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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//ReliefWeb, United Nations--LATEST UPDATES: DOCUMENTS POSTED ON EMERGENCIES AND NATURAL DISASTERS WITHIN THE PAST 72 HOURS, including the latest on Iraq.
2//Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK--COMMENT: THE ARAB CRISIS (What are these developments going to mean for Arabs? First of all, the imminent occupation of an Arab state - a catastrophe comparable in scale to that which occurred in Palestine in 1948. The tragedy this time is that the occupation is being carried out by the most powerful state in the world in partnership with other states with a variety of claims and aspirations in the Arab world. Despite the welter of explanations relating to the nature of the forthcoming foreign occupation in Iraq, there will be only one outcome: military rule. From that moment on, the operative words will be resistance to foreign occupation, with all that this implies.)
3//HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network), USA-TURKISH PRESS REVIEW: WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS (Some interpret this development as Turkey's failure, but others see it as a new strategy for the Bush administration. The former group believes that Turkey will have to face severe economic consequences for its choice in the future. The latter says that the US would never give up on Turkey and will again request stationing its troops on Turkish soil in the very near future.)
4//The
Toronto Star, Canada--ANGER GREETS DECISION OF 'FRIENDLY FIRE'
INQUIRY (Two U.S. pilots who dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers
in Afghanistan "will get away with murder" if they're not
court-martialled for the deadly mistake, says the mother of one of
the victims...Dyer took no comfort in the finding by Col. Patrick
Rosenow who said there was sufficient evidence to send the pilots
to a court martial, but that the charges should be dismissed and
their case should be handled outside a military court.)
5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--PEACE PLAN FEARS EASE
AS ABBAS ACCEPTS PM POST (Mahmoud Abbas, reputed to be a moderate,
has accepted the job of Palestinian prime minister in the first
real promise of ending the bloody Israeli-Palestinian deadlock
of the past 30 months... Mr Abbas, 67, could easily fail: the wily
Mr Arafat is reluctant to share power. Mr Abbas also has little
grassroots support and will depend to some extent on the goodwill
of the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.)
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1//ReliefWeb, United Nations Documents posted on emergencies and
natural disasters within the past 72 hours, including the latest
on Iraq.
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vWN
Check out the home page for links to information on humanitarian relief problems being faced by the UN all over the world. http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf
2//Institute for War and Peace Reporting Thursday, March 20, 2002
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/irq/irq_05_2_eng.txt
COMMENT: THE ARAB CRISIS
Arabs want and need change, but not imposed from Washington with
its own political agenda.
By Walid Khadduri in Nicosia (ICR No. 05, 19-Mar-03)
Walid Khadduri, an Iraqi journalist, is editor-in-chief of the Middle
East Economic Survey.
(SNIP)
Today it is clear to the Arab public that their governments are unable to provide the most basic conditions of national security, unable even to protect the independence and sovereignty of their own countries. One reason for this impotence is the loss of trust between rulers and ruled, the total contempt shown for citizens' rights and human rights as set down in constitutions, international covenants and accords. Then, too, there are the complicating factors of corruption, economic weakness and the total lack of inter-Arab cooperation.
Arab states and people alike have lost self-respect - and the world has lost respect for them.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, it is clear that the US administration has had, for some time, a clear road map for a major campaign against Arab states in the region. While the first signs of this were apparent before 11 September, the political ingredients needed for it to be acted upon multiplied after that.
The aim is to topple a number of the regimes in the region and change the policies and attitudes of some of the others. This campaign is being made possible both by the enormous clout of the US on the international stage and the debilitating cancer that is spreading through the Arab world.
(SNIP)
What are these developments going to mean for Arabs? First of all, the imminent occupation of an Arab state - a catastrophe comparable in scale to that which occurred in Palestine in 1948. The tragedy this time is that the occupation is being carried out by the most powerful state in the world in partnership with other states with a variety of claims and aspirations in the Arab world. Despite the welter of explanations relating to the nature of the forthcoming foreign occupation in Iraq, there will be only one outcome: military rule.
From that moment on, the operative words will be resistance to foreign occupation, with all that this implies.
This means a long period of unrest and turmoil stretching forward a decade or more. We will witness the appearance of political movements that are completely different from the ones we have known in the past. Some will advocate secularism, others religious extremism or ultra-nationalism. Others will cooperate voluntarily with the new foreign initiative.
(MORE)
3//HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network) Thursday, 20 March 2003
http://www.hri.org/news/turkey/trkpr/2003/03-03-20.trkpr.html
Turkish Press Review
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS BY MURAT CELIK (STAR)
Columnist Murat Celik comments on Turkey's stance on the Iraq crisis. A summary of his column is as follows:
(SNIP)
Although Turkey has very understandable concerns, Ankara's reluctant stance on the Iraq crisis was regarded by the Bush administration as foot-dragging in a vain attempt to avert a possible US-led war. That's why Bush's people finally told Ankara that the US no longer needed to station its troops at Turkey's military facilities.
Some interpret this development as Turkey's failure, but others see it as a new strategy for the Bush administration. The former group believes that Turkey will have to face severe economic consequences for its choice in the future. The latter says that the US would never give up on Turkey and will again request stationing its troops on Turkish soil in the very near future.
What about behind-the-scenes discussions in Ankara? Prominent political figures are stressing that Turkey must enter northern Iraq to control future developments which could likely culminate with the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. For now, the terrorist group PKK_KADEK is staying silent. However, intelligence sources state that anti-Turkish movements in northern Iraq are being backed by this organization. The PKK is putting pressure on the two main Kurdish opposition leaders, Barzani and Talabani, to lobby against Turkey's entrance into northern Iraq.
(MORE)
4//The Toronto Star Mar. 20, 2003. 05:58 PM
Article
Link
ANGER GREETS DECISION OF 'FRIENDLY FIRE' INQUIRY
Officer recommends against court martial for U.S. pilots who killed
four
ALLISON Auld
Canadian Press
HALIFAX - Two U.S. pilots who dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers
in Afghanistan "will get away with murder" if they're not
court-martialled for the deadly mistake, says the mother of one of
the victims.
Agatha Dyer reacted with bitter disappointment after an American officer recommended today that Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach shouldn't go before a military tribunal for the accident, which killed four Canadians in the Afghan desert last April. Eight other soldiers were injured.
"I want to see some punishment," she said from her home in Montreal. "This is just a charade. They just get away with murder."
Dyer took no comfort in the finding by Col. Patrick Rosenow who said there was sufficient evidence to send the pilots to a court martial, but that the charges should be dismissed and their case should be handled outside a military court.
Rosenow, who presided over a special military hearing in January that looked into the case, said the matter should be heard in a non-judicial or administrative forum, which could result in a penalty as mild as a letter of reprimand.
(MORE)
5//The Sydney Morning Herald March 21 2003
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/20/1047749880192.html
PEACE PLAN FEARS EASE AS ABBAS ACCEPTS PM POST
Mahmoud Abbas, reputed to be a moderate, has accepted the job of Palestinian prime minister in the first real promise of ending the bloody Israeli-Palestinian deadlock of the past 30 months.
Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, accepted the post hours after the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, formally offered him the job, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an aide to Mr Arafat, said.
The United States said it would talk with Israelis and Palestinians on how to carry out a long-awaited Middle East peace plan rather than discuss what the plan should contain.
The Palestinian Authority said the news put to rest its fears that Israel might try to renegotiate the substance of the peace plan, also known as the road map.
The US and its fellow mediators have said they will make the peace
plan public as soon as the Palestinian legislature confirms Mr Abbas
in the post.
Mr Abbas, 67, could easily fail: the wily Mr Arafat is reluctant
to share power. Mr Abbas also has little grassroots support and
will depend to some extent on the goodwill of the hawkish Israeli
Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.
(MORE)
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© 2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
Radio for the Left at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/radio.htm
