Jiang Zemin

BEIJING, March 4--China’s former supreme leader Jiang Zemin Friday formally handed in his resignation from the largely ceremonial position as chairman of the state Central Military Commission (CMC), AFP quoted official media as saying.
It was his last high-level post in the government apparatus, and marks his final step into full retirement.
Jiang’s letter of resignation was read out at a meeting of the presidium of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the rubber-stamp parliament which begins its annual full meeting Saturday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The presidium adopted a draft resolution to accept Jiang’s resignation, according to the agency.
The formal vote on the draft resolution is set to take place Tuesday, once the NPC’s meetings have got underway, according to a schedule for this year’s proceedings.
Jiang has held the position for 15 years, ever since he was hastily installed as the head of the so-called third generation of leaders following the massacre of pro-democracy protesters on Tiananmen Square in 1989.
In terms of actual political significance, the resignation pales in comparison with Jiang’s September announcement that he had given up the Communist Party’s CMC, which holds the real power over the military.
Xinhua said the reins of the state CMC were expected to go to President Hu Jintao, Jiang’s successor who has taken over all of his other responsibilities.
Hu assumed the job as secretary general of the Communist Party from Jiang in 2002, and as state president in 2003.
Jiang was made chairman of the Communist Party and state CMCs without having had any previous military experience whatsoever.
However, observers have said Jiang spent the next decade and a half dealing skillfully with the military establishment, promoting supporters to key positions and advocating modernization of the armed forces.
Hu, Jiang’s likely successor at the state CMC, faces a similar handicap as China’s commander-in-chief, never having served in the armed forces in any capacity.

BEIT-UL-MOQADDAS, March 4--In a symbolic move, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Likud Party voted Thursday for a national referendum on his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank this summer, but the embattled leader ignored the resolution and pressed ahead, scheduling a final parliamentary test in two weeks, AP reported.
Agreeing in advance to the vote, Sharon faced down critics, including his foreign minister and finance minister, who insisted that since Sharon switched from backing settlement expansion to uprooting them, the people should have a say.
“The majority of the people support both the &#8217disengagement’ and a referendum,“ said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. The pullout would mean removing veteran settlements from the West Bank and Gaza for the first time. Israel has never had a referendum.
The nonbinding party vote came hours after a car bomb exploded near a Jewish shrine in the West Bank as hundreds of Israeli worshippers prayed there, causing no injuries but damaging nearby Palestinian homes and underscoring the vulnerability of the Mideast truce declared last month.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to intervene personally to ensure that both Israelis and Palestinian factions adhere to an agreement reached last month, including a pledge of nonviolence.
Abbas, who met with Mubarak at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, also said he expects the Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas to take part in a meeting of Palestinian factions planned for mid-March in Cairo.
Speaking to his raucous central committee, Sharon did not even mention the referendum idea, which he considers a last-ditch delaying tactic. Instead, he referred to parliamentary approval of the pullout last month.
“The decisions of the parliament will be carried out as approved,“ he declared, drawing boos from the crowd. “I will not allow the extremist margins to dictate our policy,“ he said. Sharon said the pullout would cement Israel’s hold on vital parts of the West Bank, including main settlement blocs.

NAIROBI, Kenya, March 4--Kenyan Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi has urged Britain to formally apologize for the brutality it committed against the country’s independence fighters, Mau Mau, during the colonial period, AFP reported.
“I call upon the government of the United Kingdom, as a civilized nation to do the honorable thing and issue a formal apology to the Mau Mau, their families and the people of Kenya for these barbaric crimes against humanity,“ Murungi said.
Murungi was speaking on Thursday during the launch of a book, &#8220Britain&#8217s Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya,&#8220 by Caroline Elkins of Harvard University, who argues that tactics used by the British in their crackdown on the Mau Mau rebellion amounted to crimes against humanity.<br> Elkins writes that London&#8217s &#8220draconian response&#8220 to the independence fighters was to &#8220treat and portray them as sub-human savages&#8220.<br> &#8220We want the British government to acknowledge their wrongdoing and say sorry. It&#8217s only that way that we can say that our humanity is recognized,&#8220 said Paul Muite, a Kenyan lawmaker, who is among a team of lawyers preparing to sue Britain for compensation.<br> The freedom fighters have vowed to sue London for compensation for the torture and atrocities inflicted during the brutal repression of the Mau Mau rebellion a half century ago.<br> Crushed testicles, weeks of starvation, being tossed into hot water and onto ant hills, being smeared with blood and released to dogs, beatings, nakedness and having soil stuffed into their rectums were just some of the litany of horrors the Mau Mau claim to have been subjected to.<br> The Mau Mau, which started as a grassroots movement among the Kikuyu tribe to recover arable farmlands appropriated by British colonial settlers, evolved into a brutal full-fledged rebellion in 1952 that demanded Kenyan independence.<br> Its hit-and-run tactics against white settlers prompted a heavy-handed response from colonial police and allied home guards and thousands of young Kikuyu men were rounded up and died amid horrific brutality and torture.<br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td width=20 align=right valign=middle> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left> <a name="48693"></a> <div class=surtitle3> MSF:<br> </div> <div class=title3> Women, Children Gang-Raped in Congo <br> </div> <div class=subtitle3> </div> <div class=detail3> <table class=RightImage border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=397> <tr> <td align=Right> <img src="017616.jpg" border=1 width=397 height=295 alt="017616.jpg"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div class=caption3> Congolese women queue for food distributed by aid workers in the northeastern Congolese town of Bunia, June 20. (Reuters Photo)<br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> GENEVA, March 4--Women and children are being gang-raped in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in what amounts to crimes against humanity, Reuters quoted Medecins Sans Frontieres as saying on Thursday.<br> The aid group called for all forces deployed in the Ituri region--including UN peacekeepers who killed an estimated 50 militiamen in a battle on Tuesday--to protect the tens of thousands of Congolese civilians fleeing violence.<br> &#8220These rapes are often extremely violent and committed in the presence of the victim&#8217s family who is also traumatized,&#8220 Francoise Duroch, coordinator of MSF&#8217s program for victims of sexual violence, told a news briefing.<br> &#8220The cruelty associated with these rapes make us think of crimes against humanity.&#8220<br> MSF has treated 2,567 rape victims, from aged from 4-months-old to 80-years old, at its hospital in Bunia, capital of Ituri district, since June 2003.<br> But the true number could be up to 50 times higher as many decline to seek help due to the stigma, it said.<br> Some 77 percent of the women have been raped by two or more assailants, according to Roman Gillies, president of MSF International, which has recently moved to Geneva from Brussels.<br> Ethnic warfare marked by atrocities has killed more than 50,000 people in Ituri since 1999.<br> An upsurge in clashes since January has escalated further since nine Bangladeshi UN troops were killed a week ago.<br> MSF has partially suspended its aid activities in four camps in the region, but is not considering withdrawing for now, according to Gillies.<br> &#8220We see people trickling into (Bunia) hospital with machete wounds telling stories of massacres. However we think it is the tip of the iceberg,&#8220 he said.<br> MSF also voiced concern that malnutrition is rising, with one in four children in the area showing signs.<br> Abiy Tamrat, head of the emergency desk at MSF Switzerland, said the crisis was becoming like 2003 when &#8220lawlessness and revenge was the norm rather than the exception&#8220.<br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td width=20 align=right valign=middle> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left> <a name="48696"></a> <div class=surtitle3> </div> <div class=title3> Chavez Renews Threat to Cut Oil Supplies to US <br> </div> <div class=subtitle3> </div> <div class=detail3> <table class=RightImage border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=227> <tr> <td align=Right> <img src="017619.jpg" border=1 width=227 height=157 alt="017619.jpg"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div class=caption3> Hugo Chavez <br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> NEW DELHI, India, March 4--Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has renewed a threat to halt oil supplies to the United States if Washington &#8220hurts&#8220 the Latin American country, AFP reported. <br> Relations between Venezuela, which exports the bulk of its oil to the United States, and Washington have been badly strained since Chavez last month accused Washington of plotting to have him assassinated. <br> &#8220If there is any aggression, there will be no oil,&#8220 Chavez, who arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India told journalists, the Press Trust of India reported on Friday. <br> &#8220We want to supply oil to the US. We&#8217re not going to avoid this supply of oil unless US government gets a little bit crazy and tries to hurt us,&#8220 he said after a ceremonial welcome at the Indian president&#8217s palace. <br> The US State Department has dismissed Chavez&#8217s accusations that Washington is seeking to have him killed as &#8220ridiculous and untrue.&#8220 <br> Venezuela is the world&#8217s fifth-biggest oil exporter and is among the largest providers to the United States. <br> Chavez, who is on a trip to India where energy will top the agenda, started alleging Washington was planning his death after the United States criticised some of his government&#8217s actions as &#8220deeply troubling.&#8220 <br> Earlier this month, Chavez told a news conference in Uruguay that the United States would not receive a drop of oil if he were to be killed. <br> Asked whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Venezuela is a member, will increase output to cool current near-record prices, Chavez said Friday the cartel was &#8220producing enough&#8220 <br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td width=20 align=right valign=middle> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left> <a name="48699"></a> <div class=surtitle3> </div> <div class=title3> Tigers Accused of Sparking Violence<br> </div> <div class=subtitle3> </div> <div class=detail3> <table class=RightImage border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=213> <tr> <td align=Right> <img src="017622.jpg" border=1 width=213 height=288 alt="017622.jpg"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div class=caption3> Yuri Kravchenko<br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, March 4--Sri Lanka has accused Tamil Tiger rebels of ignoring security warnings and sparking a spate of attacks against their members, AFP reported. <br> The defense ministry in a statement said the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ignored advise to inform security forces and obtain protection before moving in areas held by government forces. <br> The statement came in response to Monday&#8217s attack against three key women fighters of the LTTE in the eastern province. <br> &#8220Despite all the warnings, the LTTE have once again ignored the requirement of informing security forces when moving in government controlled areas and regrettably suffered the consequences,&#8220 the statement said. <br> President Kumaratunga ordered an investigation into stepped up attacks against LTTE cadres on Wednesday as the LTTE warned that the violence will have &#8220far reaching consequences&#8220 for a fragile truce. <br> The LTTE said the attacks were aimed at provoking them and asked the Scandinavian-led truce monitors to investigate the attacks and make the findings public. <br> The LTTE said Monday&#8217s attacks against three of their women political activists in the island&#8217s eastern province could not have been carried out without the backing of security forces. <br> The violence was seen as a further blow to the already faltering Norwegian-brokered peace process. <br> Talks between Colombo and the Tigers have been on hold since April 2003 but both sides have pledged to uphold an Oslo-arranged ceasefire in place since February 23, 2002.<br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td width=20 align=right valign=middle> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left> <a name="48702"></a> <div class=surtitle3> </div> <div class=title3> Ukraine&#8217s Ex-Interior Minister Found Dead<br> </div> <div class=subtitle3> </div> <div class=detail3> KIEV, Ukraine, <br> March 4--Ukraine&#8217s former interior minister was found dead Friday, just before he was due to meet with prosecutors for questioning about the 2000 slaying of an investigative journalist, AP quoted officials as saying. <br> Yuri Kravchenko had been accused by opposition political forces of being involved in the killing of Heorhiy Gongadze, who investigated corruption at the highest levels of the Ukrainian government. <br> Inna Kisel, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, said Kravchenko appeared to have committed suicide. She referred all other questions to officials at the General Prosecutor&#8217s Office. A spokesman there said he had no immediate information. <br> Kravchenko had been summoned to give testimony Friday morning about Gongadze&#8217s death. <br> Gongadze was abducted in Kiev in September 2000, and his decapitated body was found months later buried in a forest outside the capital. His death sparked months of protests against former President Leonid Kuchma, who the opposition alleged was involved in the killing. Kuchma has denied any involvement. <br> The allegations against Kuchma were based on recordings that a former presidential bodyguard said were secretly made in Kuchma&#8217s office. In the tapes, Kuchma was overheard repeatedly complaining about Gongadze&#8217s reporting and ordering Kravchenko to &#8220drive him out, throw (him) out, give him to the Chechens.&#8220 <br> Volodymyr Lytvyn, Kuchma&#8217s former chief-of-staff, was also allegedly heard on the tapes saying: &#8220In my opinion, let loose Kravchenko to use alternative methods.&#8220 <br> Kuchma and his circle have disputed the authenticity of the tapes. Lytvyn has dismissed the allegations in an earlier interview with The Associated Press, saying: &#8220I wasn&#8217t brought up that way.&#8220 He said Thursday he was ready to testify in connection with the case. Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun said Wednesday that investigators had identified all four people involved in Gongadze&#8217s slaying and knew who the mastermind was. He refused to identify the person who ordered the killing. <br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td width=20 align=right valign=middle> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left valign=top> <!-- Begin PoliticCol1 --> <a name="PoliticCol1"></a> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td align=left valign=top> <img src="../../../logo/PoliticCol1.gif" alt="PoliticCol1" width=220 height=30 vspace=0 hspace=0 align=left> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table cellpadding=1 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor=red> <tr> <td> <table bgcolor="#FFF8DC" border=0 width="100%" cellspacing=10 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td align=left> <a name="48705"></a> <div class=title4> Kyrgyzstan Rally <br> </div> <div class=subtitle4> </div> <div class=detail4> BISHKEK--Some 3,000 people demonstrated in a rural region of southern Kyrgyzstan on Friday in the fifth straight day of protests in the former Soviet republic against the disputed results of recent elections, a witness at the scene said.<br> </div> <br><a name="48708"></a> <div class=title4> Peace Charter<br> </div> <div class=subtitle4> </div> <div class=detail4> KHARTOUM--Tribes from western Sudan and the neighboring Central African Republic have signed a peace charter in a bid to end cross-border clashes, the Sudanese police press office said on Friday.<br> </div> <br><a name="48711"></a> <div class=title4> Simmering Dispute<br> </div> <div class=subtitle4> </div> <div class=detail4> TOKYO--Japan on Friday rejected an EU proposal to hold high-level political talks to resolve a simmering dispute over a project to build the world&#8217s first nuclear fusion reactor.<br> </div> <br><a name="48714"></a> <div class=title4> Detention Extended<br> </div> <div class=subtitle4> </div> <div class=detail4> KATHMANDU--Nepal has extended for two months the house arrest of two former prime ministers and four other top political leaders held since King Gyanendra grabbed power February 1, an official said Friday.<br> </div> <br> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- End PoliticCol1 --> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=middle> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td align=left valign=middle width=20> <a href="politic.htm#top"> <img src="../../../logo/UpArr.gif" border=0 align=left width=10 height=10 vspace=0 hspace=0 alt=""> </a> </td> <td align=center width=530> <hr width="80%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <!-- Begin Bottom TOC --> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%"> <tr> <td> <hr width="100%"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center> <div class=htoc> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/index.htm">Front Page</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/national.htm">National</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/economy.htm">Domestic Economy</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/science.htm">Science</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/panorama.htm">Panorama</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/focus.htm">Economic Focus</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/dotcoms.htm">Dot Coms</a> | <br> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/energy.htm">Global Energy</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/politic.htm">World Politics</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/sports.htm">Sports</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/ieconomy.htm">International Economy</a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/art.htm">Arts & Culture</a> | <br> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td> <hr width="100%"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center> <div class=htoc> | <a class=htoc href="../../../1383/2228/html/index.htm#Identification"> Identification </a> | <a class=htoc href="../../../archive.htm"> Archive </a> | </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- End Bottom TOC --> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <!-- Begin Bottom --> <hr width="100%"> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 width="100%"> <tr> <td align=left valign=top width="50%"> <div class=footer> Copyright 2004, Iran Daily Newspaper <br> </div> </td> <td align=right valign=top width="50%"> <div class=footer> Contact us: <a href="#" ONCLICK='window.open("../../../feedback.htm","popup","width=500,height=500,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,resizable=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no");return false'>iran-daily@iran-daily.com</a><br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- End Bottom --> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>