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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bosco who wrote (8463)	4/9/1999 1:24:00 PM
From: Robert Douglas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

Bosco, from your linked article on Zhu's comments. <<''But to tell the truth, I am more impatient than you are in how to further constantly improve the human rights in China. ... I concede that there is room for improvement in the human rights conditions in China.'' ''It is not that only friends who say 'yes' to you are good friends,'' Zhu said. ''We believe that maybe the friends who are able to say 'no' to you are the best friends.''>> Is he for real? Let us hope so! -Robert

To: Bosco who wrote (8463)	4/9/1999 5:13:00 PM
From: Paul Berliner	Respond to of 9980

Indonesia says 'your money is safe here!': afr.com.au Your money is safe: army chief By Tim Dodd, Jakarta Indonesia's army chief has appealed to foreign investors not to desert the crisis-hit country in the face of the rising tide of violence which has killed at least 600 people this year. In a speech on Thursday to 300 foreign business-people, General Wiranto, who is also the country's Defence Minister, guaranteed that their investments would be safe. He said that Indonesia had been caught in a vicious economic cycle. "Foreign investors have lost confidence and the rate of foreign investment has dropped significantly. Because of this, a bad situation has grown worse. As the economy continues to slide, so has the prospect of a secure environment for investment," he said. Figures released by the Indonesian Government this week showed an 89 per cent fall in the value of foreign investment approvals in the first three months of 1999. General Wiranto said the lack of fresh capital was bringing business in Indonesia to a halt. "The closing of businesses leads to massive unemployment and hence to even more unrest. The question is: 'how long will this continue'?", he said. General Wiranto acknowledged that companies "might have doubts about investing right now". But he appealed to them to boost investment immediately to resuscitate the economy and reduce social unrest. A director of the Jakarta Stock Exchange, Ms Felia Salim, said the fact that General Wiranto had fielded so many questions from the audience was "very positive". However, Mr James van Zorge, a principal of the Jakarta-based political risk consultancy firm Van Zorge, Heffernan and Associates, said he did not believe the audience was reassured by General Wiranto's speech. "There were lots of promises, but we've seen that before. It is difficult for people to take at face value promises from the top brass to protect assets," he said. General Wiranto's appeal to foreign investors came as violence spread across Indonesia this week, with scores more dead in ethnic upheavals in West Kalimantan and religious violence in the Molucca Islands. In East Timor, an estimated 25 were killed on Tuesday in a priest's house at Liquisa by a pro-Indonesian loyalist militia group. Two Australian diplomats arrived in Dili late on Thursday and on Friday began interviewing survivors, witnesses and officials to determine what happened. The Indonesian armed forces still maintain that only five people were killed, but some human rights groups put the toll as high as 50. The Indonesian Government has agreed to a Red Cross investigation of the massacre. On Friday, the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr John McCarthy, met the leader of the East Timorese resistance, Mr Xanana Gusmao, who is held under house arrest in Jakarta, and urged him to avoid inflaming the situation further. On Monday, Mr Xanana told his followers to end the ceasefire and start a "popular insurrection" against the armed militia groups. However, he has since modified his position, urging defensive action only. In other meetings this week, Mr McCarthy also urged General Wiranto and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Ali Alatas, to disarm the pro-Indonesian militia groups. This weekend, the militia plan to hold more rallies in the hinterland to demonstrate their readiness to resume the fight. One militia leader, Mr Joao da Silva Tavares, said his Lightning group was ready to face Mr Xanana's guerillas if he wanted a war. Only a month ago, Mr Tavares and Mr Xanana made headlines by embracing after discussing a peace deal for the province. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.

To: Bosco who wrote (8463)	4/14/1999 4:09:00 PM
From: Paul Berliner	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

BRIDGE: Malaysian police disperse protest as Anwar found guilty: Thought I'd post last night's verdict just for the record. Updated Wed Apr 14, 1999 2:27 GMT By Agence Franec-Presse Kuala Lumpur--Apr 14--Malaysian police today used water cannon to break up a protest by supporters of former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim as he was found guilty in his corruption trial, witnesses said. * * * The dispersal began moments after the national news agency Bernama said that Anwar, facing 4 charges of corruption, had been found guilty on all counts. Details of the verdict were not immediately available. Police backed by paramilitary forces and equipped with rattan sticks and shields earlier gave an ultimatum to the pro-Anwar crowd, which reached 200 people, to voluntarily break up their protest. Before the hearing began, security forces threw a tight security cord on outside the Moorish-style courthouse in central Kuala Lumpur. Some of the supporters carried banners sporting the logo of the National Justice Party, set up by Anwar's wife Azizah earlier this month. "The people are the judge of the nation," one banner read. Anwar, whose trial started on Nov 2, was accused of using his powers to cover up claims of sexual misconduct which he blames on a high-level political conspiracy. He faces up to 14 years' jail if convicted. Anwar was arrested last September and charged after a bitter falling-out with his former mentor, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Before midnight Tuesday, police ordered an end to a candle-lit vigil by several hundred supporters of Anwar outside a mosque near the court. There was no violence reported. End news.bridge.com