To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'The Intifada is in Palestine, not here'
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 08:33:24 -0400
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Neighbors
'The Intifada is in Palestine, not here'
King Abdullah is currently confronted with a familiar
Jordanian dilemma: How to support the Palestinian
struggle without hurting the integrity of the kingdom
By Zvi Bar'el
On Monday, Emir Tallal bin Muhammad officially launched a blood
donation campaign in Jordan. Tallal was filling in for King Abdullah,
who had given his patronage to the campaign. It is a continuation of
the directive issued by the king regarding aid to the Palestinians,
which included sending a Jordanian medical delegation in a special
plane to Ramallah to bring injured Palestinians from the West Bank
to Jordan, where they are receiving medical treatment at the
kingdom's expense.The king's gesture has prompted an inter-Arab
competition. The Saudi king ordered that injured Palestinians
continue to be brought to Saudi Arabia for treatment at his
expense, whereas President Mubarak sent two medical
delegations to Gaza, headed by Egyptian Health Minister Ismail
Salaam, to bring injured Palestinians to Egypt for treatment. At the
beginning of this week, Mubarak received widespread media
coverage when he visited and joked with the wounded recuperating
in Nasser hospital on the outskirts of Cairo.
Even though the competition over Palestinians' hearts began in
Jordan, there is only one winner in the contest. Hosni Mubarak has
over the years transformed himself into the Palestinians' supreme
protector, and in so doing has eclipsed the Jordan of the late King
Hussein and of his son, Abdullah. Jordan's influence on Yasser
Arafat's actions is limited, if it exists at all; the relationship
between Abdullah and Arafat is polite, and it seems there is a
softer spot in Arafat's heart for every other Arab leader except
Abdullah. At the same time, the Palestinian community in Jordan
is nearly two million strong.
The Palestinians' large presence in Jordan makes the Jordanian
response to the rioting in the territories more complex. "If you are
frightened by the behavior of the Israeli Arabs and reconsider their
loyalty to the state, that is how we native Jordanians view the
Palestinians. The king can declare as much as he likes that we are
one family and one nation, but when it comes to our feelings deep
inside, as Jordanians, we won't always agree with that," says a
Jordanian businessman from a native Jordanian family. "When King
Hussein decided in 1988 to cut off from the West Bank and transfer
control of all matters there to Arafat, we accepted this from a
national perspective, but we also hoped that this would relieve us of
the burden of holding the Palestinians' hands. Maybe in so doing
we could become a normal country. Our dream is that one day the
unwanted Palestinians on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River
will move to the Palestinian side and we'll be relieved of the
constant pressure from them." A branch of Gaza Around two
months ago, when the peace talks were at their peak and Camp
David wavered between success and failure, the Jordanian prime
minister, Ali Abu al Gharb, stated that Jordan would not agree to
absorb even one more Palestinian refugee. An alliance of mutual
interest evolved between Jordan, Lebanon and Syria which was
intended to prevent a solution of the refugee problem that would be
at their expense.
Furthermore, the voices of Jordanian parliament members,
especially representatives of the large Bedouin tribes, resonated
loudly, calling on the Jordanian government to demand its share of
the compensation to be paid to Palestinian refugees when that
subject is discussed. "We deserve a large portion of this sum in
return for hosting them during all the years they have spent here
since 1948," a group of parliament members stated. Others even
went as far as proposing to confiscate the property of Palestinians
in Jordan as a first payment for this hospitality.
Jordan, like most Arab countries, contributed its share of rhetoric
to the negotiations Arafat was conducting by himself with Israel.
These countries announced they would support Palestinian
positions, but when they were asked to put their money where their
mouth was and at least convene a summit of foreign ministers, the
local interests of each Arab country took precedence over solidarity
with Arafat. King Abdullah, who in affect also waived Jordan's
special status in the holy sites as specified in the memoranda
attached to the Oslo Accords, could now have fairly easily backed
the Palestinian position without being further bound to support
Arafat's other positions.
Economic development is now on top of the Jordanian agenda,
foreign investment has slowly started flowing in, the government
was changed in order to promote the Jordanian economy and there
are development and investment plans at hand which primarily
need regional quiet and good ties with Israel. All of this is now
threatened by the Palestinian conflict with Israel, which may
undermine the integrity of the kingdom.
"The king has invested a huge effort so that at least Jordan's official
position will be one that does not classify its citizens according to
their country of origin. 'Everyone is Jordanian' is not just a slogan, it
has become policy," says a researcher at the University of
Amman. "Of course, it's impossible to control each person's
feelings, but when I as a native Palestinian understand that this is
the official position, my identification with the state is that much
greater, to the point that every violent riot in the territories causes a
problem for me. The problem stems from the sense that my
Jordanian friends may again check where I belong, if I am removing
my Jordanian cloak and completely identifying with the
Palestinians or if I am taking a Jordanian position, which maintains
that the Palestinians are indeed entitled to some rights, but not at
Jordan's expense."
The question of identity is one of the most sensitive issues in
Jordan and therefore, its external expression last week in Jordan,
in the form of violent protests which spread into the streets, was
dealt with urgently. Thousands of people broke through police
barricades, several dozen protested opposite the Israeli and
American embassies in Amman; in refugee camps in the Jordan
Valley extremely violent riots erupted, causing the death of a ten-
year-old girl and injuries to six people. Jordanian flags were taken
down from some homes, dozens of cars were stoned, some were
set on fire and it seemed that a branch of Gaza had been opened
in Jordan. Jordanian intelligence officials reported to the king that
these demonstrations might develop in a problematic way. They
identified Hamas activists leading some of the protests, union
members also participated actively, and in the upscale
neighborhoods such as Shamisani and Hamdoon, slogans not at
all connected to the Palestinian issue started to be heard. Protest
leaders called out against the social gap and the oppressors who
live in grand villas. "Whoever has any kind of complaint whatsoever
participated in these demonstrations," a Jordanian journalist said.
Fear of an Arab summit Last Friday, after a brief consultation with
intelligence official and public figures, the king instructed his prime
minister to halt these protests. A statement issued by the
Jordanian Information Ministry said that the Jordanian government
did not rule out identifying with and supporting the Palestinians'
stance, but said it is impossible to do so in a violent manner in
Jordan. Spokesmen made a point of noting that the government did
not stop more than 200 protest rallies and dozens of quiet
demonstrations, but stressed that it would not allow damage to be
caused to public property, national security or its interests. "It
should be remembered that when it comes to anything related to
Palestine, all of us in Jordan are Palestinians, but the Intifada is in
Palestine and not in Jordan," a publicist wrote in the government-
controlled newspaper, A Ra'i. "Are these demonstrations [in
Jordan] indeed against Israel? Is it impossible to be content with
the gestures King Abdullah made? Was it necessary to take down
Jordanian flags and cancel school?" wondered commentator Fahad
al-Fanak. "We will strengthen the Palestinian issue only if Jordan
is united," another pundit wrote.
The line presented was uniform and almost dictated. "But it wasn't
even necessary to dictate this line," says the Jordanian journalist,
"everyone's feeling is that Jordan has to be free of any
demonstration of violence, not because it does not identify with the
Palestinian cause, but because we don't need to have in Jordan
unsatisfied citizens, whose property was damaged, because of the
Palestinian cause. It doesn't help the Palestinian cause. It certainly
doesn't help us Jordanians, if it turns out that the Palestinian
movement in Jordan is actually led by the Hamas movement. If
there has to be a policy of support for the Palestinian cause, and if
Israel has to be punished, it is best if the government does it with
official actions and does not allow the streets to run amok.
Needless to say, people still remember very well the Palestinian
attempt to take over Jordan in the 1960s and Black September."
King Abdullah, therefore, has again run into a situation that is
familiar to Jordan, whereby he must support Arafat's policy and
also preserve the kingdom's integrity. Once again, there is no
shortage of those who believe that the purpose of Sharon's visit to
the Temple Mount, with the certain knowledge that it would cause
violent outbursts, was none other than to spark a Palestinian
Intifada in Jordan. Now Arafat is forcing Jordan into an Arab summit
that, in the Jordanians' perspective, is utterly superfluous.
"Jordan and Egypt are the two countries that are always the Arabs'
target whenever there is an Arab summit meeting. They are always
the focus of the demand to cease all ties with Israel because they
are the only ones to have signed peace treaties with Israel and
have normalized relations with Israel," says a researcher at a
Jordanian institute of diplomacy. "For every other Arab country, it's
easy to support the call for an end to normalization. At the last
summit, Jordan was exempted from this matter thanks to the fact
that Egypt also cannot allow itself to freeze its peace treaty with
Israel. I don't know how Jordan will be able to get around it this
time. Will the king angrily leave the summit, just as his father
walked out of a different summit, when he was relieved of his status
in Jerusalem, or will he take some other demonstrative step?"
Early this week A Ra'i published an unconfirmed report based on a
Jordanian government source claiming that Jordan was delaying
sending the new Jordanian ambassador, Abdullah Al-Kurdi, to Tel
Aviv. This may be a trial balloon or it may be that this is actually
their plan; in such a case, the king is likely to wait until a summit
conference is held so that this step would be the Jordan
contribution to supporting the Palestinians' cause.
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=5&datee=1
0/11/00&id=96234
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
_____________________________________
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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) Sukkoth 2000 Event
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 12:54:38 -0400
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date forwarded: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 08:20:40 -0400
Date sent: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 14:23:41 +0200
To: tmf-list@templemountfaithful.org
From: Temple Mount Faithful <gershon@templemountfaithful.org>
Subject: Sukkoth 2000 Event
Forwarded by: tmf-list@lists2.inet-images.com
With the Help of G-d
The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful MovementJochanan Horkanos 4,
P.O.Box 18325 Jerusalem, Israel Tel: 6251112 Tel/fax 6251113
You are invited to participate in
Laying and Annointing a
Cornerstone for the Third Temple
Feast of Tabernacles, Monday 16th October 2000, 09:00 AM
We shall meet at the Western Wall plaza close to the western (Mugrabi) gate
of the Temple Mount.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are invited to march with The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful
Movement to the Temple Mount and to participate in the ceremony of the
anointing of the cornerstone for the Third Temple.
We shall march from the Temple Mount to the City of King David where the
ceremony of the anointing will take place. Then we shall march to the Pool
of Siloam for the ceremony of the Pouring of the Water will take place as
it was done in the Biblical times. The marble corner-stone, untouched by
iron, weighing four and a half tonne, will be carried on a flat-bed truck,
covered with Israeli flags together with the reconstructed vessels for the
Third Temple, a priest in the original garments, and Levites who will play
music.
This historical event will take place on Monday 16th October 2000, the
third day of Sukkoth, at 09:00 AM. We shall meet at the Western Wall plaza
close to the western (Mugrabi) gate of the Temple Mount.
The event has the approval of the Israeli authorities and will be
protected by the Israel security forces.
b
Israel, the Chosen People of G-d, is now living in the most exciting time
in their history. These are the godly, prophetic end-times and G-d is
redeeming the people of Israel. The biggest dream and vision of the G-d and
people of Israel is becoming a reality in the great time in which we are
living in the sight of all nations.
Blessed are those whose hearts and eyes are open to understand and accept
what G-d is doing with Israel at this great time. When G-d said to the
nations "Love Me through My people, Israel", He knew how much it would be
need and especially in our time when Israel is again surrounded by so many
enemies who are trying to destroy this great prophetic end-time dream and
vision. Together with you we shall tell them that they have no chance
because only the G-d of Israel controls the destiny of Israel and He is
determined to accomplish His end-time plans with the people and land of
Israel and then with all the nations. The foundation of the State of Israel
in 1948 opened this godly end-time scenario and prophesy became a reality,
also when G-d started to regather the Jewish people from all over the world
to the land which He gave to Israel in an eternal covenant. Now it is the
time to rebuild the House of G-d on the holy Temple Mount, the location of
the First and Second temples. G-d is ready for this and He expects Israel
to re-liberate the Temple Mount from the pagan Arab worshippers and to
rebuild His house to again be the heart, soul and focus of Israel and all
the nations. The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement has
decide to wait no more and to bring the G-d of Israel back to His rebuilt
house on Mt.Moriah in the midst of the life of Israel and all the
world and to make the word in Isaiah a reality in our lifetime:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people
shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we
will walk in his paths; for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall
decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, nor shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, and let
us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah (2:2-5)
Come and see for yourself what G-d is doing with Israel at this great time
and be a part of this major vision and end-time event.
------- End of forwarded message -------
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
_____________________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - IsraelWire items (10/11/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 13:46:30 -0400
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Two injured as a result of shooting at funeral for terror victim
(IsraelWire-10/11) As a result of the heavy Arab gunfire during the
funeral for terror victim Hillel Leibowitz, at least two persons
attending the funeral were injured by gunfire. There were at least
six incidents of shooting at the funeral procession.
The funeral service got underlay as planned, with over 1,000
persons in attendance. At Elon Moreh, the first attack against the
mourners got underway, with Arabs throwing stones at the bus.
Jews got off of the bus and fired in the direction of the attackers in
an attempt to clear the way to permit the funeral to proceed
towards the cemetery in Yitzhar. A short time later, the funeral
procession came under heavy gunfire, compelling the IDF to deploy
tanks and helicopter gunships in the area to restore order.
Jewish leaders express outrage over the attacks, pointing out the
caliber of the enemy, =93one that opens fire on mourners while
burying their dead.=94
IDF commanders stated the attack was a most serious one but
expressed relief over the success in keeping the shooting
contained to an isolated area.
One of the injured, a resident of Hebron, was shot in his leg.
---------------
Knesset session canceled by Speaker Burg
(IsraelWire-10/11) A planned Knesset plenum session to discuss
the riots within =93Israel proper,=94 planned for Wednesday, was
ordered canceled by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, who feared
the level of violence in the house would reach an unacceptable
level.
According to a Haaretz report, Prime Minister Ehud Barak was
opposed to holding such a session at a time when the violence
was still taking place throughout Israel.
------------------
Burg postpones trip abroad due to threat from Islamic organization
(IsraelWire-10/11) Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg has announced
the cancelation of his planned visit to Jakarta, where he was to
attend the International Conference of Legislators. The decision
followed a death threat against Burg by a Moslem fundamentalist
Indonesian organization which stated it would kill any Israelis
attending the event.
The Islamic Defenders=92 Front issued a statement that they would
kill Israelis attending the conference in retaliation for the =93slaughter=
of Moslems in Jerusalem.=94
http://www.israelwire.com/
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
_____________________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (10/11/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 20:25:16 -0400
Italy offers Rome for Mideast summit
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Reuters
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Italy formally offered on Wednesday to host a
summit in Rome to bring an end to a spiral of violence that has
killed at least 92 people. The offer, announced unexpectedly by
Prime Minister Giuliano Amato to a session of parliament, came a
few hours after an urgent appeal for peace by Pope John Paul. "We
have offered Rome if it can be seen as useful. There is complex
diplomatic work going on and we are awaiting responses about
this," he said. Amato made the announcement during question
time a day after he and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini held talks in
Rome with former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres.
A well-informed non-Italian diplomat said the Foreign Ministry had
already appointed someone to make preparations. "We hear the
Italians want to go about it very fast and they are hinting they would
be willing to take concrete steps even before the responses are
given," the source said. Shimon Peres told reporters on Tuesday
night that he believed Rome would be a good venue for a summit.
Amato spoke some three hours after Pope John Paul told tens of
thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square that the loss of life and
desecration of holy sites anguished him greatly.
"Faced with such a dramatic situation, I can only beg everyone to
put an end to this spiral of violence without delay," the Pope said
during his weekly general audience. "At the same time I invite all
believers to pray to God so that peoples and leaders of the region
may see how to get back on the path of dialogue in order to
rediscover the joy of being sons and daughters of the same God,"
he said. The Pope's appeal appeared to be the result of a request
Peres is believed to have made on Tuesday night while meeting
with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and the
papal foreign minister, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran.
PA plans emergency broadcast in case of invasion
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Middle East Newsline
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The Palestinian Authority has launched a
project to construct underground facilities that would guarantee
broadcasting even in case of an Israeli military invasion. PA
officials said they are working to ensure that broadcasts will not be
able to be jammed by Israel in any future war. They said the new
facility will be one of several broadcast sites in Gaza and in the
West Bank. The new facilities would include underground studios
and broadcast transmitters.
New health warnings due to record ozone hole
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: Discovery
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Several remote, but inhabited areas of far
southern Chile were placed on alert early this week as potentially
dangerous levels of ultraviolet radiation were detected from sunlight
shining through the hole in stratospheric ozone. "We are warning
people throughout the region not to go out in the sun between 11
a.m. and 3 p.m.,'' said the health minister in Chile's most southern
Magallanes and Antarctic Region. The warning came during an
alarming peak in UV radiation as the ozone hole elongated beyond
the Antarctic continent and grew to cover a wide area of the
southern tip of South America. The hole in the ozone layer over
Antarctica recently reached its most severe level of depletion since
measurements began. Scientists monitoring the hole, which
changes daily due to hemispheric wind patterns aloft, say that
more than 50 percent of stratospheric ozone depletion is being
reported over the Antarctic region. The stratosphere's ozone
normally blocks a large portion of the sun's ultraviolet rays as
molecules absorb the dangerous radiation. UV radiation can
contribute to cataracts and skin cancers, and can destroy tiny
plants in the food chain if it reaches the surface. Mutations of fish
and animals are also feared from its exposure. Despite Monday's
alert in southern Chile, many residents were observed walking the
streets.
US imposes visa ban on Liberian leaders, orders diplomats to leave
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AFP
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The United States on Wednesday imposed a
visa ban on Liberia's leadership and ordered non-essential US
diplomats to leave the country in anticipation of possible anti-
American sentiment in the troubled West African nation. In
addition, the State Department urged US citizens to leave Liberia
as the security situation has deteriorated with Monrovia claiming
that neighboring Guinea is harboring rebels who have made
repeated incursions into Liberian territory.
Barak warns of more terror attacks in Israel; Arafat to blame after
releasing over 20 terrorists in last few days
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AFP
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak warned on
Wednesday of the threat of a resurgence in terror, against the
backdrop of the two weeks of violence in the Palestinian territories.
"I have instructed the security services to prepare for the possibility
of attempted attacks," Barak said at a closed-door meeting of
parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, army radio
reported. Barak said the blame for any attack would rest with
Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, which has released more
than 20 members of the militant Islamic movement Hamas over the
past few days.
US says Syria, Egypt violate UN sanctions with Iraq flights, warns
Sudan
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AFP
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The United States said Wednesday that Egypt
and Syria had violated UN restrictions by sending planes into Iraq
without approval from the world body's sanctions committee and
warned Sudan against a similar planned flight. "We do view
unapproved flights as inconsistent with the sanctions regime,"
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Pressed as
to whether Washington considered the flights to be a "violation" of
the restrictions, Boucher told reporters: "A violation of the
sanctions regime and action that's inconsistent with the sanctions
regime both amount to the same thing." Boucher's comments
came after three planes carrying humanitarian aid from Turkey,
Syria and Egypt landed in Baghdad earlier Wednesday in the latest
solidarity flights against the decade-old sanctions and as a
Sudanese aid group said it would send two planes without seeking
UN authorization.
Not just one, but a line of waterspouts off Coast of Maine!
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: 152pahi
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Phenomenon: Fishermen off the coast of
Maine last Sunday witnessed the rare sight of 15 waterspouts that
appeared within the space of an hour and a half. The funnel clouds,
which are more common in the tropics during warmer weather,
lasted as long as 25 minutes. The lobstermen radioed one another
about the progress of the spouts. Fisherman Clifford Young said, "If
one of those hit your boat, they'd be looking for you. Some of my
friends were within a mile of them and one of the guys said they
were just ferocious." Joe Hewitt of the National Weather Service in
Caribou reported stressed that they were definitely an uncommon
occurrence for the area this time of year.
Tensions so high, Israeli parliament cancels session to avoid
fistfights
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AP
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The hostility in Israel is so intense these days
that dialogue seems impossible. Israel's parliament canceled a
session Wednesday out of fear that Arab and Jewish legislators
would slug it out on the Knesset floor. A "town hall" meeting in
Jerusalem given a day earlier by ABC's "Nightline" deteriorated into
shouting matches. In the northern city of Akko, Arab filmmakers
canceled plans to attend an Israeli film festival, which was later
postponed. "We have been thrown back many years," said Jewish
Israeli legislator Yosef Lapid. "After every war there is a peace. ...
There will be a dialogue, but this is a very great setback to Jewish-
Arab relations." For now, the dialogue seems virtually over.
Health Alert Spreads from Singapore!
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: Discovery
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- A very contagious childhood disease that
caused health officials in Singapore to close all of its daycare
centers, kindergartens, preschools, public play areas and young
children's schools more than a week ago has now claimed its first
victim outside the country also. Malaysia, Thailand and the
Philippines have begun screening incoming passengers from
Singapore after a 3 yr. old Malaysian boy died of the illness called
hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), which has already now
killed at least four Singapore children. Quarantine authorities at
ports of entry are looking for human carriers as well as infected
meat products.
Even with all the precautionary closures, the disease is continuing
to spread throughout the region. Now there are more than 1,000
children in Singapore believed to be infected with HFMD, an
ailment that is spread by bodily fluids such as saliva and nasal
discharge. On Monday, health officials extended the closures even
further to Singapore's swimming pools. Can you imagine the
incredible numbers we might be seeing if they hadn't been taking
all these extra precautions? Yet, the numbers are still incredible as
the epidemic is still spreading quickly. And it's not easy to get
parents to understand the need to keep their children home with
something as serious and widespread as this has become.
Symptoms of HFMD include painful rashes, vomiting, fever, sore
throat and ulcerations of the mouth. In 1997, at least 50 children in
Malaysia died from HFMD, which killed 78 others in Taiwan the
following year.
Putin signs security pact with other post-Soviet leaders, setting up
the legal framework for rapid deployment of joint forces
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AP
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Russia and five other former Soviet republics,
worried by the battlefield success of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers,
agreed Wednesday on ways to pool their military might against
insurgencies in volatile Central Asia. Russian President Vladimir
Putin and the leaders of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Belarus and Armenia signed a pact setting up the legal framework
for rapid deployment of joint forces. The six leaders make up the
Collective Security Council of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, a loose grouping of former Soviet republics. Their
agreement Wednesday reflected a growing concern about the
spread of Islamic fundamentalism.
One focus of concern was Afghanistan, where the fundamentalist
Muslim Taliban militia control more than 90 percent of the country,
including the capital. The presidents described Afghanistan as a
"center of international terrorism and drug-trafficking" and a clear
threat to Central Asian stability. They accuse the Taliban of
backing Islamic militants challenging the secular governments in
the region. Moscow also claims the Taliban help rebels fighting
Russian forces in breakaway Chechnya. The Taliban have denied
these assertions.
Concern over the Taliban has breathed new life into the anemic
Collective Security Council, which so far had produced little except
vague declarations. Wednesday's agreement is more specific,
laying the groundwork for fast joint action if the need arises. "Any
attempts to violate the territorial integrity of Central Asian nations
would be resolutely stopped by our joint efforts," the six leaders
said in a statement after talks at the Kyrgyz presidential residence
in wooded mountain foothills. "We act as a buffer zone, protecting
the entire commonwealth," Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov
said.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban's latest offensive has pushed the
opposition alliance into a narrow swath along the country's northern
border with Tajikistan. Russia has about 25,000 troops in
Tajikistan, an impoverished nation still recovering from a 1992-1997
civil war. These forces have been put on alert amid fears that more
than 100,000 Afghan refugees could spill across the border,
bringing chaos and straining the nation's already limited resources.
"The world community should pay due attention to this situation,
which may lead to large-scale humanitarian problems," Putin said
at a news conference after the summit.
Turkey to trade oil with Iraq
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: The Irish Times
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Turkey's energy ministry has announced its
intention to open a partly closed oil pipeline from Iraq, should the
US House of Representatives pass a resolution embracing
allegations of Turkish genocide against Armenians 85 years ago.
The Turkish move constitutes a symbolic blow against Washington
over the resolution, passed by the International Relations
Committee last week and now due to go before the full house.
Minister Cumhur Ersumer has ordered that the pipeline be made
ready for full operation.
Ankara says it has lost $30 billion in trade revenue because of its
support of UN sanctions, including restrictions on oil deliveries.
Turkey sees the congressional move, criticised by President Bill
Clinton, as a deep affront. It has also alluded to the possibility it
might stop US warplanes using its Incirlik airbase for sorties to
enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq. Asked if the move towards
reopening the line was a symbolic action, an Ankara-based oil
analyst said: "It may look so initially, but there are already several
breaches of the UN embargo.
Meteor watchers on alert for Leonids meteor showers
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: NASA Space Science news
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Earth will be passing through the Tempel-
Tuttle=92s "minefield" of debris on Nov. 17th & 18th. Showers of
shooting stars could erupt at any time on those days, the prelude
to more powerful storms in 2001 and 2002. "We're very, very
confident of the storms coming in 2001 and 2002," says Asher of
Scotland's Armagh Observatory. "Peak rates during those years
should reach at least 10,000 meteors per hour as Earth passes
through debris trails from comet Tempel-Tuttle." This year, Northern
Hemisphere observers have the best chance of of viewing the
Leonids, but meteor watchers everywhere should be on the alert.
The Leonids could show up anywhwere around the globe between
your local midnight time and dawn on November 17th and 18th.
Asher predicts 100 per hr, while other astronomers predict 200-
700.
Every 33 years the comet swings through the inner solar system &
leaves a new trail of dusty debris. For Tempel-Tuttle, no two paths
it makes through the solar system are exactly alike. Its=92 path is
slightly altered each time around. As a result, each new debris trail
is in a different spot. Most years, earth travels through and it=92s a
minor event, with no more than 10 -15 shooting stars per hour.
Though, on the rare occasions when our planet plows directly into
a dense trail of its dust, meteors can soar to 100,000 per hour or
more. James Young, who watched such a storm in 1966 from
JPL's Table Mountain Observatory, recalls: "This very noteworthy
[1966] meteor shower was nearly missed altogether... The shower
was expected to occur over the European continent. There were 2-
5 meteors every second as we scrambled to set up the only two
cameras we had. The shower peaked around 4 a.m. with some 50
meteors falling each second. We all felt like we needed to put on
'hard hats'! To further understand the sheer intensity of this event,
we blinked our eyes open for the same time we normally blink
them closed, and saw the entire sky full of streaks ... everywhere!"
The Leonids, which surprised Young in 1966, are notoriously
difficult to predict. Thought they tend to happen at 33 year intervals,
that=92s not always the case. Several of those intervals went by and
nothing really happened.
Times may be changing, though, as astronomers are finally
learning the whereabouts of Tempel-Tuttle's many dust trails.
Several groups of astronomers now believe they can predict when
Earth will hit one. The 1999 outburst displayed around 1500
meteors per hour. An astronomy model predicts that Earth is now
heading for encounters with two different dust streams from Tuttle
on November 18th, 2000. In mid-November, Leo rises above the
eastern horizon just after midnight local time. Finding Leo will be
easy because the waning quarter Moon will lie inside the
boundaries of the constellation -- you can't miss it! Once you've
located Leo, look away toward a darker area of the sky. Although
meteors will stream from the general direction of Leo, they can
appear anywhere overhead. If you begin observing before Leo rises
(before local midnight),and a Leonid meteor outburst occurs, then
you may spot a rare variety of shooting star called "Earth-
skimmers." These are disintegrating meteoroids that fly over our
horizon nearly parallel to the atmosphere. They produce long
colorful tails. The real test will come in November 2001 when our
planet is due to pass through the very hearts of at least two dust
streams. What will happen? The only way to know in either year is
to be outside on November 18th, under clear skies and looking up!
Dawn of a new species?
Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Scientific American
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Brandeis University researchers report that
they have designed and built the first robot that can design and
build other robots. (In earlier efforts, replicating machines had been
simulated only on computers and on special integrated circuits.)
The offspring are plastic trusses (like Tinker Toys) propelled by
pistons and controlled by simple neural networks. The mother bot
is a computer running a genetic algorithm, which draws up plans
through trial and error, and a 3-D printer, which can create small
plastic sculptures of any shape. The researchers could (almost)
leave the system to work at night and come in the next morning to
see artificial inchworms crawling around their lab. They still had to
strap on motors and connect wires, but--in a reversal of roles--the
robot told the humans what to do. So will humans soon share the
world with cyborgs? If that sounds silly, consider that the
researchers felt compelled to say in their paper that "robotic
lifeforms" are not dangerous.
NASA to create living place on Mars
Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Wired News
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- It took billions of years before Earth could
support life, but scientists think they can create the right
conditions on Mars in less than a century by pumping the
atmosphere full of greenhouse gases. About 150 physicists and
biologists gathered at the NASA Ames Research Center on
Tuesday to discuss how the Red Planet might become a livable
place.
The first step in colonizing the planet would be raising the
temperature and pressure of the thin, freezing Martian atmosphere.
How do we go from a cold, frosty Mars to a warm, wet one?"
McKay asked. He said that efforts to make the Red Planet
habitable would start within 100 years of a human landing. "The
longer we delay, the longer this inevitable step is delayed."
"It's inevitable that we will leave (Earth)," McKay said. "Mars is the
obvious first step and what's amazing is we have the chance to
spread life beyond its origin."
Iraq to use the EURO instead of US dollar
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Arabic News
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The Iraqi central bank has expressed its
readiness to buy the European currencies according to its official
rates. This measure came after Iraq has announced giving up
dealing with the US dollar and to use the EURO instead of it in
order to withstand the US position against Iraq. The Iraqi dailies
issued on Monday quoted the Iraqi central bank as saying in a
statement that it is ready to buy the European currencies and to
pay for them in US dollar according to valid official exchange rate.
The statement added that currencies which will be bought are the
French Franc, The German Marc, The Austrian Shellen, the
Sterling pound, the Dutch Guilder and the Italian Lire.
The Iraqi cabinet last month decided to give up dealing with the
dollar in buying and selling operations and to use instead other
currencies including the EURO. The Iraqi ministry of commerce
informed all companies and establishments Iraq deals with the
need to give up using the US $ and to submit their the bids in other
currencies especially the EURO and that the Iraqi commerce
ministry will not accept any bids from companies and
establishments calculated in US dollars.
Iraqi oil will flow through Syrian territories
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Arabic News
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The Jordanian weekly al-Majd said in its
Monday issue that the Iraqi oil will flow in the pipeline which
passes through the Syrian territories before the end of the current
month. The paper said quoting well-informed sources that the
process of resuming the Iraqi oil through Syria will actually
contribute to weaken the sanctions imposed on Iraq and increasing
closeness between Damascus and Baghdad.
The circles said that Iraq at the meantime has based its attitude on
the differences among the UN Security Council member state
(some are with lifting the ambargo and some are not) and the
Syrian position in backing Iraq, noting in this regard the quick visit
made by Tareq Aziz to Damascus to convince Syria to resume full
relations with Baghdad.
Russia and Kazakhstan sign Caspian agreement
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: BBC
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- The two largest states bordering the Caspian
sea, Russia and Kazakhstan, have signed a declaration defining its
legal status. The document -- signed in the Kazakh capital, Astana
-- follows an earlier agreement which marks out their respective
areas of sovereignty over the Caspian's northern sector. The two
presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nursultan Nazarbayev of
Kazakhstan, called on the other three states with access to the
sea Azerbaidjan, Iran and Turkmenistan to join the declaration.
There has been frequent disagreement between the five over
sharing the Caspian's vast natural resources. Russia and
Kazakhstan also urged the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to
stop their alleged support for guerrilla warfare and drug smuggling.
After signing China trade bill Clinton issues warning to Beijing
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: New York Times
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- President Clinton sent his top trade negotiator
to Beijing today to warn China that its efforts to back away from
crucial trade concessions threatened the trading rights that it won
after a prolonged fight in Congress. Mr. Clinton sent Charlene
Barshefsky, the United States trade representative, on her mission
on the same day that he signed into law the legislation to grant
China permanent normal trade relations, the culmination of 14
years of negotiations and a protracted struggle on Capitol Hill.
But even as administration officials and bipartisan Congressional
leaders gathered on the White House lawn to hail what they called
China's integration into the world economy, American officials
acknowledged that China was slipping on pledges to open its
markets that it had made as part of its efforts to join the World
Trade Organization.
Moscow unites Central Asia in 'new international economic
organization'
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: WorldNetDaily
Wed Oct 11,2000 -- Moscow is forming a "new international
economic organization" comprising most of the land mass of the
former Soviet Union, and those states joining Moscow will engage
in "cooperation in all spheres," according to official Russian
sources. A report on the new Eurasian Union was carried by the
Voice of Russia World Service, the official broadcasting service of
the Russian government. Russia, Belarus and the Central Asian
former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kirgizia and Tajikisatan are
the participants in the newly formed "Eurasian Union." Russian
Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has stated that "a new economic
community... is coming into being," which will provide for
"cooperation in all fields," with "coordination of their (member
states') economic, social, industrial, and monetary policies."
A draft treaty establishing the new "community" has just been
agreed upon and is scheduled to be signed by the presidents of the
respective states today. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Central
Asia has become a contested area with NATO and Islamic
fundamentalist rebels seeking to oust Russia from an area it has
controlled since the 19th century. At stake is a vast region with
remarkable mineral wealth -- including substantial reserves of
natural gas and oil -- that is also strategically located along a land
route connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Far East.
http://216.219.160.226/cgi-
bin/readnews.cgi?day=3D00_10_11&item=3D#971309035
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (10/11/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 20:31:44 -0400
GORE-LIEBERMAN ADVISOR PRESENTS ARAB DEMANDS
A senior adviser to the American presidential campaign of Al Gore
and Joe Lieberman is now lobbying the State Department to reduce
military aid to Israel. James Zogby, who was appointed last week
as Senior Advisor to the campaign on Ethnic Americans, has
praised the Hizbullah terrorist group as "the Lebanese armed
resistance;" Hizbullah is now holding three kidnapped Israeli
soldiers. The Washington Times reports that Zogby, who has been
accused by the Anti-Defamation League of "crude anti-Semitism,"
recently led a delegation to the State Department "to present a
series of demands on behalf of Arab-Americans. The demands
include a possible halt to the supply of helicopter gunships to Israel
if they are used against Arabs - the same Arab mobs that have
been shooting and killing Jews during the past ten days.
The Zionist Organization of America is calling on Gore and
Lieberman to rescind Zogby's appointment. ZOA President Morton
A. Klein said, "Vice President Gore claims to be pro-Israel, yet his
new campaign adviser is lobbying to slash U.S. military aid to
Israel." Klein told Arutz-7 he has received no response from the
campaign.
GLIMMERS OF LIGHT REFLECTED IN U.S. MEDIA
Excerpts from an article by Lee Hockstader in yesterday's
Washington Post, describing various reactions of disappointment
among Israel's peace camp at the recent violence:
"Israel's peace activists... are in retreat. Jolted by the violence of
the last two weeks and stunned by the hatred they see driving the
Arab rioters, many Israeli peaceniks are concluding that the cause
they embraced years ago has been a failure... For some peace
activists, it was a rude awakening to observe the depth of hatred
among Palestinians, especially in the Palestinian media, which
have called on Arabs to attack Israeli army positions and sacrifice
their children's blood if necessary. 'Something in me snapped.
Something in me broke,' said Tali Amnon, 26, a graduate student
at Tel Aviv University. 'If they can call their children to fight, there is
no peace process. Maybe we're really at war and it's only us stupid
jerks on the left who don't know it.'"
In another article of today's edition of the same newspaper, Charles
Krauthammer writes:
"The doves [in Israel] are stunned. Avraham Burg, speaker of the
Israeli parliament and one of the architects of the Labor
government's bend-over-backward peace proposals, writes
perplexedly, pathetically: 'Do we really understand what is going
on? After everything was given, there are still demands on the other
side.' 'Suddenly we discovered,' he continues plaintively, 'that what
we mean by peace--which is mutual reconciliation--is not being met
by the other side.' Suddenly? Where has he been for seven
years?... "
Yet another Washington Post article in today's edition, by George
Will, states:
"Barak may be the most calamitous leader any democracy has
had. He risks forfeiting his nation's existence... Barak has made
territorial concessions no previous government contemplated,
including the sparsely populated and strategically vital Jordan
valley. He has thrown away longstanding U.S. support for an
undivided Jerusalem. Under Barak, Israel's rights in its own capital
are negotiable. And what has Barak's policy bought? Only Arafat's
promise to reject violence, which is akin to Hitler's promise, after
Munich, to make no more territorial claims in Europe...
"[Oslo architect Shimon] Peres is puzzled. If Arafat had behaved
like a bourgeois politician, Palestinians 'could have escaped the
poverty' they still suffer, and could have built 'a modern life.' But
Peres is hopeful: 'If somebody would tell you in 1944 that within
one year you can have a different Europe, that you can have peace,
I think everyone would be laughing. But look what happened.' Yes,
look. What happened one year after the worst year in Jewish
history was the *defeat* [emphasis not in original] of those vowing
to eradicate the Jews."
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2000 / Tishrei 12, 5761
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israelis and Palestinians contest holy shrine
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 20:49:22 -0400
Israelis and Palestinians contest holy shrine
October 11, 2000
By Jamie Tarabay, Associated Press
NABLUS, West Bank (AP)--Israel fought to hold on to a holy site
where many Jews believe a biblical figure is buried. Palestinians,
determined to rid their town of an Israeli presence, drove the
soldiers away.
Now the mayor of Nablus has called for international experts to
determine who is really buried at the site: a Muslim sheik or
Joseph, son of the biblical Jacob.
Mayor Ghassan Shakaa also said that the site, ransacked by
Palestinians after the Israelis fled, would be repaired. Workers were
fixing the damage Tuesday but were also painting the top of the
dome green =97 the color of Islam.
That step is likely to anger Israelis, who were already enraged by
television footage that showed Palestinian mobs hacking through
the dome and burning Jewish prayer books after Israeli soldiers
withdrew from the area last weekend.
The Jewish belief that Joseph was buried in the biblical town of
Shekhem, near the present-day Palestinian city of Nablus, is
based on a number of references in the Old Testament and the
Talmud. But no one knows for certain that he lies buried in the
place regarded by some as Joseph's Tomb, said Rabbi Yuval
Sherlo, who heads a seminary in the town of Petah Tikvah near Tel
Aviv.
Some archaeologists say the tomb is only a few centuries old and
may be the resting place of a Muslim sheik. Others say they
believe Joseph was buried at the site.
"Let's find out who this tomb really belongs to so we can reach a
solution,'' said Shakaa.
"If it's Sheik Yousef, we will turn it into a Muslim shrine,'' he said.
"If it's the Prophet Joseph, who we also believe in, then we have to
talk about how we can resolve this, how we can organize visits by
Jews under Palestinian control.''
The tomb was partially destroyed after Israeli soldiers withdrew
following a week of fighting that left six Palestinians and one Israeli
dead. The site was home to a Jewish seminary and was also used
as an Israeli army outpost. An American-born rabbi who taught at
the seminary was found slain on Sunday outside of Nablus. Hillel
Lieberman was to be buried on Wednesday.
But to Palestinians, the tomb and the isolated garrison of soldiers
who guarded it were a constant reminder of the military occupation
that they found intolerable.
"The people who demolished this place were very angry because a
lot of people were killed around this place,'' said Nablus resident
Ibrahim Dwekat. "The people here believe that this place is a
military location for the Israelis and not a religious place.''
The Israeli army is already contesting that assertion.
"Contrary to statements from the Palestinian Authority... the area
of Joseph's tomb is a holy place for Jews,'' the army said.
Footage of Palestinians painting the dome of the tomb green was
broadcast on Israeli television Tuesday, and the Israeli army
warned in its statement that the Palestinians were laying the
groundwork for turning "a Jewish holy place into a Muslim
mosque.''
Shakaa said the city simply wanted to return the building to the
way it looked before it came into Israeli hands in the 1967 Mideast
war.
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
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Subject: [BPR] - Gore wants homosexual couples to get immigration 'fast track'
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 20:54:43 -0400
Gore wants homosexual couples to get immigration 'fast track'
By Christine Hall
WASHINGTON (BP)--Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore says
that as president, he would extend to homosexual couples the same
priority immigration status granted heterosexual married couples,
the CNSNews.com Internet news site reported Oct.10.
In other words, if an American entered into a homosexual union in
a foreign country, U.S. immigration policy should prioritize
immigration for the foreign spouse, according to Gore.
"I think that the rights of an American who gets married to
someone from another country should be afforded under a legally
protected civil union in the same way," Gore said during a
September 26 interview at an MTV town hall forum for young
adults.
Critics complain that such a proposal might harm immigration
policies, disrupt the balance of power between states and the
federal government and advance the homosexual agenda here in the
United States, according to CNSNews.
"That policy would be a real setback to proponents of open
immigration," said Dan Griswold, associate director of the Cato
Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies. "It would raise lots
of opposition to immigration," he said. "It's not a very good
idea," he concluded.
Peter LaBarbera, director of the Americans for Truth Project,
said Gore's proposal is contrary to existing law and to public
opinion.
"This is another case of Al Gore pandering to the homosexual
lobby," said LaBarbera. "Most Americans would not agree to
allowing immigrants into the country based on a so-called
marriage in Amsterdam or wherever it's going to be legalized," he
said.
"I wish the Bush campaign would make an issue of this," he added.
The Bush campaign did not return a call today, seeking comment.
LaBarbera said granting preferential immigration to homosexual
"civil unions" would be a thinly disguised effort to make such
unions legitimate, nationwide. Civil Unions, which afford
homosexual couples the same benefits as heterosexual married
couples, are currently legal only in Vermont.
"The whole history on this issue is them pushing the legal
envelope," said LaBarbera. "So I think the danger of what Gore is
saying is if they would give that special treatment, then that
would help their cause in America," he said.
"Obviously, what they're going to do is have people get married,
even if it's two Americans, by going to wherever there is the
most liberal marriage laws and then come back and [start] test
cases on whether the U.S. will recognize these marriages,"
LaBarbera predicted.
LaBarbera also accused homosexual advocacy groups of
contradicting their own statements on the matter.
"The gay activists have been saying for years that there's no
need for the Defense of Marriage laws; there's no pressure to
recognize other marriages," LaBarbera said. "Now, we have one
nation which is coming close to recognizing so-called gay
marriage, and [homosexual activists are] saying we hope the U.S.
recognizes these marriages."
Michael Greve, a scholar on federalism with the American
Enterprise Institute, said the Gore proposal would create
upheaval in current federal and state law.
Federal law does not recognize homosexual unions for purposes of
federal benefit eligibility and leaves to states the choice of
whether to recognize such unions, said Greve.
"What would happen if the federal government all of a sudden
undercut its own position on this, I don't know," said Greve. "I
doubt that Gore has thought that through," he said.
"Could these people stroll in and say, 'you've already recognized
this in granting us immigration status. You cannot now turn
around and say it doesn't count for, let's say, federal
Medicare?'" Greve wondered. "And then, once you've gone down
that
road, could a state then withhold its share of Medicaid funding?
I don't know," he said.
But Greve was certain that the political pressure to recognize
homosexual marriages would be the result of the Gore proposal.
"No matter how long and hard you argue it's only for immigration,
I doubt that as a political matter you can make that plausible,"
Greve said. "States will feel politically compelled to recognize
these contracts the first time one domestic partner has a car
accident [in one state] and the hospital [in another state] won't
recognize [the marriage]," said Greve.
According to Greve, the size and scope of government is at the
root of the homosexual marriage controversy.
"If we lived in a society where people go about their contracts
and that's the end of it, and weren't constantly hanging on the
state, that would be one thing," he said. "What makes it hard is
that just about everything people do is subsidized, or in one way
or another shaped by the government," he continued.
Hall is a staff writer with the Internet news site CNSNews.com.
Used by permission.
Crosswalk.com" <newsletters@crosswalk.com
Baptist Press for Wednesday, October 11, 2000
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
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Subject: [BPR] - Jiang Calls for New World Order in Landmark China-Africa Talks
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 21:02:31 -0400
Jiang Calls for New World Order in Landmark China-Africa Talks
BEIJING, Oct 10 (AFP) - China opened its first-ever China-Africa
talks Tuesday, with President Jiang Zemin
warning officials from 44 African countries that "hegemonism and
power politics" was preventing the establishment of
an equitable world order.
Speaking to some 80 African ministers in Beijing's Great Hall of the
People in talks widely expected to boost
Sino-African ties, Jiang called on Africa to stand with China in
addressing global inequalites and a widening gap
between developed and developing nations.
"Hegemonism and power politics still exist, and developing
countries are still faced with an arduous task of
safeguarding their sovereignty, security and interests," Jiang said.
Developing nations should unite and demand equal rights on the
global state in an effort to establish "an equitable and
just new international political and economic order." Besides having
to fight poverty and ethnic strife at home,
developing nations were also faced with interference from developed
powers, he said.
"The right of all countries to sovereign equality and to freedom from
outside interference in their internal affairs must
be ensured to them." Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika,
Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, Zambian
President Frederick Chiluba, Togo President Gnassingbe Eyad{ma,
and secretary general of the Organization of
African States Salim Ahmed Salim, were among those gathered at
Tuesday's session.
The three-day forum is "an important step and meaningful initiative
taken by the Chinese government to consolidate
and strengthen Sino-African friendship and cooperation at the start
of the new millennium," Chinese Foreign Affairs
Minister Tang Jiaxuan said last month.
"Africa is waiting for this forum with lots of interest. It will be a
chance for each country to discuss its bilateral
relations with China, but also tackle some large multilateral
questions such as external debt," a West African diplomat
told AFP.
Before the forum China announced it would reduce the debt owed
to China by poorer African states, but did not
reveal how much debt would be reduced or to which nations.
The meeting has also been scheduled to adopt a "Beijing
declaration" reflecting a Sino-African consensus on larger
poltical questions, including the "new international order," a
euphemism ofter used by Beijing that refers to the global
domination of the United States and its Western allies.
"Beijing is trying to get more countries on its side in its struggle
against US hegemonism," said a Western diplomat.
In a surprise move, Beijing invited eight African countries that
maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan to attend the
forum as observers, following pressure from the Organization of
African Unity.
The eight are Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Malawai,
Chad, Swaziland, and Sao Tome and Principe, but
only Liberia and Malawai accepted the invitations.
China traditionally shuns all nations that diplomatically recognize
Taiwan as an independent nation, but at the same
time is eager to urge such countries to cut ties with Taipei and
recognize Beijing as the sole legitimate government of
all of China.
http://www.chinatimes.com/english/epolitic/89101016.htm
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
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