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FBIS4-6220_0 | Cambodia Issue Explanation to ASEAN Planned | BFN [Text] THAILAND will explain the recent border conflicts with Cambodia to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next week, Foreign Minister Prasong Sunsiri said yesterday. ASEAN senior officials will gather in Phatthaya for a three-day meeting starting on Monday to prepare agendas for the foreign ministers' meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok in July. The Foreign Ministry would use the opportunity to sound out "opinions of other ASEAN countries" about the sour relations, said Sqn Ldr Prasong while participating in the Ministry's 119th anniversary celebrations. He denied that the scrapped visit to Cambodia by Supreme Commander Air Chief Marshal Woranat Aphichari was a protest against the Phnom Penh government. ACM Woranat was possibly not ready for talks with Cambodian officials, he said. ACM Woranat's plan was to hold discussions on border conflicts with high-ranking officials in Phnom Penh. Thailand has protested against Cambodian accusations that Thailand is supporting the Khmer Rouge. A letter will be handed to the Cambodian foreign ministry. Sqn Ldr Prasong said he did not expect to hear any response to the move which was aimed at explaining the truth as well as explaining Thailand's generosity to Cambodia. He said Prime Minister Chuan Likphai had no time, because of a tight schedule, to host Cambodian co-premier Hun Sen's planned visit to Bangkok. The premier was scheduled to visit Malaysia on Thursday. Sqn Ldr Prasong leaves for Rangoon today for an official visit as chairman of the ASEAN standing committee. The visit is an attempt to invite Burma to be a guest at the ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting to create mutual understanding and bring Burma into the outside world under ASEAN's "constructive engagement" policy. Meanwhile, the Cambodian government yesterday closed the Poipet-Klong Luek border pass in Aranyaprathet. The shutdown came more than a week after the Thai military closed this important border point in retaliation for cross-border shelling by Khmer forces. A Cambodian official based in Poipet said yesterday the Thai action was unjustified and unreasonable. He admitted that closing the border would have a detrimental effect on the Cambodian economy and tourism, especially at the usually busy Poipet market which is now deserted. All consumer goods and services that have to be imported from the Thai side are becoming scarce and prices are soaring, said the official, noting that a big chunk of ice which fetched only 60 baht in Poipet |
FBIS4-6307_13 | Politicians, Economic Circle on Political Reform | for "clean money" that has no linkage of vested interests between politicians and particular corporations, also generated various forms of "exterior" and "interior" worlds. How much money in total is flowing from where to where? Many people involved in this within the LDP and the economic circle say that only Mr. Natsuaki Fusano, managing director of Keidanren, and Mr. Jin Motojuku, chief of the LDP Treasury Bureau, know the entire spectrum. Mr. Motojuku has been specialized in the accounting field throughout his work life and is also an executive of Jiyu Kikaku-sha. He is quite "influential," as one staff member of the LDP says, "Neither the general secretary nor the chief of the Treasury Bureau knows the total picture, and they both just rubber-stamp according to what the chief of the Accounting Department says." On the other hand, Mr. Fusano, a successor to Mr. Hanamura, handles the entire aspect of contributions at Keidanren. Right after Chairman Gaishi Hiraiwa decided to discontinue the role of a middleman for contributions in August 1993, Mr. Fusano gathered people in charge of political funds from leading industries and told them that "I'm different from the chairman," suggesting that he would continue to play the role of middleman, albeit unofficially. Unsatisfied Over the Prospect of No Rewards Upon discontinuance of the Keidanren's role as a middleman, criticism from the business sector erupted over contributions through the Keidanren route: "They are like rent fees for a gambling house. No rewards" (per an executive from the securities industry). This is because a practical calculation that rewards to corporations are uncertain and also because of mounting dissatisfaction over putting money into a "black box" (per an official at Keidanren). [3 Mar 94 p 1] [Text] "I visited the vice chairman of Keidanren, but I couldn't accomplish anything." On 15 February [1994] Mr. Asahiko Mihara, chief of the Treasury Bureau of Sakigake [Harbinger], visited Keidanren to see Secretary General Masaya Miyoshi and Managing Director Natsuaki Fusano. Ever since Chief Cabinet Secretary Masayoshi Takemura, chief representative of party, paid a visit to Chairman Gaishi Hiraiwa last year, the party officials have continued to request contributions from major industries. But these visits have not generated any results yet. Mr. Miyoshi and others advised Mr. Mihara: "You must be patient and should make frequent visits to the presiding company of each industry association." Looking at the Maximum Limit on Contribution About 10 |
FBIS4-6332_0 | Iranian Speaker Continues Official Visit Blames U.S. for `Tragic' Fate of Gorazde | BFN [Text] Kuala Lumpur, April 20, IRNA -- Majles Speaker 'Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri Tuesday termed the fall of Gorazde as an "intolerable crime" and said that the tragic catastrophe was indicative of a conspiracy masterminded by the U.S. and its Western allies. Speaking at a press conference here the speaker reiterated that the fall of Gorazde proved the futility of all U.N., Security Council and NATO agreements. Nateq-Nuri said that the world free nations, especially Muslims, should help and support the oppressed people of Bosnia-Herzegovina with all their might. Nateq-Nuri blamed the U.N. Secretary General Butrus Butrus-Ghali for his ineptitude and weakness in dealing with Bosnian issue. He also said that Butrus-Ghali's resignation prior to the fall of Gorazde would have been to his benefit because it would have assured him of a good reputation in history as "an honest and truthful man." Referring to the outcome of his discussions with Malaysian officials including his counterpart Mohamed Zahir bin Haji Ismail and the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed as positive and constructive, the speaker said that decisions on promotion of economic and trade relations as well as on the expansion of political relations have been made by the two sides. On bilateral economic cooperation, he commented that the joint economic commission would soon pave the way for a more active participation of private sector and Iran will also increase its purchase of palm oil from Malaysia. On Iran-Iraq relations, Nateq-Nuri stressed that discussions at foreign ministry level have been held. He expressed hope that agreements would be reached in this regard and added that Iran for its part has no reluctance to cooperate with Iraq. |
FBIS4-6334_1 | UN Urged To Lift Sanctions Against Iraq | 1990. By now, the Iraqis would have learned their lesson. They know very well that having designs of future invasions would be met with tough retaliatory military measures. Therefore, those obstructing the lifting of sanctions are not being fair to Iraq. Questions are being raised over the discrimination and policy selectivity with regards to Iraq's vis-a-vis UN's policies on Bosnia, Somalia, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. So, is the Security Council fair in continuing to impose the trade and arms embargo on Iraq? Also, are the council's decisions dominated by the one or two countries and not the majority? By now, the sanctions will have served their purpose. Continuing to punish Iraq will merely cause further hardship on its people. Through the sanctions, the people of Iraq have been facing an acute shortage of food and medicine. Although the sanctions do not include food and medicine, the inability to trade means the lack of financial resources. So, it does not have enough money to buy the much required supplies. The country is also lacking humanitarian aid. Thousands of people will die if the sanctions are not lifted. Besides this, the country plunged into an economic doom since the Gulf war for which it finds difficulty to recover. It is about time some of the permanent members realize that the embargo is no longer justified. Only then will Iraq be able to put back its economy on the road to recovery. However, for Iraq, the lifting of the sanctions must not mean going back to old ways. Malaysia, along with the majority of the UN members, did not condone its invasion of Kuwait. This is more so since Iraq along with Kuwait and Malaysia are Muslim countries and members of the Organization of Islamic Countries, OIC. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and certain Arab countries say that Iraq is still a threat to region's security. Three years after the Gulf war, Iraq still does not recognize the borders with Kuwait and refuses to free Kuwaitis it holds. Iraq, therefore, needs to be more forthcoming in meeting the demands of Resolution 687. It also needs to show sincere peaceful gestures to its neighbors in the Gulf. This is because Iraq's good ties with the OIC members will be crucial to ensure its survival in world trade. Also, Arab countries do not want a repeat of the invasion of Kuwait. |
FBIS4-6338_0 | Government Denies U.S. Teenager `Tortured' | BFN [Text] Singapore, April 19 (AFP) -- The Singapore Government Tuesday denied US media reports that an American teenager was tortured and forced to confess to acts of vandalism for which he has been ordered caned by a Singapore court. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that a probe by a special police unit carried out in October last year found no evidence to substantiate the claim that 18-year-old Michael Fay from Dayton, Ohio, was abused during interrogation. "The IIS [Internal Investigation Section] investigation revealed no evidence of police abuse," a ministry spokesman said, responding to queries from AFP. The IIS, or Internal Investigation unit, is charged with probing public complaints against the police. The Home Ministry's denial came in the face of escalating media attention on a US demand that Singapore cancel the court order that Fay be given six strokes of a rattan cane, which could leave him permanently scarred. "Michael Fay was examined in hospital and also by doctors who had been examining him daily during his remand. No injury was detected," the spokesman said. The spokesman said that the probe was ordered after the US embassy here lodged a verbal complaint that Fay and two other American boys being similarly investigated for vandalism suffered severe abuse. The US Embassy was given a full account of the probe's findings but "did not respond nor pursue the matter further," the spokesman said. THE NEW YORK TIMES said Monday that Fay had insisted to family and friends that he was forced to confess to spray-painting cars during a police beating, claiming that he was innocent. Fay is serving a four-month jail term at Queenstown Prison while lawyers prepare an appeal for clemency in a bid to get the authorities to drop the painful, potentially skin-splitting lashing. The appeal is expected to reach Singapore President Ong Teng Cheong on Wednesday. The spokesman said that Fay's conviction was based on a guilty plea he entered to charges of spray-painting two cars, pelting the vehicles with eggs and keeping stolen property, not on his confession statement. "In short, the statement had no bearing on Michael Fay's conviction," he said. The spokesman said that allegations that Fay was being singled out for punishment because the government wanted to send a message to Singaporeans about "decadent Western ways" were also unfounded. He said that 14 others, among them two foreigners, were caned for vandalism |
FBIS4-6350_0 | Romulo To Strengthen Trade Ties With Burma | BFN [Text] Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo yesterday said that a "growing interest" in expanding links between the Philippines and Myanmar (formerly Burma) should be explored by encouraging an intensified exchange of private sector representatives from both countries. "There is an enormous potential still waiting to be tapped in this area," Mr. Romulo said during a meeting with officials of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). He pointed out private sector representatives are best positioned to develop meaningful cooperation among themselves in order to pave the way for more significant economic ties between Manila and Rangoon. "Let me add that in my position, I will do my best to stimulate more trade and business contacts for the mutual benefits of our two countries," he said. Mr. Romulo told SLORC officials government is "encouraged by the moves taken by Myanmar to work closely with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and individual ASEAN (members), in the spirit of good neighborliness and friendship." He likewise assured the Burmese government of Manila's continued support for the one-Southeast Asia concept which will include the six ASEAN states of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand plus Myanmar and the three Indo-Chinese states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. "You may be assured that in every forum, the Philippines has always supported the concept of one Southeast Asia which will no longer be divided by ideological boundaries of the Cold War, but working together towards greater cooperation for the common welfare of all the peoples of the Southeast Asian region," he said. He noted ASEAN at the moment is facing the "exciting challenge" of enhancing regional cooperation among its members and its dialogue partners. "In this effort, we more than welcome the valuable contributions that Myanmar can make in the interest of promoting regional peace, progress and harmony. Let us join hands and forge a more dynamic and progressive Southeast Asia," he said. |
FBIS4-6360_0 | Daily Backs Government Stand on Cambodian Charges | BFN [Editorial: "A Reminder to Cambodia"] [Text] It is a pity that there is a resurgence of the old attitude Thailand once had toward Cambodia in history. This should not be allowed to happen; it is the duty of both the Thai and Cambodian people to prevent a repeat of history. A feeling of rift is re-emerging between Thailand and Cambodia because Cambodian Government leaders have kept on, unfairly and without substantiation, accusing Thailand of giving help to the Khmer Rouge and its leaders. The Thai Government, through its Foreign Ministry, has done the right thing in denying the charges and rejecting the condemnations by the Cambodian Government. It has thus given an assurance to the Thai people that neither the government nor the military has in any way committed an improper act, as alleged by the Cambodian Government. Without any clarification from the government, the Thai people could become perplexed by the negative information from the Cambodian Government and doubt the integrity of their own government and military authorities. Before announcing the statement denying the accusations by the Cambodian leaders, concerned cabinet ministers and security officers -- the foreign, defense, and interior ministers, and high-ranking security officers -- held a joint meeting at the Foreign Ministry. Although such a joint meeting should have taken place a long time ago, it was a prompt and commendable action taken by the administration, which had an effective psychological impact on the people. The government should display more of this kind of coordination in its work. The government's statement made clear that Thailand had not helped the Khmer Rouge leaders to escape into Thailand, or had given support in any form to the Khmer Rouge to launch attacks against the Cambodian Government troops. It stated that the accusation made by the Cambodian Government was unfounded. The Thai foreign minister called upon the Cambodian Government to show the evidence to Thailand since the Cambodian prime minister claimed that he had pictures to substantiate his accusations. It is now the responsibility of the Cambodian Government -- either First Prime Minister Prince Kromluang Norodom Ranariddh or Second Prime Minister Hun Sen -- to produce the evidence of Thailand giving help to the Khmer Rouge. If there is no proof for the accusation, the Cambodian Government will be discredited. Through his condemnations of Thailand, Prince Ranariddh has stirred up in the Thai people a negative feeling toward |
FBIS4-6389_0 | Production of Magnesia Clinker Reported | BFN [Text] Pyongyang, April 20 (KCNA) -- Magnesia clinker of Korea is popular at the international market. It is exported to more than 10 countries and the needs for it are on a steady increase. Korea is one of the biggest magnesia clinker producers in the world. The country abounds in magnesite minerals needed for the production of magnesia clinker. Its deposits and quality rank first in the world. Magnesite is widely used not only as a fire-proof material resisting the temperature of more than 2,800 degrees centigrades but in the industrial domains for the production of metal magnesium, cement, rubber, paper, porcelain, etc. Its major producer is Tanchon in South Hamgyong Province. Deposits of magnesite in this area are estimated at several billion tons and its mining conditions are very favourable. The Yongyang mine called "white gold mountain" is mainly engaged in opencast mining. It was developed 50 years past. The Taehung general mining enterprise developed extensively in the 70s annually produces several hundred thousand tons of magnesia clinker, or nearly a half of the magnesite ore production of the country. Its production capacity is being expanded. There are modernly-equipped magnesite mineral processing bases in Tanchon, Kim Chaek, Chongjin and other areas. The state is increasing investment in the production of magnesia clinker. |
FBIS4-6399_18 | Foreign Ministry Publishes Nuclear `Memorandum' | the United States feigns ignorance of the nuclear development programme in some countries, but on the other hand it "persists in its efforts to fault North Korea's alleged `nuclear development' and its declared intention to withdraw from the NPT despite its faithful implementation of the NPT obligations because, in a nutshell, that nation is regarded as a cancerous entity hampering the U.S. attempts to establish a new global order." The Thai newspaper "BANGKOK POST," dated April 15, 1993 carried an article entitled "Why Nuclear Arms Race Is Based on Racial Discrimination?" which says the double standards are now applied clearly toward the attitude of North Korea that has expressed its displeasure over the NPT's discriminatory nature and announced its intention to withdraw from the treaty on the one hand and toward the attitude of certain countries that have acknowledged having produced nuclear bombs with equivalent fire power to that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima of Japan during World War II on the other. The Russian newspaper "PRAVDA" dated March 30, 1993 also reported that "many observers are highly suspicious of the nuclear programmes of a number of countries, which remain out of sight of the United States and the IAEA," and deplored "the U.S. demand for North Korea to accept inspections of its military sites to be astonishing." The abnormal situation is such that the nations on which sanctions should be imposed go unchallenged while pressure is imposed on an innocent nation. Some officials of the IAEA Secretariat connived at the nuclear weapons development programme by the U.S.-patronized countries, but in case of the DPRK, they did not hesitate to use openly the forged intelligence information and satellite photographs from a third country which are forbidden to be used for inspection activities, in a desperate attempt to create a "suspicion about the nuclear development" in the DPRK. None of provisions in the IAEA statute and the safeguards agreement stipulate usability of a third country's intelligence information to the agency's inspection activities. However, some officials of the IAEA Secretariat have breached the IAEA statute and the safeguards agreement by systematically using the falsified intelligence information from a third country for their inspections at the DPRK's nuclear facilities. On November 16, 1990, the Japanese "JIJI" news service disclosed that, in a bid to arouse suspicion about the DPRK's nuclear activities, the United States "adventurously faked up reconnaissance satellite photographs and circulated |
FBIS4-6421_2 | ASEAN Members Agree To More Active World Role | Round. Dr Suphachai said the idea of Thailand's candidature came from two meetings on Tuesday: the informal meeting of ASEAN economic ministers where he proposed that Thailand should be ASEAN's spokesman on agriculture in the WTO, and a bilateral meeting with Australian trade minister Bob McMullen who said the committee's chairman should come from the Cairns Group. Thai officials say that out of the Cairns Group's 14 members, one from ASEAN could prove to be the most acceptable to the major participants in the sometimes bitter agricultural negotiations. And among the four ASEAN countries that are also in the Cairns Group -- Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines -- Thailand has been by far the most active in the farm trade talks. The United States, which has been pressing for sharp cuts in subsidies and protectionist trade barriers, is likely to support anyone from the Cairns Group because the group shares that objective, the officials say. The European Union has resisted radical reform and could find a country from ASEAN, which has tended to take a more moderate position in the Cairns Group, more acceptable, they say. The officials believe that Australia, chairman of the Cairns Group, will not want simultaneously to chair the WTO committee, and that the group's five Latin American countries could be too aggressively critical of agricultural protectionism to be acceptable to the European Union. The five -- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay -- twice walked out of Uruguay Round ministerial meetings in protest against the failure of the United States and European Union to reach agreement on agriculture. Dr Suphachai said he had not yet put forward the idea to any other country. But he has already shown a keenness for Thailand to assert itself in this issue, himself playing a particularly active part in Cairns Group affairs since his appointment as deputy prime minister in 1992. Chairing a WTO committee could require a substantial bureaucratic change for Thailand since the country's representative would have to be senior, probably with the rank of ambassador. The choice facing the Government would be to have a diplomat take the position, or a trade specialist. At present Thailand's ambassador to Geneva is a Foreign Ministry diplomat whose duties cover a wide range of subjects handled by the various UN agencies there, ranging from human rights and disarmament to labour and trade. Thai trade officials are discussing the possibility |
FBIS4-6427_0 | Bilateral Talks Held With Thai Foreign Minister | BFN [Text] The foreign minister, Squadron Leader Prasong Sunsiri, and his delegation are paying an official visit to the Union of Burma at the invitation of His Excellency Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw from 19 to 20 April. During his visit, the foreign minister met and held talks with Burmese leaders such as Senior General [Sr. Gen.] Than Shwe, chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC]; Lieutenant General [Lt. Gen.] Khin Nyunt, SLORC secretary-1; and Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw. Squadron Leader Prasong Sunsiri is visiting Burma not only as the foreign minister of Thailand, but also as chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee. Thailand will host and chair the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers to be held in Bangkok in July. The objectives of his visit are to hold discussions with Burmese leaders on bilateral relations between Thailand and Burma as well as cooperation in the Southeast Asian region. Other major issues of discussion between the Thai foreign minister and the Burmese leaders were as follows: Touching on relations between Burma and ASEAN, Sr. Gen. Than Shwe, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, and U Ohn Gyaw were pleased to hear from the Thai foreign minister that after his informal approaches other ASEAN member countries have shown no objection to Burma's participation as a guest of Thailand in the upcoming annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Bangkok. Sr. Gen. Than Shwe said that Burma wants to learn new experiences by participating in ASEAN activities and is willing to comply with correct ASEAN procedures. Sr. Gen. Than Shwe and Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt reaffirmed that Burma will accept Thailand's invitation to participate in the ASEAN foreign ministers' annual meeting and will assign U Ohn Gyaw, foreign minister, to attend the gathering. The Thai foreign minister informed the Burmese leaders that Burma's participation in the ASEAN meeting in Bangkok will bring representatives of the ten Southeast Asian countries -- the six ASEAN members, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma -- face to face for the first time in history, which is an important event and a good omen for the Southeast Asian region to move toward peace, stability, and economic prosperity. When that time comes, the next step is to highlight the significance of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia or the Bali Treaty. With the participation of the two remaining nations -- Burma |
FBIS4-6437_0 | Reportage Continues on Regional Civil Unrests Sporadic Strikes Continue | BFN [Text] JAKARTA, April 20 (AFP) -- Sporadic strikes continued outside the Sumatran city of Medan on Wednesday, but emotions in the city appeared calmer as it remained quiet into the afternoon following a day of anti-ethnic Chinese rioting. Potential trouble-makers may have been discouraged by what witnesses said was an extremely heavy security presence throughout the city. "Security in Medan appears to be under control (but) many laborers are still refusing to return to work," said Alamsyah Hamdani, a lawyer for the Medan chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH). Hamdani, speaking by telephone from Medan, said his office had received reports that hundreds of workers were still refusing to return to work and had gathered outside their factory in nearby Binjai town despite efforts by local security personnel to disperse them. He said many workers at the Industrial Zone of Medan, north of the city, had also refused to work, idling their factories. "It seems like most of the factories there have not reopen@d yet," Hamdani said. Another LBH lawyer, Hasbi Ansori, said strikes were also continuing to the east of Medan in Tanjung Morawa town, although shops were reopening under tight security after violent protests there Tuesday. Witnesses said the strikes outside Medan did not appear to have an anti-Chinese element, and were aimed only at backing continued demands for better pay and working conditions [word indistinct] right to organize independent trade unions. In Medan, a retailer confirmed that many shopping centers, independent shops and supermarkets in the downtown area had reopened under tight security after hurriedly closing down Tuesday when a mob looted a major shopping mall owned by a prominent ethnic-Chinese businessman, Tanoto Sukanto. Hamdani said that there had been several other incidents Tuesday besides the attack on Sukanto's downtown Thamrin Plaza, which involved between 1,000 and 2,000 people armed with machetes, iron picks and other weapons. Witnesses said the riot was contained only after security forces sealed off the area. Other shops and offices throughout the area closed. Medan had just quieted down from anti-Chinese riots which followed a mass workers' demonstrations Thursday and Friday and degenerated into violence, leaving one ethnic Chinese businessman dead and scores of Chinese-owned businesses sacked. There is widespread resentment in parts of Indonesia against the country's wealthy ethnic Chinese minority, which constitutes only three percent of the population but controls a disproportionate share of economic activity. Anti-Chinese pamphlets |
FBIS4-6521_0 | Korea Reported Fourth in Steel Consumption | BFN [Text] Seoul, April 16 (YONHAP) -- The average Korean used 606 kilograms of steel last year, putting the country at No. 4 in the world, the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA) said Saturday. Per capita steel consumption rose 14.4 percent from 1992's 530 kg thanks to a business boom in the shipping and automobile industries. Singapore, a major infrastructure investor, was top in per capita consumption with 1,260 kg, followed by Taiwan with 1,024 kg, Japan with 676 kg and then South Korea. North Korea weighed in with 328 kg. Korea's steel output grew to 33 million tons last year from 1992's 28.1 million tons to elbow aside Ukraine for sixth place in the world rankings. Japan was the No. 1 steelmaker with 99.6 million tons, trailed by China with 88.7 million tons, the United States with 87.1 million tons, Russia with 58.2 million tons and Germany with 37.6 million tons. |
FBIS4-6527_0 | Prime Minister Chuan Leaves for Malaysia | BFN [Text] Prime Minister Chuan Likphai and his delegation left for Malaysia this morning. He will hold official discussions with the Malaysian prime minister and co-chair the signing of the agreement between the PTT Exploration and Production Company and Petronas Carigali Company, the Malaysian national oil company, on the project involving the joint development of a Thai-Malaysian border area. |
FBIS4-6543_4 | Distortion in Productivity Among Industries | consideration here, but basically the high yen is the main cause. The exchange rate in December 1993 was $1 equals 109.7 yen, but the purchasing power parity of industrial product wholesale prices was $1 equals 146.92 yen. The difference of both is about 37 yen and has greatly expanded from 20 yen in 1991. The yen rate has become much removed from the basic conditions of the Japanese manufacturing industry. No matter how much effort is put into rationalization and improving productivity, the Japanese manufacturing industry is not able to catch up with the high wage costs due to the soaring yen; as a result, it will soon be forced to hollow out. Hollowing out is a pullback from exports, overseas procurement of raw materials and products, and reduction and abandonment of domestic production due to an import offensive. Even if there is such an impact, big businesses can partially deal with it and will probably continue to exist, but the existence of medium, small, and petty businesses will be threatened under the large-scale decrease in demand and demands to cut unit prices exceeding ceilings. The Japanese manufacturing industry has been formed by many layers of medium, small, and petty businesses through the long period of accumulation of proficiency with adaptation to circumstances supporting the production of growth products that change from time to time. There is the fear that once these businesses disappear due to cessation of business, reappearance will be close to impossible and Japan's basis for creativity will be destroyed. If there are such structural problems besides the serious deflation effect brought by the high yen, correction of the high yen is an important issue involving national interest. $1 equaling 115 to 120 yen probably will be appropriate. If "the volume of trade on the foreign exchange market in recent years is 60 times the flow trade (1993 Economic White Paper), it must be that the high yen effect from the trade surplus is limited and speculation along with monetary conditions at home and abroad is strongly influencing the yen rate. It can be seen from the fact that just one word uttered by U.S. President Clinton and Treasury Secretary Bentsen has greatly changed the flow of yen trade. In order to correct the high yen, in addition to effective economic measures and complete opening of markets, we should prepare for effective measures to counteract verbal intervention |
FBIS4-6561_11 | Phan Van Khai Discusses Banking Sector Duties | urgent and complicated issue for the banking sector in its duty to control inflation and stabilize the currency. Capital is badly needed to maintain and expand current business and production enterprises, build new establishments, and create economic transforming steps for industrialization and modernization. When the capital market is still primitive and without the existence of a stock market, the effort to fulfill the capital demand for different economic sectors and the public is a great imperative and challenge for the banking sector. In 1994, the capital reserved for loans by the Investment and Development Bank is at least 6,300 billion dong, excluding 3,000 billion dong reserved for the electricity sector. The demand on capital by different sectors and localities is much greater, about 20,000 billion dong. Many urgent investment projects have not been able to find any funding sources. Present enterprises are badly in need of capital to upgrade equipment and technology and to meet their higher demand to circulate capital. Our agriculture and rural areas also demand a great amount of capital to change their production structure; to transform the planting and cropping structure in central and mountainous provinces; and to invest in processing industries, building material production, and fishing boats. We must introduce processing industries to rural areas as outlined in the Fifth Plenum resolution in order to build new rural areas and improve the peasants' material and spiritual life. At the mid-term party national conference, Comrade General Secretary Do Muoi stressed: Internal capital is decisive and external capital is important in the national construction process. Internal capital comes from higher economic efficiency, the practice of frugality, and the continuous rate of accumulation for investment. To raise internal capital resources, one must encourage the people to practice thrift for their own interest and for national prosperity, ensure adequate developing investment, and create conditions for better attraction and application of the external capital resource. In a strategic sense, internal capital has a decisive role, although in the beginning, external capital may account for a higher percentage in the total developing investment. According to the Statistics General Department, at the moment, there is about 20,000 billion dong (equals to $2 billion) of idle capital in the public domain. If it can be put to use, it will be an important source to develop investment. The banking sector should develop cohesive coordination with other sectors to widen relations with foreign credit |
FBIS4-6630_0 | Chuan Reviews Talks With Malaysian Counterpart | BFN [Text] Prime Minister Chuan Likphai returned from Malaysia this evening. Talking to reporters upon his arrival at Don Muang Airport, he said that his talks with the Malaysian prime minister on issues of common interest proceeded in a good atmosphere. [Begin recording] [Chuan] In brief, I held talks with the Malaysian prime minister on bilateral cooperation, such as cooperation in the field of communications linking Thailand and Malaysia and this region and the issue of the proposed East Asian Economic Caucus. The Malaysian prime minister explained details of the proposal. The foreign minister briefed the Malaysian side on the results of his trip to Burma and the Malaysian prime minister agreed with Thailand's plan to invite Burma to attend the upcoming ASEAN ministerial meeting to be held in Thailand in July. Other miscellaneous issues were also discussed. The meeting proceeded in a good atmosphere. The launch of the Malaysian-Thai Joint Authority sets a good example for other countries to follow. [Unidentified correspondent] Did Malaysia raise the issue of Cambodian accusations against Thailand during the meeting? [Chuan] No, nobody is interested in this issue. [Unidentified correspondent] So you did not mention anything about this. [Chuan] No, we have nothing to talk about. We discussed only the main issues such as bilateral cooperation. We emphasized cooperation in the triangle economic development between Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Private sectors of the two countries have made progress in this regard. We will get a clear direction for this project when the Asian Development Bank completes its study for the project in the next two or three months. [end recording] |
FBIS4-6635_1 | Envoy Discusses Diplomacy in Central Asia | If such anxiety really does exist, what should the Japanese do about it? Roughly speaking, there are two courses for us to take. Since the area is not closely related to us, one course is to assume the attitude of an onlooker. This by itself is a fully justifiable choice. Over the past several decades, there have been few exchanges between Central Asia, which was under USSR control, and Japan. The only Japanese citizens who are regularly stationed in Tashkent, which has a population of over 2 million, are our four staff members at the embassy, two representatives from business firms, a Japanese language teacher (there is a Japanese language course at a local university where over 50 students are studying Japanese without Japan's aid; a Japanese lady has been teaching at the university for a monthly salary of only a bit more than $10), a student visiting the country to study archaeology, and the representative (a Japanese) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This shows how scarce the relationship between Japan and this area is. Therefore, it can be justifiable to flatly say: "It is not our concern no matter what may happen in this area." Another course is to seek ways to positively help the area. It is true that, while under USSR control, there had been no close relations between this area and Japan. However, with the collapse of the USSR, 23 million people in Uzbekistan alone are experiencing hardship. Should they fail to overcome the present situation, it is possible that serious political and economic confusion may occur. Japan and other countries can help the situation by offering economic and intellectual assistance to these areas. When Japan is being criticized at home and abroad about "lacking its own diplomacy," Japan can offer positive assistance and nip the causes of future confusion in the bud one by one. When Japan's attitude in making international contribution is at issue, we should realize that to shed blood is not the only way to make contributions. Japan should seek the most effective ways of making contributions. Perhaps a most effective way for Japan is to help the area stabilize its political, social, and economic situation through economic contributions. Japan can best contribute in the field where it is most superior. It seems natural for Japan to do so, and in the long run Japan may be appreciated for |
FBIS4-6635_5 | Envoy Discusses Diplomacy in Central Asia | regarded as second-class citizens. However, with Uzbekistan becoming an independent state, and by virtue of the "National Language Law," Uzbeks of Turkish descent constitute the leading stratum, with those of Persian descent forming a subordinate class (though there are many Persian descendents who speak Uzbek fluently). Shi'a Muslims, which have strong influence over Iran, also have strong infiltrating power among the oppressed. In addition, the Tajikistan people who maintain a considerable influence in Uzbekistan are of Persian ancestry. Moreover, they have strong financial support from religious sectors. Though today educational funds for Islam are also being offered mainly by Saudi Arabia, their role is simply to contribute money no matter how much funds are offered. The funds offered by Saudi Arabia will bear fruit in the form of increased Iranian influence in strengthening human, historical, and cultural ties. (Note: There is an opinion that, since Sunni Muslims are conducting Islamic education in Central Asia, it will be difficult for Iranian Shi'a Muslims to infiltrate the area. However, oppressed under the USSR, the teachings of Islam have not infiltrated into the area that deeply, and its influence is not strong enough to prevent a particular religious sector from coming into the area.) As I mentioned earlier, restoration of the mura [premodern] community will bring about the restoration of Islam. As we have seen so far, we can understand that this area is experiencing a violently changing period. New political and social orders are about to be created. The scale of change is almost revolutionary. Naturally, there will emerge a group to resist the changes. Racial and cultural tensions are being created in this area, and tensions are expected to increase further. There are confrontations between those of Russian (European) descent and the local people; between those of Turkish and Persian descent; between "unification of politics and religion" and "separation of politics and religion"; and between the modern and premodern community. Under such circumstances, the government is exerting itself to avoid confusion, and is trying to prevent the country from returning to a primitive Islamic community. Different from other areas of the former USSR where confusion has surfaced, this area alone has been able to maintain its political stability mostly owing to the leaders. How should the West deal with this community? One of the requirements which qualifies this country to receive aid from the West is "to what extent has parliamentary |
FBIS4-6666_0 | Ozawa Said Behind `Pro-U.S.' MOPT Policy | BFN [Article by journalist Seiichi Takagi: "The Calculations of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in Choosing a Pro-Ozawa/Pro-U.S. Course"] [Text] The stir caused by a comment made by Koremasa Egawa, director of the Broadcasting Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications [MOPT], regarding a "reconsideration of the course of high-definition television [HDTV]," has been settled by Egawa himself, who corrected the remark. It cannot be denied that Egawa's comment was rather inconsiderate in giving the impression that the testing of high-vision broadcasting will stop immediately--even tomorrow. However, a closer study of the background of this comment allows us to find a significant meaning hidden in it, and this makes us realize that this comment should not be overlooked as a slip of the tongue. Egawa abruptly mentioned, "We should seek the digitalization of high vision, the analog-type HDTV," at the Shinseito [Japan Renewal Party] Social Capital Group meeting held on 18 February. The point is that this took place during the Shinseito group meeting. In fact, the heated confrontation between Shinseito and the Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] over the issue of running the MOPT has been accelerating since last summer, when the new government was born. The future course to be pursued by the respective parties on the issue of HDTV, which will be a generator of enormous demand in the 21st century, has often been rumored. Although NHK and the MOPT have been taking the initiative in developing HDTV, MOPT-related members of the LDP have served as the actual decisionmakers. Rushing to embrace the digitalization of HDTV by making high vision out-of-date will permit Shinseito to obtain new political power. Amid such circumstances, we can regard Egawa's comment as a reflection of the intention of the MOPT to get out from under the LDP and move toward Shinseito. If such a comment as "Executive officials of the MOPT frequently visited (Shinseito Secretary General) Ichiro Ozawa before Shinseito group meetings," is true, it is possible to assume that extensive groundwork had already been laid prior to Egawa's comment. In the MOPT, there is a group of people who have developed close relations with Ozawa since he was a member of the LDP. They first met at "Ichinokai," a study group in the ministry once formed around Ozawa. Participants in this study group include Mr. Misuo Igarashi, director of the Telecommunications Policy Bureau; Akiyoshi Takada, deputy director of |
FBIS4-6667_0 | * U.S. `Isolationist' Posture Analyzed | CSO [Article by Tadae Takubo, Kyorin University professor: "`U.S. Stern Expression Which Abandons Japan'; in special edition `Fearsome Neighbors'"] [Text] Buchanan's Exasperation I think there are many people who have forgotten the name Patick Buchanan. He is the neoisolationist who in the 1992 U.S. presidential election fought former President Bush for nomination as the Republican Party's presidential candidate. Though a neoisolationist, he is not a lightweight who indulges in irresponsible flattery of the public. He is a political commentator who served as a special adviser to [former] President Nixon and as a presidential adviser to [former] President Ford and [former] President Reagan, and who sets forth vigorous arguments in newspapers and on television. Buchanan wrote an article in the 8 September 1991 edition of THE WASHINGTON POST about two and a half years ago and argued that "North Korea, which is openly trying to produce an atomic bomb is fearsome. But why is Kim Il-song's atomic bomb our problem, not that of the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and Russia?" Since the range of the "Nodong-1" ground-to-ground missiles that North Korea possesses is 1,000 km, it is impossible for them to reach Hawaii. Why, in spite of this, must the United States alone worry about North Korean nuclear weapons? I feel as though the angry voice of Buchanan is carried to us that the Japanese must think this has nothing to do with them. In the same article Buchanan stated that "The United States should announce the date on which it will withdraw all U.S. ground units from the Republic of Korea. Why must young American men be the first to die in the event that North Korea attacks across the demilitarized zone?" and "The security treaty with Japan should be scrapped. If the relatively small countries of East Asia fear the hegemony of Japan and China and desire the presence of the U.S. Navy, they must pay the cost." Most Japanese probably feel strange when they hear this kind of statement because postwar Japan placed security, which is considered the first consideration for an ordinary country, completely in hands of the United States. Therefore, when there is an emergency on the Korean peninsula, most Japanese look on as idle spectators or make light of it, thinking that in the end the United States will probably do something. They firmly believe that since the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty was concluded at |
FBIS4-6698_0 | Police Arrest Suspected PRC Alien Smugglers | BFN [Text] Tokyo, April 19 KYODO -- Tokyo police and immigration authorities arrested five Chinese Tuesday [19 April] for allegedly assisting some 150 compatriots looking for work in Japan to sneak into the country in February and March. Police also arrested six more Chinese for allegedly trying to sneak in Japan. All were arrested for suspected violations of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law. Tokyo immigrations authorities are holding a total of 14 Chinese suspected of being involved in the large-scale illegal entry attempt earlier this year. Meanwhile in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands, police arrested three Thai workers for overstaying their original 90-day visas issued in June 1991. According to investigators, the three continued to work at a woodworking firm in Tokushima even though their visas had expired. In the Chinese case, the five suspected contacts for the Chinese attempting to enter Japan allegedly met about 60 Chinese coming ashore near a Wakayama fishing village and then took them by rented car to Nagoya where they boarded a Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo. The five are suspected of sheltering the illegal entrants in an apartment in Tokyo's Toshima ward. According to one of the Chinese sneaking into Japan, they were told that they could make money in Japan, but needed 2.7 million yen to pay for the sea transportation. The would-be worker testified that a portion of the fee had already been paid. Police said they are pursuing the strong likelihood that the smuggling of Chinese workers into Japan is an organized effort. |
FBIS4-6704_0 | TSE Studies Foreign Firm Withdrawal Prevention | BFN [Text] Tokyo, April 19 KYODO -- Minoru Nagaoka, head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange [TSE], said Tuesday [19 April] the exchange is studying measures to prevent foreign firms from pulling out of the market. Nagaoka said the study will focus on ways to reduce listing costs, and the exchange will accept some documents prepared in English by foreign firms to provide investment information to customers. Measures are needed to internationalize the market's operations as the English language sphere, including Asia, is expanding, he said. He added, however, that details of the study have yet to be worked out. Nagaoka took a cautious attitude toward the listing of Asian companies on the Tokyo market. Economic development in Asian countries has made extensive progress but measures to protect investors have to be studied, he said. |
FBIS4-6723_0 | Firm Invests in Power Line, Stations | BFN [Text] Power Supply Corporation No. 2 has invested 19 billion dong to build three power transformer stations and a 76-km-long power transmission network to bring electricity from a 35-KV and a 20-KV powerline to three remote districts, U Minh, Thoi Binh, and Cai Nuoc in Minh Hai Province. The U Minh District people's committee, the Minh Hai Province power supply service, and the Can Tho and Minh Hai power plant building corporations recently implemented this building project. |
FBIS4-6832_0 | DPRK-Europe Economic Contacts `Become Brisk' | BFN [Text] Seoul, April 25 (YONHAP) -- Contacts between North Korea and European banks and businesses have become brisk with inter-Korean consultations almost suspended, relevant authorities and business sources here said Monday. A few European banks, including ING (Internationale Netherlanden Bank M.V.) of the Netherlands, are consulting with North Korea on establishing offices in Pyongyang and U.S. multinational corporations such as McKinsey Inc. and IBM Corp. are trying to advance into the communist state, the sources said. North Korean imports of machinery and social infrastructure goods, including telecommunications equipment from Europe, have risen sharply from last year, according to the sources. In contrast, South-North economic cooperation has made no headway since last year as the nuclear dispute has chilled inter-Korean relations. North Korea's efforts to get closer to European banks and U.S. multinational corporations are designed to revitalize its economy by inducing investment and obtaining loans from foreign banks and businesses. For example, a North Korean economic mission toured European nations including Britain, Germany and Austria late last year to hold seminars aimed at attracting investment to the Najin-Sonbong special economic zone. Thanks to such efforts, foreign banks have begun paying more attention to North Korea. ING bank is seeking to establish a liaison office in Pyongyang -- a first for Western banks -- while Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) bank is pushing for a Pyongyang office to secure a bridgehead there. Banks from Britain, Germany and Switzerland are also consulting with North Korea, according to the sources. McKinsey Inc. of the United States has contacted North Korea through its firms in South Korea, Japan and Europe, and IBM's British subsidiary sent staff to the isolated state last summer to provide technical training. Thailand dispatched a large-scale economic mission to North Korea recently to discuss a 50-year lease at Najin port and to secure real estate within the Najin-Sonbong special economic zone. |
FBIS4-6862_1 | Tokyo, Washington Differ on Goal of Framework | which was reached between the Japanese and U.S. leaders in July last year. The statement stipulated that a goal of the framework talks is to "substantially increase access and sales of competitive foreign goods and services." While the United States believes that this goal is applied to every individual sector such as insurance, Japan understands this "is not applied to all sectors." The breaking of the deadlock in the framework talks will possibly depend on whether both sides can fill the recognition gap. Foreign Minister Tsutomu Hata and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Mickey Kantor met in Marrakech, Morocco, on 15 April. In making a new proposal during the meeting, Kantor stated that the framework talks would be resumed on the condition that progress should be made in three areas: macroeconomy; the overall goal; and objective criteria. There have so far been clear differences between Japan and the United States in their views on macroeconomy and objective criteria. However, Kantor's new proposal "indicated obviously for the first time that Japan and the United States differ in views on interpretation of the overall goal" of the economic framework talks (as stated by a top official at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry). According a source at the negotiations, the U.S. understanding is that the improvement in access of competitive foreign products "is the overall goal of the framework talks and this applies to every individual sector." It is observed that this U.S. view has led to its demand that numerical targets be set in all of the three priority sectors, including automobiles and auto parts. On the other hand, Japan maintains: "Of the three priority sectors, the goal of the government procurement sector is the same as that of the framework talks themselves. However, while the goal of the insurance sector is deregulation, that of the automobile and auto parts sector is the improvement in chances for access." The handling of the overall goal will inevitably become an important topic at informal negotiations from now on. If Japan generally promises "increased sales of competitive foreign goods," the United States will be satisfied with it. Will Japan and the United States discuss individual sectors in light of the characteristics of each sector? Or, will they apply the overall goal to each individual sector and recall arguments on numerical targets? Attention will be focused on moves by both Japan and the United States. |
FBIS4-6878_7 | * Senior EPA Official Assesses State of Economy | which is plant and equipment investment: This is being affected negatively by the prospect that attempts by business firms to dispose of their excess property holdings, such as office buildings and other structures, will be a time-consuming proposition; thus, not much can be expected of this element in the near term. Consequently, a popular view now is that it is essential for consumption to provide a measure of firm support to demand. It is in this connection that I believe the impact of the employment picture on consumer confidence may very well hold an important key to this question. As we touched on at the beginning, what changed the picture between June and the fall was this: Consumer confidence, and business psychology to a lesser degree, showed some improvement around June, but then it began cooling off once again in the fall. As for the reason, I think it was a sense of uneasiness touched off by the fear of spreading employment adjustment or personnel cutback. In this sense, when we talk about the employment index we don't simply mean the jobless rate or the ratio of effective labor demand to effective labor supply; what really affects consumer confidence, I believe, is the question of how widespread and how deep are these personnel reductions. A Structural Turnabout of Japan's Economy--Pros and Cons [KANKAI] The view attributing the current recession phase to two factors--the effect of the bubble's collapse and a cyclical force--has been around for some time now, but lately another view, which goes beyond that, seems to be gaining ground, pointing to the possibility that Japan's economy may be faced with a structural turning point. But the question is whether it is indeed at a turning point or not. Let's say it is, then my question is, what are the areas must one observe closely in order to be able to come to such a conclusion? [Toshida] This is an extremely difficult question; for one thing, I think it can reasonably be argued that a structural turning point is at hand. In any event, the crux of the question lies in the industrial sector. There is a view that the automobile industry and the electric machinery industry, which have been the leading industries thus far, could be at a turning point of sorts. Some see this as a problem arising from the strong yen. Although there is a school |
FBIS4-6878_8 | * Senior EPA Official Assesses State of Economy | believe, is the question of how widespread and how deep are these personnel reductions. A Structural Turnabout of Japan's Economy--Pros and Cons [KANKAI] The view attributing the current recession phase to two factors--the effect of the bubble's collapse and a cyclical force--has been around for some time now, but lately another view, which goes beyond that, seems to be gaining ground, pointing to the possibility that Japan's economy may be faced with a structural turning point. But the question is whether it is indeed at a turning point or not. Let's say it is, then my question is, what are the areas must one observe closely in order to be able to come to such a conclusion? [Toshida] This is an extremely difficult question; for one thing, I think it can reasonably be argued that a structural turning point is at hand. In any event, the crux of the question lies in the industrial sector. There is a view that the automobile industry and the electric machinery industry, which have been the leading industries thus far, could be at a turning point of sorts. Some see this as a problem arising from the strong yen. Although there is a school of thought that, had it not been for the strong yen, both of these industries would've been able to make it out all right, when it comes to the question of their strength to pull the nation's economic growth, I am afraid they will no longer be as strong as they have been in the past 10 years or so. What kind of industries will be leading the Japanese economy in the days ahead? This, I think, is going to become a question of increasing importance. There is another aspect to the question of structural turnabout. That is, some seem to think that various systems within the Japanese economy may have reached their limits. In some sense, this is a question of degree. There is no denying that the systems have gradually become antiquated and therefore need to be repaired; still, until two or three years ago, the popular view had been that the Japanese-style systems may be superior. Internationally, if anything, there clearly remains a strong tendency to try to learn and adopt the Japanese-model systems. Given this circumstance, it somehow seems too hasty for the originator to say that all of these systems should be discarded and replaced |
FBIS4-6898_0 | Commentary Lauds Malaysia-Thailand Joint Cooperation | BFN [Station commentary] [Text] A further reflection of the going cooperation between and among countries of ASEAN was seen in Kuala Lumpur two days ago, where Malaysia and Thailand signed an agreement to jointly explore and exploit oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Thailand. The signing has paved the way for the launching of the oil exploration in the more than 7,000 square kilometer area known as the Joint Development Area, JDA. It took 14 years of talks and negotiations. But the fact that they have led to a successful conclusion is a positive sign of the majority of the leaderships of the two countries and their senior officials who have been engaged in the talks. Studies made in the JDA have shown that it can be a source as well as a reservoir of oil and gas. Several oil discoveries have already been made in the area. The joint exploration will no doubt lead to more discoveries that will be of benefit to both countries. Four agreements have been signed, including two for production sharing and the other two for joint operations. It may be remembered that both Malaysia and Thailand had previously laid claims to the area in question. So the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed and Mr. Chuan Likphai, at the signing ceremony gave added significance to the new venture that the two ASEAN nations have jointly agreed to embark upon. Dr. Mahathir has described the approach to the agreements as a model for the settlement of overlapping claims. With the signing of the agreements, both countries can look towards broadening cooperation in many other fields that will bring benefit to the people as well as contribute towards a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Southeast Asia. On his part, Mr. Chuan has expressed confidence that the agreements will boost the close cooperation between the two countries. The agreements, in his words, are a testimony to a long and fruitful relationship between his country and Malaysia. The body that is chiefly responsible for bringing about the joint exploration deals is the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority, MTJA. It ought to be congratulated for its award of contracts to three big companies -- one from Malaysia and the other two from Thailand -- to carry out the operations. The MTJA emerged from the foresight of past leaders, namely, the late premier of Malaysia, |
FBIS4-6911_0 | Firm Invests Power Line, Stations | BFN [Text] Power Supply Corporation No. 2 has invested 19 billion dong to build three power transformer stations and a 76-km-long power transmission network to bring electricity from a 35-KV and a 20-KV powerline to three remote districts, U Minh, Thoi Binh, and Cai Nuoc in Minh Hai Province. The U Minh District people's committee, the Minh Hai Province power supply service, and the Can Tho and Minh Hai power plant building corporations recently implemented this building project. |
FBIS4-6925_13 | * Academic Calls Ichiro Ozawa Undefinable | people that politics is not the function of passing out benefits freely to various regions and groups in the country. With respect to the tax reform bill to reduce income taxes and secure public works revenues by increasing the consumption tax rate, he has presented plausible estimates. However, for example, if running costs, subsequent to the construction of generally unprofitable Shinkansen lines and expressways, are to be paid for through the citizens' taxes, the burden on the people will certainly increase beyond his estimates. To undertake international contributions externally and to spread benefits internally, like in the archipelago reconstruction scheme, is simply following the past LDP's all-inclusive party course of currying the favor of all groups. Isn't the strong authority sought by Ozawa intended to serve in establishing policy priorities clearly and not in enacting the role of a generous Santa Claus for all groups? Also, if I were asked what point we should really reflect on in postwar politics, I think that the biggest mistake was to believe that quantitative expansion of the economy was of utmost value and to ruin our country through indiscrimate granting common public works, In order to polish the image of postwar Japan, the task to reassess the prosperity and development course pursued until now will be essential in the search for the next political direction. Changes in Confrontation Over Constitution Assessment of postwar Japan is linked closely to the interpretation of the postwar Constitution. Ozawa's contribution to the discussions on the Constitution deserves special attention. His greatest achievement is the breakdown of the pattern that "conservatives are forces for constitutional revision" and the presentation of concrete proposals toward realization of his concept of the constitutional doctrine. In other words, support of the Constitution is no longer the exclusive right of the Constitution protection forces and they, too, are being pressed to present concrete ideas on how to carry out the constitutional principles. In the Blueprint for Building a New Japan, the importance of values advocated heretofore by progressives, such as respect for individuals and decentralization of control, are emphasized so Ozawa should probably be regarded as someone who shares the basic principles associated with politics, such as human rights and democracy. I welcome the fact that from the hardened confrontational pattern of pro- and anti-Constitution revision forces under the 1955 setup, a competitive arena to deal with constitutional principles is finally emerging. At |
FBIS4-6993_3 | Editorials Analyze Foreign Debt Issues KOMPAS on Mounting Foreign Debts | yen's appreciation. More caution is needed in pursuing developments. There is a need to scrutinize the management of foreign loans from time to time. Second, the business circle's commercial loans have spiralled in recent years. The loans taken by the private sector within a brief period accounted for 40 percent of Indonesia's total foreign loans. It is very heartening if we view it from a different angle because the business circle was successful in acquiring financial resources on its own from international monetary sources. But on the other hand, the loans they took were only short-term with high interest rates. This further contributed to the country's heavy burden of balance of payments for foreign loans. In this connection, it is only appropriate that the business circle positively realizes the situation. The business circle should practice self-restraint when taking out loans. They should only apply for limited and affordable loans which can be repaid, or loans for projects which can bring in foreign exchange. All this would greatly contribute toward preventing the national economy from being enmeshed in difficulties. It is a fact that a drop of water will definitely not cause a catastrophe. But if a drop of water is added to a brimful glass of water, then an overspill is unavoidable. It will be wise and good if certain planned mega projects are temporarily shelved. Serious attention is greatly needed on the question of foreign debts. The danger a country faces is not from its foreign debts, but more so from its supporting economic capabilities. This can be observed through the country's ability to bring in more foreign exchange through its exports. People know that the debt service ratio [three preceding words in English], DSR, has exceeded 30 percent. In fact, we are concerned about the recent export developments. First, non-oil exports are beginning to face competition everywhere since its rapid growth over the last decade. Its rapid climb is currently facing a slight decline. Thus, we have exposed our export problem. In this connection, we would like to point out the need to employ other steps in trying to safeguard our exports and also to secure a "safe level" due to foreign debts. Whether we like it or not, this is the hurdle that we must overcome. Our national economy will suffer if a unilateral step is taken regarding the utilization of funds derived from long-term international loans. |
FBIS4-7006_9 | Phan Van Khai Speaks at Party Conference | need to motivate all available sources of capital and we also need to foster and utilize skills. (With investment projects that produce fast economic benefits such as hotel, services, and so forth, we let foreign investors contribute most of the capital for joint ventures, because the motivation of domestic capital in our country is still made difficult due to rampant departmentalism, localism, and sectionalism; or is even restriced by the small scale of an organization). 2. In addition to the transformation of the economic structure in the direction of increasing the proportion of industry, the city must further develop its roles as the finance-trade-service center, the spearhead of the national transportation network and international external relations, and also the center for culture, science, and technology. The number of visitors to the city and the merchandise, capital, and technologies going through the city are enormous. The city should see them as advantages, because activities in these areas, which we generally describe as services, will constantly increase in proportionate to economic growth. To be able to fulfill these requirements, the city authorities should concentrate all available resources on the construction of the socioeconomic infrastructure. Foreign sources can also be included, but state fund should be the main source. The electricity and communications networks have been strengthened, but the work done so far is still inadequate. The water supply and drainage systems; the transport system; facilities for education, public health, scientific research, technology, and so forth require greater investment. It is the responsibility of the state authorities to solve these issues. In the development of business and production activities, we rely on development investment drawn from all economic sectors, including from the people and from direct foreign investment. The state is not the main investor in business and production fields; it only supports these activities by providing investment credit or contributing shares in essential establishments. At present individual businessmen and the general public have not yet invested eagerly in production. They tend to choose to do business in trade, services, real estates, and so forth. The main reason for this situation is that our policies, laws, and structures have not been able to create trust among people. We also lack guidance and support, and sometimes we even hinder development efforts or are confused and sluggish in forming and developing the capital market. Once we overcome these weaknesses the development investment in the city |
FBIS4-7006_10 | Phan Van Khai Speaks at Party Conference | fund should be the main source. The electricity and communications networks have been strengthened, but the work done so far is still inadequate. The water supply and drainage systems; the transport system; facilities for education, public health, scientific research, technology, and so forth require greater investment. It is the responsibility of the state authorities to solve these issues. In the development of business and production activities, we rely on development investment drawn from all economic sectors, including from the people and from direct foreign investment. The state is not the main investor in business and production fields; it only supports these activities by providing investment credit or contributing shares in essential establishments. At present individual businessmen and the general public have not yet invested eagerly in production. They tend to choose to do business in trade, services, real estates, and so forth. The main reason for this situation is that our policies, laws, and structures have not been able to create trust among people. We also lack guidance and support, and sometimes we even hinder development efforts or are confused and sluggish in forming and developing the capital market. Once we overcome these weaknesses the development investment in the city will see a new boom. So far, whenever we have mentioned the leading role of the state- run economic sector, we have referred only to state-owned business establishments. Now we need to correct this misconception and realize that the state economic sector comprises not only the state- run business establishments but also other resources and assets, the finance and state bank systems, and national reserves. If we could utilize and manage these resources effectively in combination with our legal institutions, the state would be perfectly capable of guiding all economic activities in the directions it chooses. We need to see this clearly in order to understand and implement uniformly the multisectoral economic policy, to positively reorganize management structure in state business establishments, and to be confident in developing other economic sectors. III. Culture and Society Are Core Elements of Development. This is our party's viewpoint, which accords well with international convention and is also the strength of the city. The development in the quality of education, health protection services (including physical education and sports), cultural and art activities, as well as social and charitable activities has been thus far carried out with outstanding results, that serve as precious experiences in |
FBIS4-7006_12 | Phan Van Khai Speaks at Party Conference | the "socialization" work that we should fulfill with the people's support. Our main efforts at present should be to combine "development with suppression": we need to develop cultural, educational, health, and social activities, and at the same time strive to suppress social vices -- namely, prostitution and drug abuse, which are directly connected with the risk of spreading HIV/AIDS, and represent a degraded, pernicious culture. The expansion of the market economy and external relations require us to protect our society more vigorously against those vices -- from the small family unit to schools, agencies, enterprises, and mass organizations. Resolute legal and administrative measures should be carried out in parallel with education and motivation work that focus on building cultured individuals, families, and society. All cadres and party members must strive to build cultured lives for themselves and for their families, and must consider the effort a necessary part of the duty of being a model for society. IV. The Organizational Mechanism and Cadres Are Decisive Elements 1. In all areas we already have policies, directions, and measures. The essential elements that decide the results are the organizational mechanism and cadres. The further we have proceeded on our renovation, the more apparent we have found the inadequacies in knowledge, ability, and moral standards among the organizational mechanism and cadres in all sectors and echelons. Therefore, it is obvious that we need to combine economic reform with administrative reform. Within the administrative reform there are three most important parts we need to focus on to improve our ability to develop a market economy within the effective management of the state on the path of socialism: -- Fundamentally reform the financial-monetary system in accordance with a market economy. -- Continue the rectification of the efficiency of state business enterprises to improve them. -- Reorganize the cadre mechanism. 2. The adjustment of the state mechanism to stop its awkwardness, bureaucracy, and corruption must start with its structure. While discussing the anticorruption line, the party Political Bureau clearly defined that corruption is the result of many causes, of which the fundamental cause is our structure and policies. Our current policies have too many gaps and loopholes, which are a feeding ground for corruption and bribery. What does corruption live on? Mainly state property and money. Who are corrupt? Most of them are the party and state cadres. There are many issues relating to corruption and |
FBIS4-7050_3 | Article Encourages Nation To Join UNRCA | from the US and other Western countries would be well documented and could be identified. Within Asean, Malaysia has proposed the establishment of a Regional Arms Register to complement the work of the UN Register. So far, there has not been any consensus among Asean countries on this issue. The attitude of the Indochinese countries is still unknown for the time being. Last year, Singapore was among the eighty countries that submitted reports for the UN register. The island republic's report is believed to contain information on its conventional weapons which includes tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, among others. Being the host of the Asean Regional Forum, which will discuss the arms register issue, Thailand has a crucial role to play. The military leaders would require a proper understanding of significances and implications. Indeed, the initiative will not limit arms export or import of any weapon, it only monitors with the hope that it could reduce suspicions which in the first place cause the arms race. Within Asean, Thailand's embrace of the register would send a positive signal to the region, which of late has harboured high levels of suspicion of Thailand's defence posture. The case in point is the beefing up of the country's naval forces which has already caused concern as it could lead to Thailand having a blue water force capacity in the future. The recent decision to purchase a used aircraft carrier from Spain does not augur well with the general mood within the region. Like it or not, the Thai armed forces have to deal with the issue of an arms register sooner or later. Instead of having an apprehensive approach to the whole issue, it would be in Thai interests to adopt a more forward looking strategy like Malaysia and Singapore, which have also increased their arms stockpile in the past few years. As one of the original supporters of the idea, broached two years ago after the Gulf War, Thailand could begin to contribute to this UN effort in a small way by now submitting its defence white paper to the UN register, like what the British government did last year. Incrementally, it can file reports on categories of weapons that the Thais feel comfortable to disclose. Located centrally in mainland Southeast Asia, Thailand's transparency is indispensable in shaping the new strategic order and making the region safer. |
FBIS4-7057_2 | Regional Economic Cooperation Proposal Announced | Vietnam. In the energy sector, he welcomed the shift of emphasis from self-sufficiency to a more integrated approach. He urged a well-planned energy management system for the sub- region and serious consideration of the possibility of a grid connection. On the environment, he expressed concern over air pollution and marine oil spills and noted a need to standardise legislation. He offered facilities at Thailand's Environmental Research and Training Centre, set up with help from JICA [expansion unknown] of Japan, for sub-regional training in monitoring, impact assessment as well as management. In human resources, he spoke of Thai Government plans to set up a centre for training in agriculture, health, finance, the hotel industry and development planning in the sub-region. He also welcomed the recommendation that health co-operation include HIV/AIDS prevention and malaria control. In tourism, he supported the idea of promoting the sub-region as one rich in nature, culture and diverse life-styles, and backed the proposal for a sub-regional tourism forum. Mr Suphachai emphasised Thailand's "strong commitment" to sub- regional cooperation by pointing out that Prime Minister Chuan Likphai chairs a national committee specifically set up to oversee this development. Vietnam's Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet reaffirmed Hanoi's commitment. He expressed hope for early translation of projects into reality and confirmed that Vietnam supports meetings to "remove obstacles and bottlenecks". ADB president Mitsuo Sato said sub-regional cooperation was "an important building block of both national and regional development". Countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region now need to turn ideas into viable projects, strengthen the institutional basis for cooperation and find ways of mobilising necessary resources for project implementation. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [ESCAP] offered information assistance in terms of trade, investment and energy, and spoke of undertakings for the sub- region in the tourism, transport and environment sectors. In tourism, ESCAP is undertaking, with funds from the Japanese government, a study of tourism development in the Mekong River area, and plans to hold a sub-regional seminar on the subject either in Kunming or Bangkok early next year. In transport, ESCAP is continuing work on the Asian Highway, the Trans Asian Railway and the Trans Asian Land Transport Infrastructure. In environment, ESCAP in cooperation with the ADB, is implementing a project on coastal and marine environment management in the South China Sea which includes coastal areas of Cambodia, China's Hainan province and Vietnam. |
FBIS4-7059_0 | Peace Adviser on MNLF Chief Over Ramos Remark | BFN [Text] Acting Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Manuel Yan called for understanding and accommodation in order to advance the peace talks between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front [MNLF]. Yan, who is also the chairman of the government negotiating panel with the MNLF said the peace talks which seek to end the conflict in southern Philippines should not be derailed by rumors and suspicions. Both sides are now preparing for the second round of formal talks to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Published reports said that MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari resented a statement made by President Ramos, in answer to a question in a press conference last Monday, regarding possible MNLF participation in the forthcoming election. Misuari was also reported as planning to elevate the issue before the Organization of Islamic Conference or OIC. Yan said in a statement that this controversy should now be closed and the peace process given greater momentum by the spirit of understanding and accommodation. Yan said the president's statement was never intended to preempt the ongoing negotiation and that he [Misuari] should not impute sinister designs to it. With respect to Misuari's plan to raise the issue with the OIC, Yan said, it is not necessary. He said the president's statement was obviously made within the ambit of our national sovereignty and constitutional processes which OIC charter is mandated to respect. OIC is not a mediator in the peace talks he said, but a constructive participant and a partner for peace to both sides. |
FBIS4-7104_0 | Impact of SDPJ Split on Framework Talks Cited | BFN [Unattributed article] [Text] The breakaway of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ] from the coalition is very likely to make it difficult to resume the stalled Japan-U.S. economic framework talks. With no way found to raise the consumption tax in an effort to secure financial resources to make up for a fiscal shortfall resulting from the income tax reduction, it has become difficult for the Japanese Government to announce plans for a full-fledged income tax reduction which the U.S. Government has sought prior to Japan-U.S. summit talks scheduled for July. The Japanese Government is committed to mapping out another set of measures to open up the Japanese market in June, but it will have nothing to present to the U.S. Government unless it decides how to reform the current tax system. The Japanese Government plans to hold informal consultations with the U.S. Government to discuss ways to resume the stalled framework talks right after the May holidays, but some government officials are speaking of difficulty in holding the informal consultations. At his recent meeting with Prime Minister Hata (then deputy prime minister and foreign minister), U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor set three conditions for resuming the stalled framework talks which include: 1) macroeconomic policy; 2) agreement between the two countries on holding talks to discuss ways to expand Japan's imports; and 3) establishment of objective criteria. The backbone of the macroeconomic policy is the continued income tax reduction, and at a 24 April meeting between the Japanese and U.S. finance ministers, Japan explained to the United States that Japan would continue the income tax reduction after 1995. The Japanese Government is examining a sweeping reform of the current tax system to cut the income tax by lowering the maximum tax rate and to raise the consumption tax in order to secure financial resources to make up for a fiscal shortfall from cuts in the income tax. Many government officials take the view that the SDPJ will oppose any attempt to raise the consumption tax since it broke away from the coalition (according to the Finance Ministry). This development will make it hard for the Japanese Government to explain to the U.S. Government in June that it intends to seek long-term cuts in the income tax. The government made clear that it would decide how to reform the current tax system in June when it announced a package of |
FBIS4-7110_0 | Seminar Discusses Measures To Reduce Poverty | BFN [Text] Ulaanbaatar, April 27 (OANA-MONTSAME) -- The number of needy people in Mongolia is over 587 thousand people as of today and some 137 thousand of them are referring to the poorest strata of the population. This implies that the destitute people account for some 26.2 per cent of the total population of Mongolia. Such sorrowful figures were quoted at the seminar devoted to the theoretical and methodological issues of reducing the impoverishment of the population held recently in the Mongolian capital. The major topics for discussion during the work of the seminar were the issues connected with the struggle against the impoverishment, the methods and ways out of it. The participants of the seminar have endorsed the recommendations on the issues under discussion. Where it was noted in particular, that it is necessary to pursue by the state and governmental bodies of an efficient policy at macro level referring to the improvement of labour provision, creation of the fund against the impoverishment and prompt introduction of a pension insurance system. |
FBIS4-7115_0 | Paper Views AFTA-CER Link, ASEAN Trade | BFN [Commentary by Greg Sheridan from the "Focus" section: "Australian Eyes On Asian Horizons"] [Text] Prime Minister Keating's plan, outlined this week in Bangkok, to create a formal fusion between Australia and New Zealand and the six tiger economies of the Association of South-East Asian Nations is in many ways one of his boldest foreign ventures yet -- one full of immense possibilities as well as risks for Australia. It represents both a departure in Australian trade policy and a seminal commitment specifically to South-East Asian future. The ASEAN six -- Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, and Brunei -- represent, outside China, the most dynamic economies in the world. Keating has proposed joining the ASEAN Free Trade Area [AFTA] to the Closer Economic Relations [CER] agreement that exists between Australia and New Zealand. This could create a vast free trade area worth $1000 billion [currency not further specified] a year. The overall size of the South-East Asian economies is still relatively small. As Keating pointed out, their combined gross national product roughly equals that of Australia and New Zealand. But this statistic can be misleading for the fact that a far higher proportion of their GNPs goes to international trade than ours. Singapore is the world's 18th biggest exporter, while Australia is 21st. Indonesia and Thailand rank 26th and 27th respectively. Thus the symmetry between Australia-New Zealand and ASEAN is really false. As trading economies, ASEAN combined far outweighs Australia-New Zealand. And, despite Australia's good growth this year (which some estimates put as high as 5 per cent) the ASEAN economies will almost certainly grow much faster than Australia and New Zealand over the next decade. Moreover, we run a substantial trade surplus with all the significant South-East Asian economies. Already, there are a bigger market for us than either the European or North America. They have also shown by far the most rapid growth of any region in the world in buying our elaborately transformed manufactures. Therefore we stand to gain far more than ASEAN do from a fusion AFTA and the CER. Indeed, it is not clear how practical Keating's proposal is in the short term. Its real value probably lies in its symbolism, the signals it sends both to South-East Asia and more widely about where Australia stands. The reason Australia would gain far more than the ASEAN members from an AFTA-CER link lie partly in |
FBIS4-7116_0 | Paper on Importance of Keating's Indochina Trip | BFN [Editorial: "Keating's Mission to Asia"] [Text] After the black comedy of Mr Keating's mad squabble with the Vietnam veterans, readers will be relieved to hear that there was a serious purpose to the Prime Minister's visit to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam and that, by all accounts, it went quite well. The excuse for the trip was the opening of the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River on the border of Thailand and Laos. The real purpose, however, was to further strengthen Australia's relations with two of the most important nations in the region. In Australia, the political focus naturally has been on the Vietnamese part of the trip because Vietnam is the flavour of the month, because of the row with the veterans and because this is the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister since the war. However, that should not be allowed to overshadow the importance of the visit to Thailand. By far the biggest economy on Mr. Keating's itinerary, Thailand is also of growing strategic and diplomatic importance to Australia. Economically, diplomatically and militarily, Thailand is a major player in ASEAN and a friendly rival of ASEAN's other major players, Indonesia and Malaysia. For Australia, that makes Thailand a particularly important friend. The Thais' shrewd and predictable diplomacy and their distance from Australia mean that Australian-Thai relations tend to be more stable than our relations with Malaysia and Indonesia. (Curiously, distance does seem to be an important factor; for example, Thailand's human rights lapses seem to attract less attention here than Indonesia's.) At moments of tension between Australia and Malaysia or Indonesia, the Thais have interceded on Australia's behalf. Thailand is a longstanding friend and an alternative diplomatic and economic "gateway" to the region, always ready to accept Australian investment and trade if other countries are not so inclined. That, undoubtedly, has a calming effect on Australia's relations with its more volatile ASEAN neighbours. With its well-developed defence forces (including significant naval forces) and its borders with Cambodia and Laos, Thailand is also an important player in the development of Cambodia and Indo-China. Vietnam's importance is more strategic than economic. Indeed, for all the country's recent growth and long-term potential, it will be a small, poor economy for many years to come. Strategically, however, it is of enormous potential importance in the region, mainly because of its large and well-educated population and its border with China. |
FBIS4-7116_1 | Paper on Importance of Keating's Indochina Trip | makes Thailand a particularly important friend. The Thais' shrewd and predictable diplomacy and their distance from Australia mean that Australian-Thai relations tend to be more stable than our relations with Malaysia and Indonesia. (Curiously, distance does seem to be an important factor; for example, Thailand's human rights lapses seem to attract less attention here than Indonesia's.) At moments of tension between Australia and Malaysia or Indonesia, the Thais have interceded on Australia's behalf. Thailand is a longstanding friend and an alternative diplomatic and economic "gateway" to the region, always ready to accept Australian investment and trade if other countries are not so inclined. That, undoubtedly, has a calming effect on Australia's relations with its more volatile ASEAN neighbours. With its well-developed defence forces (including significant naval forces) and its borders with Cambodia and Laos, Thailand is also an important player in the development of Cambodia and Indo-China. Vietnam's importance is more strategic than economic. Indeed, for all the country's recent growth and long-term potential, it will be a small, poor economy for many years to come. Strategically, however, it is of enormous potential importance in the region, mainly because of its large and well-educated population and its border with China. The Chinese are paranoid about Vietnam, which is why they spent a fortune to support the Khmer Rouge on Vietnam's south-western flank. The central objective of Western policy towards Vietnam must be the country's successful economic and political integration into the international community. Vietnam needs massive infusions of capital and technology to rebuild and expand its basic infrastructure (which is insufficient for even its current needs), to develop its rich natural resources and to create employment in labour-intensive manufacturing. The Vietnamese Communist Party is terrified of the kind of political instability that has plagued Eastern Europe, and with good reason. Vietnam's young population (the median age is 19) means that the labour force is growing at a rate of 1 million a year. The rationalisation of inefficient State-owned industries means that jobs will be scarce for a good while yet. Australia's policy is both to contribute to Vietnam's development and to share in it. As aid projects, Mr Keating's proposed high-profile projects -- including a $100 million bridge over the Mekong River and the preservation of Hanoi's historic architecture -- sound as questionable as the Hawke Government's Friendship Bridge that Mr. Keating went to Asia to open. However, Mr Keating |
FBIS4-7117_1 | Importance of Ties With Thailand Stressed | to Indochina. For Australia, the $42 million [currency further not specified] bridge symbolises efforts both in strengthening regional links generally and in employing Australia's technological capacity for the benefit of the region. Australia and Thailand have often taken their relations too much for granted, as officials on both sides of yesterday's talks between Mr Keating and his counterpart Chuan Leekpai, acknowledged last night. The talks aimed to change that, with new perspectives on how to lift bilateral trade and investment. From an Australian perspective Thailand has been the neglected power of South-East Asia partly because bilateral relations, compared with other parts of the region, have been so problem-free and untroubled. Yet it has the second largest economy in the Association of South-East Asian Nations. Though less than a quarter the size of Australia's, its gross domestic product has grown on average 7 per cent every year since the 1950s. Last year Australian exports to Thailand increased nearly 50 percent, to $1.2 billion. This makes it our 12th largest export market -- up from 20th only two years previously. Economic success has not come without cost. Most Thai industry is centred on Bangkok, which with only 16 percent of the population produces half of GDP. Pollution and exploitation in the labour market are serious problems. However, the gradual rise in prosperity has also created a large and politically activist middle class, which has come a metaphor for Thailand's capacity to make a lasting transition from military-dominated rule to parliamentary democracy. Mr Keating's visit to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam is a natural and consistent expression in the modern era of what he has termed Australia's "constructive engagement" with the region. These are not countries of first rank importance in terms of Australian foreign policy, but that does not diminish the value of regular high-level personal contact. It is 5 years since the last prime ministerial visit to Thailand. That was made by Mr Bob Hawke, who used the occasion to announce Australia would build the bridge Mr Keating is to open today. The importance of Thailand, with a population three times more numerous than Australia's, an export economy dominated by manufacturing and a stabilising political system, is growing. It is an influential force in ASEAN and a keen supporter of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum. As resources-rich Thailand prospers, Australia should be confident about ensuring bilateral relations flourish along with it. |
FBIS4-7118_0 | Bureau To Help Clean Up Chinese Waste Sites | BFN [Text] Australia and China have launched a joint project to help clean up China's mine waste sites which take up more than 20,000 square kilometers -- about one third of the size of Tasmania. Australian International Development Assistance Bureau has allocated Australian $3.5 million to fund the four-year technical assistance program. Project involved technology transfers and would also identify health risks to nearby communities. It will be based at the Beijing Central Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the field work will begin at two experimental sites -- the (Shiochaoyang) Mine in Jiangxi Province and the (Tongling) Mine in Anhui Province. |
FBIS4-7171_2 | Summit Meeting Held With Indonesia in Jakarta Addresses State Banquet | said 35 years ago when he visited Indonesia. Dear President Suharto, ladies, and gentlemen; Visiting the fraternal Indonesian country, we are happy about the great achievements made in the past 25 years by the Indonesian people under the president's leadership and under the national ideology of Pancasila. On this occasion, we sincerely wish the Indonesian people greater achievements in taking Indonesia into the taking-off period in national development and international and regional cooperation. As the president of the Nonaligned Movement, Indonesia has actively contributed toward a Southeast Asia region of peace and cooperation and for a more stable and prosperous world. On that basis, Indonesia has an increasingly important role in the world and region. Vietnam wholeheartedly supports Indonesia's active role in that direction and stands side by side with our Indonesian friends in the struggle for peace and equal cooperation among nations. Dear Mr. President, ladies, and gentlemen; The international and regional situations continue to change in a swift, profound, and complicated manner, thus presenting all nations great opportunities and challenges. In our region, the trend of peace, stability, cooperation, and development has been increasing. We believe that Southeast Asia is enjoying the most favorable conditions since the end of World War II for solidly building cooperation for regional long-term peace and prosperity. We always attach importance to improved relations of friendship and cooperation for mutual benefit among regional countries on unilateral and bilateral bases. We are content at the fine development of the Vietnam-ASEAN relationship, and with ASEAN's active support, Vietnam is energetically preparing to become a full member. We hold that this conforms with both Vietnamese and ASEAN interests and is beneficial to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region. We strongly believe that my official friendship visit to Indonesia will contribute to solving problems of mutual concern and further accelerate our multi-faceted friendship and cooperation relation for the benefit of the peoples in our two countries and for peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity in Southeast Asia and the world. In the atmosphere of friendship and fraternity between the peoples of Vietnam and Indonesia, I invite all of you to toast President Suharto and his wife to good health and happiness, the prosperity of the Indonesian people, the consolidation and development of the Vietnamese-Indonesian multi-faceted friendship and cooperation, and Southeast Asia becoming a region of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. I wish you all good health. |
FBIS4-7172_2 | Summit Meeting Held With Indonesia in Jakarta Suharto Speaks at Banquet | to impartially settle a number of issues affecting the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Indonesia. `As neighbouring countries that share the same historical affinities, I sincerely hope that we can conclude the ongoing negotiation in a satisfactory manner, particularly on the issues of the continental shelf boundary and repatriation of non-refugees. I am convinced that based on the good-intentions that have been demonstrated by both parties so far, we can achieve a satisfactory result'. In reply, President Le Duc Anh said that the Vietnamese people had forever borne in mind the Indonesian people's wholehearted support for their just struggle for national reunification. The Vietnamese leader continued: `At present the Vietnamese and Indonesian people have common desires to build Vietnam and Indonesia into prosperous countries, and Southeast Asia a region of peace, stability and cooperation. This is the firm basis to constantly consolidate and develop the time-honoured friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and made it become the everlasting friendship as stated by President Ho Chi Minh 35 years ago when he visited Indonesia'. After hailing the great achievement recorded by the Indonesian people in the past 25 years under the leadership of President Suharto, President Anh said: `In its capacity as president of the Non-aligned Movement, indonesia has made positive contributions to a Southeast Asia of peace and cooperation and to a stabler and more prosperous world. Indonesia thereby, has an increasingly important role to play in the region and the world. Vietnam strongly supports Indonesia's positive activities, and stands side by side the Indonesia for a long lasting peace and prosperity in the region'. [sentence as received] `We have always treasured and constantly strengthened the relations of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation with countries in the region on the basis of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. We are satisfied at the fine development of the Vietnam-ASEAN cooperation. As observer in ASEAN, Vietnam is trying its best with support from all ASEAN member countries to early become full member of the organization. We hold that this conforms to the benefits of the two parties and to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region'. `I believe that my visit to Indonesia would contribute to further promoting the friendship and all-sided cooperation between the two countries in the interests of the two nations and for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in Southeast Asia and the world as a |
FBIS4-7203_0 | Biographical Sketches of New Cabinet Members Education Minister Ryoko Akamatsu | BFN [Text] Tokyo, April 28 KYODO -- Gender equality advocate Ryoko Akamatsu retained her portfolio as education minister and is expected to continue her campaign for greater recognition of women's rights. Akamatsu, 64, who has served as director general of the Labor Ministry's Women's Bureau, once remarked that the lack of a woman on Sumo's Yokozuna Promotion Council is "strange" and has called for equality in the government's system of conferring decorations. Since becoming education minister last August, Akamatsu has worked to overcome some of the ministry's conservative administrative policies based on decades of Liberal Democratic Party guidance. She once remarked that she "shuddered" at the rule in junior high schools requiring boys to have their hair closely cropped, touching off a public debate over the issue and other school policies seen as restrictive by educational reformers. An Osaka native, Akamatsu graduated from Tokyo University to begin her career in the Labor Ministry in 1953. In 1978, she was put in charge of women's issues at the Prime Minister's Office and the same year was appointed minister at the Japanese mission to the United Nations. Akamatsu was government representative to the 34th U.N. General Assembly that signed a pact abolishing discrimination against women and in Japan worked to enact legislation on equal employment opportunities for women in May 1985. She became Japan's second woman ambassador in 1986 when she was sent to Uruguay, where she served until 1989. |
FBIS4-7231_0 | Indonesian Version of Summit Meeting With SRV Suharto Hosts Banquet | BFN [Text] President Suharto hosted a state banquet in honor of visiting Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh and his wife at the National Palace in Jakarta tonight. Addressing the banquet, President Suharto reiterated that all countries in Southeast Asia have the common responsibility of maintaining peace and stability in the region. He said that all countries in the region should always uphold the principle of good neighborliness and mutual respect for each others' sovereignty. He also said that Vietnam and Indonesia have the common aspiration of turning Southeast Asia into a zone of peace and stability, a region of high economic growth, as well as a prosperous region that will guarantee the welfare of its people. In view of this, President Suharto lauded Vietnam's cooperation with ASEAN by participating in the organization's programs and being an observer at ASEAN meetings. The head of state also said that it is important for Indonesia and Vietnam to establish cordial relations and mutually trust each other so that all issues relating to bilateral ties can be resolved fairly. President Suharto said that Indonesia and Vietnam, being neighboring countries with historical ties, should be able to settle amicably such issues as the continental shelf and the repatriation of Vietnamese illegal immigrants in Indonesia. The head of state said he is confident that a satisfactory result can be achieved in efforts to settle those problems based on the good etiquette displayed by officials from the two countries. Present at the banquet, among others, were vice President and Madame Try Sutrisno, senior government officials, and cabinet ministers. |
FBIS4-7235_0 | Libya Seeks Aid With Ending UN Sanctions | BFN [Text] The Libyan Government has called on Indonesia as chairman of the Nonaligned Movement [NAM] to play a more active role in efforts to end the economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Libya three years ago. Ibrahim al-Yarabu, secretary general of the International Islamic Missionary Movement, told newsmen in Jakarta today that the NAM had responded to the matter by introducing a resolution that calls for lifting the economic sanctions, but the resolution had yet to be pursued. The NAM influence will be felt further if the resolution is implemented. The UN Security Council imposed the sanctions on Libya following the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988 that killed 270 people. Ibrahim al-Yarabu's visit to Indonesia is the second for discussions on the sanctions. |
FBIS4-7261_2 | Keating's New Indochina Diplomacy Viewed | least once -- and in several cases a number of times - as part of what is undoubtedly now his major policy and intellectual obsession: Australia's engagement with Asia. Adopting the highly personal style that worked so successfully with Do Muoi, Keating has embarked on a mission to develop a series of significant diplomatic relationships with the influential leaders of the region. In Bangkok he had a not-dissimilar meeting with Prime Minister Chuan Likphai and several key Thai ministers, with Chuan inviting Keating to talk to him whenever he wanted to raise any issues. Thailand and Vietnam are the two most influential countries in Indochina and Keating gave an insight to his thinking and regional policy strategy when on Tuesday he said he wanted to emulate with them the type of relationship he had been able to develop with Indonesia over the past two years. Keating's successful personal courting of Indonesia's President Suharto -- together with the strong links foreign ministers Gareth Evans and Ali Alatas have developed -- has changed the entire atmospherics of Australia's previously fractious relationship with the archipelago. Early on, Keating recognised the political and strategic weight of Indonesia in the region and consciously sought to build a strong personal relationship with Suharto, even using a meeting with US President Bill Clinton to impress on Clinton Suharto's influence. Similarly he sees Thailand and Vietnam as the two other key major players in Southeast Asia and with his unique, high-energy diplomatic style, he used his trips to the region to focus on the key leaders in both countries -- which, unlike Indonesia, are not concentrated on one man. While issues such as Mabo, the republic and the long-term unemployed remain of strong interest, it is clear that building a complex and highly integrated relationship with the Western Pacific region to ensure Australia's rightful place in the region is now Keating's major intellectual obsession. And just as he made economic reform Canberra's preoccupation of the 1980s, Keating is making the development of economic and strategic links with Asia the government's major focus of the l990s. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke also sought to build personal relationships --but they were mostly with the US and China -- especially understandable in a decade where superpower rivalry still permeated foreign policy thinking. And while Keating is bringing enormous attention to the region, it was Hawke who laid the groundwork through his |
FBIS4-7279_5 | * Ichiro Ozawa Discusses Diplomacy, Politics | must choose. [Oikawa] The United States has given particular emphasis to these problems, and has referred to Japan's bureaucracy as a "cancer." Make Better Use of the Bureaucrats [Ozawa] You have to expect resistance when you try to change a system that has existed for a long time. But the real problem isn't a matter of the bureaucrats' resistance. I think it's wrong to say that their recalcitrance prevents us from making any changes. The problem is that the livelihoods of so many ordinary people depend on these regulations. For instance, automobile inspection costs a lot of money. If we simply eliminated automobile inspection stations, aside from the safety issue, the people they employ would suffer. Or, if we simplified the distribution system, those who make a living from it would really be in trouble. Problems like that are much more serious than bureaucratic resistance. During the Cold War, there was no need for either politicians or bureaucrats to make substantive political decisions. For all practical purposes, their work consisted solely of preparing budgets and making allocations as fairly as possible. For the most part, all they needed to do was to go along with decisions made by the United States. In that sense, what they were doing was not politics. The same could be said of the bureaucrats. They devoted all their time to elaborate regulations and subsidies. So, when we propose deregulation, pure and simple, the bureaucrats object because their work would be taken away from them. Here we have a group of talented people who have studied hard to pass the government examinations. I think we can solve this problem by having the bureaucrats use their talents in other ways, such as to work on major political problems, and to determine Japan's future role in the international community. [Sasaki] In the area of foreign policy, the details of discussions at the Japan-U.S. summit about the problem of nuclear weapons in North Korea have not been disclosed. However, is it reasonable to assume that a great deal of progress was made through the prime minister's recent visit to the United States? [Ozawa] Yes. If we focus only on the comprehensive talks on economic problems, what everyone seems to be saying is that they didn't go well or, in contrast, that Japan finally said "no," which was a good thing. But I think the fact that at those talks, |
FBIS4-7279_22 | * Ichiro Ozawa Discusses Diplomacy, Politics | the opposition, and non-unionists the ruling party. Urban residents supported the opposition, and agricultural and rural districts the ruling party. I think that from now on our citizens will vote for politicians who share their views on issues that affect them directly. Some will want our regulated society to stay the way it is, and others will want more freedom. These will probably be the major trends. Our regulated society was designed with fairness and balance in mind. For instance, currently we have the problem of general contractors and their methods for bidding on construction projects. Why did Japan adopt a designated bidding system? Because if we hadn't, the big corporations would underbid midsized and small companies, and the latter would be ruined. The United States has had free competition ever since its founding. There, the winners survive. That's how it's always been. This is a political philosophy. Americans claim that Japanese society is totally controlled by regulations and by bid-rigging. I'm not suggesting that we should have total freedom like the Americans. We have to maintain fairness. But we must have a little more freedom in the areas where we compete internationally. That will, in a way, lead to the opening of our markets. The point I wish to make is that we should allow open competition in areas that warrant our doing so, without violating the principle of fairness. If there is more freedom, we will see more innovation. If we don't do that, we won't be able to compete. The Japanese must first get used to that idea and then give it serious consideration. I also think that we should deregulate as long as we are not compromising fairness and equality, and by that I mean we should encourage people to act independently and responsibly. [Sasaki] May we assume then, that, in other words, when political groups are formed, a sort of social reform could be considered a unifying factor? [Ozawa] Yes. The same idea applies to national security and international relations. Freedom means independence. When we're given freedom, that means that we have to act responsibly. So, we must become independent as a nation, and as individuals and corporations, too. We have to allow a little more autonomy. The difference between this philosophy and the one that maintains that we can manage quite well with the present system will influence political alignment. [Oikawa] Specifically, how will |
FBIS4-7292_0 | `Infrastructure Woes' Cloud ASEAN Future | BFN [Report from "The Regional Desk"] [Text] For much of the past decade, Southeast Asia's economic growth has been the envy of the world. The region has been held up as a model of development by the World Bank and its success has led to a rethink of the way economies are managed in the recession-mired West. In its recent annual survey, the Asian Development Bank predicted the area's leading economies would continue to crackle along at close to double-digit pace for at least the next two years and perhaps until the end of the decade. With a new World Trading Order coming into effect, China emerging as the fourth global economic engine and old political boundaries to trade being swept aside, prospects for the Southeast Asian states have probably never looked brighter. But as this promise of a seemingly unending boom unveils, there are also more than a few clouds looming on the horizon. Among the flashpoints for anxiety are the political upheaval in Japan, a growing balance of payments deficits in Indonesia and the Philippines, the trade dispute between China and the United States and manpower shortages. Possibly the most entrenched problem facing all the Asean states is flagging foreign investor interest. According to a survey by Merrill Lynch International Bank released last month, 1993 data on direct foreign investment largely confirms earlier suspicions that the sub-region's attractiveness is slipping as foreign firms focussed more on China, India and Vietnam. Other than the Philippines, which reported a sharp 85 percent jump in investments to $529 million in 1993, the other three developing economies of Southeast Asia--Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia--all registered declines in approved investments for the second consecutive year. Thailand and Malaysia were the worst hit. Approvals for foreign equity fell 68.1 percent to $233 million in Thailand, and dropped by over 60 percent to $912 million in Malaysia. Indonesia experienced a more modest four percent fall in approvals to $7.72 billion in the same period. Much of the surge in foreign investment, which fuelled the Southeast Asian boom in the early 1980s was driven by the need of Japan and other nations, hit by appreciation of their currencies, to maintain export markets abroad. "With diminishing importance of low-cost labour as a key investment criteria, and the emergence of big domestic markets like China and India, Southeast Asian nations will need to develop a new set of comparative |
FBIS4-7315_0 | Vehicle Output Reportedly Falls 12 Percent | BFN [Text] Tokyo, April 25 KYODO -- Domestic production of cars, trucks and buses fell in fiscal 1993 for the third year in a row, slipping 12.0 percent to 10,849,827 vehicles for the biggest fall in nearly 50 years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Monday [25 April]. It is the first time in the postwar period for the nation's four- wheel vehicle production to fall for three straight years, association officials said. The latest annual fall was the largest since fiscal 1947, when domestic auto output took an 18.9 percent tumble, they said. The three-year string of declines was produced by a prolonged auto market slump at home against the backdrop of the worst recession in decades. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, production of passenger cars fell 11.8 percent to 8,199.790 as weak output of small cars offset a gain in larger cars. Production of "compact" cars, or those with engine displacement below 2000 cc, shrank 20.0 percent to 4,826,387. Output of cars with engines of more than 2000 cc rose 4.3 percent to 2,587,133, underlining the shift to such models away from compact cars. Production of trucks declined 12.7 percent to 2,603,190, while output of buses went down 11.8 percent to 46,847. For March alone, domestic automobile production fell 9.4 percent from a year earlier to 1,054,608 vehicles for the 18th straight month of decline, the association said. |
FBIS4-7325_0 | Delegation Leaves for Thai Border Meeting | BFN [Text] A 23-member Myanmar [Burmese] delegation led by Major General Ket Sein, commander of the Southeast Military Command, and including Maj. Gen. Saw Tun, commander of the Eastern Military Command, left for Thailand this morning on a special military aircraft to attend the ninth meeting of the Myanmar-Thai Regional Border Committee in Thailand. The delegation was seen off at the airport by Lieutenant General Tin U, secretary-2 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council; Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw; Rear Admiral Tin Aye, Navy chief of staff; Maj. Gen. Tin Ngwe, Air Force chief of staff; and responsible personnel from the Foreign and Defense Ministries. |
FBIS4-7385_1 | * Prime Minister Responds to Bishops' Resolutions | this. Decree 69 and Circular 02, for example, state that "bishops who go to carry out tasks in a diocese and priests who go to carry out tasks in a parish for which they are responsible do not have to request permission." 2. Assigning and transferring priests in a diocese is to be done based on the work requirements of the church, but in order to facilitate control by the local authorities, matters must be discussed and an agreement must be reached with the local authorities. 3. As for publishing houses to print religious publications, according to the Publishing Law and decrees of the government and the circulars of the Ministry of Culture that provide guidance in implementing the law, the Ministry of Culture will discuss things with the various religious groups in order to designate a number of publishing houses and facilitate the printing of religious publications. 4. The premier welcomes the contributions made by the dioceses, parishes, and orders to educating our children and youths. The state has given attention to expanding education, has implemented policies to vary the forms of training and instruction, and has encouraged the opening of private and semi-private schools along with the public schools. The dioceses and orders can send people for training and contribute money, materials and equipment, and instructional materials to these schools. 5. As for religious orders, Decree 69 states that orders can accept people into a monastery. However, in order to facilitate things, those people are responsible for completing the ordinary administrative control procedures with the authorities where the monastery is located and in the place where they reside. 6. As for priests who have returned after a period of training, the government has taken steps to integrate these people into the life of the local people. Priests who have returned from studying can carry out their religious duties if a bishop gives his guarantee and the local authorities recognize them as good citizens. The government's Religious Affairs Committee has provided specific guidelines on this point. 7. The government has also facilitated attending a seminary or entering a monastery. This is the same as for other citizens who attend a government school. Circular 02 states that people who want to attend an official school or enter a monastery or convent are Vietnamese citizens who must adhere to the policies and obey the laws of the state. 8. As for |
FBIS4-7392_9 | * Article Comments on Religion, Human Rights | activities. Because it is responsible for controlling society, the state must examine and control the social aspects of religions. This is because besides its relationship to the church and the community that shares the same religious beliefs, a religion also has a relationship with and affects society. The state must not interfere with religious beliefs, but it is responsible for controlling the social aspects of religious activities using the laws. The main purpose of this is to protect the rights of citizens and the religious freedom of belief. Religion is a delicate, complex, and profound social phenomenon in the spiritual, ideological, and emotional lives of many people in many generations. Religion is related not only to "ethical matters" but also to "matters of life." It is related not only to "the other life" but also to present life. There must be respect for freedom of belief, but at the same time, those who use this right for non-religious purposes must be opposed. We must respect people's freedom to believe, but at the same time, we must also respect people's freedom not to believe. Respecting people's freedom of belief means respecting people's faith, religious ceremonies, and other religious activities that are in accord with national cultural traditions and improving the morals and character of people. We cannot accept counter-cultural or inhuman actions that are contrary to the legitimate needs of the masses and that lead to confusion, a lose of direction, passivity, and even violations of the law. Respecting freedom of belief, which is one of the fundamental elements of the human and civic rights of people, does not mean allowing freedom to "burst out" in confusion and allowing the spread of every type of "heresy" along with today's open market mechanism. At the same time, human rights should not be relied on to revive and encourage backward customs that the people once voluntarily did away with. As for believers, they are both elements of the religious community and citizens of a country. They have obligations and responsibilities both to their church and to their fatherland. They enjoy both human rights and the rights of citizens just like every other citizen. Thus, on one hand, they have the right to demand legitimate freedoms. On the other, they must struggle against those who violate and make use of those rights and contribute to building and defending the country so that it prospers. |
FBIS4-7394_0 | Northern Provinces Form Special Economic Region | BFN [Text] An integrated economic region for the industrialization and market orientation will be formed by Hanoi, Haiphong, and some other provinces in north of Hanoi. The project is called planning orientation for key northern areas. The region has great resources of minerals and labor as well as enormous potential and tourism development as it accounts for 60 percent of the whole country's hydropower potential. |
FBIS4-7402_0 | * Influence of Islamic Boarding Schools Noted | CSO [Article by Suryansyah: "Not Looking for Influence"] [Text] Islamic boarding schools have been put to the test for a long time. The strength of these "institutions" lies not only in the area of education. Their influence has spread into the political arena as well. Islamic boarding schools have actually been influential since before the revolution. In fact, when there were kingdoms, Muslim scholars and Islamic boarding schools formed a clique which controlled royal actions and policies. For example, King Amangkurat I once killed about 6,000 Muslim scholars in front of his people because they opposed his policies. During the Old Order, an Islamic-oriented organization was part of almost every political party. For example, the Jam'iyyah Muslimin (JAMUS) was part of the PNI [Indonesian National Party]. These tendencies went quite far. The Old Order embraced the Islamic masses in the Islamic boarding schools. Since that time all Indonesian political forces have been racing, as it were, to gain legitimacy through the Islamic masses. In other words, the Islamic boarding schools, the basis of Islamic strength, have been leading sources of support for votes and influence. Is that true? The following is EDITOR's Usman Sosiawan's interview with Lt. Gen. (Army) R. Hartono, ABRI's social-political chief of staff. Hartono, former commander of Military District Command V/Brawijaya and governor of the National Defense Institute, is well known as a Madurese who is close to the Islamic boarding schools. We recorded some of his comments when we stopped him as he left a program on provisioning held at Makostrad [Kostrad Command Headquarters] on Friday 4 March. [Sosiawan] What is your response to the Army chief of staff's visit to several Islamic boarding schools? [Hartono] It's normal. The Army chief of staff is also the territorial developer. It's only natural for him to go there, to approach them, and to introduce himself. [Sosiawan] There isn't any political intent? [Hartono] No. It's one of the principles behind ABRI's territorial development. [Sosiawan] Is it true that the Islamic boarding schools are considered of great potential importance for the support of political power? [Hartono] Wait a minute. If you mean Islamic boarding schools in the sense of the word Islamic and if we start from the meanings of faith and devotion, they certainly are going to talk about state and national problems. In that case, what do you call it, political or what? It's political too. But we |
FBIS4-7445_0 | Leaders Comment on Federation Agreement Komsic on Territorial Integrity | BFN [Report by S. Despot: "Turning Point in Relations Between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina"] [Text] Zagreb -- "The most important achievement of the Washington Agreement and its documents is that the conflict between the Croats and the Muslims-Bosniaks, which was artificial from the beginning, has been ended. The Washington talks mark a turning point in global relations between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina with the signing of the preliminary agreement on stronger institutional relations between the two countries," said Ivo Komsic, member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency and participant in the Washington talks, at a press conference held at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Embassy. Expressing hope that the Washington constitution of the Bosnia-Herzegovina federation will be accepted on 28 March -- he announced that the Bosnia-Herzegovina Assembly would convene that day -- Komsic said it was supposed to become effective at midnight on 29 March. The Constituent Assembly will be made up of deputies elected at the 1990 elections, except for those whose mandate had been canceled. The president and vice president of the Assembly will also be appointed that day; one a Muslim, the other a Croat. Apart from adopting the constitution of the federation, the Assembly is also entrusted with passing the election law for the forthcoming elections, which -- Komsic hopes -- will be held in a couple of months. According to Komsic, the importance of the Washington talks lies in reaching the federation agreement according to the principles laid down by the Sarajevo assembly held on 6 February, while the public of both countries will decide about the question of a confederation between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. There Will Be Resistance "I am aware that some people will resist the implementation of both agreements, both the one on the principles of the federation and that on the confederation agreement, but I expect the resistance to come from people who have been hindering the negotiations between the two nations from the beginning," said Komsic in reply to a question from the press, commenting on the views of the Croats from the Croatian republic of Herceg-Bosna that they will not accept the federation without firm ties with Croatia. However, he said that he expects people only to hinder the implementation, not to prevent it, for it was arranged at a high level under the auspices of the United States, which has finally become involved in solving the crisis on this territory and it will not |
FBIS4-7473_2 | German Defense Minister Promises `Full Support' | between your two ministries, especially in staff education. What projects have been implemented and which ones will be put into effect in the future? [Ruehe] This year our two armies carried out a lively exchange of officers, through which your officers visited various Bundeswehr educational institutions. Many Bulgarian officers are in Germany at the moment attending various courses; some are attending Bundeswehr language schools and others are undergoing practical training in internal administration. We plan a further 30 such arrangements this year alone, including an exchange of lecturers between our staff colleges. [Popova] Last year you issued an assurance that Bulgaria can count on German support in its efforts to join NATO. The serious situation in the Balkans at the moment requires a new security policy. Will you also assist Bulgaria in this respect? [Ruehe] NATO's decision to open itself up to partners from throughout Europe should be regarded as one of the alliance's priority tasks. It gives countries like Bulgaria a good picture of future prospects. The Partnership For Peace program that Bulgaria joined last February enables us to cooperate with our partners from the east, deepen our relations with them, and at the same time to react flexibly to the needs of individual states. In this way the future members can be systematically prepared for joining these structures late. The Partnership For Peace is the first important step on the road to integration. It should under no circumstances be interpreted or understood as some kind of second league position. Accordingly, Bulgaria can rely on our full support in the future. [Popova] What do you think about Bulgarian policy on the Balkan crisis? [Ruehe] I believe that Bulgaria will stick with its previous policy and do everything necessary to promote the peace process in the Balkans. Precisely in connection with the embargo imposed on the Danube, we attach great importance to Bulgaria because of geographical position. According to my information, Bulgaria is a model in this respect, despite the great economic losses it is suffering. Sarajevo, the talks between Croatia and Bosnia, and the recent events in Tuzla have demonstrated that only firm determination and intensive political and diplomatic efforts can provide a chance for the peace process. It has also become clear that a peaceful solution in the Balkans needs Russia to become involved and exert its influence. Bulgaria has an important part to play here as well. |
FBIS4-7474_0 | VMRO-SMD Official on FYROM Issues | BFN [Interview with Evgeniy Ekov, secretary of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Union of Macedonian Societies, by Svetlana Tikhova; place and date not given: "Revolutionary Terror Is Part of History"] [Excerpts] [passage omitted] [Tikhova] Do great differences exist between the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Union of Macedonian Societies [VMRO-SMD] and the VMRO-Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity [DPMNE]? [Ekov] From the historical point of view, the name is the same. We both claim that we have legitimately inherited it. Some of the tasks that our organization and [VMRO-DPMNE leader] Ljupco Georgievski's organization have set for themselves are the same, such as the democratization of the Republic of Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- FYROM] and the struggle for its final recognition. Nevertheless, these seem to be the only things that we have in common. Unfortunately, despite its name, the DPMNE has betrayed the principle on which the VMRO has always based itself and developed. I mean the defense of the Bulgarian spirit in Macedonia. An ideology has been adopted embodying a regime of terror and all the repressive methods of the Macedonian state, along with the theory of an independently existing Macedonian nation. Thus, Macedonian nationalism, partly rejecting the outdated form of the Communist Party, is trying to assume some kind of democratic image. Naturally, this was not accepted by part of the DPMNE, which was followed by an inevitable split. Those who thought differently organized a new VMRO -- the Fatherland Party [Tatkovinska Partiya], led by Dimitar Crnomarov, former deputy chairman of DPMNE, who was expelled for "pro-Bulgarian tendencies." Unfortunately, these are unpleasant facts that affect our national interests. However, they should be known so that the Bulgarian public may be acquainted with the biased and hostile feelings prevailing among the ruling forces in the Republic of Macedonia. [Tikhova] In that case, what kind of Macedonia should be established and by what means? [Ekov] It should be an independent, sovereign, and democratic Macedonia, based on legal, political means. [Tikhova] Do you mean Vardar Macedonia, or all three parts? [Ekov] We are talking about Vardar Macedonia. The truth is that after 1934, when the VMRO, which was an underground organization at the time, and the legal organizations were also dissolved, the slogan for an independent Macedonia within its geographical borders was raised. Then came World War II. The Paris system of peace accords actually buried the idea of a "geographic" |
FBIS4-7478_0 | Poll Reveals Fear of Political Extremism | BFN [Unattributed report: "Everyone Fears A Different Extremism"] [Text] Fears of extremist political trends have slightly increased in the past 18 months; however, on the basis of public opinion, the danger of left-wing extremism is considered to be small in Hungary, and the danger of right-wing extremism only slightly greater. This is how we can sum up the results of two opinion polls carried out by Szonda Ipsos in October 1992 and March 1993 using a sample representing the composition of Hungary's population. It was commissioned by NEPSZABADSAG. Although the general picture has changed only minimally in the past 18 months, more substantial changes have taken place on details. The increase in political and ideological extremist demonstrations and activities has brought this phenomenon from a geographic and historical distance to our immediate proximity. This is also clear from the fact that, while 40 percent of the people refused to answer this question or evaluate the danger of extremist political trends in 1992, fewer people did so now, namely 30 percent. However, this does not mean that people regard the situation as dire, but they continue to express their concern. Summing all this up into a single scale ranging from 0 to 100 and representing the feeling of danger, we find 29 points for extreme left-wing danger in the autumn of 1992 and 33 points in the spring of 1993; regarding extreme right-wing danger, the figures are 38 in 1992 and 40 in 1993. Both in 1992 and 1994, a third of people said they did not notice any extreme left danger, which also shows that the public does not absolutize extremist demonstrations. On the other hand, the number of people who consider the problem to be insignificant is slightly smaller: a quarter in both cases. However, the increase in the number of people who regard both the leftist and rightist danger as a more serious problem shows the increase in the relative weight of fear of extremism: An increase from 8 percent in 1992 to 15 percent now regarding the leftist danger, and an increase from 17 percent to 22 percent regarding the rightist danger. We can also simplify the issue of extremist trends to alternatives if we only examine which trend is regarded as more dangerous by the people surveyed, leftist extremism or rightist extremism. Both in 1992 and 1994, the biggest group was made up of people who |
FBIS4-7478_1 | Poll Reveals Fear of Political Extremism | to 100 and representing the feeling of danger, we find 29 points for extreme left-wing danger in the autumn of 1992 and 33 points in the spring of 1993; regarding extreme right-wing danger, the figures are 38 in 1992 and 40 in 1993. Both in 1992 and 1994, a third of people said they did not notice any extreme left danger, which also shows that the public does not absolutize extremist demonstrations. On the other hand, the number of people who consider the problem to be insignificant is slightly smaller: a quarter in both cases. However, the increase in the number of people who regard both the leftist and rightist danger as a more serious problem shows the increase in the relative weight of fear of extremism: An increase from 8 percent in 1992 to 15 percent now regarding the leftist danger, and an increase from 17 percent to 22 percent regarding the rightist danger. We can also simplify the issue of extremist trends to alternatives if we only examine which trend is regarded as more dangerous by the people surveyed, leftist extremism or rightist extremism. Both in 1992 and 1994, the biggest group was made up of people who see the two types of extremism as equally dangerous. The number of people who thought so has increased even more over the past 18 months, from 45 percent to 54 percent. Among people who feel a difference between the two extremist trends, there are more people who think the right-wing danger is more serious (36 percent in 1992 and 30 percent in 1994). The opposite view, namely a more serious leftist danger, was held by 19 percent in 1992 and 16 percent in 1994. In this, the opinions of various social groups differ only slightly, people expressing identical fears form a majority, and there are fewer who fear left-wing extremist trends than those who fear right-wing extremist trends. In 1992, people with a basic education and currently living in villages proved to be most divided in judging this issue: The same number of people saw a greater danger from one side as those from the other side. Among high school graduates, more regarded right-wing extremism as more serious (51 percent) in 1992, and fewer than average regarded the two sources of danger as equal (34 percent). At present, the size of these two groups is identical and makes up 40-40 |
FBIS4-7497_4 | PDP President Views Albanians' Political Role | of territory. [Dzambazovski] It is true that official Albania supported your faction in the long process of divisions within the PDP. Why? [Arben] That is how it looks from the outside. If we analyze the pictures, we come to that impression. Albania's influence I think, must be relevant in Macedonia, because it is a stabilizing factor in the Balkans, and it affects some stabilizing political processes. I think we have the right to communicate with the political factors in the Balkans, particularly with Albania. [Dzambazovski] Yet, you did not say why Albania supports you. [Arben] Certainly because we are more serious and because we have constructed a political vision for Macedonia, without projects like just employment in the system's institutions. [Dzambazovski] However, it is true that the PDP is an indigenous party, active in Macedonia with its program. [Arben] Yes, it is true, but the PDP also asks for legitimacy in the Albanian tissue in the Balkans, and that is natural, as it is for the Macedonian parties related to the diaspora. I think that if we have the support of Albania, we are on the right road, because the whole Albanian political course in the Balkans has demonstrated political maturity in the latest crisis. [Dzambazovski] There is one view that the affair of the paramilitary formations of Albanians in Macedonia lies behind this support. [Arben] That is political intrigue. And finally, why do you not talk about the so-called affair with those who are involved in it -- some Albanians and the Macedonian authorities, who certainly know more. Taci and I, as well as the others, have no connection with it. [Dzambazovski] Why do you make so many remarks regarding the work of the delegates and ministers? [Arben] There is a transition going on in Macedonia, but with people who used to be in positions, including the Albanians. It is a kind of a silky communist transition. Our demands are deeply human, they are not irrational, and we hope to find people who think the transition must be better. Tensions must be avoided. [Dzambazovski] Can they also be created by you? [Arben] Yes, if Macedonia does not establish a European system of values. Then such tensions arrive. We shall ask for support from the foreign factor, and we shall ask for the right to self- organization, which starts with the political organization of the political structure. We will gain |
FBIS4-7499_1 | Commentary Views U.S. Involvement in Balkans | man to try and finish the job. U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy, New York lawyer Matthew Nimietz, was very clear: "We bear in mind the fact that we have very friendly relations with both sides, but also the fact that this issue is of concern to the region and the world." He was even more plain in Athens: "This is a dispute that endangers peace and stability in the region, therefore it is of concern to the United States." Formally, Niemitz is only helping the interrupted negotiating process begun under the sponsorship of the United Nations. Therefore, the fate of future Macedonian-Greek relations, right now, depends on the skills of Cyrus Vance and Matthew Niemitz -- both New York lawyers. After recognizing Macedonia, the United States halted the establishment of diplomatic relations because of Greece's opposition. However, its clear interest in this region was expressed for the first time last Summer, when 300 U.S. soldiers landed at Skopje Airport and joined the UNPROFOR forces. The inclusion of Niemitz in the mediation process between Greece and FYROM, particularly the arrival of John Shalikashvili, chairman of the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Skopje that same week, only added to the belief that the United States is really determined to have a strong influence in this part of the Balkans. Greece, on the other hand, is caught in a very inconvenient position -- on the one side pressed and embarrassed by its partners in the European Union, and on the other side limited in its actions because of public opinion, to which it continually serves up mass national meetings, has also turned to the United States. After discussions with Niemitz, Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papulias stated that he hoped the following weeks would give a positive result. Papulias's optimism becomes more understandable in the context of the announced visit of Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou to the United States, scheduled for 22 April. Namely, Niemitz made it clear that Washington would like to see the dispute between the two countries solved before this date. In view of Clinton's posing with Tudjman and Izetbegovic for reporters after setting down on paper their Constitution within two weeks, something the European Union did not succeed in doing in two years, a logical question arises: Will Gligorov and Papandreou have a picture taken together with the "forest ranger" before or after 22 April? |
FBIS4-7508_0 | Commentary Condemns Turkish Involvement | BFN [Commentary by Zorana Suvakovic: "Fable and Bosnia"] [Text] General [Bertrand] de Lapresle was quite bewildered and surprised when questions started showering upon him in the International Press Center in Belgrade about the Turkish return to the Balkans. It is a credit to the French general that, in less than a week since he took up the command over UNPROFOR [UN Protection Forces], he came to visit Belgrade, minding the praiseworthy international procedures. As he nicely put it, he is a general assigned to deal with partners, rather than with enemies, a general who does not aspire to accomplish a personal victory, but rather to give support to his partners so they can find a peace settlement. Hardly any of the former UNPROFOR commanders has ever given such a precise definition of the essence and role of UN peace missions. Fatal Mistake No sooner did UNPROFOR start to recover, under the political leadership of the wise Akashi, who has a refined sense for most diverse currents, winds, changes of moon, high-tides, and low-tides in the Balkans, when the decision came from New York that Turkish blue helmets are to be sent to Bosnia. That is certainly not the first time that the international organization and community has complicated the already complicated-enough Balkan situation, and make the goal of its own mission even more difficult to achieve. That many of the 54 UN Security Council resolutions are absolutely unfeasible on the ground was stressed, more or less openly, by all the former military and political officials of the UN mission in Bosnia, because of which many of them consciously put an end to their careers. The mistakes made by the international community were subsequently assessed by many former foreign ministers, UN officials, and co-chairmen of the conferences on former Yugoslavia. The deployment of Turkish troops in the Balkans is one of those moves that confirm the theory about the intentions of making the conflict even more complicated at the moment when certain signs of its forthcoming conclusion have appeared. There are many reasons for believing that the deployment of Turkish UN troops in Bosnia is a great mistake. Five centuries of Turkish government left many traces all over the Balkans, and many people believe they are an indirect cause of the ongoing conflict. It seems that since the disintegration in former Yugoslavia began, the Balkan countries encumbered with a Turkish heritage |
FBIS4-7511_1 | Tudjman Address to Government Session | Republic is slightly ahead of us. All others are far, far behind Croatia in all aspects, in the political and economic sphere. In other words, these results have been achieved due to Croatia's policy as a whole and to its government and, as Prime Minister Valentic has just said, they provide us with the basis to remain consistent in pursuing our policy. Like me, you have probably heard more than one foreign diplomat or economic expert say that we have succeeded because we knew exactly what we wanted, because we had the leadership, because we had support for our policies in both the parliament and among the people. This experience speaks for itself. Of course, the government and all of us were faced with enormous tasks in setting up new state administration, in getting rid of the old, communist, self-management system both from institutions and people's minds. This was not easy and the task is still there if we are to create an effective and efficient state administration. However, even under normal conditions, it would take years to complete such tasks. What this means is that despite our situation even in this sphere we have succeeded in achieving a great deal. I must remind you that we had to set up an army, to arm this army despite the adverse international situation. We had to arm 200,000 men. You know what it means for such a small country as Croatia. We had to create a new diplomatic service. We are still faced with the same task and this is a big problem in view of the lack of experience of personnel. In other words, we had to reorganize our state administration to get rid of the communes that we inherited, etc. So, what we have so far achieved in reorganizing and introducing the new system of administrative divisions, i.e. municipalities, counties -- this is yet to be completed -- nevertheless our state administration is functioning; well, the prime minister cited as the most exemplary case the fact that our taxes, the amount collected in taxes, had doubled up compared to what it was a year ago. Despite all problems and difficulties our state administration is becoming increasingly effective and efficient. Another task facing us is to set up the rule of law in all its aspects. However, the type of the rule of law we wanted was not possible with |
FBIS4-7526_3 | _O_Notes From the Press | his trade with the Serbs? Has Voce, with the blessing of the Croatian Government, been selling the goods to Fikret Abdic...? Has Voce, once the largest export firm in the former Yugoslavia, which lost the majority of its partners after the disintegration of that former state, created, in the autonomous province of western Bosnia, an indispensable market for the sale of its goods?" GLOBUS cites Jure Klaric, director of Voce, as admitting that "even today, we are using the contacts that Fikret Abdic has established with the Serbs." HDZ Conflicts Linked To Cement Factory Deal Herceg-Bosna is not the only controversial topic among leading Croatian politicians, says the 25 February GLOBUS. The weekly comments that the case of the unsuccessful attempt in 1991 to sell the Split Dalmacijacement cement factory to the Italian firm Calcestruzzi shows that the most intense political conflicts in the Croatian Democratic Community are linked to important economic issues. In the case of Dalmacijacement, the weekly notes, a grave conflict emerged between the present chief of the intelligence service, Hrvoje Sarinic, who was the head of the Office of the President in 1991, and current Minister of Trade Nadan Vidosevic, who was director of Dalmacijacement at that time. GLOBUS publishes the minutes of a heated quarrel in 1991 between Sarinic and Vidosevic on the issue of the sale of Dalmacijacement, commenting that the minutes, in addition to revealing the extent of the previously unknown conflicts in the HDZ leadership, also indicate how business decisions are made in Croatia: "The minutes from Sarinic's office plainly show that even today the main decisions in Croatia are made just as they were during the communist regime.... The office of the president tried to make the decision on a business deal worth hundreds of millions of German marks [DM], against the will of the Dalmacijacement management! Hrvoje Sarinic tried two-and-a-half years ago to persuade, at all costs, the director of Dalmacijacement to sell the enterprise to the Italians as quickly as possible." Another significant issue, GLOBUS states, is an alleged commission of $12.5 million, which, according to the director of Calcestruzzi, was paid in 1991. The weekly adds that it is believed in Croatian political circles that the money was spent for government needs. Denationalization of Housing The Croatian Government has drafted a proposal for the return of apartments and houses that the communist government confiscated and nationalized after World |
FBIS4-7534_1 | Official Discusses Czech-German Border Treaties | Czech-German border regime. We asked Alexandr Vondra for details. [CESKY DENIK] Deputy Minister, have there been any agreements signed yet to regulate the local borderland traffic [maly pohranicni styk] and the state-border problems? [Vondra] Not so far. Both agreements were discussed at the expert level. In the instance of the so-called large-scale border treaty, the Czech Government already expressed its approval of the text, and all that is left to do is to decide by whom, where, and when the agreement will be signed. The agreement on the local borderland traffic that deals, above all, with the problem of tourist zones and paths crossing the common border is almost finished, and only some technical details must still be approved. [CESKY DENIK] How will the joint clearance at the border be expedited? [Vondra] The treaty on the simplification of the border clearance in railroad, highway, and water transport between the Czech Republic and the FRG is almost finished. The treaty assumes the establishment of joint clearance facilities for the customs and passport control on either side of the border. A gradual increase in the number of border crossings also contributes to expediting the border clearance between the two countries. [CESKY DENIK] Will the regime be altered at the state border in connection with complaints from the German side concerning criminal activities, for instance, by Czech citizens on the German side? [Vondra] The regime at our common border will be defined in detail by the aforementioned treaty regulations. The treaty on cooperation in the struggle against organized crime, which was signed already in 1991, deals with the eradication of crime transgressing the border. The effectiveness of the detection and punishment of crime is improved also, for instance, by the possibility of direct contact between the Bavarian and the Czech police. An intergovernment agreement on cooperation of police bodies is also in the works. [CESKY DENIK] Has there been any discussion regarding the use of names of communities in two languages? [Vondra] After the latest talks with Dieter Kastrup, state secretary at the FRG Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it seems that a solution to this controversial problem was found that is acceptable to both sides. I expect that, following the appropriate internal talks on both sides, the problem of using local names in joint documents will be definitively solved. At this time, I do not wish to discuss the details of the solution. |
FBIS4-7543_1 | Moravcik Views Relations With Hungary | I mean the coming Paris conference. No doubt, we would both benefit if we could solve our problems without outside assistance like the International Court, and if we succeeded in preventing phenomena that lead to instability. This requires the creation of foundations that facilitate a more rational solution of our problems. We are ready to take such a step anytime. [Farkas] Do you see any possibility for Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszy to carry out his visit that was postponed in November 1993? [Moravcik] When I was foreign minister, we confirmed, together with my Hungarian colleague, that the aforementioned visit was to the benefit of both of us. However, as you know, the problem of the extradition agreement emerged at the time. I am convinced that we will overcome this obstacle that hinders this visit, and the planned visits will take place. We are also interested in opening new border-crossing points, and the Slovak-Hungarian border is no exception to this, although there are a lot more crossing points along this border than along our other borders. However, our relations are specific, and, thus, the solutions must also be specific. We are ready to open further crossing points. [Farkas] The economy can play an important role in our cooperation. However, your predecessor, Mr. Meciar, objected to the fact that Hungarian capital allegedly had an exaggerated presence in southern Slovakia. [Moravcik] It is generally useless to limit the inflow of capital, and this particularly applies to Slovakia, which is only a small piece of land in Europe. Besides, capital is increasingly becoming international, and it is increasingly hopeless to look for national features on it. Therefore, I find it totally useless to seek ethnic features in the flow of capital. [Farkas] In conclusion, a question about the distribution of the Danube waters. The European Union submitted a separate note to your predecessor, but Mr. Meciar's answer is not known. Is it possible that it will be your government's task to answer it? If so, what can we expect? [Moravcik] Actually, there was no talk of any obligation to answer this note because it summed up the position of the European Union for the Slovak Government. As for the distribution of water itself, I regard this primarily as a technical problem, and I agree with Mr. Jeszenszky that, given the fact that this is a technical problem, we should tackle the problem accordingly. |
FBIS4-7561_0 | Moravcik To Settle `Tense' Hungarian Relations | BFN [Text] Bratislava, March 30 (CTK) -- Slovak Premier Jozef Moravcik believes that preserving integration and cooperation at "its current level at least" is a priority in relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The preservation of the Customs Union was important from the point of view of the expected integration into the European Union, the support of European thinking and general strategy for the future, Moravcik told journalists today. He said that open questions between the two countries should be solved but expressed doubt that they could be solved during his cabinet's six-month term of office. "However we are ready to make use of this space," he stressed, adding that he would consider it wonderful if the division of the former federal property could at last be settled. Moravcik said that his cabinet intended to settle previously tense Slovak-Hungarian relations. "We are interested in expanding cooperation," Moravcik said. He confirmed Slovakia's interest in Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky's postponed visit to Bratislava taking place but admitted that it was being hindered by difficulties surrounding the conclusion of the Hungarian-Slovak readmission agreement. "I firmly believe that we will find a way to overcome this problem," Moravcik said, adding that Bratislava was ready to open new border crossings between Slovakia and Hungary. Moravcik rejected Meciar's warning against the penetration of Hungarian capital into southern Slovakia, arguing that capital was essentially international and to look for its ethnic origin was "counter-productive." The signing of a basic Slovak-Hungarian inter-state treaty was an open question in relations between Slovakia and Hungary, Moravcik said. He said that Bratislava expected the treaty to confirm the current border, which would eradicate fears of ethnic minority irredentism and possible territorial claims from the south. However Budapest is making the recognition of collective rights of the half- million Hungarian minority a condition, which Bratislava rejects, Moravcik said. Jeszenszky's visit, planned for last autumn, was again postponed after Bratislava made the conclusion of a readmission agreement on the return of illegal emigrants a condition for opening new border crossings between the two countries. Budapest refuses to conclude such an agreement for fear of an influx of Romanian refugees into its territory. As regards the current state of Slovak-Polish relations Moravcik said: "We are greatly interested in developing these relations but we cannot find a mechanism to realize them. We realize that our deeds are lagging behind our words." He mentioned |
FBIS4-7627_3 | NATO's Interest in Region Examined | of the Bosna River or the Drina, is becoming increasingly certain. It is with this in mind that one must view the pronounced interest of Washington in the Croat-Muslim conciliation and the presence of U.S. soldiers in Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- FYROM] (the Vardar valley is still an extremely important operational route for penetration into the Balkans). The statement of General John Shalikashvili, who said that interests in Bosnia-Herzegovina are important enough to send 25,000 U.S. soldiers, sheds more light on U.S. interests. At any rate, Washington's message is that the Bosnia-Herzegovina fire must be extinguished in order to prevent it from spreading to Albania, Macedonia, and Greece, for, in that variant of the outcome of the Bosnia-Herzegovina problem, "some other forces" might come into conflict as well. If we also consider the statement of the UN secretary general, who said that, after Russia and the United States came into the Balkan pot, the international Conference on Former Yugoslavia has become superfluous -- the mosaic of outcomes of the crisis will definitely appear in its more integral version. In any case, the UN has been unable to find a good model for peace in the Balkans. That organization -- in the Yugoslav crisis and in the war there -- has shown too many weaknesses, and if it really intends to be a moving force of the new world order, it must undergo thorough repairs. At any rate, it was announced that the UN would be completely reconstructed by the end of 1995. In these circumstances, a new world order means nothing else than realizing old global deals without (for the time being) large-scale military conflicts. Croatian Gains The potential Croatian gains in the new circumstances -- that is, at a time of a more engaged presence of the United States and Russia in the Balkans and in the negotiations between Zagreb and Sarajevo -- have lately been discussed by general Anton Tus in his interview for VECERNJI LIST. The biggest gain is, of course, Washington's determination, in agreement with Moscow, to extinguish the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and stop the conflict between the Croats and the Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Linking the airspace of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is here very important for Croatia. "In military and defense terms, this joint area is extremely important for Croatia. There would be no critical intersecting points and there would be fewer |
FBIS4-7627_5 | NATO's Interest in Region Examined | unsafe borders. It would be much better to have a friendly neighbor without having to expect a strategic surprise from the territory. We would also gain with regard to strategic depth of the territory; consequently, Dalmatia and Slavonia would not have to fear a flank attack. Geopolitically and geostrategically speaking, the situation would be much better and balanced." We still do not know the solution to the problem of the trans- continental main road stretching from the port of Ploce to the Neretva valley and the Bosna River, through Vinkovci and Vukovar, the Danube valley toward Budapest, Vienna, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and further west on the Danube-Rhine-Danube canal. It is the shortest traffic route leading from the southern Adriatic to Central Europe and its geopolitical and geostrategic importance surpasses local interests. At present, the main road is cut in several places in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it is therefore important that the two countries, Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina, establish complete control over it. The Legendary 50-50 Washington's fear that the war will spread to Macedonia, Albania, and Greece indicates the extreme importance of the events in Bosnia- Herzegovina for the stability of southeastern Europe. In that context, let us remember a Croatian initiative made at the CSCE, viz. the initiative for disarmament and arms control in countries created on the territory of former Yugoslavia, which was, in the future, to improve the stability of that territory and south-east Europe in general. According to our information, Croatia has already agreed to a quota of 23,000 professional military forces. Judging by the military activities of the Serbs in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia, and by the fresh supply of forces and equipment coming to [Serb-occupied] Croatia from Serbia, Belgrade is still not thinking about peace, security, or cooperation. The Serbian announcement that they would yield to the Muslims 16 percent of the Bosnia-Herzegovina territory that they have conquered, and the announced arrival of the Knin team at the Russian Embassy in Zagreb for negotiations are encouraging, though weak signals of changing views (unless it is another case of a verbal trick). By arranging the Croat-Muslim agreement, Washington has done its part of the job, and now it is Moscow's turn to put some pressure on the Serbs. With regard to that, it is encouraging to hear the announcement of closer military cooperation between Russia and NATO. Such cooperation is not possible without |
FBIS4-7636_0 | Italian Foreign Minister Interviewed on Ties | BFN [Interview with Italian Foreign Minister Benjamino Andreatta for PULS by unidentified correspondent; place and date not given: "Italy Interested in Stability in Macedonia"] [Text] Just a few days before the parliamentary elections in Italy, Italian Foreign Minister Benjamino Andreatta gave an exclusive interview for the weekly PULS (to be published tomorrow) in which he answered a number of questions related to political events in Italy, in Europe, and, in particular, the war in Bosnia. Of course, the accent was on the situation in the Balkans, more precisely on the situation in the Republic of Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- FYROM] in its dispute with neighboring Greece, as well as on general relations between Italy and Macedonia. On the importance of the new transport corridor -- the corridor linking Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey, Benjamino Andreatta stated: "Italy is very favorably viewing the project for the construction of a trans-Balkan east-west railway and highway corridor that could be a basic component for pursuing cooperation between the states in this region, as well as with the surrounding states, one of which is Italy, due to its geographic position. The initiative was renewed at the recent meeting in Sofia attended by representatives of transport ministries of the interested countries, when the `Memorandum of Understanding' was signed, confirming the commitment and good will for the realization of this project." "The realization of the corridor," Andreatta emphasized, "would enable Macedonia to be better and more equally included in the system of European transport networks. Soon the BERS [not further specified] organization will send a mission to Skopje to determine priority spheres of involvement." Commenting on the development of relations between the two countries, the Italian foreign minister also said: "As you know, Italy has actively contributed to the stabilization of the new republic born after the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, by assisting its gradual involvement in international life and activities. It is doing so with the firm belief that the association with Macedonia will have a positive effect on the realization of a gradual and desired stabilization of the entire Balkan region. In this context, Rome decided to establish diplomatic relations with Skopje on 16 December of last year. As a matter of fact, even before the establishment of diplomatic relations with Italy, continuing activity for support of your country had begun in the relevant international organizations, in reply |
FBIS4-7637_4 | Perspectives on Military Developments | present is to protect humanitarian convoys, which in a way are the last crumb of hope for numerous unfortunates in Bosnia. With the possible withdrawal of the peacekeeping forces, in addition to the loss of any control and any sort of influence and mediation among the combatants, UNPROFOR may become their common enemy, and be attacked on all sides. This is the most difficult alternative to implement, Atanasovski emphasizes, although the governments of the countries that have their own contingents in Bosnia-Herzegovina are becoming more and more nervous about the fate of their troops, and some of them, like France recently, have already announced the possibility of withdrawing them. Will the Bosnian Cauldron Overflow? As an area that objectively gravitates toward the unsettled region and in a way is located in the critical zone, Macedonia is directly affected by the Bosnian military outcome. As Slobodan Dimiskovski, a doctor of military sciences and an expert on this problem, emphasizes, the FRY's attitude toward military intervention against the Bosnian Serbs is a significant aspect of a speculative situation thus formulated. One can assert with a considerable degree of certainty, Dimiskovski says, that the FRY would become involved in supporting, i.e., in the actions and operations of, the army of the so-called republic of Srpska. The general situation would thereby become more complicated not only in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also in a much broader area, including even the entire Balkans, and within them Macedonia as well. Retired Lt. General Mitre Arsovski, the former chief of the ARM's General Staff, has an almost identical view of things; in his opinion, the most natural thing is to expect direct intervention by the Republic of Serbia and its involvement in the conflict. General Arsovski emphasizes that this directly raises the possibility of an expansion of combat operations into the FRY as well, which, by the way, also borders on the Republic of Macedonia. In his opinion, a second significant element in assessing the possible course of events after air attacks against the Serbian positions in Bosnia-Herzegovina is the fact that fighter-bombers will fly from the aircraft carriers in the Adriatic and from the NATO bases in Italy. And what will happen, Arsovski asks, if the bases in Greece are used, even if the latter country still opposes it? In his opinion, if this possibility is realized, which is fairly likely in a given course |
FBIS4-7638_5 | Kljusev Interviewed on Stabilization Program | of the debt to the World Bank, and so actually a bridge arrangement is being established, a bypass arrangement to settle the obligations to these financial institutions, in the amount of $137 million. We are also prisoners in that respect. [Jovanovski] We will have to face repayment of the debt at some point. Now we will have to repay the old debt, but we will receive new loans. What is the best thing to do in this situation? [Kljusev] We should utilize the situation rationally. We should achieve creditworthiness abroad and initiate our projects that will be attractive to world financial institutions and the world industrial sector. We have to focus on joint investments, and not establish ties only with financial institutions on a credit basis. That would be fatal. [Jovanovski] The loan approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for our Electrical Industry is a good sign, of course? [Kljusev] It is a good chance. We have to make sure that all that money is utilized efficiently and fully in the economy. Not one dollar should go into consumption. [Jovanovski] Let's go back to the stabilization program. How much can the completely unachieved but sought-after consensus affect implementation of the program? [Kljusev] In this case we have to have a realistic attitude in assessing the partners. It has to do with the relationship among all the partners--the government, employers (i.e., the chamber), and the trade union. All three partners are not clear representatives in the role that they are supposed to play. The government, through the parliament, is not expressing the will of all the deputies, and, one might say, of the people as a whole. That is indicative, as the criticisms being made of the program and the criticisms being made of its adoption are refuted. Employers are unknown. Traditionally they are owners, but in our country a quasi-role is played by the chamber, reluctantly. The trade union likewise does not fully represent the working class, in conditions in which other independent trade unions exist. It does represent the lion's share of employees, however, and they should have been prepared for the price of depriving the working class of its subsistence. That price was recognized after the fact. That lack of preparation is making employees into potential opponents of the program. If the government wanted the program to be a national one or a state one, |
FBIS4-7648_0 | Melescanu, Papoulias Examine Yugoslav Crisis | BFN [Text] Bucharest ROMPRES, 1/4/1994 -- Besides bilateral ties, the consultations held on 31 March in Athens between Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and his Greek counterpart, Karolos Papoulias, have occasioned a thorough analysis of the crisis in former Yugoslavia, both sides insisting on the need to expand the concluded understandings, according to an interview granted by the Romanian head of diplomacy to Radio Romania Actualitati. The two ministers pointed out the importance of a bilateral political dialogue that would enable the two foreign ministries to consult and act together under the circumstances of extremely rapid developments in the area. "Obviously, besides these general issues, I presented the Hellenic side also some major projects of economic collaboration for which we have requested political support from the Greek authorities," Melescanu said. He also mentioned that they are several extremely important projects that are envisaged to be worked out with Greece in the ensuing period, projects that are to be financed by the European Union, such as the subway in Salonika and a electric power railway link between Athens and Salonika, in which Romanian companies are interested. The Romanian foreign minister also mentioned that discussions covered extensively the area of conflict of both sides' interest, especially the Yugoslav crisis. "Practically, we agreed that several positive signs are showing up and that probably Romania's and Greece's contribution is to encourage such positive steps and expand the understandings concluded until present". In that context Melescanu said that several similarities of opinions were noticed, including the idea that the cease-fire and the improvement of the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina should be used to launch a global process of negotiations that would lead thus to a global solution to the crisis in former Yugoslavia. Also approached were obviously issues related to the economic sanctions, to the embargo, the two sides expressing their support for the decision adopted by the European Union Committee that is for a correlation of the progress made during negotiations with the slackening or the complete lifting of economic sanctions. |
FBIS4-7665_0 | Jeszenszky on EU Membership, Slovak Relations | BFN [Text] Budapest, April 2 (MTI) -- "The fact that Hungary was the first among the Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) to submit its membership request to the European Union does imply a particular advantage. We still have much to do prior to membership. This opportunity is mainly accompanied by obligations," Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky said on Saturday [2 April], in Pacin, along the Hungarian-Slovak border. The foreign minister held a press conference at the new building of the border station on the Hungarian side. Jeszenszky visited the border town to view the planned border station, meeting an invitation from Richard Horcsik, the region's parliamentary MPs and chairman of parliament's European Affairs Committee, and the mayors of 21 villages along the Bodrog River. The foreign minister exchanged views with the locals about the opening of border stations in Satoraljaujhely, Pacin and Lacacseke, and the off-shore area planned to be created in the Lacacseke-Perbenyik region. In Pacin, Mayor Attila Barati guided Jeszenszky through the completed and furnished border station and customs building. The facility will also ensure smooth work for Slovak border guard and customs authorities. The mayor said people on both sides of the Bodrog are awaiting the opening of the Pacin-Velky Kamenec border station. Jeszenszky said it was regrettable that a struggle is needed to open a border station on the Slovak border, where families and relatives live in different countries. The demand of people living on both sides of the border for the immediate opening of the station is understandable, he said. The new Central Europe should be without borders, with local authorities cooperating in issues as this. "We have opened many border stations towards the neighbouring countries, and in the case of Slovakia it is unfortunate that we were unable to meet the expectations. I very much hope that the fine words of the new, genuinely good intentioned Slovak Government will be followed by actions. We have replied to words with action, as we have built the border station," Jeszenszky said. |
FBIS4-7676_0 | Human Rights Leader Appeals for International Aid | BFN [Text] Tirana, April 3 (ATA) -- "Serbian police and army have been openly collaborating with the paramilitary groups for intensifying the violence and terror against the Albanian population in Kosova", Adem Demaci, holder of the "Saharov" Prize, and chairman of the Pristina Council for Human Rights Protection, appealed through a letter to the homologue international associations located in Geneva and to the embassies in Belgrade. Mr. Demaci writes that the Serbian and Montenegrins think that in this way they can gain the favour of being the stronger side in any negotiations mediated by the international factor. "During the period of February-March 19, 1994, 2,500 Albanians have been cruelly mistreated in their homes, in front of their families and in public places, 47 Albanians have been sentenced with one to 10 years imprisonments by staged judicial processes, 41 Albanian families have been expelled from their homes and 2 innocent Albanians have been killed by the Serbian police and army", Mr. Demaci points out. The council give evidence of the tortures exercised on 13,400 Albanians, the rise of the number of Albanians forcibly recruited in the Serbian Montenegrin Army as well the open threat to the Albanians emigrants not to return to Kosova. Mr. Demaci also protests in the name of the council against the Serbian attack on the Albanian culture, such as the violent closing of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and Arts in Kosova and occupation of the Albanology Institute in Pristina. |
FBIS4-7680_1 | Role in Fleet Scandal Explained | he would be denigrating!"] The photographs were taken in 1990, at the official opening of the Ermis company in Bucharest, when Adrian Nastase and Traian Chebeleu chatted with Greek shipping tycoon Ioannis Alafouzos. The difference between 1990 and 1994 is that in 1990 Iannis Alafouzos was one of the supporters of the Mitsotakis government, which was very close to President Ion Iliescu's heart. The moment the Greek shipping tycoon switched sides and began to support Andreas Papandreou, the most bitter adversary of Konstandinos Mitsotakis, both Adrian Nastase and Traian Chebeleu changed their tune. According to last-minute data in the possession of EVENIMENTUL ZILEI, one of the intelligence services -- definitely not the SRI [Romanian Intelligence Service] -- has elaborated a report that established that the KGB is massively involved in the famed case of the attempted sale of the Romanian strategic fleet, also known as the Petromin-Forum Maritime affair. As we already mentioned, the photographs date back to 1990. About that year, in issue No. 533 of our daily, soccer player Danut Lupu stated that he had to return to Greece because of the pressure that had been exerted on him by the [Romanian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led at the time by Adrian Nastase. He explained having been pressured by the fact that "shipping tycoon Vardinoianis, owner of the Greek Panathinaikos soccer club, had large business operations in Romania." The aforementioned intelligence service report proves the incontestible links between the Greek shipping tycoon Vardinoianis and the Moscow intelligence services, especially the KGB, on the orders of which he initiated a massive operation intended to purchase the 96 vessels belonging to Petromin. Those 96 vessels represented an essential component of our national security system. The sum of $125 million with which the Greek shipping tycoon Stelianos Katounis was to buy the Petromin fleet comes, according to the cited report, from KGB funds, via shipping tycoon Vardinoianis. We would like to remind our readers that the following persons were ardent supporters of striking a deal with the Greeks in the famous attempted sale of the Romanian strategic fleet: Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu; Paul Teodoru, former minister of transportation, currently counselor of the prime minister; Lieutenant General Marin Pancea, former presidential counselor and former secretary of the Country's Supreme Defense Council. According to information revealed by other dailies, the whole affair was closely supervised by presidential counselor Colonel General Vasile Ionel. |
FBIS4-7682_5 | Data on Weapons Possession, Confiscation | Directorate of Weapons, Explosives, and Toxic Substances have? [Toroiman] Each officer has a pistol. Just like each military man in the country. [Cristina] During the 1989 events, weapons were taken from the headquarters of the police. How many were taken? [Toroiman] The total number of weapons taken is 1,897, if we take into account the weapons taken in June 1990, when the police headquarters of the capital was attacked. [Cristina] How many weapons have remained in the possession of the population? [Toroiman] Some 356. If they do not hand them over, out of fear that they will be interrogated or whatever else is on their minds, we would be happy to find them thrown over the fence into the yard of the police department. We do not care any more about the persons who had the weapons. We just want them to hand them over so we can recover them. [Cristina] Are there any weapons trafficking networks operating on the territory of Romania? [Toroiman] No. So far we have not run into this. [Cristina] Does the current legislation help the directorate in its activity of stopping violations of the law? [Toroiman] In my personal opinion, the penalties are not severe enough to prevent illegal manifestations. Authority in the field of law and order can be ensured by severe legal requirements. [Cristina] How many people work in the Directorate of Weapons, Explosives, and Toxic Substances? [Toroiman] Each county police department has a weapons office. We are not few in number, nor are we an army. [Cristina] What do you want the most in the future? [Toroiman] More severe penalties and a stricter system for authorizing the possession of weapons. If we think about it, as long as the state has organs which ensure law and order, why would the people need to possess firearms? The people can defend themselves by alarm systems. Weapons in the possession of the people create a state of fantastic danger. I assure you that youth, especially, would get firearms if they could. At any rate, we are not in the situation of having guns in our homes. It would be good for citizens to closely collaborate with the police -- in the best meaning of the word. They should help us to do our work. And I would also like the law which we proposed and introduced in Parliament to be passed as quickly as possible. |
FBIS4-7692_0 | Romanian Minister Voices Support for Belgrade | BFN [Text] Belgrade, April 4 (TANJUG) -- Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's visit to Romania on Tuesday and his meeting with Romanian President Ion Iliescu is a step forward in the search for a solution to the problems of the region, Romanian Education Minister Liviu Maior said in Belgrade on Monday. Maior, who is the vice president of the National Council of the ruling Social-Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR), met in Belgrade on Monday with a delegation of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) headed by Goran Percevic -- the vice president of the biggest party both in the republican and the federal [word indistinct]. The major achievement of the talks was an agreement to convene a Balkan meeting of moderate leftist parties to be held under the slogan "Balkans to the Balkan peoples", Percevic said. He said that there was agreement about the direct link between peace and stability in these territories and the "fact that only the Balkan peoples and states should shape their own destinies." The SPS Information Service announced that Maior said that Bucharest is in principle opposed to the U.N. sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which Romania, as a member of the United Nations, has been forced to implement. The U.N. Security Council in late May 1992 imposed strict sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia due to its alleged involvement in the civil war between the local Serbs, Croats and Moslems in the neighbouring ex-Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Maior underscored that the sanctions have caused much damage to Romania and recalled a recent statement by that country's leadership that the U.N. sanctions against Yugoslavia should be lifted out of ethical and humanitarian reasons, and because of the damage they are causing to the entire Balkan region. Romania said that in 1993, it has suffered damage amounting to seven billion dollars, while in the case of the other countries in the region this figure exceeds tens of billions of dollars. Percevic warned that a part of the international community verbally urges a peace, while at the same time shutting its eyes before the fierce Moslem offensive in the territory of the Bosnian Serb Republic (RS) and thus threatening to annul everything achieved so far in the peace process. The Moslems launched an offensive on RS in mid-March encouraged by the Washington agreement on setting up a Moslem-Croat federation in Bosnia. |
FBIS4-7697_2 | Gligorov Discusses Milosevic's Motives | a war on NATO's northern [as published] border, in which all the Balkan states would be involved. In addition, there could be a conflict between the two NATO states, Greece and Turkey. [DER SPIEGEL] Last spring Serbia's President Milosevic arrived unexpectedly for a brief visit to Lake Ohrid. What did he want from you? [Gligorov] He presented a proposal for intensive cooperation; however, when I asked him why he did not recognize our republic, his answer was: This will be done only when Greece has diplomatically recognized Macedonia. Because for him Athens is his only true ally in the Balkans.... [DER SPIEGEL] ...with whom Milosevic would like to divide Macedonia. [Gligorov] Athens' former Prime Minister Konstandinos Mitsotakis says that Milosevic did indeed suggest this to him. But he refused. [DER SPIEGEL] The plans are probably not yet off the table. Three weeks ago Greek Foreign Minister Papoulias visited Belgrade to discuss the renaissance of the former Yugoslavia. [Gligorov] We will not join a new Yugoslav Federation voluntarily at any price. [DER SPIEGEL] Does the quarrel between Skopje and Athens really just revolve around the name of Macedonia, which the Greeks claim for themselves? [Gligorov] Nonsense. If this were so, the issue would have come up 50 years ago. This is how long we have used this name without anybody being bothered by it. Nationalism is reigning in Greece now. [DER SPIEGEL] How long can you resist the threat from the north and the embargo from the south? [Gligorov] We are waiting. Our economic situation is difficult; there are no alternative trading routes. However, in the long run, the routes to and via Greece will be open again to us. [DER SPIEGEL] Do you fear tensions with the Albanian minority, who, after all, constitute a third of Macedonia's population? [Gligorov] Even in our worst times we did not have any problems with our Albanian fellow-citizens. The only thing we do not permit is the demand by certain circles to declare them Macedonia's second state-constituting people. We give the Albanian minority all the rights that are set down in the Helsinki Final Act. [DER SPIEGEL] Will this prevent radical Albanians from striving for unification with the Albanian motherland in the long run? [Gligorov] It is no secret that there is the idea of a greater Albania. However, all these dreams of greater Serbia, greater Croatia, greater Albania -- what is their point? |
FBIS4-7739_3 | Boross Rejects Idea of `Grand Coalition' | of national minority contacts, I must mention that two neighboring countries received suggestions from the Council of Europe on membership. These suggestions are generally verified. [passage omitted] [NEPSZABADSAG] Mr. Boross, speaking of various government scenarios, one can hear of the possibility of a grand coalition government of experts. [Boross] I cannot evaluate a government of experts. My government has outstanding experts, and I do not know who could be better than us. Why would a former departmental head at the planning office be a better expert? [NEPSZABADSAG] What about a grand coalition? Does it stand a chance? [Boross] I do not see any chance or will for such a coalition. Even if the oft-mentioned elite were ready for something like this, they would not be able to do it because the party behind them would disappear. The political reality is that the members would not forgive the party for such an alliance. Therefore, this does not depend on five relatively wise people getting together and saying that, although they hate one another and make contradictory promises, they should form an alliance because there is trouble now. Such things only happen in fairy tales. [NEPSZABADSAG] Finland is such an example.... [Boross] That is true. But such a possibility only emerges after two decades of democracy, after many things have been tested, and a political concept and view has emerged that has different priorities. In Hungary, the priority to win still prevails. [passage omitted] [NEPSZABADSAG] Although there is publicity in Hungary, we also notice that it is not functioning. For example, Finance Minister Ivan Szabo announces one morning that 20 billion forints has disappeared from the banks. It was interesting and bitter to notice the lack of any public outcry and also that the apparatus ignored the issue. I could also mention privatization matters that were not dug out or stressed by the press.... Do you think that there is both political and moral apathy in Hungary? [Boross] We are now following a lengthy dictatorship, and every country in this region is complaining about low morality. One should not be surprised at this, given the precedents. On the other hand, distorted information has played a major role in the emergence of concrete affairs. As interior minister, I submitted an internal report to the government on banking affairs investigated by the police: A lot of things, from embezzling to stupidity, can be the |
FBIS4-7742_4 | Policy Blamed for `Failing' Export Sector | resulting in mass bankruptcies because of the strict regulations. The tightening of monetary policy as of 1992, the abolition of prefinancing for exports, the shortcomings in the system of export guaranties, and recession in the West further aggravated the economic players' impossible situation. Cutbacks, one of the tendencies necessary for structural change, accelerated from the second half of 1992. (In 1992, for instance, farm output fell by 22 or 23 percent, and the food industry's output by 13 percent.) A significant proportion of the large exporters underwent transformation; a part--and in some instances all--of their stocks of exportable commodities disappeared. Presumably the economic players' exports will not cease entirely after the bankruptcy proceedings and liquidations, and only the uneconomical exports will drop out. Consequently, the decline of exports in 1993 was a normal development. The main question today is what was actually at the bottom of last year's processes, of the significant decline in exports and the growth in imports. Was the worsening of the balance of trade a natural symptom of the commencement of economic growth, of the intensification of investment activity, and hence of structural change? Or was it a sign of the Hungarian economy's continuing slump? Last year the export of energy sources showed the highest rate of rise, nearly 30 percent (based on figures for the first 10 months). Materials, sources of energy, and electricity together accounted for nearly 42 percent of Hungary's total exports in 1993. In relation to a very low basis of comparison, even machinery exports showed an increase of about 10 percent overall. However, that average conceals a drop of about 15 percent in shipments to developed countries, and the near doubling of machinery purchases by the former socialist countries. (Though not evident from the statistics, it may be assumed that the reexportation of aircraft brought in from Lithuania for repairs played a substantial role in the latter's increase. In the classical sense, however, such repairs cannot be regarded as Hungarian machinery exports.) Significant structural changes can already be perceived behind the engineering industry's shrinking export sales: the exports of products that once were traditional export items (buses, farm machinery, and machine tools) are declining, while the exports of several new commodity groups (cars and their subassemblies, for instance) are rising. Three commodity groups--custom processing, bread grains, and food-industry products--played the decisive role in export's sharp decline last year. They jointly accounted |
FBIS4-7756_0 | CR To Participate in Work of COCOM Successor | BFN [Article by Milos Sklenka: "COCOM as a Symbol of Confrontation Has Ceased To Exist"] [Excerpt] The Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, known as COCOM, was dissolved with final validity yesterday. This happened on the basis of a decision by all 17 member states of this international institution, made at The Hague in the Netherlands last November and confirmed in Amsterdam on Wednesday [30 March]. A new organization to replace COCOM is to be set up in the very near future. It should no longer be open only to advanced Western countries but also to many states of Central and East Europe and the Third World. "The Czech Republic [CR] is interested in participating actively in the work of the COCOM successor organization," Bretislav Gregr, director of the Special Materials Department operating under the Licensing Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR, told HOSPODARSKE NOVINY yesterday. As Gregr went on to say, our government is already engaged in a number of negotiations in this matter. According to Gregr, the termination of COCOM's existence definitely does not mean the abolition of [export] control regimes in industrially advanced countries. It means only the abolition of the existing institutional structure of this organization. [passage omitted] The new organization, the establishment of which is foreseen for the beginning of next year, should associate all the member countries of the former COCOM, plus Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The admission of additional states, including Russia, China, the CR, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, is planned in the future. According to representatives of the former COCOM, the speed of the integration of these states will depend on the progress of their domestic legislation, which must provide safeguards against advanced Western technologies being misused. In contrast to COCOM practices, one no longer counts on the drafting of lists with embargoed goods or banned export territories. |
FBIS4-7763_4 | Daily Views Walesa's `360-Degree Turnaround' | really trust him. He can also see, however, that their support may prove to be very beneficial for him. After he called them "screwups," he started trying to win the favors of those groups: On one day, the right-wing coalition severely criticizes the new "popiwek"; on the next, the president vetoes this law. During his term of office, the president performed a complete 360-degree turnaround, and today he is close to the position he was in back in 1990. His supporters of that time will probably not forget what came after that year. It will be difficult to say that Adam Michnik was wrong when he wrote the article entitled "Why I Will Not Vote for Lech Walesa"; he warned that this person was totally unpredictable. Walesa may become the victim of his own style of wielding presidential power. He employed the strategy of weakening every political camp whose strength grew during his presidency. In the charged world of politics, the Belweder was a considerable force--disproportionately greater than its true power. The position of Walesa and the realm of his power were safe. The first "victims" of Walesa proved to be his supporters, with whom he soon started to fight, supporting the so-called left pillar. The Suchocka government also had problems with the Belweder. However, at a certain moment, these tactics proved false: The SLD and the Polish Peasant Party became very powerful. At this time, it has turned out that the president, with few supporters, may prove too weak. He needs a political camp, which he has himself dismantled and which he will have difficulty putting together. His chances are very slim. His roads and the roads of the right wing have diverged too much. He will definitely not enchant the liberal camp by transferring political disputes to the economy. The Democratic Union will certainly not like his ideas concerning decommunization. Such arguments might only win over the most radical electorate: the supporters of Marian Krzaklewski, Antoni Macierewicz, and Jan Parys. However, they, in turn, feel the most intense hatred for the present head of state. Walesa can count on only one thing--that the "post-August Poland" will not manage to find a candidate for the president and, not wanting any postcommunist politician in that post, it will support Walesa in an act of despair. In such a case, Walesa would once again prove strong because the others are weak. |
FBIS4-7785_0 | Crowded Hospitals Reported | BFN [Enes Musovic report from Gorazde] [Text] This is the eighth day that the Chetniks have been furiously attacking the free Gorazde territory. Their shells, like the whirlwind -- which is the name of the latest Chetnik offensive on the Gorazde territory -- have been claiming human lives almost every hour. There are hundreds of wounded people. Streams of blood and tears are literally pouring down the streets of Gorazde and the surrounding villages. The Drina River valley is resounding to the sound of explosions of destructive shells of the largest calibers [words indistinct] murdered, mutilated, and forlorn. Terror can again be seen on the faces of the survivors. Distress, tears, cries can be heard in the war hospital in Gorazde. The rooms and corridors in medical institutions are crowded. Additional facilities in the village and communal areas are also packed as the wounded keep arriving. Some 30 seriously wounded are ready for evacuation, two of them are urgent cases. Two surgeons, one anesthetist, and one anesthesiologist from the Medicins sans Frontieres, with the few but always present local doctors and medical staff have been doing miracles. Many lives have been saved even with the minimal conditions that exist in the Gorazde hospitals. There is no adequate medical equipment, not enough medicine, no sanitary material, no water, but there are many volunteers giving blood who have done a lot so far. One should say that the medical staff, although few in numbers, has been deployed in all the field hospitals and are with the brave Gorazde defenders on the most prominent positions facing the cutthroats of the aggressor's army. |
FBIS4-7796_2 | Serbian President, Jovanovic Arrive for Talks Iliescu on Expanding Relations | to find the best ways to solve this conflict. During our talks, we tried to find out in what way the leadership of Serbia regards the evolution of the situation in Yugoslavia, including the conflict in Bosnia, and the effort made to find political and peaceful solutions to problems. We have also discussed bilateral relations and preparations made by the two sides for the period that will follow the lifting of the embargo, because we believe that, in the situation that has been created today in the area of the former Yugoslavia, the lifting of the embargo is an important element in the process of creating premises for finding peaceful solutions to the conflict. We also expressed the belief that we should be prepared, so that immediately after the lifting of the embargo we should be able to resume normal relations in the economic area and be able to diversify and revive these relations. In 1992, until the embargo was imposed, for five months the volume of exchanges between our countries reached over $260 million. We estimate that after the lifting of the embargo we will be able to reach easily a volume of $1 billion in our bilateral relations, even as early as the first year after the embargo. Likewise, we believe that the positive relations between our countries, under conditions of peace in the region of former Yugoslavia, will be a stabilizing, positive, and constructive factor in our efforts to develop dynamic economic relations in our area, with all the new states that have been formed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and with Bulgaria, Greece, and the other neighboring countries in our region. Thus, we wish to make preparations for such prospects. In the same spirit we discussed the issue of finalizing the process of drafting the text of a treaty of friendship and cooperation between our countries, which should be concluded in the near future and should be signed at an appropriate time, within a framework that we are going to establish mutually. Hence, we believe that the visit paid by President Slobodan Milosevic to our country and the talks we have held represent a significant political element for the relations between our countries and a constructive factor in the joint efforts aimed at promoting a climate that is favorable for the normalization and development of a political climate in this region of joint interest. |
FBIS4-7807_1 | Poll Shows MSZP Ahead, MDF Support Waning | [SZDSZ] or the MDF, which follow the MSZP. In the middle of March 1994, 24 percent of the population did not know which party they would vote for "if elections were held next Sunday in Hungary"; a tenth said that they would not vote, and 6 percent refused to answer this question. The uncertain people who do not (yet) know whom they would vote for are more common among women (28 percent) than among men (20 percent), and more among the over-60's (31 percent) and people with the least education (39 percent) than younger people (22 percent) and people who have at least completed eight years at school. Within this last group, the differences between the various educational levels are negligible because 23 percent of people with eight years of education and 20 percent of people with higher education do not know who to vote for. Some 61 percent of the population has party preferences. Some 31 percent of people who chose a party would vote for the MSZP, 4 percent more than in the previous month. The Federation of Young Democrats [Fidesz] and the SZDSZ are in second and third places with near equal support (15 and 14 percent). Since the end of February, the MDF has lost 3 percent, and at the time of the survey, it has the confidence of 10 percent of potential voters. The biggest governing party is closely followed by the FKGP (9 percent) and the KDNP (8 percent), and 12 percent would vote for other parties. Of these last ones, none would reach the necessary minimum to get into Parliament. Gallup measures the certainty of participating in the voting on a scale of seven. In the middle of March, 52 percent of respondents said that "it is very certain that they would vote next Sunday." However, within these "certain" voters, 18 percent do not yet know which party to support. Out of those who do know, 35 percent would choose the Socialists and 15 percent the Free Democrats. The Fidesz and the MDF would be supported at almost the same level (12 and 11 percent respectively). The Smallholders would receive 8 percent, the Christian Democrats 7 percent, and other parties 12 percent. If we examine the sympathizers of the various parties according to what proportion of them are "very certain" in participating in the elections, we have the following result: The MSZP's and |
FBIS4-7811_6 | Government Ties to Organized Crime Examined | more difficult for us to obtain evidence, without which criminal proceedings cannot be started, Trajanov stated categorically. Now there are already various indications, information, and above all facts showing that organized crime exists in Macedonia and that above all, the state institutions of the executive branch are involved in it. All of this, Trajanov emphasized, does not force us as the police to restructure ourselves organizationally. It is planned that a special section will be formed soon at the Ministry of Internal Affairs that will deal exclusively with curbing organized crime, and that will possess all the necessary conditions for effective operation. That, above all, means its staffing and professionalization of its operation, as well as providing it with appropriate technical equipment. "I want to emphasize," Trajanov said, "that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is seriously preparing and is already considerably involved in all these matters associated with organized crime. The Ministry of Internal Affairs," he added, "possesses an extensive body of information, and it is known quite well who is involved in these illegal activities, how, and why, including individuals who at the moment are in high government positions." Parallel Rule by Organized Crime "Collective organized crime constitutes one of the forms of professional crime which is characterized by a close alliance between professional criminals and law enforcement officials," said Dr. Tome Batkovski, a lecturer at the Security School in Skopje. According to criminologists from Western countries, of which this form of professional crime has been and is most characteristic, organized crime could not exist without connections and assistance from politics and politicians. "Professional criminals' connections with government officials," Batkovski emphasized, "gives representatives of organized crime an enormous advantage over other criminals, precisely because of that protection that they have. There is actually a tremendous threat to the human rights of a large part of the population, just because the center of power goes outside the framework of the legal institutions." The criminal areas of activity of collective organized crime consist of smuggling narcotics, white slavery, smuggling money, gold, and other valuables and cultural goods, smuggling weapons, carrying out paid killings, prostitution, gambling, and recently, selling ecological wastes. According to Dr. Batkovski, the characteristics of the illegal associations whose activity in practice is organized crime are the following: above all, internal organization, structure, the existence of internal standards of conduct with discipline in carrying out assignments, a division of |
FBIS4-7813_3 | Martic Views Current Relations With Zagreb | quickly and as part of the same package as Bosnia-Herzegovina? [Martic] At the moment, the most important thing is for the Croats to honor what they have signed in the Russian Embassy in Zagreb, and for peace to come to these areas. This will create conditions for negotiations of an economic and political nature. What the result of these negotiations will be does not depend only on us. [NIN] Do you believe that the establishment of communication links between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is possible before a lasting political solution on the status of the Republic of Serbian Krajina is achieved? [Martic] I believe that the defined sequence of solving the Croat-Krajina conflict is conceptually wrong. The first phase must in any case be the end of the war and the establishment of lasting peace. Now that we have signed an agreement on the cessation of hostilities, and once we implement it, we need to immediately move on to solving the political relations between the Republic of Serbian Krajina and Croatia. Once this problem is solved, issues pertaining to economic cooperation and communications will not really present a problem. I have stressed on several occasions that there is no reason why the Republic of Serbian Krajina should not have cooperate well with all neighboring countries including Croatia, since this is in the interest of both sides. My only fear is that the sequence established now will result in new blockades and the creation of new crisis points. Experience has taught us that Croatia has so far always used forceful, unilateral solutions to undermine everything that has been accomplished regarding the solving of certain humanitarian problems. [NIN] How do you see the further progress of talks between Knin and Zagreb, and which points are currently the most controversial? [Martic] So far, we have no reason to be dissatisfied with the results. If the Croats comply with what was signed in the Russian Embassy in Zagreb, conditions will be created for lasting peace and the continuation of negotiations. We expect that the peace forces will soon take their positions on the demarcation line established by the maps and thus take over their real role. In the continuation of negotiations involving economic issues, we have our conditions that primarily concern the suspension of Security Council Resolution 820, which places the Krajina in total economic isolation. Because, you understand, there is |
FBIS4-7841_2 | _O_Prime Minister's Past Reexamined, Revealed | his membership until the end of January 1990." Even as the communist regime was foundering in the winter of 1989-90, Moravcik was "still trying to convince people from Public Against Violence [the post-1989 Slovak anticommunist movement] that the Communist Party represented the only road to a bright tomorrow." Schutz also notes that, "shortly before November 1989, together with the StB [Communist Secret Service] officer Igor Cibula, who today heads Slovak intelligence, [Moravcik] established the Club of the Leninist Iskra (Spark) [an allusion to the name of the newspaper published by Lenin while in exile], an association of Slovak reform communists that was tolerated by the [former] regime. Moravcik sheltered the club at the Bratislava University Law School, where he taught." It seems likely that Schutz's charges will be exploited by the Meciar forces to score points in the coming election campaign. This is indicated, for instance, by an unsigned editorial that appeared in the pro-Meciar daily REPUBLIKA on 16 March under the title "Founder of Leninist Iskra Club Becomes Prime Minister of Slovakia: Jozef Moravcik and His Developmental Turns." The editorial presents Moravcik as an ambitious and opportunistic politician with the gift of predicting and calculating the course of political developments. Moravcik is alleged to have developed and honed this gift while "the founder and leading personality of the Club of the Leninist Iskra." It was there that he learned "the methodology of calculation," a methodology focused on "the ultimate goal itself--the grabbing of power"--and driven by "the spirit of Leninist and Bolshevist methods, which had been validated by the success of the legendary October Revolution" of 1917. According to the editorial, Moravcik's interest in gaining power can be traced back through his entire political career. He is said to have made his calculated move first in the Club of Leninist Iskra, when he bet on the Communist Party's turn to reformism, then, while a member of Public Against Violence, when he sided with Meciar's "centrists," and again later, when he assisted Meciar in founding the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. Allegedly, it was this propensity for calculation that motivated also his very latest move and drove him "to negotiate, behind the back of his movement [i.e. the HZDS] with President Michal Kovac and the leaders of the opposition in order to defeat the government of which he was a member." Thus, writes REPUBLIKA, "with the help and support of |
FBIS4-7844_10 | Mladic's Career, War Crimes Reviewed | quite angry, said "with a characteristic sly expression on his face," "Not at all, he was a refined and mild person, who cannot get angry. It must be that this Belgrade sun got in his eyes, and so it seems to you that he is angry." And in response to a reporter's question about what was the biggest obstacle to peace, Mladic said: "The biggest obstacle to peace is war!" The law always lay in a mace for Ratko Mladic. He knew how to draw it even when political decisions were involved. As the already "glorified" commander of the Knin Corps and a person who had learned not to listen to anyone, as soon as he arrived in Bosnia, in Pale, he demanded "that the political leadership of the Bosnian Serbs immediately and unconditionally put itself under his control and not adopt any political decisions without the permission of (his) military command" (!). Somewhat later, when the Americans and the EC, because of the more frequent shelling of Sarajevo, requested permission from the UN Security Council for carrying out airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs' artillery positions, Mladic threatened nothing more or less than "bombing London and Washington"! General Manojlo Milovanovic, chief of staff of the Serbian army in the former Bosnia-Herzegovina, took his militant commander under his protection. Milovanovic said that General Mladic was not thinking of a conventional bombing of the capitals of the United States and Great Britain, but was instead talking about bombing "from within." Serbian "kamikazes" had already been "installed" in the above-mentioned areas and were only awaiting instructions from Pale, the general concluded! Because of his generals' "idiotic and irresponsible" statements, as he called them, Karadzic suffered a great deal of unpleasantness. On 17 May 1993 he was forced to refute Mladic publicly. He said that the general "reacted emotionally when he stated that he would bomb London and Washington, and that he was not authorized for anything like that." After the successfully conducted operation Lukavac-93 (Mladic would say of it, "it encompassed the area from Gorazde to Ivan-Selo; its goal was to link Herzegovina with the other areas of the republic of Srpska and territorially link up the Serbian people from Kupa and Korana to Timok!"), the general triumphed again. In July 1993 he sent the Muslims an arrogant message: "They should not dream that anyone else will protect them. They will protect themselves |
FBIS4-7886_0 | Daskalov, Belgium's Claes Discuss Relations | BFN [Text] Sofia, April 4 (BTA) -- After their two-hour talks today Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Willy Claes and Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Stanislav Daskalov signed a joint political declaration. Mr. Daskalov was invited to visit Brussels. The declaration points out the two countries' willingness to develop relations of friendliness, understanding and cooperation, based on mutual confidence and respect. The declaration outlines the trends of Bulgarian-Belgian relations in all spheres of mutual interest: political, economic, cultural, consular etc., and states the two countries' willingness to cooperate in a number of international issues, Foreign Minister Stanislav Daskalov told reporters. Mr. Claes pointed out their unanimity on the development of mutual relations, which will be further promoted by a series of regular political consultations. Here are main spheres of cooperation listed in the declaration: economy, social issues, industry, finance, environment protection and technology. The two countries intend to encourage investments and direct contacts between firms, to intensify their cooperation in agriculture, industry and power engineering and to work on joint projects in third countries. The two countries express their readiness to support the authority of the United Nations, and acknowledge the role of the CSCE for maintaining stability and security in Europe, the usefulness of position coordinating through consultations within the Western European Union and the important role of the Council of Europe. They share the conviction that security and stability should be based on the observance of international law and the principle of defence sufficiency. Bulgaria and Belgium declare that their "own security is directly related to that of NATO member states, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council and the Partnership for Peace programme." Belgium is willing to support Bulgaria's participation in the integration process in Europe. In accordance with the EU resolutions of Copenhagen (June 1993) the two countries' cooperation will be aimed at Bulgaria's admission to the European Union. Bulgaria and Belgium have similar views on the significance of the illegal immigration problem and are convinced that every state should allow its citizens to return. They should agree on the practical application of this principle. |
FBIS4-7889_1 | WEU Assembly Leader Cites `Enhanced Status' | to the states of the Visegrad group, Mr. Slatinski added. At present Bulgaria holds the status of a permanent observer in the WEU. We should not aim at the highest possible as regards Bulgaria's future status in the WEU; in this respect I am moderately optimistic, Ivan Gaytandzhiev MP told journalists. As an associate member Bulgaria will be able (possibly through a representation in Brussels) to take part in preliminary investigations and in the making and implementation of decision to be adopted by the full WEU members, Mr. Robins of the WEU delegation explained. It has also been provided for maintaining constant contacts between the defence ministries and other institutions of the countries of various statuses in the WEU. Central Europe should become an integral part of the WEU and the Union may therefore have to change its name, Sir Dudley Smith said at the meeting. As regards Russia, at present that country has too many unsolved problems to be accepted in the WEU, the president of the WEU Assembly added. Sir Dudley Smith described the decision of the UN Security Council to send Greek and Turkish blue helmets to Bosnia as inappropriate. Greece's stand on the Macedonian state is too extreme; Bulgaria is a leading force in the eastern part of the Balkans, Sir Dudley Smith told MP's of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Events similar to the ones in Bosnia may take place in Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- FYROM] as well and it is necessary to avert them. The WEU is fully aware of the role of a frontline state which Bulgaria has assumed in enforcing the Yugo-embargo, he added. The president of the WEU Assembly told MP's that it is important for the Bulgaria side to make out a good case of the issue of its embargo-related losses at the session of the WEU Assembly in June 1994. The potentials of the Bulgarian military industrial complex are interesting and deserve to be studied in greater detail, Mr. Cameron told MP's today in response to a question. The WEU Assembly has recommended the ministers of its member-states to allow the associated countries to take part in the work of the WEU Satellite Telecommunications Centre in Spain, Mr. Cameron recalled. There are ample opportunities for future cooperation between Bulgaria and the WEU in arms production through the so-called Western European Armaments Group, the WEU delegation believes. |
FBIS4-7892_1 | Turkish Representatives Meet Zhelev, Matinchev | said, answering a journalist's question. Earlier in the afternoon the Turkish delegation met Deputy Prime Minister Evgeni Matinchev, now sitting in for Prime Minister Berov during the latter's sick leave. The talks focused on the achievements of the military cooperation, control of drug trafficking and organized crime, and mutual interests in the construction of the east-west and north-south trunk roads. "I availed myself of the occasion to stress the losses this country is sustaining as a result of the Yugo-embargo and to call on Turkey to help solve this problem in its capacity as a member of international institutions," Mr. Matinchev said. The acting prime minister also raised the question of Turkey's 2 million U.S. dollar liability to Bulgaria for the water supplied last year. Mr. Matinchev said that the Turkish parliamentary speaker apologized and explained the settlement was belated by the bureaucratic machine in Turkey. He also pledged to address the Turkish prime minister for a speedy solution of this problem. This morning the Turkish guests held long meetings with the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committees. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the leaders of the two committees said that the Bulgarian MP's raised the question of the deployment of Turkish blue helmets in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both committees reiterated this country's stand in favour of the Balkan countries' non-involvement in the conflict in former Yugoslavia. Mr. Cindoruk said in response that he respects Bulgaria's stance. "As to the Yugo-crisis, the two countries are acting within the framework of the UN decisions, each one of them taking its own stand," Mr. Cindoruk said. He once again explained that it is not Turkish troops but Turkish blue helmets that have been invited to join the UN peacekeeping forces in the Yugo-conflict. Parliamentary National Security Committee Chairman Nikolay Slatinski said that there were no serious debates as to the Turkish blue helmets. "But what we can say is that Turkey first asked to participate and only then was it invited by the UN Security Council," Mr. Slatinski went on to say. The National Security Committee and the Turkish guests discussed some other issues, including the Rezovska River, running along the Turkish-Bulgarian border, fishing in territorial waters in the Black Sea and Bulgarian plots in Turkey. MP's of this parliamentary committee voiced their opinion that it was high time the rights of Bulgarian Muslims were taken out of the Islamic Conference's agenda. |
FBIS4-7901_1 | Unhealthy Habits Blamed for Shorter Lives | they wouldn't necessarily make him change his habits. "Everything is to blame here: the air, the water, the poor hospitals and the food," said the 30-year-old businessman. "But lunch is a break from work, so I'm not going to worry about my health when I'm eating." According to Rudolf Poledne, head of a laboratory conducting arteriosclerosis research at Prague's Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, the biggest problem is the widespread attitude of people like Novak that one's health is largely beyond one's control. "It's easy to blame the environment or the stress caused by your work," said Poledne. "We were taught for years by the totalitarian system that everything can be planned and directed, so people didn't feel responsible for anything, including their own health." Instead, Poledne said, many have simply become accustomed to fatal indulgences. Czechs guzzle more beer than anyone else in the world--more than 150 liters (39.75 gallons) per person every year. The average Czech also smokes around 1,900 cigarettes yearly, down slightly from an all-time high of over 2,100 four years ago. One of the organizations attempting to curb this lethal overconsumption is the National Center for Health Promotion. Zdenek Kucera, the director of the center, said he is developing several programs to educate people about such unhealthy consumption. One campaign, called "Quit to Win," rewards those who stop smoking with chances at $5,000 and a trip to the Canary Islands. Kucera acknowledged that while it seems contradictory for the Czech government to encourage the development of the alcohol and tobacco industries and fund his center at the same time, "similar situations exist in every country. There is a very strong wish to organize educational campaigns, but they are very careful not to violate the overall policy of the cabinet, which is to be as economically liberal as possible." It is unlikely that the government will do much more to encourage people to change their ways. Jan Sorf, director of physical education for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, said that no one had the funding to maintain, let alone build, public athletic facilities. These initiatives, he said, have to come from volunteer organizations such as the YMCA, or entrepreneurs who have discovered that money can be made from fitness centers and squash courts. So far, economics has proven more successful than government planning in changing unhealthy habits. Researchers have noted that the amount |
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