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| December 5, 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. * * * WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR DECEMBER 5, 2003 1//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--AUSTRALIA JOINS US MISSILE DEFENCE PLAN (Australia will join the United States in developing its missile defence program, in a move the Government describes as a significant step in the evolution of the alliance...The decision to join the US in developing the system - which would allow missiles to be launched from land or sea against a ballistic missile attack - would bring Australia "into the tent", with opportunities for local defence industries. It was also seen by some as designed to provoke a reaction from the new Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, whose previous anti-US rhetoric has been seized on by the Government.) 2//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--US GENERAL DISCUSSES PLAN AGAINST PKK (A top U.S. military official arrived in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss plans on eliminating terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq...Media reports indicated Gen. Pace's agenda in Turkey includes a possible Turkish troop contribution to NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and added that he was pressing Ankara to agree to send up to 10,000 soldiers after the alliance decided to extend its mission beyond the capital of Kabul. Reports said that Turkey has agreed in principle on sending troops, a claim denied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. "There is an impression that a parliamentary authorization to send troops to Iraq will be used to sanction a similar mission in Afghanistan. This is not true. Any plan to send troops to Afghanistan is out of the question," Gul told reporters on Wednesday.) 3//The Japan Times, Japan--SWIFT DISPATCH OF SDF WINS BACKING OF 7.5% OF POLLEES (Only 7.5 percent of respondents to a recent Kyodo News survey believe the Self-Defense Forces should be swiftly dispatched to Iraq. The results of the telephone survey, conducted Wednesday and Thursday, show that another 56.3 percent of respondents feel that while the troops should be sent, the timing of the dispatch should be cautiously considered. The 63.8 percent overall rate of support for the dispatch outweighed the 33.7 percent of respondents who clearly said were opposed to sending troops to help rebuild Iraq.) 4//Frankfurter
Allgemaine Zeitung, Germany--'NETWORK OF TERROR' WARNING
(Germany's top-ranking police officer warned
on Thursday that the arrest of a suspected Islamist radical
in Munich pointed to the existence of a far-reaching "network
of Islamist terror" operating in Germany...The alleged
Islamist came under scrutiny as part of the expanded investigations
launched in Germany since Sept. 11, 2001, when a Hamburg-based
cell of young foreign-born Islamists believed to be under
the direction of Al Qaeda carried out the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Apart from immigration
violations, criminal charges have materialized in only
a few of the cases.) * * * 1//The
Sydney Morning Herald December 5, 2003 AUSTRALIA JOINS US MISSILE DEFENCE PLAN The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, said Australia's role was still being assessed, but it might include wider co-operation in detecting missiles at launch, acquiring or co-operating on ship-based and land-based sensors, science and technology research, and testing. The decision to join the US in developing the system - which would allow missiles to be launched from land or sea against a ballistic missile attack - would bring Australia "into the tent", with opportunities for local defence industries. It was also seen by some as designed to provoke a reaction from the new Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, whose previous anti-US rhetoric has been seized on by the Government. Senator Hill told Parliament that the Government was unlikely to get Mr Latham's support for what was "an important national security policy". He told the Herald that the timing of the announcement was merely an "interesting coincidence". The decision had been made a few weeks ago, but regional countries had needed to be told before it was made public. (MORE)
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News--A top U.S. military official arrived in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss plans on eliminating terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq. Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Ilker Basbug, in General Staff headquarters on the first day of his visit, scheduled to last into Friday. Pace's talks are expected to focus on plans to disarm
PKK terrorists based in northern Iraq. Basbug said in a
visit to Washington last month that he expected plans to
progress when Pace arrived in Turkey. (SNIP) An estimated 5,000 PKK-KADEK terrorists have taken refuge in the Kurdish-run part of northern Iraq. Basbug earlier said that the U.S. and Turkish sides had agreed on an operational plan against PKK-KADEK but that the timing of any operational plan did not exist. Afghanistan troop controversy Media reports indicated Gen. Pace's agenda in Turkey includes a possible Turkish troop contribution to NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and added that he was pressing Ankara to agree to send up to 10,000 soldiers after the alliance decided to extend its mission beyond the capital of Kabul. Reports said that Turkey has agreed in principle on sending troops, a claim denied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. "There is an impression that a parliamentary authorization to send troops to Iraq will be used to sanction a similar mission in Afghanistan. This is not true. Any plan to send troops to Afghanistan is out of the question," Gul told reporters on Wednesday.
SWIFT DISPATCH OF SDF WINS BACKING OF 7.5% OF POLLEES Only 7.5 percent of respondents to a recent Kyodo News survey believe the Self-Defense Forces should be swiftly dispatched to Iraq. The results of the telephone survey, conducted Wednesday and Thursday, show that another 56.3 percent of respondents feel that while the troops should be sent, the timing of the dispatch should be cautiously considered. The 63.8 percent overall rate of support for the dispatch outweighed the 33.7 percent of respondents who clearly said were opposed to sending troops to help rebuild Iraq. Support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet slipped 7.8 points from last month's survey to 43.8 percent, compared with 44.4 percent who said they did not back the Cabinet. Kyodo News did not include a margin of error. It was the first time since a similar Kyodo poll in March that the number of people who disapproved of the Koizumi Cabinet outnumbered those who supported it. The 1,037 respondents to the poll were out of 1,477 households with eligible voters who were telephoned at random by computer. (MORE)
'NETWORK OF TERROR' WARNING By Michael Gavin Germany's top-ranking police officer warned on Thursday that the arrest of a suspected Islamist radical in Munich pointed to the existence of a far-reaching "network of Islamist terror" operating in Germany. Ulrich Kersten, the president of the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, or BKA, stressed however that he had no information that any attacks were being planned in this country. Kersten said the man identified only as Mohammed L., a 29-year-old ethnic Kurd from Iraq arrested at the main Munich train station on Tuesday, had been in contact with a number of other suspected Islamists detained recently. Their apparent specialty, he said, was obtaining weapons and smuggling Islamists into Europe. The alleged Islamist came under scrutiny as part of the expanded investigations launched in Germany since Sept. 11, 2001, when a Hamburg-based cell of young foreign-born Islamists believed to be under the direction of Al Qaeda carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Apart from immigration violations, criminal charges have materialized in only a few of the cases. Kersten said investigations had revealed ample ties between Mohammed L. and Islamists abroad, but he declined to elaborate. "The threat is still there, and it cannot be foreseen that it will decline," said Kersten, adding, "All in all, I think we can talk about a network of Islamist terror." Kersten did not link Mohammed L. to Al Qaeda, but press reports in Munich said he was the suspected local leader of the Kurdish-dominated Ansar al-Islam group, which has been linked by some officials to Osama bin Laden's organization. (MORE)
TELEVISION NEWSCASTS GIVE KREMLIN A BOOST Newscasts on Russia's main television channels generally reflect the Kremlin's position in Sunday's State Duma elections, monitoring conducted over the past week by The Moscow Times shows. Alongside widespread, complimentary coverage of the main pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, news programs carried predominantly unflattering reports about its main rival, the Communist Party. According to monitoring conducted between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4, state-controlled Channel One made no mention of any party except United Russia in the earlier of its two daily prime-time newscasts, although it reported on other contenders in its 9 p.m. newscast. Throughout the week, both Channel One and state-owned Rossia were flooded with reports about United Russia leaders on occasions as varied as dropping in at a rock concert, touring a dairy factory and cutting the ribbon at a new bridge. A lone report about a visit to Tver by Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov also aired on Rossia. But the Tver piece came after news in preceding days about Communist veterans protesting against the new rich in their ranks -- and Zyuganov saying the Communists would drop out of an informal goodwill pact to refrain from dirty campaign tactics during the election. (MORE) |
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