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| October 10, 2003 |
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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. * * * 1//TurkishPress.com, Turkey--PRESS SCAN (Following the adoption of the motion on Turkish soldiers' deployment in Iraq, the eyes are on the negotiations which could last between Turkey and the U.S. until the end of the month...first units will start to be sent to the region on November 15...The United States which welcomed the motion on dispatch of soldiers to Iraq which was adopted by the parliament said that it would shoulder all costs of Turkish army.) 2//Turkish Daily News, Turkey--TROOP DECISION SPARKS PROTESTS ACROSS TURKEY (Protestors across Turkey took to streets Wednesday to protest parliamentary approval for dispatching troops to Iraq. Demonstrators, mostly from leftist groups and labor unions, chanted slogans against the government and the U.S. occupation of Iraq...The decision came despite strong public opposition. Opinion polls have shown more than 60 percent of Turks are against any deployment in Iraq, fearing casualties and amid opposition to U.S. occupation of Iraq...A significant proportion of the protest has come from Kurdish groups.) 3//Islam
Online, Qatar--BUSH WAR ON IRAQ DRIVEN BY 'HIDDEN AGENDA':
GORBACHEV ("I do believe there is some other
agenda, other than weapons and Saddam Hussein...What kind
of hidden agenda, well, that needs to be understood," Newsday.com
quoted Gorbachev as telling a press conference on the sidelines
of an environmental gathering at the City University of New
York...Gorbachev asserted the U.S. had only achieved a pyrrhic
victory in Iraq, adding that Washington paid dearly for that
war, in reference to mounting U.S. death toll since May 1,
when Washington declared the war effectively over. "The
question is what do you do with that victory?" He asked. "We
are seeing the results of that.") 5//The Toronto Star, Canada--U.S.-BASED DEFENCE FIRM HIRED FOR CANADA'S CENSUS (Lockheed Martin has been hired to help gather information about Canadians for the 2006 census, Industry Minister Allan Rock acknowledged today...One opposition critic said he found the idea chilling. "This goes even deeper than anything I would have imagined in my worst nightmare," said New Democrat MP Bill Blaikie, who raised the issue in the Commons. "Which wing of the Pentagon is this information going to be stored in?") * * * 1//TurkishPress.com Thursday, October 9, 2003 Following the adoption of the motion on Turkish soldiers' deployment in Iraq, the eyes are on the negotiations which could last between Turkey and the U.S. until the end of the month. The U.S. insists on deployment of Turkish soldiers in the west of Baghdad which is a dangerous region. The number of soldiers which Turkey will send to Baghdad can increase up to 16,000. From: Sabah (Liberal) After a preliminary unit to be sent to the region for investigation, the first units will start to be sent to the region on November 15. From: Turkiye (Right) The United States which welcomed the motion on dispatch of soldiers to Iraq which was adopted by the parliament said that it would shoulder all costs of Turkish army. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the United States would extend financial assistance if Turkey sent soldiers to the region.
TROOP DECISION SPARKS PROTESTS ACROSS TURKEY ANKARA - Protestors across Turkey took to streets Wednesday to protest parliamentary approval for dispatching troops to Iraq. Demonstrators, mostly from leftist groups and labor unions, chanted slogans against the government and the U.S. occupation of Iraq. In Ankara, a group of demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament and protested the decision. "This decision is against our people. This decision is against the history of our country and the basic philosophy of its establishment," said a leading labor union leader, Chairman of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DISK) Suleyman Celebi. The demonstration brought together four labor associations. Celebi slammed the decision, saying it hurt the Turkish Parliament's prestige, previously boosted by a March 1 vote that turned down a U.S. request to open a northern front from Turkish soil. More than seven months after the stunning rejection of the U.S. request, Parliament, on Tuesday, voted overwhelmingly to accept a government motion to send peacekeeping troops to neighboring Iraq to help a U.S.-led stabilization force. The decision came despite strong public opposition. Opinion polls have shown more than 60 percent of Turks are against any deployment in Iraq, fearing casualties and amid opposition to U.S. occupation of Iraq. (SNIP) In a separate protest, 700 demonstrators chanted slogans and raised anti-U.S. banners in Istanbul's Beyazit and Taksim squares. Police took tight security measures around the squares. A significant proportion of the protest has come from Kurdish groups. The chairman of Turkey's leading pro-Kurdish party, Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) Tuncay Bakirhan said in the eastern province of Agri that the decision to send troops to Iraq had come in return for a $8.5-billion U.S. loan. On Tuesday, the mayor of the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Feridun Celik of DEHAP, said Turkish deployment in Iraq could bring instability to southeastern parts of Turkey. (MORE)
BUSH WAR ON IRAQ DRIVEN BY 'HIDDEN AGENDA': GORBACHEV NEW
YORK, October 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agency)
- There is a kind of "hidden agenda" that motivated
U.S. President George W. Bush to wage war on Iraq, other
than the alleged weapons of mass destruction and the ouster
of Saddam Hussein, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev
said Tuesday, October7 . Gorbachev, who now heads the Green Cross International, an environmental group dedicated to preserving fresh water and eliminating weapons of mass destruction, said 90 per cent of the world's WMD are stockpiled by the U.S. and Russia. The Bush administration must say the truth "whether (alleged) WMD actually existed in Iraq," said Gorbachev who served as president of the then Soviet Union from 1985 to1991 . "We have to get to the bottom of it...And also the question of the quality of intelligence. ... Whether it (the failure to find such weapons) was the result of faulty intelligence," Gorbachev stressed. (SNIP) 'Mistake' The former Soviet leader recalled he had declared soon after the Iraq invasion last March that Bush had been wrong. "Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq and has been less than forthright in explaining his reasons for the attack," he said. Gorbachev asserted the U.S. had only achieved a pyrrhic victory in Iraq, adding that Washington paid dearly for that war, in reference to mounting U.S. death toll since May 1, when Washington declared the war effectively over. "The question is what do you do with that victory?" He asked. "We are seeing the results of that." (MORE)
ARABS, WESTERNERS CLASH AT DUBAI MEDIA SUMMIT Hundreds of international media heavyweights traded charges over coverage of the US invasion of Iraq and haggled over Arab and Western visions of "responsible" media as they wrapped up a two-day conference in Dubai. The Arab Media Summit aimed to find common ground between the two worlds after the US-led war, which confirmed the emergence of groups such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya television channels as powerful regional voices. But the gathering Tuesday and Wednesday only highlighted stereotypes of a controlled and timorous Arab press belittled by Western media behemoths that preach objectivity but promote the agenda of an aggressive US government. And in scathing sharp self-criticism, some keynote Arab speakers stressed the shaken credibility of some outlets, which prevents them from making a strong impact on public opinion. Azmi Bishara, a writer and politician from the Palestinian town of Nazareth, dismissed notions of a wickedly totalitarian press in the Middle East. "Nobody believes the Arab media. It is not dangerous at all," Bishara said. "I don't believe that this is as dangerous as a media that believes it is a free media and objective. It is always about 'we' and 'them' - either the Arabs versus the West or the Arabs versus Israel." "I would like to ask Western journalists, and especially the Americans, to stop giving us lessons in freedom of the press," complained Hamdi Qandeel, an Egyptian TV presenter. (SNIP) Arab journalists roundly criticized what they felt was blatant pro-Americanism during the Iraq war and the demonization of all Muslims after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Daniel Schechter, a television producer and independent film-maker from the United States, admitted that the Patriot Act, which was enacted in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 had compromised freedom of information. "This was supposed to be a meeting of the minds. Instead it's like a tennis match," lamented Janine Di Giovanni, a Times of London correspondent who covered Iraq and sat on a panel analyzing the performance of Western journalists. Speaking about the power of the media to provoke war, Mohammed al-Sayyed Saeed, from Al-Ahram newspaper in Egypt, said that "countries do not go to war because of interests but due to images." The media bombards minds with images that fill it with ideas that penetrate minds," he said. (MORE)
U.S.-BASED DEFENCE FIRM HIRED FOR CANADA'S CENSUS OTTAWA (CP) - They make attack missiles, spying equipment, ballistic-missile defence systems, and now this U.S.-based defence contractor will help produce Canada's census. Lockheed Martin has been hired to help gather information about Canadians for the 2006 census, Industry Minister Allan Rock acknowledged today. He said there was nothing to worry about. "I assume they have expertise that will enable them to perform the contract," Rock said outside the House of Commons. "Canadians will be involved in the performance of the work because it's a Canadian subsidiary that will be doing it." (SNIP) One opposition critic said he found the idea chilling. "This goes even deeper than anything I would have imagined in my worst nightmare," said New Democrat MP Bill Blaikie, who raised the issue in the Commons. "Which wing of the Pentagon is this information going to be stored in?" Federal officials defended the contract. They said Lockheed Martin was hired because it successfully helped the United States and the United Kingdom modernize their census programs. And they said the contract does not pose any national security risks. "No data leaves the country at any point," said Anil Arora, director of the federal census program. "And we'll have systems in place so that nobody can do any funny business." (SNIP) Free-trade rules and globalization automatically made Lockheed Martin a potential candidate for federal contracts, Rock said. "The whole bidding process is cut by the WTO and NAFTA (agreement), which requires that non-Canadian firms get to bid as well," Rock said. "The bidding process was carried on in accordance with Public Works rules and I assume the lowest bidder, for the best price, for the best quality got the job." (MORE) | |||||
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