World Stage
June 23, 2001
Europe and Canada
NATO's Robertson Warns Macedonia
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson has warned that Macedonia may be close to civil war and urged the country's political leaders to resume deadlocked peace talks. Robertson made his comments after NATO said Wednesday it was prepared to send a limited number of troops to help disarm ethnic Albanian gunmen in Macedonia -- but only after a peace plan is worked out. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Congressional panel U.S. troops might eventually join in such an operation. But he said the United States has not yet made a commitment to participate.
Meanwhile, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski has Muslim leaders for the break down of peace talks. Trajkovski says the Muslims are seeking to transform the country into a federal state, effectively dividing it. That demand already has been rejected by the country's Macedonian majority. Muslim leaders deny the charge, saying they are only seeking changes in the constitution to guarantee the rights of their community. The developments come amid reports of continued sporadic exchanges of gunfire between Muslim terrorists and government forces around villages in northern Macedonia.
Talks between Macedonian's Slavic majority and Muslim minority resumed Monday, as both sides hope to prevent all-out war. Leaders of the four parties from both sides, which make up Macedonian's national unity government, are considering Trajkovski's peace plan. It includes a permanent cease fire and amnesty for Muslim terrorists who voluntarily disarm. Trajkovski also promises greater Muslim participation in the government. Some government negotiators say certain Muslim demands, including veto rights and a high-ranking government office, are unacceptable. The Muslim terrorists launched their insurrection in February. They have declared a cease fire to give both sides a chance to talk. Government soldiers have also promised to show restraint. The Muslims control several major towns and many villages close to the capital of Skopje. The terrorists say they are fighting for the rights of Macedonia's Muslim minority. The government accuses them of trying to annex Muslim populated regions to Kosovo, a quasi-autonomous province of the Yugoslavian republic of Serbia. Both the Macedonian Muslims and the Kosovo Muslims are ethnic Albanians. Many believe that the eventual goal of the terrorists is to unite both Kosovo and the Muslim parts of Macedonia to Albania.
Putin Says Summit with Bush a Success
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and President Bush reached a high level of trust during their recent summit, despite disagreements over security threats. In a nearly three-hour interview Monday, Putin told U.S. reporters he remains unconvinced by Bush's arguments for building a missile defense system. He said if Washington goes ahead on its own to construct a missile defense shield, Russia is prepared to upgrade its strategic nuclear arsenal. But the Russian president said he was encouraged by Bush's pledge that Washington and Moscow will work together. He said Bush was a "very attentive listener" and referred to him repeatedly as a partner. During the interview, Putin also denied Russia is selling sensitive nuclear technology to Iran.
Putin Says Kosovo to Blame Balkans Instability
Russian President Vladimir Putin says everything must be done in the Balkans to disarm Muslim terrorists. Putin spoke to reporters Sunday after making a surprise visit to Kosovo. He is the first Russian leader to go to Yugoslavia since the communist federation broke up in 1992. Putin called Kosovo the source of instability in the region and the root of religious extremism and intolerance. Putin called for a Balkans summit that he says would lead to an agreement reaffirming territorial integrity and preventing any borders from being redrawn. He said changing the borders - a move proposed by Muslims - would be destructive and dangerous.
Movement Led by Bulgaria's Ex-King Wins Election
A political movement led by Bulgaria's former King Simeon II has won an overwhelming victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections. With nearly all of the ballots counted, election officials say the Simeon National Movement had about 43-percent of the vote. If confirmed, the officials say the movement will have an absolute majority with 121 seats in the 240-member parliament. Prime Minister Ivan Kostov's ruling center-right United Democratic Front is running second with about 18 percent of the vote. Mr. Kostov has already conceded defeat. The 64-year-old former king, who returned to Bulgaria from exile in Spain earlier this year, was not a candidate in Sunday's balloting. Simeon has not said how he sees his future role in the country, but he could become Eastern Europe's first former monarch to return to power since the fall of communism. Simeon became Bulgaria's boy king in 1943 when his father, King Boris III died. Bulgaria's communist government abolished the monarchy in 1946 and forced King Simeon into exile. He was a successful businessman in Spain before returning to Bulgaria in April.
Middle East and Africa
Powell To Travel to Mideast to Bolster Cease-Fire
President Bush is sending Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East next week to bolster the fragile cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians. Bush said despite the shaky nature of the cease-fire brokered last week by the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency George Tenet, he feels enough progress has been made to justify a trip by Secretary of State Powell. The president said during separate telephone conversations Wednesday, he urged both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to continue to work toward breaking the cycle of violence. Bush is scheduled to meet with Sharon at the White House next Tuesday.
See "Eye on Israel" feature for expanded news coverage of Israel.
Rumsfeld Blames Iraq for Civilian Deaths
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Iraqi fire - not U.S. and British war planes - is apparently at fault for the deaths of civilians in northern Iraq earlier this week. Iraq accused the United States and Britain of firing on a group of football players in a field west of Mosul. The Iraqi report said 23 people were killed and 11 others injured. U.S. Defense Department officials say U.S. and British planes flew over the area but did not launch any air strikes. But Rumsfeld said late Wednesday he believes misdirected Iraqi ground-fire caused the mishap. He says coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq this week observed Iraqi missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire at a distance. U.S. and British aircraft patrol the so-called no-fly zones established after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurdish dissidents in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces. Baghdad does not recognize the exclusion zones and has challenged allied aircraft since December 1998.
Egyptian Coptic Christians Clash with Police, 70 Injured
Egyptian authorities say as many as 70 people were been injured when clashes erupted between police and Coptic Christians protesting a newspaper article that maligned the Coptic religion. Authorities say clashes erupted late Wednesday, when about 3,000 angry Coptic youths gathered at Cario's Abbassiya Cathedral and began throwing stones at police outside the church compound. Coptic youths were protesting the release on bail of the editor of the newspaper that published the article. The editor was charged with disturbing the peace and religious sedition. His trial at an emergency state security court in Cairo is expected to begin Sunday.
Syria Wraps Up Beirut Troop Pullout
Lebanese officials say Syria has almost completed its pullout of troops from positions in and around the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The officials say Syria has withdrawn about 7,000 of 10,000 soldiers it had stationed in the area. By late Tuesday, the Syrians had pulled out of key points along Beirut's Mediterranean shoreline and near the presidential palace and the defense ministry. But troops have not yet withdrawn from several positions near the international airport, the adjacent Muslim southern suburbs, and mountains to the east. Some soldiers also returned to a post near the American University in Beirut, which they had vacated only two days ago. Lebanese officials say Syrian soldiers will continue to remain at a Syrian intelligence post in the seaside Ramlet al-Baida area, and several other sensitive locations, including a key road-junction on the Beirut-Damascus highway.
Syria began shifting the troops last Thursday in an apparent concession to a Christian-led campaign against Syrian dominance in Lebanon. The Syrian redeployment is expected to conclude by the end of this week. The Syrian units left in the direction of the eastern Bekaa Valley and the Beirut to Damascus highway. It is unclear if the troops are leaving Lebanon or moving to bases in the eastern Bekaa Valley. There has been no comment or explanation from Syria on the troop movements. Lebanese officials have welcomed the redeployment, although it is not yet clear how extensive the withdrawal will be. Syria has had up to 35,000 troops in Lebanon. It began sending soldiers to Lebanon in 1976 in the early stage of that country's Muslim-Christian civil war. The war ended in 1990. Opponents of the Syrian presence have stepped up their calls for a Syrian withdrawal since the end of the 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon by Israeli forces last year.
Yemen Arrests Suspects for Plotting to Attack US Agents
U.S. media reports say Yemeni authorities have arrested a group of suspected terrorists for allegedly plotting to attack Americans investigating last year's bombing of a U.S. Navy ship in Aden. The reports quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying the suspects were believed to be planning to carryout a suicide bomb attack against the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. According to the reports the suspects were found with hand grenades, small arms and some documents, including a map of the U.S. Embassy. One report says the arrested men are believed to be affiliated with a Muslim fundamentalist group linked to suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Sudanese Rebel Leader Warns Foreign Oil Companies
The leader of Sudan's largest rebel group says foreign oil installations are legitimate targets in his civil war against the country's Muslim-led government. John Garang of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, or SPLA, told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that foreign oil companies threaten the people of southern Sudan with their exploration. Garang said that more than 100,000 people have been displaced by foreign oil companies. The rebels say the Muslim-dominated government in Khartoum uses oil revenues to carry on its war against the mostly-Christian part of southern Sudan. The government denies this. About two million people have been killed in Sudan's 18-year civil war.
Asia and Australia
China, EU Reach Final Trade Deal
China and the European Union have overcome their trade differences, clearing the way for Beijing to enter the World Trade Organization, or WTO. The two sides announced an agreement in Brussels Wednesday, after two days of talks focused on the insurance market. WTO sources said the EU wanted stronger pledges from Beijing on access for European companies to the Chinese insurance market. No details of the agreement have been provided. EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy told reporters the agreement is good for China, for Europe and for the world. China is the EU's third-largest trading partner, after the United States and Japan. This was the last major hurdle in Beijing's 15-year campaign to join the global trading body. At WTO headquarters in Geneva, officials have scheduled a June 28 negotiating session to start the process of admitting China. China needs the support of all 141 WTO members to complete the membership process.
Taiwan Test Fires US-Made Patriot Missiles
Taiwan's army says it has successfully test-fired U.S.-made Patriot missiles today - the first such tests since the anti-missile system was acquired from the United States in 1993. An army statement did not provide any details, but officials say at least three missiles were launched from a military base in southern Taiwan. At least two targets were reported to have been hit. Taiwan's defense ministry has declined to comment on the missile tests, which come as China conducts major war games across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwanese officials have said the Chinese military drills are routine and have no wider significance. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland.
North Korea Again Rejects U.S. Talks
North Korea has again dismissed a U.S. proposal to discuss North Korean troop deployments, one day after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says he expects talks with Pyongyang to resume soon.
State-run North Korean radio said Thursday that a dialogue would not resume unless the talks are "equal and fair." Pyongyang previously rejected a proposed U.S. agenda that would include talks on limiting North Korea's conventional forces, arguing the talks should have no conditions attached. But Powell told a U.S. Senate panel Wednesday that it will be hard to move dialogue forward without discussing North Korean troop deployments, which he says threaten South Korea and ultimately Pyongyang's well-being. North Korean and U.S. officials met last week in New York for their first talks since President Bush took office in January.
The U.S. has rejected North Korea's claim for compensation for alleged U.S. violations of a 1994 agreement on construction of nuclear reactors. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday the United States did not violate the agreement and sees no basis for compensating North Korea's on its claim of huge financial losses due to delays in building the nuclear reactors. Earlier Monday, North Korea rejected President Bush's proposal to resume a bilateral dialogue, instead saying a priority on any talks should be Washington's alleged failure to adhere to the agreement and on compensation. Under the deal, made by then-President Bill Clinton, a U.S.-led international consortium is to build two power-generating nuclear reactors in North Korea by 2003 in exchange for Pyongyang's suspension of its own nuclear program suspected of being involved in weapons development. The construction project has been delayed by financial problems and tensions on the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang says a priority in any talks should be compensation to North Korea for electricity losses caused by the delays.
Japan's Defense Chief Says, 'No Plans To Join US Missile Defense Initiative'
Japan has no immediate plans to join the U.S. national missile defense initiative, says that country's defense chief. Defense Agency Head Gen Nakatani said Sunday in a television interview that Japan would continue to conduct research with the U.S. on the theater missile defense system, but will not take part in this stage of the U.S. missile defense initiative. Nakatani plans to visit Washington this week and meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Japanese leader said his country will make its decision on the missile defense shield after carefully considering the U.S. explanation of the plan. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said his government remains officially neutral about the shield, but the plan is worth researching. The prime minister is scheduled to meet with President Bush at Camp David at the end of this month. Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has come under criticism for reported remarks expressing reservations about U.S. plans for a missile defense shield.
Muslim Terrorists Take Hostages in Tajikistan
Muslim terrorists in eastern Tajikistan are holding 11 aid workers hostage, including an American and two German citizens. Government officials in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, say 15 workers belonging to a German aid organization were abducted late Friday about 160 kilometers east of the city. Four were later released. Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov called an emergency meeting with his ministers to review urgent steps for the release of the hostages. The terrorists are believed to be members of a Muslim terrorist group that waged a five-year war against the Russian-backed communist government until a peace agreement was signed in 1997.
Indian Police Arrest Third Suspect in Alleged Bomb Plot
Indian police have arrested a third suspect in an alleged plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in New Delhi. Police on Sunday said they arrested a suspect identified only as Abbas in the western city of Udaipur. Police say the suspect was given the responsibility of procuring a vehicle to be used in bombing the U.S. embassy. Friday, Indian authorities arrested a Sudanese national and an Indian man in the alleged plot. The two were said to be in possession of explosives at the time of their arrest. Officials said the Sudanese suspect admitted under questioning he was connected to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden - the alleged mastermind of the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Those blasts killed more than 220 people.
American Hostage Believed Killed by Muslim Terrorists
A top Philippine military spokesman says officials now believe an American kidnapped last month by Muslim terrorists has been killed. General Edilberto Adan told a news conference Monday authorities had concluded Guillermo Sobero is dead, based in part on statements of an escaped fellow captive, who said Sobero had been tied up and separated from the rest of the hostages. The Abu Sayyaf terrorists said last week that they had beheaded the 40-year-old American but officials had been skeptical because they have not found his body. Meanwhile, President Gloria Arroyo has arrived on the southern island of Basilan to check on the progress of military operations against the rebels, who still hold at least two other Americans and about 24 Philippine citizens. Arroyo inspected the repair work on a hospital and church in the town of Lamitan, the scene of a furious battle between the military and the Abu Sayyaf a week ago. Arroyo has rejected making any deals with the rebels and has ordered an all-out war to destroy the rebels.
Latin America
Peruvian Court Sentences American Woman to 20 Years
A Peruvian civilian court has sentenced an American woman to 20 years in prison after convicting her of collaborating with Marxist guerrillas during the 1990s. The court in Lima found 31-year old Lori Berenson had collaborated with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, which had planned to attack the Peruvian Congress. But it said she was not an active member of the terrorist group. The judges also ruled that more than five years Berenson has already served under a previous conviction will count towards the 20-year term. Berenson told the court her sentence was unjust, and her attorney said she would appeal to Peru's Supreme Court and to the Inter American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. Earlier, Berenson proclaimed her innocence to the court, saying, in her words, "I am not a terrorist." A Peruvian military court convicted Berenson in January, 1996, on similar charges and sentenced her to life in prison. Another military court overturned the life sentence last August and handed the case over to civilian courts.
Castro Says Havana Not Buying Arms From China
Cuban President Fidel Castro has strongly denied a recent U.S. newspaper report that his country is buying weapons from China. Speaking on Cuban television, Castro said three shiploads of goods arrived in Cuba from China last year. But he said they contained only clothing, rice, beans and some construction explosives. Castro denounced the report in the Washington Times newspaper as "lies," and said Cuba has not purchased arms from anyone for a decade. When the report appeared last week, China also strongly denied it as "groundless." U.S. law calls for sanctions against any country that supplies lethal weapons to a "terrorist nation." Cuba is listed by the State Department as a nation that aids terrorists, and confirmation of the sale of arms to Havana by China would bring into question China’s huge trade with the United States.
Mexico, Central American Leaders Launch Regional Development Plan
Mexican President Vicente Fox and seven Central American counterparts Friday launched an ambitious plan to improve the lives of some 65 million people in the region. In San Salvador Friday, the presidents endorsed the "Puebla-Panama Plan," which Fox developed to reduce poverty in an area stretching from Mexico's industrial city of Puebla to Panama. Fox 's plan calls for regional cooperation in economic development, tourism, trade, energy and telecommunications. Fox has called on international, regional and local institutions to support the Puebla-Panama project.
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