Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

EASTERN EUROPE
YUSHCHENKO CALLS FOR BLOCKADE OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
Viktor Yushchenko, fresh from his victory in Ukraine’s disputed presidential race, called on his supporters yesterday to blockade the Cabinet of Ministers building to prevent his opponent from holding a government session. Prime Minister Yanukovich, the Kremlin favorite who has come under increasing pressure to concede defeat to Mr. Yushchenko, returned to work yesterday after taking a vacation to campaign ahead of last Sunday’s vote.
The opposition blockaded government buildings for weeks after the fraudulent November 21 vote, preventing Mr. Yanukovich and other officials from entering their offices. The country’s high court annulled that ballot, forcing Sunday’s rerun.
“I ask everyone, especially the people in the tent camp, to strengthen the blockade of the government,” Mr. Yushchenko said, calling for his supporters to turn out today. Mr. Yanukovich’s spokesman, Oleksandr Ternavsky, said the session would go ahead as planned, and called Mr. Yushchenko’s move “completely illegal.”
– Associated Press
MIDDLE EAST
ABBAS RECEIVES OVATION AT RALLY
JERICHO, West Bank – Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the front-runner in upcoming presidential elections, received a loud ovation from thousands of supporters at his first public rally yesterday, generating some excitement for the low-key politician seeking to replace the late Yasser Arafat. The rally came as Palestinian Arab election officials announced anti-fraud safeguards for the January 9 vote, saying voters will be marked with indelible ink, and ballot boxes will be sealed.
Also yesterday, Prime Minister Sharon’s plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip suffered a setback when a parliamentary committee failed to approve a set of guidelines governing the evacuation. While the vote isn’t expected to disrupt the withdrawal, which is to begin in July, officials said it would complicate preparations. The campaign speech to several thousand supporters at a soccer stadium in the West Bank town of Jericho was an important test for Mr. Abbas, a soft-spoken bureaucrat who prefers to avoid large crowds.
– Associated Press
SYRIA DISMISSES ACCUSATIONS OF AIDING REBELS
Syria is responding with a mixture of bravado and denial to mounting accusations by America and Iraq that it’s a staging ground for the Iraqi insurgency, with key support coming from a half-brother of Saddam Hussein and Baath Party leaders there. Damascus has accused Washington of making it a scapegoat for American failures to quell the fighting in Iraq – even as Syria moves to try and defuse tensions with America.
Syria’s foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, struck a defiant tone in an address at the annual meeting of leaders of the National Progressive Front – the country’s highest ruling body – in the most extensive comments yet by a senior Syrian official on the subject. “They accuse Syria of sending money and arms,” he said, but the Iraqi people “have plenty of money and arms and we are the ones who worry about the movement of arms from Iraq to Syria.”
– Associated Press
EAST ASIA
TAIPEI: CHINA’S MILITARY MODERNIZATION TARGETED AT TAIWAN
A new special report by China on its defense forces shows that the country’s military modernization is targeted at rival Taiwan, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry claimed yesterday. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and communist Beijing has repeatedly said it will attack if Taiwan – a democratic, self-ruled island off China’s coast – formally declares independence. Beijing’s State Council, or Cabinet, on Monday published a white paper or special report on the Chinese military’s plans to modernize.
The document included a strong warning that China would crush any Taiwanese independence attempt “at any cost.”
Taiwan said it is the target of China’s military modernization – which it said is the biggest security threat in the Asia-Pacific region.
– Associated Press