|
World Media Watch
by Gloria R. Lalumia
BUZZFLASH NOTE: Once again, these are the views and perspectives of the individual papers, not of BuzzFlash or Gloria. They offer BuzzFlash readers a way of reading what other nations are saying about the crisis, whether we like it or not. We repeat: This is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.
* * *
1//TurkishPress.com, USA--KETENE: SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA IS LOST IN FIFTEEN YEARS IF A KURDISH STATE IS ESTABLISHED (Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Representative in Washington Orhan Ketene has said that the Turkish army should settle security in Northern Iraq, defending, ''Turkey loses southeastern Anatolia in fifteen years if a Kurdish state is established.'' ...Stating that it was planned that Shi'ite Kurdish civilians who had been expelled by Saddam Hussein to Iran would rush to oil cities Kirkuk and Mousul..., Ketene said the U.S. army could not stop civilians so Turkish troops should exist in the region.)
2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--LEBANESE BUSINESSMEN NOT HOPEFUL ON FUTURE TRADE WITH IRAQ ("The impact of the war can only be assessed if we know how long it will last," said Jacques Sarraf, the former president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association and a major investor in Iraq. "One thing is for sure, the war won't only affect the Arab world, but also Europe."... Industrialists are not only worried about a war affecting their exports to Iraq, but also to nearby Arab countries that depend on the Iraqi economy. "A war on Iraq is meant to change the politics of the region and thus their economies," said Saad.)
3//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--SUPPORT FOR IRAQ WAR GROWS: POLL (Support for Australian involvement in a war on Iraq is on the rise, according to the latest Newspoll. Conducted for SBS World News, the Newspoll found support for military action in Iraq had returned to levels of late last year following a dip in January.)
4//The
News International, Pakistan--RUSSIAN TYCOON SAYS SECRET SERVICES
WERE BEHIND MOSCOW HOSTAGE CRISIS (In a fresh attack on President Vladimir
Putin's government, Berezovsky said the Federal Security Service (FSB)
-- the former KGB -- orchestrated the incident for political ends. "The
goal of this terrorist act was to avert the Chechen peace process,
which would have meant the failure of Putin's policies," Berezovsky
said in a statement.)
5//The Independent, UK--MINISTERS PROCLAIM END OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(Launching the long-awaited energy White Paper, ministers put climate
control ahead of security of supply for the first time by declaring
that energy needs would increasingly be met by a mix of renewable
power and imported gas. The White Paper rules out a new generation
of nuclear stations for at least the next five years and makes clear
that further nuclear capacity may never be built if targets are met
for expanding renewable sources such as wind, wave, solar and biomass.)
* * *
1//TurkishPress.com 2/25/2003
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=9243
KETENE: SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA IS LOST IN FIFTEEN YEARS IF A KURDISH STATE IS ESTABLISHED
Anadolu Agency, WASHINGTON - Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Representative in Washington Orhan Ketene has said that the Turkish army should settle security in Northern Iraq, defending, ''Turkey loses southeastern Anatolia in fifteen years if a Kurdish state is established.''
Speaking at a meeting of the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations on Tuesday, Ketene evaluated history and future of Turkmen living in Northern Iraq.
Noting that the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barzani was the group which opposed to a U.S. military action against Iraq while Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani was known as a ''fickle'' as he always took different sides, Ketene said that Iraqi Kurds were pleased with the current order, and they actually continued their ''state-like'' existence with their own flag, money and properties.
Stating that it was planned that Shi'ite Kurdish civilians who had been expelled by Saddam Hussein to Iran would rush to oil cities Kirkuk and Mousul after Saddam regime, Ketene said that this 100 thousand-people group including women and children who were known as ''vagabonds'' was being kept in camps. Defending that those cities' demographic structure that was formed mainly by Turkmens was planned to be replaced with people who had fake documents, Ketene said the U.S. army could not stop civilians so Turkish troops should exist in the region. ''If Turkey does not enter there, the situation functions against Turkey and a Kurdish state is founded. Then Turkey loses southeastern Anatolia in fifteen years,'' he claimed.
Stressing that Turkish army should settle security in the region for both Turkey's interests and Turkmen's interests, Ketene said, ''if a war does not start in Iraq and Saddam regime is not overthrown, Turkmens are annihilated in five years.''
(MORE)
2//The Daily Star Beirut, Tuesday February 25, 2003. Updated 08:30
AM +2GMT
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/business/25_02_03_a.htm
LEBANESE BUSINESSMEN NOT HOPEFUL ON FUTURE TRADE WITH IRAQ
Few expect to get a piece of the post-Saddam pie
Dania Saadi, Daily Star staff
Lebanese businessmen are not keen to predict how a looming US-led war on Iraq could wreck their livelihoods, but few expect to get a piece of the Iraqi pie if a "regime change" takes place.
"The impact of the war can only be assessed if we know how long it will last," said Jacques Sarraf, the former president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association and a major investor in Iraq. "One thing is for sure, the war won't only affect the Arab world, but also Europe."
Europe, Lebanon's primary import market, does more than just send goods to Lebanon. It provides various industries with raw materials needed to build motors, electrical equipment and cables that make their way to Iraq.
"If our business suffers from a war, our British partners will suffer too," said one businessman.
(SNIP)
"The war's immediate effect will probably be a drop in industrial exports to Iraq, which reach $150 million a year," said LIA president Fadi Abboud. This figure excludes some $350 million in non-Lebanese industrial goods exported to Iraq by Lebanese businessmen.
(SNIP)
No less than 60 Lebanese industries and trade firms are currently working in the Iraqi market under the UN-brokered oil-for-food program set up in 1996 to bring humanitarian goods to sanction-stricken Iraq. A rising number of industries have begun to sell goods to the Iraqi private sector through a Lebanese-Iraqi free trade agreement signed in 2002.
An unknown number of Lebanese merchants also conduct business through a Syrian-Iraqi oil protocol and direct cash payments, making it harder to assess the true size of trade with Iraq. "It is also difficult to assess the current levels of trade, because a number of Lebanese contracts won under UN programs have yet to be implemented," said trade fair organizer Fares Saad.
Lebanese traders have complained that the UN Sanctions Committee was late in providing credit as the US and the UK tightened the noose around Iraq's oil exports. "Credits were opened just a few months ago, just as the war drums began to beat," said Saad. The opening of the credit lines is not abating the fears of Lebanese businessmen, who are afraid they might win contracts, but won't be able to deliver them.
(SNIP)
Industrialists are not only worried about a war affecting their exports to Iraq, but also to nearby Arab countries that depend on the Iraqi economy.
"A war on Iraq is meant to change the politics of the region and thus their economies," said Saad. Lebanese and Arab businessmen could lose their advantages in the Iraqi market if a war brings about regime change.
(MORE)
3//The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 26 February 2003, 08:30AM
http://www.SMH.com.au/articles/2003/02/26/1046064080853.html
SUPPORT FOR IRAQ WAR GROWS: POLL
Support for Australian involvement in a war on Iraq is on the rise, according to the latest Newspoll.
Conducted for SBS World News, the Newspoll found support for military action in Iraq had returned to levels of late last year following a dip in January.
Support for Australian involvement in US-led military strikes rose by eight points from 30 per cent to 38 per cent since last month.
Opposition to the conflict fell from 61 per cent to 53 per cent with nine per cent uncommitted.
(SNIP)
There was also an increase in support for Australian involvement in a war with United Nations backing, up six per cent to 67 per cent since last month.
The rise in support comes despite mass anti-war demonstrations held in all capital cities this month.
4//The News International February 25, 2003-- Zil Haj 23, 1423 A.H.
(Updated at 2240 PST)
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
RUSSIAN TYCOON SAYS SECRET SERVICES WERE BEHIND MOSCOW HOSTAGE CRISIS
MOSCOW: Self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky accused the Russian security service Tuesday of masterminding last October's hostage crisis in Moscow, that claimed the lives of some 130 civilians being held captive in a theater by Chechen rebels.
In a fresh attack on President Vladimir Putin's government, Berezovsky said the Federal Security Service (FSB) -- the former KGB -- orchestrated the incident for political ends.
"The goal of this terrorist act was to avert the Chechen peace process, which would have meant the failure of Putin's policies," Berezovsky said in a statement.
(MORE)
5//The Independent 25 February 2003
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=381490
MINISTERS PROCLAIM END OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
By Michael Harrison and Michael McCarthy
The Government sounded what could be the death knell for the nuclear industry yesterday by declaring that Britain can meet its ambitious greenhouse gas targets without building more nuclear reactors.
Tony Blair put himself at the head of a bold new international effort to deal with the threat of global warming, calling on Europe to slash carbon emissions by a massive 60 per cent over the next 50 years as Britain intends to do.
Launching the long-awaited energy White Paper, ministers put climate control ahead of security of supply for the first time by declaring that energy needs would increasingly be met by a mix of renewable power and imported gas. The White Paper rules out a new generation of nuclear stations for at least the next five years and makes clear that further nuclear capacity may never be built if targets are met for expanding renewable sources such as wind, wave, solar and biomass.
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said Britain could meet its goal of cutting carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 without replacing any nuclear reactors as they come to the end of their lives over the next 25 years.
(MORE)
* * *
© 2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
Radio
for Progressives at
http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/radio.htm
