a Kigali stadium sheltering thousands of displaced people Tuesday [19 April], a UN official said. Most of those killed were members of the minority Tutsi tribe which dominates the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front. They had abandoned their homes and fled to the Amahoro stadium in a rebel-held northeastern neighbourhood to escape Hutu killing squads roaming the streets, UN spokesman Moctar Gueye said by telephone from Kigali. Fighting between rebels and government soldiers battling for control of the capital for nearly two weeks intensified Tuesday morning before a lull in the afternoon, Gueye said. UN efforts to broker a truce have so far failed as the two sides have rejected each other's demands. But UN officials are continuing to shuttle between rebel and army commanders in an effort to bring them back to the negotiating table. [passage omitted] The UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda [UNAMIR] lodged a "very strong protest" with the military after four or five shells hit the stadium, where a battalion of Bangladeshi peacekeepers is based, Gueye said. With no sign of progress towards a ceasefire, tribal clashes appeared to be spreading to Burundi, which shares the same ethnic composition and blood-steeped history of tribal feuding as Rwanda. Fighting between Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army and armed Hutu militants has erupted in several mainly Hutu areas on the outskirts of Burundi's capital Bujumbura since the weekend, officials said. It was unknown whether anyone was hurt. Burundi, still reeling from ethnic massacres that claimed tens of thousands of lives last year after its first Hutu president was assassinated, had remained relatively calm since its President Cyprien Ntaryamira and Rwanda's Juvenal Habyarimana, both Hutus, were killed in what the Rwandan military said was a rocket attack on their plane. [passage omitted] A Ugandan journalist from the government daily NEW VISION described how reporters had helped pull 10 survivors from a pit where they had been thrown with the corpses of about 800 people, mostly Tutsis, hacked to death by government troops in Kaziguro, northeastern Rwanda. UN special envoy to Rwanda Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh said Monday that the world body would not abandon Rwanda but could be forced to pull its personnel from the country if the fighting did not stop. Tanzania, which mediated a peace accord signed in |
FBIS4-913_0 | RPF Assails Stadium Shelling | BFN [Text] Widespread acts of violence continue in Rwanda. Massacres are presently being committed in Gitarama, Butare, Gikongoro, and Kibuye prefectures. Calls for extermination are made unceasingly by those in power in Kigali, calls for the extermination of Rwandan Patriotic Front [RPF] supporters, or presumed RPF supporters, and members of opposition political parties. The national radio has increasingly become the propaganda tool for this cause. That's why Gitarama, Butare, Gikongoro and Kibuye prefectures have now fallen victim to the massacres as is the case for the capital, Kigali, and other regions like [word indistinct]. The horde of killers continues to hunt down their victims, even in places where the latter have taken refuge. The government Army today fired shells at (Amohoro) stadium of Kigali where more than 4,000 people who escaped the massacres have taken refuge. There are 20 dead and more than 50 wounded. The strong men of the tottering regime of Kigali are thus determined to exterminate sections of the population. [passage indistinct] They have been asking that RPF stop fighting while they continue to orchestrate the massacres. Before ending this news bulletin, we inform you that Mr. Marc Rugenera, finance minister of the decapitated government, has survived the massacre. He has been found by RPF combatants during their operations aimed at rescuing the victims of the Presidential Guards and of the Interahamwe [Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development militias] |
FBIS4-931_0 | Wrap-Up of Thokoza Violence; 5 Killed, 40 Wounded | BFN [By Jono Waters] [Excerpts] Johannesburg April 19 SAPA -- At least five people were killed and more than 40 were injured in running battles between hostel dwellers and Thokoza township residents on Tuesday [19 April]. But by mid-afternoon calm had returned to the strife-torn East Rand township as the SA [South African] Defence Force [SADF] helped the National Peacekeeping Force [NPKF] restore order. In the morning, groups of African National Congress supporters, some armed and others waving party posters, led several charges on the hostel but were rebuffed by handgun and automatic fire. SAPA reporters on the scene saw at least five vehicles ferry wounded victims to Natalspruit Hospital. Hospital officials told SAPA that by 6PM five people had died. Police said four people had been killed and reported on Tuesday morning they had found the bodies of two people in East Rand townships. Wits Command spokesman Maj Christo Visser said the army was lending "limited support" to the peacekeepers at the NPKF's request. At least a dozen SADF troop carriers rolled down lower Khumalo Street -- the centre of Tuesday's fighting near the "Angola" Hostel -- around lunchtime. [passage omitted] Referring to the IFP's decision to participate in the election, Mr [Tokyo] Sexwale [ANC official] said it was regrettable that only after all the deaths in East Rand townships, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi had finally "capitulated". Mr Sexwale said he did not think violence would end instantly. "He (Mr Buthelezi) started something that will take a long time to control." He also accused Mr Buthelezi of misleading the Zulu people by telling them they could now participate in the elections after maintaining the opposite for so long. Hostel dwellers should take note of that. Mr Sexwale vowed to turn the hostels into family units. "There is seven days left and then we will come to power and turn them into places where human beings can live." After his address late on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Sexwale went to the NPKF headquarters in Thokoza to put forward the ANC's demands. After more than two hours of negotiations with NPKF officials he addressed about 300 residents, calling on them to support the peacekeeping force in the township. The IFP -- whose supporters dominate the hostels -- had called for the NPKF's withdrawal from the East Rand townships by 5PM on Tuesday. [passage omitted] |
FBIS4-974_0 | Fresh Ethnic Clashes Erupt Near Bujumbura | BFN [Text] Bujumbura, April 19 (AFP) -- New clashes erupted on the outskirts of Bujumbura Tuesday [19 April] between Tutsi-dominated army forces and Hutu militants, shattering several weeks of relative calm, official sources said. The clashes broke out in Hutu-dominated areas of the city, the sources said. A government statement said Prime Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko had taken measures to "make those who are armed lay down their weapons." Unrest has mounted in some areas on the outskirts of the city for the last few days. Sources said sporadic small arms fire had been reported in the areas for the last few days. The government called on observers from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to be deployed in the areas "to work with civilian and military officials to create confidence between the different ethnic groups." The fresh unrest came two weeks after the death of Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6 in a plane crash in neighbouring Rwanda, which also killed Rwandan head of state Juvenal Habyarimana. Inter-ethnic unrest in Rwanda is reported to have killed thousands in the two weeks since the plane crash. |
FBIS4-983_3 | Article Views Role of Former SADF Soldiers | include Angolans who formerly served with the SADF's 32 Battalion and with Koevoet [crowbar; former South-West African police counterinsurgency units] in Namibia. Executive Outcomes' manager, Lafras Luitingh, was recently quoted as saying: "The successes that the government soldiers in Angola have had against UNITA are undoubtedly due to the South Africans who are involved there." He may have been referring to training, but the deaths of the South Africans indicate that they are doing more than that. It seems clear that former SADF soldiers who once fought alongside UNITA against the MPLA and the Cubans are now fighting against UNITA for the MPLA in a combat as well as a training role. In effect, they are doing for the MPLA what the Cubans once did, but on a smaller scale. AFRICA CONFIDENTIAL says the new MPLA commando units, 2,000 men strong, are being used "in a an aggressive strategy, employing long- range reconnaissance and self-sustaining platoons reminiscent of the Rhodesian Selous Scouts'. It might have added that these are equally reminiscent of the SADF Recce units that operated with conspicuous success against the MPLA and Cuban forces in Angola. The MPLA's current offensive appears to have two main objectives in the north: first, to drive UNITA out of the Kafunfo diamond area and so deprive it of what is now its main source of revenue; second, to cut or restrict UNITA's supply lines from Zaire. And in the centre, the aim is to drive UNITA out of Huambo, to where it has moved its capital from its former headquarters in the bush at Jamba near the Caprivi Strip. UNITA's diamond mining and military operations in Lunda Norte province are at present beyond effective range of MPLA aircraft, and to overcome this disadvantage the MPLA has reportedly been improving the airfield at Saurimo. While UNITA is believed to have enough weaponry to wage a guerilla war for several more years, it will find it increasingly difficult to take on the MPLA in conventional warfare or to hold the few cities it now controls. The MPLA probably aims at least to drive its enemy back into the bush, lessening its political clout and its ability to demand concessions in the negotiations. The new commando units might be especially useful at this stage. So far, the MPLA offensive has produced no substantial gains. Nevertheless, UNITA's vulnerability to the MPLA tactics may have been |
FBIS4-1034_0 | Armscor Employees To Testify in U.S. Weapons Case | BFN [Text] Seven Armscor [Armaments Corporation of South Africa] employees were sent by government to the United States to give evidence in a case in which it is alleged that American firms and individuals contravened the ban on exporting weapons to South Africa and Iraq. The questioning of the seven men about their involvement will begin today. The government had previously refused to release the men for questioning since it was feared that sensitive information on South Africa's atomic and missile secrets would be exposed. Observers believe there is a strong possibility these men will supply the secret information in exchange for a new identity and residence in the United States. An offer by Armscor for these men to be indemnified and for the payment of their fines was rejected last month by American prosecutors. The men are extremely dissatisfied with the government's and Armscor's inability to arrange indemnity for them. |
FBIS4-1109_0 | Massacres Spread to Butare; Militia Bars Roads | BFN [Excerpts] In Rwanda, the Patriotic Front still has the military intiative on the ground. Kigali is still subject to shelling and sporadic gunfire. In the north of the country, the Patriotic Front has taken the town of Byumba, an important strategic center. This time the news has been confirmed by the United Nations. Francois Rijkmans reports: [Rijkmans] [passage omitted] Violence is continuing up country. This time it is clear that the Butare region in the south, which until now had been miraculously preserved from the massacres, is now getting its full dose. People who have taken refuge in schools or churches are being killed. The militia are barring the roads, which are crowded with thousands of people. Militiamen are slaughtering on the spot those who are fleeing. At the frontier, on the road between Butare and Bujumbura, people trying to get into Burundi have been killed. Dozens of people with machete, bullet, or shrapnel injuries have arrived in the hospital of Butare where there is a Medecins Sans Frontieres team. There is a large Tutsi minority in the Butare area, but traditionally there has been harmonious coexistence between the two groups there, to such an extent that certain Hutu radicals from the north suspect the southern Hutus of being too close to the Tutsis. The day before yesterday the prefect of the region and the military commander, two moderates, were replaced by people close to the radicals. |
FBIS4-1132_0 | Federal Party Releases Political Manifesto | BFN [Report by S Denny] [Text] Johannesburg April 21 SAPA -- The Federal Party [FP] stands for maximum devolution of power, direct democracy and entrenched fundamental freedoms. Releasing its election manifesto in Johannesburg on Thursday [21 April], the FP said devolution forced local governments to compete for investment and workers. "Devolution of power will reduce political violence, which is caused by centralisation of the past and centralisation entrenched in the interim constitution," the party's leader Frances Kendall said. The FP believed central government should have power only over matters of national interest, including national defence, foreign affairs, foreign trade, national trade and the protection of entrenched fundamental rights. Resolving the land issue was South Africa's toughest challenge, Ms Kendall said, adding it was important not to abuse property rights further. "A land court should address specific claims and compensation. All government-owned land and housing should be transferred to private ownership with freehold title. Legislation which protects inefficient farmers and prevents sub-division of land should be repealed," she said. Calling for voucher systems for the poor and for education, the FP manifesto said these would be used to subsidise rent or to buy homes or for education. A bill of rights should be entrenched without a "limitation" clause and should protect people from an abusive government. The current constitution allowed government to suspend the bill of rights "when it is needed most -- under a state of emergency". South Africa's new constitutional court was elitist and should be abolished, the party said. "Ordinary courts should interpret and apply the constitution and every person should have the right to trial by jury." |
FBIS4-1141_3 | * ANC Policy Guide: `Bill of Rights' | persons of unsound mind. (10) No persons shall be arrested or detained for any purpose other than that of bringing them to trial on a criminal charge. (11) Arrest shall take place according to procedures laid down by law, and persons taken into custody shall immediately be informed of the charges against them, shall have access to a legal representative of their choice, and shall be brought before court within 48 hours or, where that would be a Sunday or a public holiday, on the first working day thereafter. (12) Bail shall be granted to awaiting-trial persons unless a court rules that in the interests of justice they should be kept in custody. (13) No-one shall be deprived of liberty or subjected to other punishment except after a fair trial by an independent court. (14) Trials shall take place within a reasonable time. (15) Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty. (16) No conduct shall be punished if it was not a criminal offence at the time of its occurrence, and no penalty shall be increased retrospectively. (17) No-one shall be tried or punished twice for the same offence. (18) Accused persons shall be informed in writing of the nature of the allegations against them, and shall be given adequate time to prepare and conduct their defence. (19) Everything that is reasonable shall be done to ensure that accused persons understand the nature and the import of the charges against them and of the proceedings, that they are not prejudiced through illiteracy or lack of understanding, and that they receive a fair trial. (20) Accused persons shall have the right to challenge all evidence presented against them, to be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice, and if in custody, to have access to a legal practitioner at all reasonable times. (21) If a person is unable to pay for legal representation, and the interests of justice so require, the State shall provide or pay for a competent defence. (22) No persons shall be required to give evidence against themselves, nor, except in cases of domestic violence or abuse, shall persons be required to give evidence against their spouses, whether married by civil law or custom, their parents or their children. (23) No evidence obtained through torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment shall be admissible in any proceedings. (24) Juveniles shall be separated from adult offenders. (25) |
FBIS4-1141_13 | * ANC Policy Guide: `Bill of Rights' | pay and holidays. (11) There shall be equal pay for work of equal value, and equal access to employment, training and advancement. (12) The State shall make provision by way of legislation for compensation to be paid to workers injured in the course of their employment and for benefits to be paid to unemployed or retired workers. NOTE: It has been argued that a simple clause would be better guaranteeing trade union autonomy, the right of collective bargaining and the right to strike. By putting in extensive clauses, it is said, we are shifting workers' rights from their base in industry and from being subject to the industrial courts, to the constitutional court, which is far more likely to favour pro-employer nineteenth century ideas of freedom of contract. While there is obviously merit in this argument, we feel it can be addressed by ensuring that in industrial questions judges of the Industrial Court participate alongside the other judges. The whole question of the relationship between workers' rights in the Bill of Rights, a Workers' Charter and a possible Industrial Code embodied in legislation, needs to be looked at globally. ARTICLE 7. WOMEN'S RIGHTS (1) Men and women shall enjoy equal rights in all areas of public and private life, including employment, education and within the family. (2) Legislation may provide for reproductive rights, and rights associated with child-birth and child-raising shall be respected. NOTE: See Note to Article 2. This is an important question that has to be handled in a democratic way, recognising a pluralism of opinions, and with as much sensitivity as possible. The implication of the above formulation is to guarantee child-birth and child-raising rights, and to permit but not to require legislation dealing with reproductive rights, especially rights relating to the control of fertility. ARTICLE 8. GENDER RIGHTS (1) Discrimination on the grounds of gender, single parenthood, legitimacy of birth or sexual orientation shall be unlawful. (2) Legislation shall provide remedies for oppression, abuse, harassment, or discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. (3) Educational institutions, the media, advertising and other social institutions shall be under a duty to discourage sexual and other types of stereotyping. ARTICLE 9. DISABLED PERSONS (1) There shall be no discrimination against disabled persons. (2) Legislation shall provide for measures to promote the progressive opening up of employment opportunities for disabled men and women, the removal of obstacles to the enjoyment |
FBIS4-1186_0 | 10 Reported Killed | BFN [Text] The death toll from the blast at the Golden Walk shopping center in Germiston this morning has risen to 10 with the death of two victims in hospital. The superintendent of the Willem Cruywagen Hospital said that another victim was undergoing an emergency operation, and a number of other people were in a critical condition. Reports say that at least 35 people were injured in the blast. |
FBIS4-1249_0 | Foreign Ministry Reviews Talks With Sudan | BFN [Statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Asmara on 23 April] [Excerpts] It is obvious that the relations between the people of Eritrea and Sudan are historical and long standing. On the basis of this view, and believing that the government of the national salvation revolution of Sudan would place its national interest and the peace and stability of the region above all else, our relations with Sudan were very special before the independence of Eritrea. To further strengthen and develop these relations, we have been working jointly with the Sudanese Government. However, the National islamic Front of Sudan, from its political bases in Sudan, wished to control a force in Eritrea and formed a group called the Islamic Jihad of Eritrea in 1989. It continued to support this group until and after the independence of Eritrea. As the Government of Eritrea, we have placed those considerations regarding relations between the two nations above everything else and we hope that we will overcome the obstacles through communication and dialogue. We have made every effort to further strengthen and develop cooperation between the two peoples. It is true that we have noticed the positive role played by the Sudanese Government in controlling and containing the movements of this Eritrean group [Islamic Jihad], but since the middle of 1993 up to now this group has been carrying out its destructive activities, coming all the way from Sudan to collaborate with other groups from other regions. This new development compelled us to tell our people and the international community everything about this. So the main reason for the deterioration in relations was that the destructive activities which had been directed against Eritrea had been emanating from Sudan. [passage omitted] The practical implementation of the agreement reached will guarantee positive developments in relations between the two countries. |
FBIS4-1273_1 | Kodjo Views Current Political, Economic Issues | fresh consultations in such a way as to make progress on the problems we face. [Mariot] But does the UDT-CAR coalition still exist, Mr. Prime Minister? [Kodjo] Of course it does. And it is this coalition which is the fruit of the victory of the Togolese people during the recent parliamentary elections. We cannot get away from this coalition. I believe we must do our utmost to ensure its continued existence. [Mariot] So when will the government be announced, and how will it be made up? Will it be technocrats, and from which parties? [Kodjo] In principle the government should be made up of representatives of political parties in the assembly, personalities from the political world, and civilian personalities, who can make a contribution to solving the problems of this country, and there is no question of forming a government of technocrats. I think [words indistinct] a certain number of choices (?about its direction) and this has to be taken into account. As such, we have to appoint a new kind of government where the main political forces of the country are represented. [Mariot] How can you sell your government program? What are its main outlines? [Kodjo] First of all we need national reconciliation, in other words, we have to ensure that conditions exist enabling everyone to express their opinions and to feel free in a free country. I think that to do this we need to give up our quarrels. We will do what we can. The different players in the political game should be associated in this game, and find themselves free in this country. We must do our utmost to get the problem of refugees solved, because it is a basic aspect of reconciliation. Starting this reconciliation, (?demanded by the people), must be carried out [words indistinct] in such a way that the army, which is our army, can find understanding and a total feeling of brotherhood among the people. After this comes the creation of a state based on law, which is something essential in democratic systems; human rights must be respected, we must have institutions to strengthen respect for human rights. Certain solutions have also been envisaged in the constitution. We must institute it rapidly. We must quickly move toward a state based on law, and the state based on law should be decentralized so that the people can take a closer part in mapping |
FBIS4-1381_0 | RPF-Government Clashes Continue Throughout Country RPF Evacuates Thousands to North | BFN [Excerpt] Yesterday, the Rwandan Patriotic Front [RPF] president, His Excellency Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe, together with other officials, visited people residing in Byumba. In Byumba, they found many Kigali citizens. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people took refuge in the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali. Selfless RPF fighters did everything possible, despite a crossfire, to use their skills to take all these people to safety. These people are currently within an RPF-controlled zone outside of Kigali. As you may recall, government forces shelled the stadium where these people had taken refuge, killing more than 25 of them and injuring over 50. The RPF continues to come to the rescue of the population, as it has been doing all along, saving the lives of those people who were still breathing in the various parishes. This work is part of our country's war for liberation. [passage omitted] |
FBIS4-1386_0 | Foreign Minister Discusses Situation | BFN [Report on interview with Jerome Bicamumpaka, foreign minister of transitional government, by Dominique de Courcelles in Paris; date not given] [Text] Our guest this morning is Jerome Bicamumpaka, the foreign minister of the transitional Rwandan Government. The transitional government, which is based some 40 km south of Kigali, was set up after President Habyarimana's death. The Rwandan Patriotic Front [RPF] is refusing to talk to this government, claiming that it is a self-appointed clique of murderers. Jerome Bicamumpaka, who is currently visiting Paris, rejects responsibility for the death of the president, for the massacres, and for the war against the RPF. The army, he claims, is only defending itself against the aggressor and the government is attempting to calm people. Here is the Rwandan foreign minister, interviewed by Dominique de Courcelles. [Begin recording] [Bicamumpaka] Ever since the government launched a pacification action, ever since it called on the gendarmerie to deploy in order to halt massacres and looting, it has succeeded in reducing massacres throughout the national territory. So if this government had not acted as it did we believe that the destruction would have been far worse. [De Courcelles] Are you saying that massacres are now abating in Rwanda? [Bicamumpaka] They are, quite dramatically, but the problem is that in the part of the country controlled by the RPF in the north, the RPF carried out horrendous killings, near Moutarra for instance, where it is estimated that some 20,000 were killed by the RPF. All these actions by the RPF do not make our work any easier. [De Courcelles] Minister, you seem to be saying that all evil comes from the RPF, that the RPF killed, that it bombed the town, that it brought the war to Kigali. Is the RPF the only party responsible? Was it the RPF which started the killings following President Habyarimana's death? [Bicamumpaka] Yes. Why? Because just after President Habyarimana's death -- you know how the Rwandan president died -- the RPF went immediately on the offensive. The units in the [word indistinct] palace in Kigali went on the offensive; they also attacked on the northern front. Following this attack massacres spread throughout the country. [De Courcelles] You probably know what many are saying, that the army -- and the presidential guard within the army -- is mostly responsible for these massacres. [Bicamumpaka] In fact many of these allegations are erroneous. The Rwandan |
FBIS4-1390_1 | Scene at Airport Described | people had been injured, but according to the managing director of the airport, Mr. (Braam Loots), only nine people were injured and only one of them seriously injured. And the police say there were no fatalities. Now at this stage everybody who has been injured has been removed. The airport has actually been opened, and most of emergency vehicles have departed already. [Glyn] Hendrick, the injured, were they were passengers or people merely seeing others off in the international arrivals hall? [Martin] I can't give you specifics on that. What I can say is that one of the witnesses, one of the people who was actually injured, very slightly, but he was injured in the blast, and he saw what was happening. He and a number of people with him, all of them employees of the airport, and they seem to have been injured, he mentioned a figure of four or five people. I think, if I look at the damage, I think some people who may have been passengers could have been injured as well because of the damage on the inside of the building. This is were passengers collect for their departures. [Glyn] So Hendrick let me get this straight, the bomb was planted in a car outside the international arrivals hall, but the distance between where the car was parked and the hall was merely a matter of meters, was it? [Martin] That's how it looks. According to this witness, he told me his whole story. He saw a white Peugeot vehicle and he saw smoke coming from the boot of this car. He had two traffic officials with him, they also saw it, and they tried via radio to contact, to get help, to get someone to come and look at this, and he said the next moment there was a tremendous blast, and it is literally just on the other side of the window. [Glyn] Now did this person also see the man that the police are looking for, some chap with red hair who was taken away, or drove away in a Toyota Corolla? [Martin] No, he didn't see anybody, at least he didn't mention seeing anybody, but another witness apparently did see someone running away from the area, and apparently the police are in the process of compiling an identikit based on the description of the person. [Glyn] Hendrick, thank you very much. |
FBIS4-1415_0 | IEC Orders Urgent Printing of 5.4 Million Ballots Helicopters Distribute Ballots in Natal | BFN [Text] Durban April 28 SAPA -- A helicopter from 15 Squadron in Durban left Newcastle on Thursday to distribute ballot papers throughout the rural areas of northern Natal, SABC [South African Broadcasting Corporation] radio news reports. An estimated 600,000 ballot papers will be distributed, following a massive shortage in the area. Helicopters have also been sent to southern Natal where a shortage of papers caused major problems on Wednesday. Meanwhile angry voters were staging a sit-in at Nqutu in northern Natal in protest against the disorganisation at polling stations. Very little voting has taken place in the area. At Charlestown on the Natal/Transvaal border, voting only started at 5PM on Wednesday while voting only got underway at Ingogo near Newcastle at 3PM. |
FBIS4-1421_2 | Mentions Possible Pullout | to what is being suggested now that our people should just scribble IFP at the bottom of the paper without the IFP sticker, because this has been a complaint of people everywhere, even in Cape Town. There are people who wanted to vote me in Cape Town. This morning I received some faxes from overseas, from Portugal and from America and from someone who has just been to London, who wanted to vote for me, but they were told that they should scribble my name, and these were white people who are even literate and educated, but they refused to do that because they say that infringes also the secrecy of the ballot. [Alfonso] So what will it take for you to be happy with these elections? [Buthelezi] Well, if we have enough stickers, and if the dates for the elections are extended. I have heard that, you know, tomorrow may be declared a holiday again, but I think that is not enough if you take into account that our old folk were here yesterday. Before old people were here, indigent people, pensioners and sick people were here and they stayed here for hours on end, and this is not only here, but everywhere. It has happened everywhere that these elderly people, sick people, have come and gone home without voting. Just now I have received a fax from Vryheid stating the same thing, from Mr. Mentz, you know, that in Vryheid they have hundreds and hundreds of these old people who didn't vote yesterday, but even today who find the situation unsatisfactory. That is why they have sent the fax to me. [Alfonso] Dr. Buthelezi, what people throughout the country want to know, are you seriously considering pulling out of the election if that doesn't happen? [Buthelezi] Well, that is a function of the Central Committee, but I think I will have no option myself. If in fact they are trying to foist this decision that people should scribble the name instead of a sticker, then I will have to call a special meeting of the Central Committee because the Central Committee has the final word on this. But I think I would be duty bound to call that meeting because, quite clearly there is no way in which we can accept that. [Alfonso] Dr. Buthelezi, thank you very much, and we cross back to the studio in Johannesburg. |
FBIS4-1434_4 | Comments on Election Process | what was originally called a council of state -- now it is the social and economic council -- in which various organisations, traditional leaders, religious leaders, women and student bodies and workers will be represented. The church and religious groups are going to be represented in that body. What I'm stressing is that the church is a very powerful organisation, which has played an important role in our struggle for democratic changes and it is necessary for us to recognise that role. And the church is committed to high moral values...the Involvement of the church in government will help us to raise moral standards in government -- to a new democratic government, one of whose purposes is to wipe away corruption and to ensure that government is clean. These are things in which religious organisations can play a key and pivotal role." SAPA: Will this mean religious leaders in cabinet? NM: "Now that will depend on how my organisation and colleagues welcome this idea. My own view is that we should not put in government people who have not been democratically elected. But I am concerned with the fact that they (church leaders) should have a positive contribution proportionate to the role they have played and the force they are able to wield. I don't think we can deny them the role of having an impact in government to ensure the maintenance of high moral standards." SAPA: The whole of Africa is watching...your comment? NM: "I am happy to join those countries of Africa that have sucessfully fought for their independence. We are now part of that great fraternity and it is in that spirit that we are going to look at the problems of Africa." SAPA: And Europe? NM: "The people of Europe have a lot of goodwill for us and they have long gone through the period that we are going through now. Their experience is going to be very valuable to us. We would like them to share that experience with us...also to provide us with resources so that we are able to address the problems in our country." SAPA: And the us of America? NM: "The United States of America is the leader of the democratic world and it is very good that we should remain on friendly relations with that country. They have a tradition of democratic government. They can also help us in ensuring |
FBIS4-1455_0 | Red Cross Comments on Situation | BFN [Report by Chris Lewis] [Excerpts] You're listening to Swiss Radio International. This is Red Cross Review. [passage omitted]. We begin this month's program with Rwanda where the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana in a suspicious plane crash has plunged the country into an inferno of ethnic and political violence. Aid workers say several hundred thousand people have been killed. Hospital patients have been murdered en masse and more than a million people have been driven from their homes. [passage omitted] Since then things have if anything got worse. Attempts to organize a cease-fire have collapsed. The slaughter of civilians has continued unabated and aid workers, including the ICRC have been forced to withdraw from much of the country. The ICRC continues to operate in Kigali but at a reduced level and is taking steps to launch cross border relief operations from Uganda and Tanzania. Aid convoys continue to reach Kigali but officials say they are now very limited in the extent to which they can help the victims of the violence. [passage omitted] Under the current circumstances there is only so much the ICRC can do. It has set up its own medical facilities and some 700 patients are now being treated there and at Kigali central hospital. But armed militia men have not hesitated to stop delegates taking people to hospital. In fact delegates were forced to stop doing so after six wounded were dragged from an ICRC vehicle and shot in front of their eyes. Others have been murdered within minutes of leaving hospital. Even encouraging people to gather together for treatment or shelter in itself exposes them to the risk of wholesale massacre. And delegates themselves are unlikely to feel any safer since the UN's decision to withdraw peacekeeping troops earlier this month. [Passage omitted] |
FBIS4-1467_1 | Rwandan Emissary Meets With Eyadema, Comments | government, which was formed in accordance with the Rwandan Constitution, is doing everything to stop the interethnic conflict. The Rwandan Government's second ultimate objective is to sign a cease-fire agreement with the RPF as it is convinced that the RPF can never seize power in Rwanda. The people do not support it. The Rwandan Government is convinced that all sons and daughters of Rwanda, both Hutus and Tutsis, must live together on the national territory in peace. This is the subject of the message I delivered to the president. I also answered President Eyadema's questions on the possible restoration of peace in Rwanda. [Unidentified correspondent] On the military situation, what exactly is happening in your country? [Ngirabatware] The military situation is very, very difficult to describe because of the RPF's method of fighting. The situation is really difficult to describe but on the whole the Rwandan Armed Forces are in the process of controlling the city of Kigali. RPF soldiers are scattered in pockets around Kigali but according to the latest information, it is time for mopping up operations. The RPF has made slight advances from the Ugandan border to the southeastern part of the country where the fighting is going on but the Rwandan Armed Forces are very alert. [Correspondent] On the diplomatic level, taking current initiatives into account, is there any hope for the rapid restoration of peace in your country? [Ngirabatware] Concerning hope, I, personally, am always optimistic. Even if the recent interethnic conflicts in Rwanda have scared me, I am, by nature, optimistic and I nourish the hope that Rwanda can overcome this crisis. On the diplomatic level, the Rwandan Government appeals to all powers, both African and Western, to convince the RPF that the cease-fire is an obligation and a necessity, because the RPF does not care if human beings continue to die. Taking Rwanda's political structure into account the RPF cannot, in any way, seize power in Rwanda. The RPF is in the minority, but it is a strong minority, a minority that the Hutu majority in Rwanda must absolutely compose with. The two sides will certainly gain nothing from constant war, so the government is doing everything possible to ensure the implementation of a cease-fire. Of course, as usual, the RPF is not showing any clear desire for the implementation of this cease-fire but we will continue to demand its implementation. [end recording] |
FBIS4-1497_0 | Violent Incidents Reported at Polling Stations NP, ANC Supporters Clash | BFN [Report by W. C. Blumenfeld] [Text] Cape Town April 28 SAPA -- Police and peace monitors had to intervene when stone-throwing occurred between African National Congress and National Party [NP] supporters in Mitchell's Plain on Thursday [28 April]. An ANC spokesman alleged the election information desk near the polling station in the Eastridge Community Centre was stoned by NP supporters after they demanded that the desk be moved, SABC [South African Broadcasting Corporation] radio news reported. An NP spokesman alleged members picked up stones in self defence after ANC members pointed guns at them. Police and peace monitors kept the two angry groups apart while they traded insults across the road. |
FBIS4-1534_0 | Shanghai Police Detain Activist Zhu Fuming | BFN [By Willy Wo-Lap Lam] [Text] Police have detained Shanghai activist Zhu Fuming for taking part in the waves of pro-democracy protests that have hit the administration this spring. And security officials in the east China city are trying to track down the identities of the 54 signatories to a petition on political reform that was sent to the National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday [25 March]. Sources in the dissident community said Zhu, who is in his early 30s, was detained early this month following a spate of run-ins with local security agents. A college graduate and an employee in a company that provides information for citizens seeking to go abroad, Zhu is loosely associated with the Shanghai-based Association for Human Rights. Before his detention, he was hauled in for brief questioning at least twice this year. The first time was after police found Zhu had secretly taped their conversation with him. The second was at a Shanghai disco after Zhu shouted on the dance floor slogans calling for overturning the verdict on the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Zhu's relatives indicated yesterday they had not been told by local police where he was being held or for what reason. Out of fear of the authorities, however, the relatives have not taken any action. Meanwhile, Shanghai sources said police were investigating the "background" behind last Friday's 19-point petition, which called for constitutional amendments to introduce a multi-party system. It is understood that, while the petition to the NPC stated 54 people had signed it, only seven names appeared on the document. "Police are trying to find out who the 47 unnamed signatories are," a source said. "They also want to check if an `anti-government' organisation is behind it." The source said the local procuratorate yesterday tried to get into contact with Dai Xuezhong, an activist who spent two years in a reeducation through labour camp after the June 4, 1989, crackdown. It is understood that Mr Dai, now a private entrepreneur, yesterday refused to respond when officers tried to contact him through his pager. Dissidents in Shanghai said the authorities were alarmed by the petition because it was more radical than similar ones organised this month by Beijing-based intellectuals such as Xu Liangying, Wang Dan or Liu Nianchun. They said copies of the petition had been sent by mail to intellectuals in the big cities. |
FBIS4-1540_1 | `Secret Report' Tells of Disturbances in 1993 | riots were recorded in the entire country in 1993. The statistics in the above report were made according to the following standards to be determined as illegal parades (demonstrations), illegal assemblies (sit-in protests), illegal strikes, and disturbances, as revised by the Ministry of Public Security in November 1990. 1. Activities of gathering, making propaganda, giving lectures, and so on, which are conducted by 10 or more people in party and government organs, or public places, without advanced examination and approval of the local government. 2. Parades staged by 10 or more people with propaganda instruments and material in streets, squares, or party and government organs without advanced examination and approval of the local government. 3. Suspension of work or absence from posts effected by 10 or more people, or by 30 percent or above of staff from enterprises, units, or departments without advanced examination and approval of the local government, or of the party and government departments in enterprises and units. 4. Organized and premeditated activities against the government, the socialist system, and the leadership of the Communist Party, which lead to chaos in society, communications, and government work, and which cause confusion in certain government departments, regions, enterprises, units, or schools. 5. Organized propaganda activities with programs and objectives, which are aimed at subverting, shaking, or overthrowing the leadership of the communist party and the people's government as well as the socialist system. 6. Open or semi-open activities conducted by illegal organizations and antagonistic elements, by those who have contacts or organizational relationships with anti-Chinese organizations outside the territory or anti-Chinese and anti-communist political forces abroad, and by those who are controlled by foreign forces. 7. Organized sabotage activities with programs and objectives, including assaults on party, government, and judicial organs, radio stations, newspapers, barracks, secret departments of enterprises and units, and armed forces departments. 8. Activities of attacking, smashing, and burning state property, buildings, means of communications, and so on. Number of People Going to Beijing To Appeal for Help Increased by 12 Percent Over the Previous Year In addition, according to the information released by the State Council, more than 73,200 people went to Beijing to appeal to the authorities for help last year, an increase of 12 percent over 1992, and more than 887,300 people appealed to the provincial, autonomous regional, and city party and government departments for help, an increase of 14.5 percent over 1992. |
FBIS4-1556_0 | Ministry News Briefing on Computer Security Regulations | BFN [By reporter Zhou Lixian (0719 4539 2009)] [Text] Beijing, 3 Mar (XINHUA) -- The Ministry of Public Security today held a news briefing on the "Regulations for Security Protection of Computer information Systems" recently promulgated by the State Council for implementation. The person in charge of the Ministry's Computer Management and Supervision Department said: The promulgation and implementation of these regulations indicates that our work in security protection of computer information systems is being institutionalized, standardized, and modernized. He said: Computerization has been introduced for both economic development and social progress in China, as well as in other countries. All trades and professions have successively established a computer information system in a short time. According to an incomplete statistics, more than 500,000 computer information systems [ji suan ji xin xi xi tong 6060 4615 2623 0207 1873 4762 4827] of various types have been in use in various fields and departments of our country; and the trend of sharp increase continues. Computer information systems have become an important tool and means of scientific research, production, business, and state administration. He said: In the past, since there was no law or regulations governing the security protection of computer information systems, computer security was a very conspicuous problem. The number of criminal cases involving the use of computers or targeted at computer assets was rising. The largest amount of money involved in a single computer crime was as high as 14 million yuan. Computer viruses were spreading widely, and they were particularly serious in large and medium cities and in regions open to the outside world. According to an investigation conducted by the public security departments on some 40 computers across the country, 70 or 80 percent of them have been infected by viruses in recent years. In some universities and colleges, the computer virus infection rate was 100 percent. As the computer virus attack has affected the work of many departments and organizations, the security of computer information systems is becoming more and more important. He said: After these regulations came into force, the Ministry of Public Security will, on the basis of past experience, take a further step to raise its job skill level in computer management and supervision, prevent violation of regulations, and ensure impartiality in enforcing regulations. |
FBIS4-1561_0 | BEIJING REVIEW on Expansion of Key Projects | BFN [Text] China is currently carrying out large-scale infrastructure construction as part of its efforts to ensure sustained national economic growth. The annual plan for capital construction drafted by the State Planning Commission includes several hundred large and medium-sized projects which are funded by either central or local fiscal authorities. Projects Under Construction 1. Three Gorges Hydropower Project. The massive hydropower project, which involves a total investment of 60 billion yuan, includes the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water conservancy project. The designed capacity of the reservoir is 40 billion cubic meters, and the power plant is expected to generate 85 billion kwh of electricity annually. 2. Pudong Economic Development Zone. The zone, which is the size of Singapore, calls for an investment of nearly 100 billion yuan. 3. Yangpu Development Zone. The zone, located on the northwest tip of Hainan Island, covers 30 square km. 4. Beijing-Kowloon Railway. The 2,370-km railway, which passes through nine provinces and municipalities, is scheduled for completion at the end of 1995. 5. Tumenjiang Development Zone. Infrastructure construction is now under way in the US$30 billion zone which is located in east Jilin Province. 6. South China to north China water diversion project. Feasibility studies and designs have been completed for the project which will divert the water from the Jiangsu section in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the North China Plain via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. A total of 30 billion cubic meters of water will be diverted annually to quench the thirst of six provinces and municipalities in north China. 7. Northwest China trunk railway double-tracking project. The project involves double-tracking the 1,600-km Lanzhou-Urumqi Railway, a section of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge. 8. Beijing-Dandong Expressway. The 850-km expressway, a section of the Tokyo-Pyongyang-Seoul-Beijing-Moscow-London international highway transport network, is scheduled to open to traffic at the turn of the century. 9. Beijing-Guangzhou Expressway. The 2,300-km north-south thoroughfare will pass through major cities in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong provinces. 10. Harbin-Ningbo Expressway. The 3,500-km expressway, which will link Qinhuangdao, Lianyungang and other important port cities in east China's coastal areas, is scheduled for completion before the year 2000. 11. Ertan Hydropower Station. The station, located in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, is the largest of its type currently under construction in China. Ertan, which features China's first 240- meter-high dam, will also have the country's largest turbo- generators |
FBIS4-1563_13 | Newspaper Views Development of Large Enterprises | a greater extent than those not listed: The textile industry (11 less), the coalmining and dressing industry (10), and the electronics and tlecommunications equipment producing industry (9). Other industries worth mentioning are the oil and gas exploration industries and the oil refining industry. Although they have 13 and 30 enterprises respectively, virtually all of them are in the top 500. This will certainly be reflected very clearly in the overall shift in the scale of operations during the 1988 to 1992 period among China's top 500 enterprises. Among the top 500 enterprises, the following industries have more than doubled their total sales during the five year period: The forage-processing industry (a rise of 622.18), the oil and gas extraction industry (471.14), the ferrous-metal mining and dressing industry (450.19), the transportation equipment producing industry (350.39), the sewing industry (261.30), the beverage industry (242.34), the ferrous-metal smelting industry (232.26), the pharmaceutical industry (223.13), the oil refining industry (209.52), the chemical industry (206.39), the construction materials producing industry (202.36), and the chemical fiber industry (202.31). The shift in industrial distribution among the top 500 and the increase in the scope of business operations strongly suggests that in the short term competition is mainly between enterprises within the same industry, i.e., a re-adjustment among enterprises of their market share. On the other hand, enterprise mergers, based on the principal of preserving the best and discarding those which are obsolete will be the mainstay of enterprise reorganization. Reallottment of market shares and enterprise mergers will result in resources flowing from obsolete enterprises or industries to new enterprises or industries. It will take a relatively long time to complete the process of redistributing resources among industries, but this will eventually result in an updating of the industrial structure (or the productionindustrial structure, including a comprehensive reform of the product structure, technology, production, and enterprise scale). However, as a developing country, China is in the process of violent changes in terms of economic development and the demand structure. However, during this process of transition of the economic structure, the market system and the market operation mechanism are both far from mature or perfected. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to achieve a more effective or more rational disposition of resources merely by means of free competition in the market. While overall social efficiency remains low, it is impossible to realize sustained, stable, and coordinated development of the |
FBIS4-1575_1 | `Roundup' Views Singapore Prime Minister's Burma Visit | here believed that through the visit of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, the relations between Myanmar and Singapore especially in the fields of economic cooperation, investment and trade are now entering a new stage this year. At the invitation of Myanmar Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) Than Shwe, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong paid a three-day visit to Myanmar from March 28 to 30. The prime minister was accompanied by over 30 government officials and over 20 businessmen. At a press conference on Wednesday [30 March] just before he concluded his visit to Myanmar, the prime minister said the purpose of his visit to Myanmar is to assess the economic opportunities for Singapore, to get the opportunity to know first hand political developments in the country and to find out how Singapore could encourage its investors to work in Myanmar. At the banquet hosted by Than Shwe on Monday, the Singapore prime minister said that Myanmar is potentially an attractive location for foreign investments. Singapore businessmen have placed Myanmar high on their priority list for their regionalization venture, he added. The Singaporean leader told his Myanmar counterpart that his country is willing to help Myanmar open up its economy, make its society progress and succeed like its neighboring countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Urging the international community to engage in constructive dialogue with Myanmar, Goh said, "The ASEAN policy of constructive engagement is a better way to engage the Myanmar leadership in dialogue." In the economic cooperation, the two sides on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of three hotels, a 400-room hotel, a 700-room hotel and a 300-room hotel, with a total investment of 200 million U.S. dollars by Singapore companies. The two sides signed memorandum of understanding for economic cooperation. Meanwhile, the Development Bank of Singapore opened its Yangon representative office here on Tuesday, which is part of its bid to operate a wide range of banking in Myanmar. Singapore is the No. 1 investing country in Myanmar and the second largest trading partner with the country. Up to now, nearly 20 Singapore companies came to the country with a total contract investment value of over 300 million U.S. dollars, especially in hotels and tourism industry, and trade between the two countries was over 400 million U.S. dollars in the previous year. |
FBIS4-1616_0 | Article on Detentions During Hosokawa's China Visit | BFN ["Reference News" by Ta Ta (6671 6671)] [Text] On 19 March when Japanese Prime Minister Morohiro Hosokawa began his China visit, the General Office of the State Council sent a decree to 10 cities ordering that they prevent turmoil and guarantee a successful China visit for the prime minister. The 10 cities were Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Jinan, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Xian. The Ministry of Public Security disclosed on 20 March that according to Public Security Regulations, since 18 March, 731 people were detained or temporarily confined in seven cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. Of these people, 113 were detained in Beijing (including 57 people from outside Beijing), 140 in Shanghai, and 82 in Nanjing. Of the persons detained or temporarily confined, some were retired cadres at the department or bureau level and retired servicemen at the divisional level. |
FBIS4-1620_1 | Paper Cites Internal-Circulation Police Handbook | handle the messy paperwork required to send a detainee to a labour camp. But at least 20 pages are devoted to secrecy. Police officers are instructed "never to sell secret documents to scrap paper merchants, never use them as wrapping paper, and never use them as wallpaper". Secret documents must never be sent through the mail or carried when shopping or visiting restaurants. Even after secret documents have passed their expiry date, the information in them remains secret. If the documents are clogging up the shelves, permission must be sought to burn them, but only in the presence of two police officers. What are these secrets that must be so fiercely protected? Some have to do with arrangements for the protection of top leaders or visiting dignitaries. But political dissent and the fight against it is at the top of the list. "Anything that creates difficulties for quelling or handling riots, chaos, disturbances, protests and sudden incidents" is a state secret. Top secret -- to be kept under wraps for at least 30 years -- includes "information held by the police on spying, rebellions, hijackings, plots, treachery, intelligence about serious cases of smuggling, investigations or charges against the police, details of surveillance operations, investigations and plans to solve crimes, plans for cracking down, and any knowledge that if it became known might cause serious losses to the unity of the country, political stability, the unity of nationalities, foreign relations and economic interests". Statistics concerning "counter-revolutionary incidents" are considered "highly confidential". Officially, they should be kept secret for at least 20 years, as should "plans for quelling or dealing with local protests, disturbances and other sudden incidents which have a big impact on social order". "Captured reactionary leaflets" are state secrets, and so are information about police who break the law and "political accidents". Inexplicably, the number of overseas Chinese permanently resident in China is also a state secret. There are other categories of secret that are so secret they cannot be named in a handbook that is only semi-secret, such as any sensitive information about leaders and their families. Documents which contain secrets must be printed only by approved specialist printers who have been vetted. If this is not possible, the printing must take place in a workshop which stands on its own and where privacy is guaranteed. The number of copies cannot exceed the number ordered, and any spoiled |
FBIS4-1620_3 | Paper Cites Internal-Circulation Police Handbook | copies or scraps of waste must be carefully destroyed. When there is to be a meeting at which secrets may be discussed, all arrangements "from decorating the room to purchasing necessary items to the preparation of the teapot and cups" must be made by police officers. Such meetings must never be held in hotels which receive foreign guests. After the meeting, a search of the room must be carried out to make sure no state secrets have been slipped between the cushions or been idly doodled on the table top. The reason for this obsession with secets, the handbook explains, is that just about everybody is out to get them. "With increased reform and opening to the world, there are more routes for exchanges with the world on wider subjects. Foreign intelligence organisations and other personnel from abroad are trying every other way to gather intelligence. In the past few years, the central government's secret documents have been copied by people at foreign organisations stationed in China... People come to China in all sorts of guises, including businessmen, journalists, academics, to do spying... There are also some people in China who have ulterior motives and sell the top secrets of the party and government." Spies, the handbook explains, try to intercept police information as it is communicated internally, in particular by listening in on telephone calls. Deleted material can be salvaged from computer disks. Fax machines and computer modems can be easily bugged with simple equipment. Imported fax machines and computers, the handbook warns, should be treated with particular care, since bugs may have been planted in them at the time of manufacture. Any imported electronic equipment must therefore be inspected for security before it can be installed. There is no doubt that China, like all countries, is spied on by foreign governments. But Beijing's concern about espionage seems unusually intense and wide-ranging. The only hard evidence for foreign intelligence gathering cited in the handbook is the publication abroad of excerpts from Chinese newspapers and magazines and transcripts of radio broadcasts, all or most of which are already openly available. Perhaps the greatest worry for the police are the highly organised and well-funded dissident groups now active in China. Rightly or wrongly, the authorities believe these dissident groups are supported and encouraged by prodemocracy groups abroad. Increasingly, modern dissidents carry beepers and use fax machines, spreading the word electronically. Nor |
FBIS4-1621_1 | Deng's Daughter Pursues Publishers of Pirated Biography | factory only RMB 20,000 earlier this year after it admitted printing 30,000 illegal copies of the popular book. Private investigators hired by Deng Rong later discovered that more than 100,000 copies had been run off. "Mao Mao [her pet name] felt it was useless to rely on the Shandong authorities because this factory is part of their system," a source said. "We suggested she delay the suit and allow administrative measures to take effect but she insisted on going ahead right away." My Father, Deng Xiaoping has been the target of book pirates ever since it hit the shelves in China last September. Pirate editions may outnumber the 900,000 officially issued copies by as much as 10 times, sources said. Another state printing factory, in Wuhan, admitted to pirating 10,000 copies, although the books were confiscated before being sold. Other printing factories in Guangxi and Shaanxi were under investigation by the State Copyright Administration (SCA) on special orders from Deng Rong, the sources said. Those pirated in Guangxi were of such low quality that it was difficult to read, which Deng Rong believed lowered the book to the level of underground trash novels, the sources said. She hoped the Yantai case, where a decision was expected by the end of this month, would serve as a warning to other pirate printers. She also wanted the problem to be solved before her second volume of the biography -- covering the patriarch's life since 1976 -- appears in a few years. Juicy details about the elder Deng's role in crushing the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, as well as other political storms since the Cultural Revolution, would make even richer pickings for book pirates, especially if he had died by the time the volume came out, the sources said. SCA sources have confirmed that copyright violations will soon be made a criminal offence subject to jail terms of up to seven years. As reported earlier in EASTERN EXPRESS, Beijing leaders promised to pass the criminal legislation after Deng Rong flew into a rage over rampant piracy of the biography prior to a trip to Japan in February. A special National People's Congress Standing Committee will be held in May to pass the legislation. When asked about the piracy problem during the recent meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing, Deng Rong grimaced and replied: "Of course, I'm not happy about it." |
FBIS4-1624_0 | Younger Clergy Involved in Religious Affairs in Beijing | BFN [Text] Beijing, March 31 (XINHUA) -- Three young priests have been elected vice-chairmen of the Beijing Patriotic Catholic Association or the Beijing Religious Affairs Committee, marking the entry of a younger generation of clergy. Officials of religious affairs said that more younger clergymen have been trained in Beijing and nearly half of all the 400-plus religious teaching staff in the Chinese capital are young or middle- aged. In the past several years, a few theological institutes including the Christian Yanching Theological Seminary, the Catholic Monastery, the Institute of Islamic Theology, and seminars including the Buddhist Monks' Class and the Lama Class at the Yonghe Lamasery have been restored in Beijing. Since 1989, some 22 graduates from the Catholic Monastery have become priests. Three others have been sent for theological studies in the United States and another two are scheduled to study in Hong Kong. In addition, 18 young sisters from the Catholic convent have become leaders of religious affairs and scores of graduates from religious schools have become imams, lamas and nuns. The religious officials said the emergence of these younger clergy has greatly reduced the lack of successors to carry on religious affairs. So far, there is a 35-year-old monk acting as vice-president of the Beijing Buddhist Association, and a number of other young clergy have been elected leaders of monasteries or the Beijing Islamic Association. |
FBIS4-1627_5 | Report on Economic, Social Plans | and the water diversion and canal dredging work were carried out smoothly; resettlement work has being carried out in full swing; good results were achieved in raising and securing funds for the project; new progress was made in the study of relevant major equipment and technical problems. Completion of key state construction projects was better than previous years -- a number of backbone projects of restructuring nature were completed and put into use. A total of 133 large and medium capital projects were completed and put into operation in 1993 and 128 major technological upgrading and transformation projects were completed. Generators capable of generating 14.38 million kw of electric power were installed and the petroleum exploitation capability was increased by 15.42 million tonnes. A total of 1,019 km of new, multiple-track, and electrified railroads, and 3,556 km of highway were put into use; sea ports' handling capacity increased by 37.52 million tonnes; 3.672 million households were installed with telephones. A number of other projects for public interests were also put into use. 3) Foreign Trade and Economic and Technical Exchange Further Increased Opening up of the coastal areas developed toward improving local industrial structures; Shanghai's Pudong New Area quickened its development and opening up pace; a number of economic and technological development zones were established in some frontier and coastal cities and cities along Chang Jiang. Foreign trade continued to grow -- import and export volume totalled $195.8 billion, an increase of 18.2 percent over the year before. Of the total import and export volume, $91.8 billion were of exports, up 8 percent from the previous year, and $104 billion were of imports, up 29 percent from the year before. The export product mix was further improved -- percentage of manufactured industrial products increased, of which machinery and electric appliances, which have a higher added value, increased to 24.7 percent. Utilization of foreign funds increased sharply -- a total of $36.77 billion of foreign fund, an increase of 91.5 percent over the previous year, was actually used in 1993. Of the total foreign fund utilized, $25.8 billion, an increase of 1.3 times over the previous year, were of foreign companies' actual direct investment. A total of $10.8 billion, up 36.9 percent from the year before, of foreign loan were utilized in 1993. Foreign companies' investment pattern changed to some degree -- investment in long- and medium-term development projects increased, investment |
FBIS4-1627_24 | Report on Economic, Social Plans | importance to and earnestly strengthen safety in production. (3) We shall maintain a rational scale of investment in fixed assets and vigorously optimize the investment structure In light of the currently overextended scale of investment in fixed assets that are under installation, we must strictly control excessive investment growth this year, shifting the focus of our work to optimizing the investment structure and improving investment returns. Capital construction, technical upgrading, and real estate development will receive 485 billion yuan, 250 billion yuan, and 80 billion yuan, respectively, in fixed-assets investment by state- owned units in 1994. In accordance with the demands of industrial policy, we shall increase investment in infrastructure, basic industries, and backbone industries, mainly devoting additional state investment to agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, communications, energy, major raw and semifinished materials, electronics, science and technology, and education. We shall expand investment in exploiting resources in the west-central region. In investing in key construction projects, we shall first concentrate on projects that have been completed and put into operation, projects that must be continued, and key projects in the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" that must be launched. Specifically, we shall concentrate on a number of major projects which affect overall interests. These include projects to harness the Huai He, Tai Hu, and Dongting Hu; the Xiaolangdi water control project and other water conservancy projects on the Huang He; the Beijing-Jiulong and Lanzhou-Xinjiang railways; key port projects in Qinhuangdao, Dalian, and Shanghai; the Beijing-Shenyang-Harbin, Beijing-Wuhan-Guangzhou, and Xining-Lanzhou-Urumqi fiber-optics cables; and key projects such as large coal bases, hydroelectric stations, thermal power stations in the eastern region, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi. We shall intensify efforts to complete automobile projects selected by the state, the Wuxi microelectronics project, and special projects on application-oriented satellites. We shall make preparations for the early stage of the Three Gorges project on the Chang Jiang, simultaneously starting construction on both banks of the river. We shall begin full-scale construction of transportation projects leading to other places and the Xiling bridge. We shall complete land requisition in the dam area and the resettlement of residents. We shall continue preparations for the early stages of Phase Three of the Baoshan Iron and Steel Complex and other key projects. We shall strictly control investment in processing industries with excess production capacities. We shall launch infrastructure and basic industrial projects in accordance with the principles of overall state planning, rational distribution, |
FBIS4-1628_28 | Supreme Procuratorate Work Report to NPC | orders in civil, economic and administrative lawsuits, and to cases of wrong judgment during civil and administrative lawsuits due to the judges' self-seeking misconduct or their asking for or accepting bribes. In 1993, the procuratorial organs lodged protests against wrong trial decisions in 310 civil, economic, and administrative cases. By examining evidently partial court decisions and orders, the procuratorial organs placed the cases of 44 judges on file for investigation after discovering their self-seeking misconduct. 5) The procuratorial organs stepped up supervision and inspection of prisons and paid special attention to investigating and handling cases of illegal reduction of sentence, parole, and medical parole involving bribery, as well as the cases of self-seeking misconduct involving unauthorized release of inmates. A total 599 such cases were investigated and handled. They involved prison staff members who embezzled public funds, sought or accepted bribes, practiced favoritism and fraud, set inmates free without proper authorization, or tortured inmates. Zhu Wenjia, deputy political officer of the first brigade of Changchun Prison in Jilin Province accepted 30,000 yuan in bribes from 29 inmates and their relatives, and abused his power in obtaining sentence reduction, parole, or medical parole for those inmates. Zhu has been sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for the crime according to law. The procuratorial organs also made timely inspection and correction of such law violations in prisons as detention without proper legal papers, keeping inmates from reform through labor in violation of court orders, and delay the release of inmates in violation of court orders. The procuratorial organs made suggestions on correcting 39,342 law violations in prisons, and 17,823 of them have been corrected by the departments concerned. The procuratorial organs made fairly great achievements in correcting the problem of overdue detention and suggested the correction of 73,416 such cases, and 34,432 of them have been corrected by the departments concerned. 6) Procuratorial work in handling appeals and complaints has been strengthened. Procuratorial organs devoted greater efforts to reinvestigation of cases in accordance with appeals filed against courts' decisions as well as complaints against procuratorial organs' decisions on exemption from prosecution. In line with the principle of seeking truth from facts and that every wrong should be righted, procuratorial organs, whenever mistakes were found, filed protests or otherwise redressed the mistakes in accordance with the law. A total of 485,851 appeals and complaints were handled in 1993 by procuratorial organs at all |
FBIS4-1640_1 | Authorities Ban Wei Jingsheng Seeing Foreign Journalists | banning those deprived of their rights from meeting journalists. The Foreign Ministry also refused to say whether the ban extended to foreign diplomats and government officials. China severely criticised United States Assistant Secretary of State, John Shattuck, for meeting Mr Wei in February, claiming he had violated Article 75 of the criminal code since at that time Mr Wei was a "criminal on parole". Since Mr Wei completed his period of parole on Tuesday, Article 75 can no longer be cited as a reason not to meet foreigners. Analysts said the only way a ban on meetings could be justified was if it were deemed that by talking to foreign reporters, Mr Wei was "engaging in political activities". The Foreign Ministry statement reflects the determination of the Government to keep China's "No 1 trouble maker" under control for the foreseeable future. Mr Wei, who was pressured into leaving Beijing prior to the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, has still not returned to the capital and there is no indication of when he might come back. The leader of the Democracy Wall movement originally said he was just going out of town for a "few days" for reasons of poor health but most analysts believe he has been ordered to take an extended vacation. There is speculation Mr Wei might be kept out of the way for a few more months given the upcoming 75th anniversary of the May 4th movement and the fifth anniversary of the June 4 massacre, both highly sensitive dates in the Chinese political calendar. Dissidents in Beijing and Shanghai faced stepped-up harassment by police and state-security agents. A source said several blacklisted dissidents were considering heading towards the south-east coast, the traditional springboard for fleeing the country. It is understood these pro-democracy elements feared being taken into custody in the run-up to June 4. "Security agents hauled in scores of `trouble-makers' in Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities in May and June in 1992 and 1993, and some of these detainees are still behind bars," the source said. Sources in Beijing said authorities in the industrial city of Tangshan were investigating the escape late last month of activist Wang Jiaqi, a 34-year-old postgraduate law student at Beijing University. Together with law lecturer Yuan Hongbing and underground labour unionist Zhou Guoqiang, Wang was detained on March 2 for allegedly organising a petition on political reform. |
FBIS4-1641_0 | Pro-Democracy Activists Placed Under `Strict Control' | BFN ["Report from Hong Kong" by reporter Huang Tien (7806 1131) ] [Text] On the eve of the Ching Ming festival, Beijing's situation has become increasingly tense. According to a source from Beijing, yesterday state security and public security departments in Beijing once again received instructions from their higher authorities to place pro-democracy activities under strict control before the Ching Ming festival and adopt resolute measures if necessary. The source said: Departments concerned began to launch operations yesterday and made covert arrangements to watch the homes of dissidents and the places where they usually carried out their activities. The higher authorities ordered their subordinate departments to persuade, as far as possible, pro-democracy activists to travel outside Beijing and persuade the pro-democracy activists who were currently in the other parts of China to "spend a few more days amusing themselves" there. Well-known pro-democracy activist Wei Jingsheng previously planned to hold a gathering in Beijing on 29 March to mark the 15th anniversary of the pronouncement of his court verdict. However, as of now, he has not returned to Beijing, and is still in Qingdao. May 4 is a sensitive day during which the mainland authorities maintain sharp vigilance. During the Ching Ming festival every year, Beijing Municipality is on the alert and all relevant personnel renounce vacation and do their utmost to throw themselves into security work. |
FBIS4-1647_1 | Article Notes Kuwait's `Uncertain' Future | was rejected by the latter, even though it is risking serious international pressure. Iraq has also refused the compensations paid by the Kuwait Government for Iraqis who withdrew into Iraq to follow the new border demarcation rules. Iraq's strong stance has shocked Kuwaitis, and may ruin their confidence in a safe and stable future of the ever-occupied country. Relationships between Kuwait and its "opposition countries" -- some Arab states which once supported or sympathized with Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis -- remain suspended or have limited progress in the direction of reconciliation. But the Gulf anti-Iraq front has begun to break up when Kuwait got angry at Qatar that tried to establish "balanced and clear relations" with Iraq. Also a marine transportation line was reportedly to be established between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the trial of attempted assassination of former U.S. president George Bush was adjourned again and again. There are signs that the lawsuit which could have created a more intense tie between Iraq and its opponents may have an advantageous end for Iraq. The international embargo against Iraq could be softened if the alleged Iraq-backed plot was turned down. All these developments are really a bad news for Kuwaitis who are fearful of another invasion and occupation by a strong neighbor. At home, Kuwaitis are also confused by the economic situation which is not quite good. Foreign funds are badly needed by the government for supporting the reconstruction, while domestic funds are flowing abroad because the market is tiny and safety prospect is still uncertain. Suffering from a double financial impact, Kuwait lost hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars last year when crude oil prices slumped, while its overseas investment returns achieved a lower level. Also, the hard debt plan is expected to cost the government about 20 billion dollars. The government is forced to cut public spending by 20 percent to cope with an increasing deficit. Kuwait is likely to carry out a package of privatization steps and impose more charges on various public services. It means that the Kuwaitis will get less money owed to them and lose a lot of benefits from the welfare policies which they lived on for a long time. On the other hand, the legislature and the authorities are likely at a cross road. There are reports that the current cabinet and house will resign in order |
FBIS4-1660_3 | PRC Trade Union Role in Market Economy Viewed | standstill. Fang Jiade, vice president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, informed this reporter: Currently, in giving publicity to enterprise reform, undue emphasis is laid on property rights relationship to the neglect of labor relationship and on funds and equipment to the neglect of the role of laborers in pushing productive forces forward. As China further opens up to the outside world and the number of foreign-funded enterprises expands, labor-capital disputes are also increasing in number. The question of infringement of the rights and interests of Chinese personnel has attracted the attention of trade unionists. Jiang Rong, former president of the Shanghai Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, provided this reporter with material like this: A foreign-funded restaurant in Shanghai gave half an hour for job aplicants to read the Chinese- version contracts and then asked them to sign English-version contracts. During the probation period, when the employees who could not bear the illegal actions of searching their bodies and bags asked to renounce their contracts with their 340 yuan in cash pledge lost in accordance with the Chinese-version contracts, the enterprise showed them the English-version contracts, which stipulated that if the employees wanted to renounce contracts, apart from returning their cash pledge, they should pay 5,000 yuan in compensation fees. Hence, there was an outcry among the employees. On the issue, he said: In foreign-funded enterprises, it is imperative for trade unions to hold collective talks with enterprises on the employees' behalf on such issues as wages, working hours, labor protection, and safety in production, and to sign common collective contracts. The pressing matter of the moment is to speed up establishment of trade unions in foreign-funded enterprises. According to statistics, of the foreign-funded enterprises which have already started operation, less than a half have set up trade unions. Trade unionists also confessed: To safeguard the interests of staff members and workers once and for all, it is necessary to perfect the social security system and solve for members of society the difficulties caused by old age, diseases, injury and disability, unemployment, and poverty. At present, it is necessary to enact "labor," "social security," "labor protection," "minimum wage," and "labor contract" laws as quickly as possible. Trade unions should be invited to participate in the whole process of drafting laws which have a bearing on staff member and worker immediate interests. Just as a labor expert said: Internationally, no |
FBIS4-1662_0 | Anhui Leads Nation in 36 Confirmed Mineral Deposits | BFN [By Xu Donqin (6079 2639 0530): "Providing Sufficient `Grain' for Industrial Development, Anhui Leads Other Provinces in Confirmed Mineral Resources"] [Text] After years of arduous struggle, geological workers have discovered over 90 various categories of minerals -- of which 64 have their deposit volumes ascertained -- in more than 1,900 areas in Anhui, of which over 540 are found to be workable and usable. Anhui is leading other provinces in deposit volume of 36 minerals, including coal, iron, copper, sulfur, alum stone, cement limestone, and bentonite with a potential value of 700 billion yuan, winning Anhui not only a spot as a leading province in mineral deposits but also an economic superiority . The outcome of a recent evaluation on the extent of guarantee that Anhui's 37 major mineral resources can provide to the national economic construction in the year 2010 showed that the province's 146 confirmed coal bases -- mainly scattered in areas between Huainan city and Huaibei city -- with a deposit volume of nearly 25 billion tonnes rank seventh in the nation and tops other provinces in Eastern China. The close to 3-billion-tonnes confirmed iron deposits in 92 explored iron-producing areas representing 40 percent of the eastern China region's total, ranking first in the region and fifth nationwide. These iron deposits are mainly dispersed in the Maanshan, Lujiang, and Huoqiu areas, of which deposits in Maanshan and Lujiang account for 52.4 percent of the provincial total. It is estimated that additional potential iron deposits throughout the province may reach 1.2 billion tonnes. Confirmed copper deposits also rank fifth in the nation and second in eastern China region, mainly concentrated along the Chang Jiang River, of which deposits in Tongling, Wuhu, Guichi, and Anqing alone account for over 83 percent of the provincial total. Additional potential copper deposits are estimated to be 160 percent more than the existing known figures. What is particularly gratifying is that, of all the confirmed mineral deposits, 55 categories are concentrated along both sides of the Chang Jiang River, representing 60-100 percent of total deposits of the same minerals across the province. Besides iron, copper, and sulfur, cement limestone is also a major mineral resource along the Chang Jiang River, with confirmed deposit volume reaching 3.48 billion tonnes in 72 explored areas throughout the province. Ranking fifth in the nation and representing about 80 percent of the provincial total, these cement limestones |
FBIS4-1669_3 | Shandong Economic Development Communique | power of farm machinery was 35.18 million kilowatts, of which, the power of tractors for agricultural use was 8.38 million kilowatts, up by 3.6 percent. Rural consumption of electricity was 10.66 billion kilowatt hours, up by 6.4 percent. The acreage effectively irrigated was 4.624 million hectares, up by 0.6 percent. Rural economy developed rapidly. The 1993 total product of the rural society was 537 billion yuan, up by 84.4 percent over the previous year. Of this, output value of the non-agricultural industries, such as rural industries, construction, transportation, commerce, and catering service, increased by 110 percent over the previous year. The proportion of these non-agricultural industries in the total rural economy rose from 70.8 percent in 1992 to 81.5 percent in 1993. 2. The Secondary Industry According to the requirements for setting up the socialist market economic system, in 1993, the province accelerated the pace of enterprise reform, positively readjusted the industrial structure, made efforts to improve efficiency, firmly grasped the improvement of product quality, and ensured sustained and fast development of the secondary industry. The added value of the secondary industry was 144.206 billion yuan, an increase of 29.9 percent. The proportion of the added value of the secondary industry in the gross domestic product rose from 49.3 percent in 1992 to 53.4 percent. The industrial production increased at a high speed. In 1993, total industrial output value reached 598 billion yuan, an increase of 57.2 percent. Of this, the total output value realized by the industries at or above the township level reached 342.92 billion yuan, an increase of 35.7 percent; and the sales value was 328.922 billion yuan, an increase of 39.25 percent. The added value of industries reached 129.4 billion yuan, an increase of 29.2 percent. The pace of structural readjustment was accelerated. The industries of various economic sectors developed at a high speed. The output value realized by enterprises not owned by the state accounted for a large proportion. The output value of state-owned industrial enterprises increased by 14.85 percent; and that of collective industrial enterprises increased by 56.37 percent. Of this, that of township-run industrial enterprises increased by 85.59 percent; and the industries of other economic sectors with "three types of foreign-funded enterprises" constituting the mainstay increased by 150 percent. Of the output value of the industries at or above the township level, 49.9 percent were realized by enterprises other than the state ownership, |
FBIS4-1674_0 | Fujian To Produce Electricity With Overseas Funds | BFN [Text] Fuzhou, April 3 (XINHUA) -- The electricity-short Chinese province of Fujian will utilize overseas capital to build more power stations in the years ahead. In the past, only state or collectively-owned organizations were allowed to construct and run power plants. This policy hampered the development of Fujian's power resources, which include many rivers with steep drops suitable for hydro-electric power stations. While thermal power plants have very limited output due to the province's lack of coal, less than 22 percent of the hydraulic resources were utilized. As a result, this southeast China's coastal province is left with a shortage of several hundred millions of kwh of electricity per year. Since the mid-1980s, however, Fujian has used 800 million U.S. dollars from overseas investors to build several power plants. The provincial authorities recently announced new policies to encourage foreign investment in construction and management of local power stations. Several projects have been set for tenders, according to relevant departments. |
FBIS4-1704_1 | Beijing-Affiliated Paper Urges Sino-U.S. Cooperation | renew China's MFN status, expressing the hope that the United States and China will strengthen cooperation and will jointly make efforts to safeguard the security of the Asia-Pacific Region. Thanks to its growing economic strength and stronger international position, China is playing a more and more important role in the world. Take, for example, the recent nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, which has now become the focus of international attention. Many countries are hoping that China will play a positive role in defusing this crisis. As a matter of fact, the statement issued by the UN Security Council chairman on 31 March, urging the DPRK to cooperate on the nuclear inspections issue, has embodied China's policy on the issue, this being the result of China's positive efforts in this connection. Wide-Ranging Sino-U.S. Cooperation China and the United States can no doubt broadly cooperate with one another economically and through trade. Reports over the last few days have fully attested to this point. Last Thursday, official U.S. trade representatives declared: U.S. exports to China in 1993 increased by $1.3 billion over the previous year, reaching $8.8 billion. In a national trade appraisal report submitted to the government, they acknowledged that China has already taken "significant steps" in fulfilling "most of its obligations" stipulated in the Sino-U.S. trade agreement. The report noted that China has also increased the transparency of its import examination and approval procedures by a large margin. The day before yesterday, the U.S. Government announced its decision to lift the ban on the U.S. companies exporting computer and telecommunications equipment to China in an effort to obstruct Europe, Japan, and other countries from acquiring a larger share of the China market. The decision will probably help to secure contracts worth tens of billions of U.S. dollars for the United States. Yesterday, it was reported that the Chinese and U.S. scientists have made a new breakthrough in medical research cooperation: They have jointly discovered and developed a liver cancer vaccine, thereby finding a new cure for this "incurable disease." China and the United States can indeed cooperate with each other in many fields. Opposition to Attaching Strings to MFN Status The above facts have demonstrated that those who have tried to engineer the revocation of China's MFN status on the pretext of human rights and thus undermine the normal relations between China and the United States are indeed absurd |
FBIS4-1704_2 | Beijing-Affiliated Paper Urges Sino-U.S. Cooperation | China has already taken "significant steps" in fulfilling "most of its obligations" stipulated in the Sino-U.S. trade agreement. The report noted that China has also increased the transparency of its import examination and approval procedures by a large margin. The day before yesterday, the U.S. Government announced its decision to lift the ban on the U.S. companies exporting computer and telecommunications equipment to China in an effort to obstruct Europe, Japan, and other countries from acquiring a larger share of the China market. The decision will probably help to secure contracts worth tens of billions of U.S. dollars for the United States. Yesterday, it was reported that the Chinese and U.S. scientists have made a new breakthrough in medical research cooperation: They have jointly discovered and developed a liver cancer vaccine, thereby finding a new cure for this "incurable disease." China and the United States can indeed cooperate with each other in many fields. Opposition to Attaching Strings to MFN Status The above facts have demonstrated that those who have tried to engineer the revocation of China's MFN status on the pretext of human rights and thus undermine the normal relations between China and the United States are indeed absurd and ridiculous! It is a pity that such people still exist. In the past, they tried in every way to obstruct China from obtaining MFN status or tried to attach strings to China's MFN status. Seeing their position losing popular support with every passing day, they are now trying to employ new tactics. They have recently proposed so-called sanctions against China's "state-run enterprises," which constitute nothing but a refurbished version of their original position. China has already made it clear that MFN status should be a mutual and unconditional status in bilateral trade and that China will not accept any strings attached to its MFN status. We can rest assured that those who advocate revoking China's MFN status are will find it difficult to fulfill their goal. U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Garten [jia teng 0502 3326] once stated: "As far as I know, no official in the Clinton administration wants to see China's MFN status revoked." There is no denying the fact that contradictions and differences exist between China and the United States. Nevertheless, shared interests make it imperative for the two countries to cooperate and develop relations with one another. The governments of the two countries are duty-bound to |
FBIS4-1717_5 | Editorial on Importance of Social Stability | getting their thinking straightened out. For example, while carrying out housing reform, a number of people may have no money to buy their own houses for a period of time; they will complain about this. With regard to the reform of the medical system, some people who see doctors frequently must pay part of the medical expenses. Those cadres and masses who currently enjoy free medical care may feel more inconvenienced now than the past. They will have complaints about this. With regard to the masses who were affected by fairly serious natural disasters last year, and have encountered difficulties in their life, they will be disgruntled if we fail to help them solve these difficulties promptly. In particular, the problem of commodity prices can directly affect the "food baskets" and "grain bags" of the masses. Currently this is a hot topic for conversation among the masses. In addition, public transport is also a problem that can affect the feelings of the masses. If we fail to take expeditious and decisive measures to curb price hikes and straighten out transport order, stability and unity will be affected. If we do our work well in this regard, it will play a very great role in maintaining stability. If we fail to handle this matter well, it will encourage the growth of those factors of instability. Therefore, leaders at all levels not only must set their sights on the development of reform, but also must pay attention to and make efforts to grasp social stability. They must go deep among the masses, listen to their voice, and understand their demands. They must be truly concerned about the weal and woe of the people, and must promptly help them solve difficulties arising in production, work, study, and livelihood. If their difficulties cannot be solved for a period of time, it is necessary to explain this to them. The masses are reasonable; as long as we keep them in our hearts, always think of them, and do our work for them in their households so that it strikes a chord in their hearts, the broad masses of people will conscientiously safeguard stability and unity. If the people's minds are at rest, and they unite as one to advance courageously, stability and unity can be ensured. There is no doubt that it will be beneficial to speeding up reform and accelerating development. Today's situation of |
FBIS4-1745_0 | UK Businesses `Eager' for Improved Relations | BFN ["Special article" by reporter He Chong (6320 3095): "UK Business Community Eager To See Improved PRC Ties"] [Text] Hong Kong, 17 February (ZHONGGUO TONGXUN SHE)-- According to reports published by London newspapers, UK industrial and commercial circles have recently and repeatedly warned John Major's government that Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten's hostile stance and behavior toward China on the question of Hong Kong's political reform is bound to adversely affect Sino-British relations and jeopardize Sino-British economic and trade cooperation. Some personages within Britain's industrial, commercial, and political circles have even publicly demanded that the "Hong Kong governor be replaced" and maintain that only by doing so will Britain's and Hong Kong's long-term interests be safeguarded. On 7 February, given deteriorating Anglo-Chinese relations, the "Anglo-Chinese Trade Group 48" announced its decision to cancel a scheduled visit to China by a heavyweight British trade delegation led by British Trade and Industry Secretary Michael Heseltine this coming fall in a bid to avoid embarrassment. It was reported that the "Anglo-Chinese Trade Group 48" had originally decided to send a total of 24 economic and trade delegations to China this year with the aforementioned high-level delegation comprising the chief executives of some 100 major British firms being the most important. The delegation was originally scheduled to visit China in late September of this year to promote the sale of UK-made technology and equipment to China and was scheduled to visit Beijing, Shanghai, the Three Gorges of the Chang Jiang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, as well as some other places in China. As Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten has submitted the first part and plans to submit the second and last part of his political reform package to the Legislative Council in early March [as received] and have them ratified for official enforcement this coming July, the Chinese side is expected to react strongly to the governor's decision. Thus, it would be inappropriate for British business leaders to visit China under such an "atmosphere." Not long before, Bailiren [4101 4409 0088], president of the "Anglo-Chinese Trade Group 48," had publicly accused John Major's government of ignoring the views and jeopardizing the interests of the UK business community, saying that the way in which the government had handled the Hong Kong question had undermined Anglo- Chinese trade relations, that the government had failed to see the adverse effects of Chris Patten's political reform package, |
FBIS4-1752_0 | Beijing Bank President on Social Security System | BFN [By Reporters Sun Yushan (1327 3768 1472) and Chen Weiguang (7115 4850 0342): "Shao Yunjie, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Beijing Municipality, Talks About the Issue of Positively Carrying Out the Social Security System"] [Text] Enlivening state-owned large- and medium-sized enterprises is a topic of conversation that the economists and entrepreneurs were most concerned with at the people's congresses held over the past years. At the place where the Beijing delegation stayed, Shao Yunjie, president of the municipal industrial and commercial bank and deputy of the municipality, set forth with the view of a banker that we should positively carry out the social security system, lighten the burden of enterprises, and create conditions for enterprises to equally join the market competition. Shao Yunjie said: Just as what Premier Li set forth in his report, enterprises bear heavy financial burdens in supporting social undertakings and there are many historical burdens. Taking Beijing as an example, 1,030,000 staff members and workers of the industrial enterprises should support 400,000 retired staff members and workers. How can they support such a large number of retired staff members and workers? So, we should set up, as soon as possible, a social security system so that enterprises will not bear this burden any longer. Enterprises hand over a portion of money to society. Simultaneously, enterprises have also to deliver to society portions of money from various kinds of earnings. Besides, staff members and workers themselves should also pay a portion of money and the state has to allocate a portion of money. So, the living expenses of retired staff members and workers will be provided under the social insurance system. The enterprises that are hopeless for halting deficits should declare bankruptcy. We can use the social insurance mechanism to arrange the staff members and workers of the bankrupt enterprises or to have the enterprises shift their lines of operation in a step-by-step manner. Shao Yunjie said: The higher levels must never define any speed targets for large- and medium-sized enterprises. Defining speed targets will bring damages to these enterprises. The products without benefits and the products that nobody wants must not be produced any more. Enterprises would rather suspend production than seek high output value. Using coal, electricity, water, and raw materials to produce unmarketable products is big waste. Enterprises should readjust the product mix according to market demands, grasp product quality, |
FBIS4-1775_0 | New Regulations To Simplify Port Inspections for Ships | BFN [By Xie Yicheng: "Simplified Port Checks Due For Ships"] [Text] China is ready to reform its decades-old system of port inspections to bring procedures in line with international norms. As proposed before the State Council, the new rules cancel the need for harbour officers to always conduct on-board inspections of ships entering and leaving Chinese ports. Instead, the shipping companies or their agents can generally conduct the checks themselves and then report the results to the officials. The checks affected by the new rules are for the harbour superintendency, customs, frontier checkpost and sanitary quarantine units. The new procedures, called "clearance-upon-trust," are expected to take effect later this year if they get the nod from the State Council, said a source from the Ministry of Communications. The ship inspections may be conducted within a specified period of time before or after the vessel pulls into a berth. The rule applies to both domestic and foreign ships. The existing on-board checks have often delayed foreign-trade ships. As a result, many prefer to call at Hong Kong and ports of other countries. According to the new rules, more flexible clearance checks are to be implemented for ships calling at frontier ports and shuttling within short routes. The new system is also intended to establish more efficient ship inspections and to stress ship owners' awareness of Chinese laws. |
FBIS4-1783_0 | Wei Jingsheng Detained Upon Return to Beijing Police Force Dissident From Car | BFN [Text] Beijing, April 1 KYODO -- China's most famous dissident Wei Jingsheng was detained for yet another time Friday [1 April] while returning to Beijing, his secretary said. Wei was coming from the port city of Tianjin when at least seven police vehicles stopped the car he was riding in and took him away, his secretary, who was riding with him, said. Police showed Wei a "summons and investigation warrant" before taking him off, the secretary said in describing the incident which occurred about 5:00 p.m. [0900 GMT] Beijing time. Wei was returning from what is believed to have been a forced exile after being detained in early March, several days before U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher arrived in Beijing to press China's communist leaders for progress in human rights. The dissident, who became famous for his publications and imprisonment during the democracy wall period in the late 1970s, was released on parole last September 15, days before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted on what city was to hold the 2000 Olympics. Many surmised his release was a cynical move by Beijing to attempt to polish its human rights image for IOC voters, while using its political dissidents as hostages. Wei was jailed for "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement" 15 years ago March 29, which was also the date on which his parole was to end. However he had also been deprived of his political rights for three years following his release. Deprivation of civil rights for varying periods is among China's punishments. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that despite the termination of his parole, Wei is not allowed to give interviews to foreign journalists. The ministry refused to clarify under which law such a restriction is stipulated, although it stressed that china has "a rule of law." Theoretically a "summons and investigation warrant" allows for the detention of citizens for up to three days. Wei incensed Chinese leaders when he met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights John Shattuck at Shattuck's request two weeks before the Christopher visit and said the U.S. should continue to link trade with progress in human rights. The United States has tied the renewal of China's most-favored- nation (MFN) trading status, which facilitates billions of dollars in bilateral trade, to progress on the rights front. Wei, similarly incensed paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978 when he called democracy China's |
FBIS4-1786_0 | Wei Jingsheng Detained Upon Return to Beijing Wei `Violated' Parole | BFN [Text] Beijing, April 4 KYODO -- Dissident Wei Jingsheng has violated the conditions of his parole and is being investigated by Chinese security departments, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday [4 April]. "Wei Jingsheng, during the period of his parole and deprivation of his political rights, has violated the concerned regulations, and the public security organs have the right to investigate him according to the law," the spokesman said. The statement came days after Wei was detained by police while returning to Beijing following a forced exile from the capital, which coincided with a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and the meeting of China's National People's Congress. Wei, the godfather of China's pro-democracy movement, was detained in early March after meeting with U.S. Undersecretary of State John Shattuck and expressing his view that the United States should continue to pressure China on human rights issues. The meeting reportedly infuriated China's dictatorial leaders who has viewed Wei as a menace to their authority since he called for greater democracy in the late 1970s. On Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported that Wei "had a talk" with Beijing police and "left the bureau immediately afterwards," but on Monday the dissident's family and friends had no clue as to his whereabouts and under what pretext he was taken away. Wei was released last September, seven months short of a 15-year term, in what was widely regarded as a cynical human rights gesture aimed at influencing the International Olympic Committee into selecting Beijing as the host for the 2000 Olympic games. His parole was to last until March 29, the original date of his release, while his political rights will continue to be withheld for three years. Since his release, Wei has been hounded by the police and told to refrain from being interviewed by foreign journalists and writing essays for the foreign press. Last year, Wei, who steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout his 15-year ordeal, was a cowinner with Nelson Mandela of the Gleitsman Foundation international activist award. |
FBIS4-1822_0 | Survey Favors Government Move To Cool Property Prices | BFN [By Political Editor Danny Gittings and Dick Chan] [Text] Hong Kong has overwhelmingly thrown its support behind Governor Chris Patten's proposed crackdown on property speculation. An exclusive SUNDAY MORNING POST opinion poll reveals that 79 per cent of those surveyed believe the Governor was right last week to identify rising property prices as an urgent problem. Only eight per cent disagreed, while 13 per cent were unsure. Speculation was almost universally identified as a major cause of the soaring prices by the poll's respondents. There was strong support for tough new measures to control it, including a controversial capital gains tax on speculators. The poll also uncovered startling new evidence of the effect rising residential prices is having on ordinary people. Only six per cent of those surveyed said they were intending to buy a flat at present, in the Hong Kong Polling and Business Research (PBR) survey of 1,055 people. Forty-nine per cent were less likely to buy a flat because of recent price rises, while only four per cent said this had made them more likely to do so. A further 43 per cent said recent events had not affected the prospect of them buying a flat, while four per cent were unsure. The poll was conducted last Wednesday [30 March] and Thursday, immediately after the Government announced the establishment of a multi-disciplinary task force charged with cooling the property market. The response rate was 62 per cent. PBR managing director Citi Hung Ching-tin said the results showed the Government had pinpointed the issue of most immediate concern to people. "The Governor is reaping the political windfall of correctly identifying the issue of the day that is hitting the lower classes," he said. Mr Patten last week pledged that "the number one domestic issue on my agenda will be property prices". The Financial Secretary, Sir Hamish Macleod, and the Acting Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Canice Mak Chun-fong, also pledged the Government would take action to bring down prices. Ninety-three per cent of those surveyed saw speculation as a main cause of the soaring market. But most respondents believed Hong Kong property developers and other local purchasers were primarily to blame, rather than mainland firms, which had recently been accused of fuelling the rising prices. Seventy-eight per cent believed speculation by local developers was a major factor behind the runaway market, while 76 per cent believed |
FBIS4-1842_10 | Shanghai People's Procuratorial Work Report | Third, various procuratorates struggled against specific crimes in light of special characteristics of different trades. They publicized education on the tax law 63 times while investigating cases of tax fraud. Meanwhile, they helped concerned units establish and improve operational and tax management systems. Fourth, various procuratorates worked in coordination with taxation organizations to improve tax collection. They ordered some "stubborn" units to pay taxes and fines for delaying payment. Procuratorates at various levels strengthened their efforts to "crack down on fake and shoddy products." They stressed handling major and serious cases of imitating trade marks, and producing and selling fake and shoddy products, which involve large volumes and have a very bad impact on society. They also seriously investigated and handled criminal groups which manufactured and sold fake and shoddy commodities. Over the past year, they filed 80 cases of imitating trade marks, an increase of 60 percent compared with the previous year. Of these, 48 were serious cases, accounting for 60 percent of cases. The total amount of illegal operations reached more than 29 million yuan. They cracked down on and destroyed 56 "criminal nests" which manufactured fake commodities. Cases of imitating trade marks discovered by procuratorates involved 20 categories and 39 kinds of commodities, including automobiles, auto parts, household appliances, bicycles, medicine, beverages, and medical apparatus. Investigating and cracking down on those cases played a positive role in protecting consumers' lawful rights, and maintaining economic order in the market. 5. Strengthening Law Enforcement Supervision, Vigorously Launching Inspection of Investigation and Trial Activities and Law-Enforcement Activities of Prisons, Detention Centers, and Reeducation-Through-Labor Camps During the past year, procuratorial organs paid closer attention to law-enforcement supervision. First, they strengthened supervision over investigation and trial work. They arrested and prosecuted 182 criminals who had slipped through the net, turned down 776 cases for further investigation on the ground of insufficient evidence, and gave verbal or written comments to public security organs and courts on 88 cases rectifying violations of law. They also decided not to approve the arrests of a total of 700 people and not to prosecute 14 others on the grounds that their actions did not constitute crimes, or because there was no need to hold them for criminal responsibility. In addition, they protested court judgment on 22 cases on the grounds that the judgment was inappropriate. Second, they strengthened inspection of prisons and detention centers. They gave their |
FBIS4-1859_0 | Japanese Air Unit Apologizes on Plane Interception | BFN [By reporter Fang Yang-chung (2455 0111 1813) in Taipei] [Text] An official for the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) pointed out in the morning of 26 March: Regarding an incident in which Japanese fighter planes scrambled to make an "identification check" on a CAA test plane on the morning of 25 March, the whole incident is nothing but a "misunderstanding," probably a result of improper coordination between a Japanese air traffic control center and the Japanese Air Force. The Japanese air traffic control unit involved has made an oral apology to the CAA. The official pointed out: Before the plane left for Taipei's air traffic information zone, the CAA had notified its Japanese counterpart and obtained its consent. The whole process, which was conducted properly, can be certified by referring to existing records. The official said: The CAA plane was conducting its task when two F-4 Phantom planes of Japan's Self-Defense Force scrambled to make an "identification check." Our unit involved in the incident was quite confused by the Japanese move, and immediately cabled the Japanese side to find out more about the situation. The CAA official pointed out: The Japanese air traffic control unit soon apologized to the two pilots in the test plane through our air traffic control unit. The Japanese side said that the mistake was a result of faulty coordination between a Japanese air traffic control unit and a Self-Defense Force control unit. The incident was only a "misunderstanding" because the fighter planes were merely making an "identification check." The CAA official said his office is still negotiating with the Japanese air traffic control unit to work out methods to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents. |
FBIS4-1861_57 | Governor Delivers Hebei Government Work Report | between most schools being run by the government and social participation in schooling being realized. A good job should be continuously done in grasping the "educational project of hope" and realistically resolve the problem of the school-age children in rural areas being unable to enter schools. Efforts should be made to consolidate, upgrade, and perfect the secondary vocational and technical education and the adult education. We should actively push forward the comprehensive reform in rural education and enforce overall arrangements among agriculture, science, and education. In 1994 the province will concentrate its efforts on building 100 vocational education centers at the county level. A good job will be continuously done in eliminating illiteracy among youths. In conducting the higher education, efforts should be made to grasp the projects including the strong points of higher educational institutions; to create research results with competitive capability; to turn out highly sophisticated technologies; and to train outstanding and qualified talented personnel for serving economic construction and social development. We should positively and steadily readjust the specialized course of institutions of higher learning. Through appropriate amalgamation, we should expand the scale of institutions of higher learning and upgrade the efficiency in running schools. We should positively organize forces to strive to join the implementation of the state "211-project" plan and attend to the construction of two key universities and 50 major branches of learning. On the premise of taking teaching as a key link, we should vigorously strengthen scientific research so as to further suit the demands for upgrading the teaching quality and serving the economic construction. It is necessary to stabilize the scale of recruiting students for universities and secondary specialized schools. This year, ordinary institutions of higher learning should recruit 36,000 students and secondary specialized schools should recruit 75,000 students. We should conscientiously implement the "law governing teachers" and realistically safeguard the legal rights and benefits of teachers. We should strive to set up and maintain a teacher contingents with high political integrity, high professional abilities, and a strong spirit of respecting the professional work. We should realistically solve teachers' wage, housing, and training problems; stabilize the teacher contingents; and promote the overall provincial educational level to a new height. It is necessary to promote the prosperity of the socialist cultural undertakings. We should persist in the orientation of making literature and art serve socialism and the people and the principle of letting |
FBIS4-1863_7 | Heilongjiang Procuratorate's Work Report | 59 cases of relieving reform-through-education sentences and reducing set terms of sentences, 43 cases of seeking medical advice on bail, and more than 10 cases of wantonly collecting charges. We concentrated efforts to solve the problems that criminals were still detained after completion of their fixed terms of imprisonment; 1,639 of these kinds of cases were corrected. Thus, the number of the province's criminals that were detained after expiration of sentences was lower than the national average figure by 10.9 percentage point. Cases of 160 prisoners committing crimes again and 182 cases of prisoners and their families appealing to the higher levels and filing charges were handled. Twenty economic criminal and unlawful and undisciplined cases relating to cadres and policemen of supervisory centers and reformatories were investigated and handled. e. The accusation and report work was strengthened. The accusation and supervisory departments and the report centers brought into full play their roles as a "window" and a "bridge," accepted and handled 14,307 visitors and incoming letters from the amasses, handled 64 visiting groups, accepted and handled 1,509 accusation cases, reexamined 31 cases, and changed the original decisions on 52 cases. We accepted and handled 12,984 cases whose clues were reported by the masses, an increase of 50.89 percent over the previous year. Of this, clues for 9,055 cases of corruption and bribery were accepted, an increase of 53.71 percent; and clues for 622 cases involving personnel at or above the county and section level were accepted, an increase of 181 percent over the previous year. f. The inspection of the civil and administrative work was strengthened. This was a new task and greatly helped promote the handling of cases. We accepted and handled 404 accusation cases, placed 131 cases on file, lodged protests against 23 cases, respectively, increasing by 134 percent, 208 percent, and 667 percent over the previous year; and made 58 suggestions on further inspections and changes of judgment, 10.6 times over the previous year's figure. Our province made new achievements in the procuratorial work techniques and the procuratorial work in the agricultural, forestry, and railway aspects. Other overall departments also positively brought their roles into play in ensuring and promoting the progress of their professional work. B. Main Methods for Carrying Out the Procuratorial Work in 1993 a. The procuratorial organs persisted in the accurate political orientation and ceaselessly deepened the guiding ideology of making the procuratorial |
FBIS4-1865_3 | Shanxi Procuratorate Issues Work Report | tax evasion and refusal to pay tax, among these cases, 34 cases involved more than 100,000 yuan each, while 104 cases involved counterfeit trademarks. Use of tricks to deceive the state in order to get reimbursement of export taxes is a new form of crime which has emerged after the country carried out reforms of the taxation and foreign trade systems in recent years. Last year, the procuratorial organs in the whole province opened files to investigate 18 cases of collaboration between criminal elements and some corrupt elements in customs, taxation, and foreign trade departments who deceived the country into giving reimbursements; a total of 11 million yuan was retrieved. --A number of serious economic criminals who had been at large were arrested. Over the past three years, among the cases of economic crimes for which files were opened for investigation by the procuratorial organs in our province, there were 48 criminals who were on the run, and among them an absolute majority carried huge sums of money. The procuratorial organs in the whole province adopted various measures to track them down, and now, 28 of them have been arrested, and a total of 2.5 million yuan of economic losses to the state and collectives has been recovered. In the course of launching the struggle against corruption and bribery, we made a special effort to grasp the following three areas: First, we took decisive measures to swiftly change the situation in which the number of files opened for economic crimes in the whole province rapidly decreased. In the first two months of last year, due to the influence of various reasons, the procuratorial organs in the whole province opened only 77 files, a 60.3 percent decrease compared with the same period of 1992. Among the cases for which the files were opened, there were only 43 cases which involved more than 10,000 yuan each, and this was a 39.4 percent decrease compared with the same period of last year. Among the 134 procuratorial organs in the whole province, 84 had no files opened for investigation into economic crimes. On the one hand, the phenomenon of corruption was spreading; on the other hand, the number of cases handled by us greatly decreased, and this was a very big gap. In light of this grim situation, the provincial procuratorate promptly reported the situation to the provincial party committee and the Supreme People's |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.