China says Arafat must be part of Mideast conference: Xinhua

0 Comments | Asian Political News, April 22, 2002

BEIJING, April 16 Kyodo

China said Tuesday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must be part of any international conference held to seek a solution to the Mideast crisis, Xinhua news agency reported.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue issued a statement making clear Beijing's position toward an international peace conference proposed Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem.

Sharon's proposal apparently excludes attendance of Arafat, who has been held under a state of siege in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the past two weeks.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in Israel for peace-brokering talks, said Arafat need not take part in the conference if it is held.

''In any international conference held seeking to resolve the Mideast problem, it must include Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat,'' the statement said.

''Arafat is respected as the leader of the Palestinians and cannot be excluded from the Mideast peace process,'' Zhang said.

Chinese radio reports monitored from Tokyo said two Chinese people were killed and two others wounded in the suicide bombing Friday in Jerusalem. The bomber was a Palestinian woman, the latest in a series of terrorist actions taken in protest over Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank.

Arafat sent a message of condolence to Chinese President Jiang Zemin condemning attacks on ''innocent civilians,'' the radio reports said.

Chinese officials have joined other world leaders and the United Nations in calling for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territory.