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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 05, 2003

Strengthening Inspection, Striving for Peace: Commentary

At present, 200,000-strong US, British and some other countries' troops are assembled in the Gulf region and waiting for orders, military action aimed at Iraq is like the arrow on the bow, ready to be released. At the same time, globe-wide anti-war waves are rising one after another, appealing for peacefully solving the Iraq issue.


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At present, 200,000-strong US, British and some other countries' troops are assembled in the Gulf region and waiting for orders, military action aimed at Iraq is like the arrow on the bow, ready to be released. At the same time, globe-wide anti-war waves are rising one after another, appealing for peacefully solving the Iraq issue.

The Iraq issue has evolved into a hot spot of concerns to the whole world. China holds how the Iraq question is resolved will bring about far-reaching influence on the world situation and international relations in the new century. China is working hard, together with the international community, to strive for peacefully settling the Iraq issue and avoiding heavy calamities caused by the use of force.

China stands for continuing the work of inspection and destruction of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in accordance with related resolutions of the United Nations (UN). Inspection of Iraqi weapons by related UN agencies began in 1991 after the conclusion of the Gulf War, which was suspended in 1998 due to differences between both sides.

The Security Council passed the Resolution 1441 in November last year, which was followed by the resumption of UN inspection of Iraqi weapons. It is the unanimous view of the majority of countries, including China, that the urgent task at the moment is to continue weapons inspection in Iraq and intensify inspection effort until the truth is made clear.

In communicating with French President Jacques Chirac by phone on February 11, Chinese President Jiang Zemin clearly expressed his support for the content of the France-Germany-Russia joint statement and emphasized the role played by weapon inspection which should be supported and strengthened, pointing out that war is no good to anybody.

The Chinese side agrees to the opinion of the majority members of the Security Council, advocating that related UN agencies should conduct fair and professional inspection of Iraq, the report submitted should be comprehensive and objective, and that the inspectors should be given adequate time.

China requires that Iraq strictly implement related UN resolutions and fully cooperate with related UN agencies in relation to inspection; China advocates that Iraq's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected, and that the Iraq issue should be solved peacefully on the basis that Iraq really does not possess and develop weapons of mass destruction.

In the 80s of the last century, the boundary disputes between Iraq and Iran led to Iraq-Iran war that continued for eight straight years. Subsequent Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 was censured by the international community, which triggered the Gulf War, inflicting heavy losses and catastrophe on the two peoples of Iraq and Kuwait and on the Gulf region. Requiring Iraq to give up development and possession of weapons of mass destruction is the need for the defense of peace and stability in the Gulf region. Forgetting history makes it impossible to face the future.

However, it is necessary to make appropriate evaluation of Iraq's military strength. In terms of the current inspection by the two UN agencies, UNMOVIC (Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Iraq's coordination is being improved with each passing day, and no conclusive evidence showing Iraqi possession of weapons of mass destruction has been found. With regard to Iraqi connection with terrorist activities, the American parlance lacks sufficient evidence. Therefore, in whatever sense it can be affirmed that there is no sufficient reason for using force on Iraq at present.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China shoulders major responsibility for the defense of world peace and security. China has always stood for defense of the authority and role of the United Nations and Security Council in solving the Iraq issue, and emphasized that the Iraq issue should be solved peacefully through UN mechanisms and every measure should be adopted to avert war as far as possible.

As a matter of fact, progress has been made step by step in the inspection work since the Security Council Resolution 1441 was begun to be put into practice and weapons inspection was resumed in Iraq on November 27 last year. In a bid to safeguard the authority of the United Nations, the international community generally hopes that the Iraq issue would be solved politically within the framework of the United Nations, and places hope on the inspection conducted by UNMOVIC and IAEA.

Iraq should fully understand the importance and urgency of weapons inspection and have greater initiative to provide more cooperation, so as to speed up the progress of weapons inspection and ensure achievement of results. China holds that more time should be given to the work of inspection, favors the idea about further increasing human resources and technical capacity and expresses its willingness to provide personnel and necessary technical help for the inspection work..

To strive for political solution of the Iraq issue and avoid the extreme measure for the use of force, China consistently supports and actively participates in the international community's effort to promote peace. In the process of the international community's consultations on how to settle the Iraq issue, China has always advocated that peace should be valued, holding that one hundred percent efforts should be made so long as there is still a ray of hope for a peaceful solution.

When the Security Council discussed the Iraq issue in November last year, China, in the capacity as the rotating presidency of the Security Council, boosted the passage of the Security Council Resolution 1441 on the basis of extensive mediations, its call on Iraq to comprehensively coordinate weapon inspection is designed to win new opportunity for peace.

In the recent past, China had all along kept connections and consultations with the relevant departments of the United Nations, the United States, Russia, France and Germany, exchanging opinions and views with them on the development of and solutions to the Iraq issue, so as to strive for a peaceful result which the international community hopes to see.

China's just stand and peace-promotion efforts on the Iraq issue is a concrete expression of its consistent independent foreign policy of peace. Peaceful solution to the Iraq issue not only facilitates world peace and development and conforms to the interests of various parties. As an important peace-loving, justice-upholding responsible country, China will, as always, play an active role in the international community and do its best to seek a peaceful solution to the Iraq issue.

By People's Daily Online


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