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| January 14, 2004 |
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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 JANUARY 14, 2004 1//The Independent, UK--SHORT SAYS BLAIR MUST RESIGN IF HE LOSES FEES VOTE (Clare Short said yesterday that Tony Blair would have to resign as Prime Minister if he loses the crucial Commons vote on plans for universities to charge top-up fees of up to £3,000 a year... The former International Development Secretary said attempts by Government whips to bully and "cajole" Labour MPs over tuition fees were not working because they were no longer willing to prop up Mr Blair.) 2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--PAKISTAN RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS (Washington is now convinced that its ally in the global "war on terror", or certainly elements in Pakistan's strategic community, are inextricably linked to the Afghan resistance, including providing training, supplies and arms to the guerrillas. Now, the US wants to establish exactly just how deep these ties go, and whether they have the consent - tacit or otherwise - of President General Pervez Musharraf.) 3//The
Daily Star, Lebanon--SPECTER OF SECTARIANISM GROWS
VISIBLE IN IRAQ (The ominous specter of sectarian
and ethnic unrest in Iraq is growing more visible as
the country struggles to forge a new identity and system
of rule in the wake of Saddam Hussein's downfall. Although
such unrest did not explode immediately after the end
of the former regime as some commentators had predicted,
in the past few months, Sunni and Shiite Arabs have
clashed in Baghdad. Tensions are also on the rise between
Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkomans in the ethnically
mixed northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul. The intercommunal
strife is aggravated by the aggressive counter-insurgency
tactics employed by the US military in the "Sunni
triangle" where most attacks against occupation
soldiers have occurred, occupation policies which seem
to favor the Shiites and the Kurds, and the failure
of the occupying powers to restore stability.) 5//The Toronto Star, Canada--WINDSOR SUFFERS BORDER WOES (Americans hit the Code Orange button to beef up border security, and the trucks come to a standstill at the Ambassador Bridge..."The single largest economic issue facing Canada is the border," says David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association. Auto industry consultant Dennis DesRosiers, of DesRosiers Automotive, says continuing delays put Canadian manufacturing jobs at risk.) * * * 1//The
Independent 14 January 2004 SHORT SAYS BLAIR MUST RESIGN IF HE LOSES FEES VOTE Clare Short said yesterday that Tony Blair would have to resign as Prime Minister if he loses the crucial Commons vote on plans for universities to charge top-up fees of up to £3,000 a year. Blair allies insisted he would not quit if he was defeated despite turning the issue into a vote of confidence. But in a scathing attack on his premiership, Ms Short said his departure would "renew" a Labour Party which was "crumbling away into disillusionment and enormous loss of members." The former International Development Secretary said attempts by Government whips to bully and "cajole" Labour MPs over tuition fees were not working because they were no longer willing to prop up Mr Blair. "When the whips say you will weaken the Prime Minister they [the MPs] are not so troubled. It is no longer scary to think about weakening Tony Blair and the possibility of him moving on," she said. (MORE)
PAKISTAN RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS KARACHI - The onset of winter and its heavy snowfalls has slowed the pace of the United States-led war in Afghanistan, but this has not stopped US authorities from launching renewed efforts to expose the deep nexus between the Taliban and Pakistan, whose strategic forces the US clearly blames for aiding and abetting the resistance movement. (SNIP) Washington is now convinced that its ally in the global "war on terror", or certainly elements in Pakistan's strategic community, are inextricably linked to the Afghan resistance, including providing training, supplies and arms to the guerrillas. Now, the US wants to establish exactly just how deep these ties go, and whether they have the consent - tacit or otherwise - of President General Pervez Musharraf. Asia Times Online has learned from sources in Rawalpindi, home of army headquarters, that Washington "requested" from Islamabad a list of all military operators who served in Afghanistan under cover during and after the fall of the Taliban, which Pakistan, until Musharraf's about-turn after September 11, actively supported and promoted. This request was apparently fulfilled, and marks one of the most significant developments in Pakistan's cooperation with the US as the list, with a little bit of extrapolation, provides detailed information on the activities of the Inter-Services Intelligence's key military operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. As a result of this new information, the sources tell Asia Times Online that the US has now singled out a South Waziristan agency and the surrounding desolate terrain leading to Afghanistan as a highly likely hideout of Taliban leaders as well as key al-Qaeda operators, including Osama bin Laden's righthand man, Ayman al-Zawahri. This agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the west of Pakistan is the most sensitive in the country; it is not under the direct administration of the central government, but indirectly governed by a political agent, and it is a hotbed of resistance. According to tribal reports in Wana, the situation in the region is very tense, with the US keeping a very close eye on developments. Apparently the plan is to launch another offensive in South Waziristan in the near future, and at the same time begin an offensive across the border in Afghanistan in the mountains around Shakin. This pincer movement, it is hoped, will catch any suspects between a rock and a very hard place. (MORE)
SPECTER OF SECTARIANISM GROWS VISIBLE IN IRAQ Nicholas Blanford Baghdad: The ominous specter of sectarian and ethnic unrest in Iraq is growing more visible as the country struggles to forge a new identity and system of rule in the wake of Saddam Hussein's downfall. Although such unrest did not explode immediately after the end of the former regime as some commentators had predicted, in the past few months, Sunni and Shiite Arabs have clashed in Baghdad. Tensions are also on the rise between Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkomans in the ethnically mixed northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul. The intercommunal strife is aggravated by the aggressive counter-insurgency tactics employed by the US military in the "Sunni triangle" where most attacks against occupation soldiers have occurred, occupation policies which seem to favor the Shiites and the Kurds, and the failure of the occupying powers to restore stability. Political divisions related to Iraq's diverse ethnic and sectarian composition are not new. Traditionally, Sunni Arabs have dominated the central government of Iraq since the country gained formal independence from Britain in 1932. Sunni hegemony was reinforced during Saddam Hussein's brutal tenure when the Kurdish and Shiite Arab communities were viewed as potential threats to the regime and persecuted mercilessly. Nor are communal tensions necessarily foremost in the public mind. The complaints heard from all Iraqis, regardless of faith, creed or ethnicity, concern the frustrations of daily living - the lack of security, jobs, electricity and fuel, compounded by spiraling prices. But the ouster of the Baath regime and the US-British occupation have thrown the political future of Iraq into doubt. In this atmosphere, the often competing agendas and interests of the various communities are expressed consciously and forthrightly in sectarian or ethnic terms. (SNIP) Wary of the prospect of Shiite dominance, in the last week of December 2003 Sunni Arabs representing three Islamist trends, as well as urban professionals and tribal leaders, convened a national consultative council. The council aims to present a unified Sunni voice to the occupation authorities and to fellow Iraqis. "We never needed a body like the Shura Council before," Sunni cleric Harith Dhari told The Washington Post. "But we need it to look after our political, social and religious affairs." Spokesmen for the body have declined to back or denounce the insurgents, though they rhetorically support an Iraqi right of resistance to occupation. The overtly communal basis of the council finds echoes in other recently constituted bodies which appear more ready to take up arms. On Jan. 5, 2004, the London-based Al-Hayat reported that the Sunni "Clear Victory Movement" plans to establish a militia in response to the "Mahdi Army" assembled by the young Shiite cleric Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr, who has been a vocal critic of the occupation from early on. The Movement has sworn to oppose the US military presence if the Sunnis are not better integrated into the existing political order. These events followed several instances of intercommunal violence in the preceding month. (MORE)
RESERVE FUNDS TAPPED FOR IRAQ ROLE The government said Tuesday it will use 891.94 million yen from its reserve funds for fiscal 2003 to finance Self-Defense Forces activities in Iraq. Of the sum, about 150 million yen is for the advance Ground Self-Defense Force team that received dispatch orders Friday to prepare for the deployment of core units, according to Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki. The GSDF advance unit of roughly 30 members will be given the budget to cover special troop allowances as well as travel and communications costs, according to government officials. The unit is expected to depart later this week for the southern Iraq city of Samawah via Kuwait to check local security. The remaining 740 million yen will be used for deploying the Air Self-Defense Force's main units, which also received deployment orders Friday, Tanigaki said. (MORE)
WINDSOR SUFFERS BORDER WOES Windsor-The domino effect is staggering. Americans hit the Code Orange button to beef up border security, and the trucks come to a standstill at the Ambassador Bridge. That backs up traffic, at times, for 10 kilometres on Huron-Church Rd./Talbot Rd., which links Highway 401 to the bridge. Truckers at the back of the line then turn on to local streets, trying to find a shortcut. That in turn stops local traffic, and clouds the neighbourhood with diesel fumes from idling trucks. The sound keeps people awake, and workers in this industrial city must try to sleep at all hours, depending on which shift they're working at one of the auto parts or assembly plants. All this angers residents and frustrates truckers. But it doesn't stop there. The companies with goods on those trucks get antsy - in a just-in-time economy, it doesn't serve anyone to be late. Word gets out to tourists that Windsor is in gridlock, even on days when it isn't, and the hotel and casino industry start hurting. Companies that might have considered expanding or opening new business in southern Ontario, given the cheap dollar and easy access to the United States, now see a rising dollar and logjams at the border. Business leaders are worried, and the provincial and federal governments feel the heat. "The single largest economic issue facing Canada is the border," says David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association. Auto industry consultant Dennis DesRosiers, of DesRosiers Automotive, says continuing delays put Canadian manufacturing jobs at risk. "Most of our parts manufacturers will be building plants in the U.S., so they don't have this border problem," he warned. "Why would you deal with a border issue?" The impact on jobs could be substantial. (MORE) | |||||
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