Asia vows to make 2002 better than 2001

Asia vows to make 2002 better than 2001

Jo Biddle, Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong, China

Asian nations ushered in 2002 on Tuesday amid a ray of hope that nuclear rivals India and Pakistan may be pulling back from the brink of war, and pledges to work to ease regional tensions.

Despite no sign of an imminent end to the economic gloom and bloody unrest which rattled many countries last year, there was a sense of renewed hope for the coming 12 months.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee led the way, stressing the world's second most populous nation did not want to go to war with neighbor Pakistan.

"Shed your anti-India mentality and take effective steps to stop cross-border terrorism, and you will find India willing to walk more than half the distance to work closely with Pakistan to resolve, through dialog, any issue, including the contentious issue of Jammu and Kashmir," Vajpayee said in a New Year article.

New Delhi has welcomed the arrests by Pakistan of dozens of militants from two groups blamed by India for attacking its parliament, the first positive sign since the Dec. 13 assault which plunged ties to their lowest ebb in three decades.

Afghanistan meanwhile, which saw tumultuous changes at the end of 2001 with the ousting of the hardline Islamic Taliban after five oppressive years, was not marking the New Year on Tuesday.

Under the Islamic calendar Afghanistan will celebrate the new year on March 21 -- a date also being considered for the return of former king Zahir Shah, who has been in exile since being deposed in July 1973.

But most foreign organisations were holding discreet celebrations in Kabul.

"We know some people would be shocked by the fact that we are drinking and having a good time in a city in ruins," said one official.

"It's easy to criticize. But we work hard and we also deserve to celebrate a day like this."

Other countries used the start of a new year to appeal for an end to old enmities and to pledge greater cooperation in 2002.

Taiwan, which formally became the 144th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday, pledged to promote better ties with arch-rival China.

"We will not only fulfill our obligations as a member of the global community, but also view future cross-strait relations from a perspective of cooperation," President Chen Shui-bian said in a message.

China was also seeking to break down barriers, President Jiang Zemin hinted in a televised speech.

"China is opposed to terrorism in any form and is willing to cooperate with other countries, and use the United Nations to the full, to join in cracking down on terrorism," he said.

The leaders of South Korea and Japan also vowed active cultural and human exchanges to make this year's World Cup football tournament -- to be co-hosted by the prickly neighbors -- a success.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi described 2002 as a "historic year" for the two countries and promised to improve Tokyo-Seoul ties, which hit a low last year over several controversies.

In response, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung sent a message to be broadcast on Japan's NHK television network saying Seoul would promote "future-oriented partnership and co- prosperity" with Tokyo.

North Korea however stuck to its isolationist, entrenched line, vowing a "do or die" campaign to guard its socialist system from any attack by the United States and its allies.

"No matter what storm may roar, the Korean army and people will firmly defend our idea, system and cause," the North's ruling party, government and military newspapers said in a joint editorial.

And elsewhere old conflicts continued to fester.

Four churches in Palu, a town in the eastern Indonesian island chain of Sulawesi which has been gripped by sectarian tensions, were rocked by New Year bomb blasts leaving three people policemen injured. A man was also killed by a grenade blast in Jakarta.

And as U.S. stock markets finished their second year of consecutive losses amid the global economic slow-down, many leaders warned of further hard times ahead.

Japan's Emperor Akihito, only a month after the long-awaited birth of the first child of his son Crown Prince Naruhito, said in a New Year's statement: "Today Japan is faced with various difficult problems, but remembering that the wisdom and efforts of the people overcame the postwar hardships, I am confident the people will surmount these difficulties."

Meanwhile, weary Australian firefighters now in their second week of desperately fighting bushfires encircling Sydney were back at their posts as new fires broke out.

No property has been destroyed for the last four days, but 150 houses were destroyed and thousands of people forced to flee their homes around Australia's largest city at the start of the crisis.

And for many the partying just got way out of hand. In the Philippines one person died and more than 500 were injured in traditionally raucous revels, while in Thailand the holiday death toll rose to almost 400.