Asia News Digest
The Eurasian Land-Bridge: How To Reconstruct a Bankrupt World
This week's EIW INDEPTH Feature is a tour de force on economic development for Asia and Europe, and the plans for linking the two through the building of the historic "Eurasian Land-Bridge." The Feature includes the presentations given at the Land-Bridge session of the Schiller Institute's March 22 conference in Bad Schwalbach, Germany. The speeches include: "Prospects of Economic Cooperation in Northeast Asia," by Dr. Kim Sang-woo; "Economic Outlook for the Eurasian Railroad," by Dr. Chin Hyung-in; "Why We Need Peace and Eurasian Union," by Chandrajit Yadav; "Eurasian Land-Bridge Viewed From the North," by Dr. Markku Heiskanen; and "Realizing LaRouche's Idea of Economy," by Dr. Zbigniew Kwiczak.
The proceedings of the Bad Schwalbach conference are posted on the Schiller Institute website, www.schillerinstitute.org.
Malaysian Minister Warns U.S. May Retaliate Over Opposition to Iraq War
Malaysian exporters should look for more markets to counter the effects of the United States-led invasion of Iraq and prepare for possible trade retaliation by the U.S. for Malaysia's opposition to the war, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said March 30. "The impact of our stand [against the war] has not been accounted for yet, but I would like to urge all of us to take preliminary caution to diversify and reduce our export dependence on the U.S. and look for other potential markets elsewhere," he said.
He said Malaysia had been very outspoken against the war, "but we do not know what kind of action the U.S. will take." "They might not even do anything like imposing higher tariffs on our goods or sanctions, but we cannot wait for all that to happen, [and] then think how to get out of it," he told reporters.
Indonesia Discusses Euro as Alternative to Dollar
Indonesia Vice President Hamzah Haz has supported an idea to use the European euro as an alternative means of payment in international trade and a component of foreign exchange reserves. He said that the plan must be assessed and considered thoroughly, and should never be carried out merely for political reasons, for instance, the current U.S.-led military strikes on Iraq. "One thing is for sure," he said, "the adoption of the euro as an alternative means of payments could be an effective solution to speculative dollar-oriented dealings."
Previously, Minister of Finance Boediono had said that the euro would become more attractive if the depreciation trend of the U.S. dollar continues. Economic instability in the U.S., current depreciation trend continued, due to the economic instability in the U.S. and the uncertainties over the Iraq war.
Noted currency analyst Farial Anwar said the dollar is currently unstable because, financially, the U.S. is no longer deemed safe. Rizal Ramli, a former senior economic minister, said that Indonesia needs to begin freeing itself from bondage to the dollar in financial dealings.
"It is important for Indonesia, and other developing countries, to start balancing out their dependence on the dollar by switching their financial orientation from the greenback to other currencies, especially the euro," Rizal said.
Indonesian House Speaker: Try Bush and Blair for War Crimes
Amien Rais, who heads Indonesia's lower house of Parliament, the DPR, delivered a letter to the UN building in Jakarta, demanding that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair be tried in an international court "for their unjustified use of force against the people of Iraq." Rais heads one of the country's largest Islamic political parties, the PAN Party, and is expected to run for President in 2004.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, has been a fierce critic of the U.S.-led campaign. Between 100,000 and 300,000 people took part in a mass street rally in Jakarta March 30, according to figures in the press; although organizers claimed over 1 million participated. The rally brought together all of the major faiths and featured large banners in Arabic and quotations from recent statements of Pope John Paul II.
North Korea Hardens After Iraq Waras LaRouche Warned
As Lyndon LaRouche warned in discussions and public speeches since January, the Iraq war policy would make the North Korea crisis more intense. As LaRouche warned, Pyongyang is drawing the conclusion that its sovereignty will be violated. North Korea declared March 29 it will make no concessions to end the nuclear crisis, and pledged instead to build up its defenses to fend off the kind of "miserable fate" that has befallen Iraq. The official daily of the Korean Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun, said, "it is clear that the destiny of Iraq is at stake due to its concession and compromise."
North Korea "would have already met the same miserable fate as Iraq's had it compromised its national sovereignty and accepted the demand raised by the imperialists and its followers for 'nuclear inspection' and disarmament," the daily said editorially. It said the Workers' Party's "army-based policy" and defensive capacity were the "No. 1 lifeline" of the communist state and provided a sure guarantee not only for protecting its sovereignty but ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. It added that the country "will increase its self-defensive capability and fully demonstrate its might under the uplifted banner of the 'army-based policy.'"
Afghanistan in Chaos: Despite Pentagon Declarations of Victory
U.S. troops combing for Taliban and al-Qaeda members in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan came under rocket attack, the U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Col. Roger King told BBC March 31. The U.S. troops called in Apache helicopters and an AV-8 Harrier jet for support. The air attack targetted three vehicles believed to be carrying the attackers. No GI has been injured. No report has been issued on how many of the assailants were hit.
On March 30, two U.S. special forces troops were killed in an ambush, allegedly laid out by the former Afghan premier and Hezb-e-Islami leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. There is a definite rise in incidents noticed in recent days. On March 27, a Salvadoran foreign aid worker carrying a Swiss passport was killed in an ambush. The day after, the Kabul UN headquarters, which is located across the street from the U.S. embassy, was subjected to rocket attacks by the rebels. Hekmatyar had been supported and supplied for many years by the U.S. and British governments.
At the same time, a former leader of the Taliban government, former Cabinet Minister Mullah Dadullah, says the time is ripe for the Taliban to make a comeback. Speaking to BBC on March 30, Mullah Dadullah said the Taliban has already regrouped under Taliban supremo Mullah Mohammad Omar and has engaged in protracted warfare against the U.S. troops and the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF). Mullah Dadullah pointed out that the time is ripe to seize power for two reasons: First, the growing anti-U.S. sentiment sweeping across Afghanistan and the entire region; and second, the arrival of spring, the traditional time to start a war offensive in Afghanistan.
Mullah Dadullah is the first senior Taliban leader to give an interview since the government was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. The Taliban government collapsed in December of that year.
U.S. Launched Heavy Bombing Assault Against Suspected Taliban in Southern Afghanistan
More than 35,000 pounds of ordinance was fired from five types of aircraftHarrier jets, B-1 and B-52 bombers, A-10 Thunderbolts and helicopter gunshipsreports the American military spokesman in Afghanistan, Col. Roger King, on April 3. The target of the U.S. attack was the mountains near Spin Boldak in the province of Kandahar. Reports indicate that the Taliban were regrouping in this area, and were holed up in these mountains. No reports on the number of casualties have been filed.
Afghan military commander Khan Mohammad, who is helping the U.S. troops in searching the mountains, accused Pakistan of aiding the Taliban's regrouping, and the director of the foreign affairs in Spin Boldak, Khalid Khan, told reporters that former Taliban commanders were living safely "in hundreds of homes in Quetta"capital of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali says that increased Taliban activities may be linked to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has issued a warning saying the security situation in the whole of Afghanistan is now extremely volatile and not safe for Americans.
U.S. Sanctions Pakistani Uranium Enrichment Company for Proliferating WMD
The U.S. has accused Pakistan's key uranium enrichment plant of "helping a foreign country [read: North Korea], person, or entity acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction," and has announced sanctions against AQ Khan Research Laboratory (KRL). What exactly such sanctions would mean to Pakistan has not been made clear, but it would definitely act as a pressure point for Washington to demand concessions from Islamabad on other issues.
Meanwhile, under orders from Washington, Islamabad has arrested Boston-based scientist Aafia Siddiqui, while she was visiting Pakistan. Siddiqui, who had her PhD in neurological sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was arrested when she landed at the Karachi airport. She has been charged with providing vital chemical warfare plans to individuals who are considered al-Qaeda members. Islamabad says that the FBI claims that Siddiqui had been in touch with Adnan Shukrijumah, who is wanted by the FBI for posing a possible threat to the United States. Siddiqui has been handed over to the FBI Pakistan office for interrogation.
Fear Emerges That 'Pakistan Next After Iraq'
In an interview with the Agence France Presse, an analyst from one of Pakistan's most important think tanks, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, said the U.S. sanctions on Pakistan's top nuclear research facility over alleged technology-sharing with North Korea may indicate a plan for an aggressive action against Pakistan by the United States. "It is possible these are signals that Pakistan has to fall in line or it could be the target in the future," said analyst A.H. Nayyar.
Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan has demanded evidence from the U.S. to back allegations that it exported nuclear technology to North Korea. "We reject the charges made by the American Administration," Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said. The New York Times reported recently that a Pakistani aircraft arrived in Pyongyang as recently as last July to pick up North Korean missile partsthe payoff in what it said was "deadly barter" (enriched uranium for missile parts) raising disturbing questions about U.S. and Pakistan relations.
In Beijing, China and Pakistan on April 1 signed a charter on bilateral cooperation in the field of defense industry and technology.
Only Losers in Mindanao Terror Attacks
Following a terrorist bombing at a wharf in the southern Philippines city of Davao, Mindanao, on April 2, which killed 16 and injured 50, a series of grenade attacks were launched in the middle of the night against three mosques in majority or predominantly Muslim neighborhoods.
The wharf bombing occurred shortly before the arrival of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for a regional tour. She immediately declared a "state of lawlessness" in Davao City and three surrounding provinces, which order authorizes the launching of a major military and police crackdown. She described the order as "total war," adding that it may be expanded after talks with Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Officials also said that U.S. and Australian forensic experts, who assisted in the investigation of a March terrorist bombing at the Davao airport, are expected to return to assist in investigating this new atrocity.
No one has claimed the wharf bombing, which occurred as the government and the leading regional Islamic organization, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), planned new peace talks. The MILF spokesman, Eid Kabalu, categorically denied any involvement, saying, "The MILF has never been involved in such kind of bombings, where civilians are a target. We consider it a heinous crime against humanity."
The Philippine Catholic Bishops immediately condemned the grenade attacks on the mosques, as an effort to "inflame religious sentiments and biases, and aim[ed] to inject a religious dimension into a conflict that is primarily political and economic."
Thai Prime Minister Slams U.S. State Department Human Rights Report
"The U.S. does not practice what it preaches." In no uncertain terms, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra denounced the State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2002, released on March 31. On April 2, Prime Minister Thaksin struck back: "For a country that likes to talk about peace, it sure doesn't practise it much. One day our Foreign Ministry might take the liberty of berating another country about a great many things that it had done which were lousy. We are a friend [of the U.S.]. But we are nobody's lackey. [The U.S.] should look at us as an ally and mind its manners. The U.S. should quit acting like a big brother. We've said before and we'll say again that we don't depend on anyone. The U.S. is fond of preaching rectitude to the world, but sometimes, the person who teaches never practices what he preaches."
Thailand is one of the closest allies the U.S. has in Southeast Asia.
Peaceful Nuclear Pursuits Hindered
The current fear of WMD has impeded the advancement of nuclear power for peaceful pursuits, especially in the fields of medicine, agriculture, and industries, Malaysia's Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding lamented, citing the over-control and over-caution by countries which restricted these exports. He said the issue was brought up at last month's Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
On March 31, Minister Law addressed a three-day Regional Seminar for Asean States, "Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Strengthened Safeguards and Additional Protocol," where, he reported, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) leaders say that proliferation concerns are best addressed through multilaterally negotiated, universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory agreements. NAM heads of state expressed their strong rejection of attempts by member states to use the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical cooperation as a tool for political purposes, in violation of the IAEA's statute.
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