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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.
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1//Al Bawaba, Jordan--IRAQ SAYS BLIX MAY VISIT ON MARCH 17 (General Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate (NMD), added Iraq believed it had little hope that it could avert a U.S.-led invasion no matter what Baghdad did on the disarmament issue. Asked whether Blix would visit soon, Amin told a news conference in Baghdad: "I don't know really, but he might, he might visit us on the 17th of this month." Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman for Blix, said: "I am not aware at this point of any official invitation for Mr. Blix to go to Baghdad. And if there were an invitation we would study it to see what would be the purpose of such a visit and what would be gained if anything.")
2//Arab News, Saudi Arabia--US TROOPS HERE 'FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS' (Saudi Arabia has denied it has provided the Arar Airport near its border with Iraq as a base for US troops to launch airstrikes against Baghdad and said the closure of the facility to civilian traffic was for humanitarian reasons...The defense minister, however, admitted that "large numbers of aircraft and land troops" have gathered in the northern city of Tabuk, close to the border with Jordan, over fears that Israel may violate Saudi airspace.)
3//The Independent, UK--INDUSTRIAL-SCALE MORTUARIES BEING SOUGHT FOR MASS TERROR FATALITIES (Ministers are secretly scouring the country for mortuaries to take thousands of civilian bodies from a terrorist attack after war breaks out with Iraq...But emergency planners are criticising the search as too small and too slow to meet the urgency of the threat.)
4//Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--HOWARD READIES FOR WAR AS US STRUGGLES FOR VOTES (The Prime Minister, John Howard, has cleared the way for an announcement on Thursday committing Australia to war in Iraq, if Britain and the United States fail to get backing for a new United Nations resolution... Australia has sent 2000 troops to the region, but Mr Howard has not yet decided whether the nation will join a war that is not sanctioned by the UN. As war approaches, Pentagon officials were reported as saying that Australia might be asked to provide an administrator for one of three regional zones that would be created under US control in postwar Iraq.)
5//Xinhuanet News Agency, China--AFGHANISTAN WANT IRAQ CRISIS RESOLVED PEACEFULLY: KARZAI (-- Afghan Transitional President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday that the Iraq crisis should be resolved in a peaceful way, stressing the Iraqi people deserve a government of their choice..."Nobody wants a war, everybody hopes that the matter will be resolved peacefully," Karzai told reporters when asked about his government's position on the imminent US-led war against Iraq..."We hope they have a government of their choice themselves," he said.)
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1//Al
Bawaba 09-03-2003, 21:00
http://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=243789&lang=e&dir=news
IRAQ SAYS BLIX MAY VISIT ON MARCH 17
Iraq said on Sunday chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix might
visit Baghdad on March 17, a deadline proposed by the United States
and Britain for Iraq to disarm or face military action.
General Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate (NMD), added Iraq believed it had little hope that it could avert a U.S.-led invasion no matter what Baghdad did on the disarmament issue.
Asked whether Blix would visit soon, Amin told a news conference in Baghdad: "I don't know really, but he might, he might visit us on the 17th of this month."
Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman for Blix, said: "I am not aware at this point of any official invitation for Mr. Blix to go to Baghdad. And if there were an invitation we would study it to see what would be the purpose of such a visit and what would be gained if anything."
(SNIP)
He said Iraq was taking all eventualities into consideration. "We are preparing for all probabilities. We are preparing ourselves for war. At the same time we are working to resolve any pending issues with" weapons inspectors, he said.
Amin said Iraq was also continuing its work to clarify any outstanding disarmament issues regardless of the deadline. "This issue of seven days, 10 days, does not concern us technical people. We are exerting all our efforts...to complete our work," he said.
Amin said Iraq destroyed six more banned al-Samoud missiles on Sunday, bringing to 46 the total number of missiles scrapped since Blix ordered Baghdad to start eliminating the program as of March 1.
2//Arab News 10 March 2003/ 7 Muharram 1423
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=23508
US TROOPS HERE 'FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS'
Staff Writer
JEDDAH, 10 March 2003 - Saudi Arabia has denied it has provided the Arar Airport near its border with Iraq as a base for US troops to launch airstrikes against Baghdad and said the closure of the facility to civilian traffic was for humanitarian reasons.
"Yes, we have closed the Arar Airport and moved air traffic to the nearby Jouf region. We will have technical assistance from the Americans" to deal with an expected influx of Iraqi refugees if a war breaks out, said Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Addressing a press conference in Riyadh late on Saturday night, Prince Sultan reiterated the Kingdom's opposition to war by saying "Riyadh is against the war whether with (UN Security Council) authorization or without it."
Prince Sultan said there was no agreement with Washington for cooperation regarding the war.
"We have no agreement with the United States for US aircraft to use our air bases for engagement purposes," he added.
The defense minister, however, admitted that "large numbers of aircraft and land troops" have gathered in the northern city of Tabuk, close to the border with Jordan, over fears that Israel may violate Saudi airspace.
(SNIP)
Asked whether Saudi Arabia had signed any secret agreement with the US to use the Kingdom's bases, Prince Sultan said: "We did not sign any such agreement with the Americans. However, we have an agreement with UN Security Council for reconnaissance planes, observing the line 30-33 degrees between Iraq and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia."
Prince Sultan said the US troops had been deployed at Arar Airport for humanitarian operations.
"There are no missiles. All their work is for humanitarian purposes and this is being carried out in accordance with a Security Council resolution," he said, adding that the command at the airport was in the hands of Saudis.
The minister said the Kingdom encountered a major refugee problem during the 1991 Gulf War after about 150,000 Iraqi refugees crossed into the Kingdom. More than 12 years after the Gulf War, about 5,000 Iraqi refugees still live at a camp in Rafha, about 300 km east of Arar.
"Arar has never been a military zone," he added.
(MORE)
3//The Independent 09 March 2003
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=385305
INDUSTRIAL-SCALE MORTUARIES BEING SOUGHT FOR MASS TERROR FATALITIES
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Ministers are secretly scouring the country for mortuaries to take thousands of civilian bodies from a terrorist attack after war breaks out with Iraq.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has appointed one of Britain's leading coroners to spearhead the search for huge temporary mortuaries, such as aircraft hangers. Richard Sturt, who retired as the East Kent Coroner two years ago, is touring the country meeting planning chiefs to assess how they could cope with "mass fatalities".
But emergency planners are criticising the search as too small and too slow to meet the urgency of the threat.
(SNIP)
The 63-year-old solicitor - a prominent churchman Christian who has held several senior posts at Canterbury Cathedral - is now about two-thirds of the way through his highly confidential task, and is to report to Mr Blunkett next month.
Mr Sturt's work is being kept secret because civil servants believe that their revelation would create public alarm and strengthen unease about the war, which is expected to increase the risk of terrorist outrages in Britain.
Local authorities began identifying big temporary mortuaries in the 1980s after the Hillsborough and Lockerbie disasters. But experts say that most areas have room for only about 100 to 200 bodies, and ministers now accept that they may have to cope with thousands at a time.
(MORE)
4//Sydney Morning Herald March 10 2003
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/09/1047144871183.html
HOWARD READIES FOR WAR AS US STRUGGLES FOR VOTES
By Mark Riley in Canberra and Caroline Overington in New York
The Prime Minister, John Howard, has cleared the way for an announcement
on Thursday committing Australia to war in Iraq, if Britain and the
United States fail to get backing for a new United Nations resolution.
The resolution before the Security Council authorises the use of force, and Britain and the US are likely to call for a vote early on Wednesday, Sydney time.
A Thursday announcement by Mr Howard would place Australia in lock-step with the US deadline of March 17 for Saddam Hussein to disarm.
(SNIP)
Australia has sent 2000 troops to the region, but Mr Howard has not yet decided whether the nation will join a war that is not sanctioned by the UN.
As war approaches, Pentagon officials were reported as saying that Australia might be asked to provide an administrator for one of three regional zones that would be created under US control in postwar Iraq.
The US President, George Bush, spent the weekend on the telephone trying to get the leaders of nations with seats on the Security Council to back the resolution. The French President, Jacques Chirac, who opposes the war, is urging the same leaders to vote against it.
Both are fighting hardest for the votes of three African nations, Cameroon, Guinea and Angola, which could decide the outcome.
(MORE)
5//Xinhuanet News Agency Beijing 2003-03-09 23:54:49 SUN
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/index.htm
AFGHANISTAN WANT IRAQ CRISIS RESOLVED PEACEFULLY: KARZAI
KABUL, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Afghan Transitional President HamidKarzai said on Sunday that the Iraq crisis should be resolved in a peaceful way, stressing the Iraqi people deserve a government of their choice.
"Nobody wants a war, everybody hopes that the matter will be resolved peacefully," Karzai told reporters when asked about his government's position on the imminent US-led war against Iraq.
"We have tremendous respect for the Iraqi people, who are among the best of the Islamic world, contributing significantly to the Islamic civilization and the modern history of the region," Kharzai, who just came back from a visit to India, said in the presidential palace after an award ceremony.
"We hope they have a government of their choice themselves," he said.
(SNIP)
Briefing on his India visit, the president said that India had agreed
to provide his government with 70 million US dollars in aid for reconstructing
a 210-kilometer highway along the Iranian border in southwest Afghanistan.
(SNIP)
Under the agreement, India would grant 50 percent to 100 percent concessions in customs duty on 38 items of imports from Afghanistan, including dry and fresh fruits, seeds, medicinal herbs and precious stones, according to the Afghan Commerce Ministry.
In return, India will be able to export eight items of goods duty free to Afghanistan, including black tea, pharmaceutical products, Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines, refined sugar and cement, the ministry said in a press release on Sunday.
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© 2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
Radio for the Left at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/radio.htm
