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| January 23, 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 23, 2004 1//KurdishMedia.com, UK--SUNNIS, KURDS FEARFUL OF SHIITE POWER RUMBLINGS, RIYADH TO REDUCE IRAQI DEBT (Three days of Shiite protests struck fear in the hearts of Iraqi Kurds and Sunnis on Thursday, as US special envoy James Baker persuaded Riyadh to scrap a "substantial" reduction of Iraq's bruising debt. But Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish minorities were quick on the defensive as the country's 15-million Shiites made it clear they want to be in the driver's seat of power after enduring years of oppression under ousted ruler Saddam Hussein.) 2//The Scotsman, Scotland--BLACK WATCH COMMANDER TELLS HOW MoD LET DOWN TROOPS IN IRAQ (...Despite government assertions that the purpose of the war was to remove Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, British units were sent to the Gulf without enough NBC protection suits to go round, without equipment to decontaminate vehicles after an attack, and with unusable detection equipment intended to provide early warning of an attack...Other senior military figures went even further, calling the failure to supply soldiers with adequate NBC gear "criminal".) 3//The
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--AUSTRALIAN TROOPS
TO TRAIN IRAQI SOLDIERS ("Australian sailors
will join the United Kingdom and United States colleagues
in training Iraqi sailors in vessel acceptance trials,
maritime operations in sovereign waters, leadership
instruction and general seamanship." Senator Hill
said the establishment of the Iraqi Coastal Defence
Force would allow Iraqi naval personnel to work alongside
the coalition to control Iraq's territorial waters.) 5//Inter Press Service, Italy--CITIGROUP SUCCUMBS TO 'GREEN' CAMPAIGN (The world's largest private financial institution, Citigroup, has signed on to a comprehensive environmental policy that sets a new industry standard, says the grassroots group that ran a two-year campaign against the banking giant. Rainforest Action Network (RAN) said the new policy applies to Citi's funding of projects that might have an impact on sensitive ecosystems, logging, indigenous areas and climate change.) * * * 1//KurdishMedia.com 22/01/2004 SUNNIS, KURDS FEARFUL OF SHIITE POWER RUMBLINGS, RIYADH TO REDUCE IRAQI DEBT Baghdad, Jan 22 (AFP) - 8h00 - Three days of Shiite protests struck fear in the hearts of Iraqi Kurds and Sunnis on Thursday, as US special envoy James Baker persuaded Riyadh to scrap a "substantial" reduction of Iraq's bruising debt. But Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish minorities were quick on the defensive as the country's 15-million Shiites made it clear they want to be in the driver's seat of power after enduring years of oppression under ousted ruler Saddam Hussein. They staged a third straight day of protests Wednesday against US plans for a transfer of power in Iraq, as US and Iraqi leaders again snubbed their key demand for general elections before a scheduled June handover. "The Shia want to make sure that they dominate; the sooner the elections, the sooner they will dominate," a high-ranking US-led coalition official said. "It's raw politics." Leading the beacon for the Shiites has been Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a cleric noted until now for his conservatism and aversion to politics. In the coalition's eyes, the caucus process designed by it to select a transitional national assembly will inevitably wind up with a Shiite majority. But faced with street protests and threats of greater troubles ahead, the coalition is looking to steer a middle course between the Shiite giant awakening from its long slumber and the weaker Sunnis and Kurds. The Shiites' demands are "worrying to the Kurds and Sunnis," the official said. On Wednesday, Sunni religious leaders and Kurdish politicians rejected Shiite calls for early elections in Iraq. (MORE)
BLACK WATCH COMMANDER TELLS HOW MoD LET DOWN TROOPS IN IRAQ Gethin Chamberlain in Fallingbostel, Germany Yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel James Cowan, the commanding officer of the Black Watch, one of the regiments in the thick of the fighting, told The Scotsman that the shortage of equipment in the Gulf was due to the government's unwillingness to commit to war until all possible alternatives had been explored, while the regiment's quartermaster during the conflict criticised the shortage of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection suits and equipment. Despite government assertions that the purpose of the war was to remove Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, British units were sent to the Gulf without enough NBC protection suits to go round, without equipment to decontaminate vehicles after an attack, and with unusable detection equipment intended to provide early warning of an attack. (SNIP) (SNIP) The Black Watch Regimental Sergeant Major, Brian Cooper, who was the regimental quartermaster in the Gulf, said that despite the complaints from soldiers and their relatives, the only serious shortfall had been in the supply of NBC equipment. "There is only one area where we were really let down and that is NBC kit - the whole lot, suits, decontaminants, the lot," he said. "One of the main things we went there for was weapons of mass destruction. If that is what they sent us for, then it was not sufficient." He said the requirement was for there to be three NBC suits for each soldier, but he had struggled to make two available. Equipment that was out of date was simply redated to extend its shelf-life, none of the detection equipment had been calibrated, rendering it unusable, and there was nothing available to decontaminate vehicles if there was an attack. "None of the stuff worked. It was a good job that nothing happened out there," he said. (MORE)
AUSTRALIAN TROOPS TO TRAIN IRAQI SOLDIERS Twelve Australian soldiers will be deployed to Iraq next month to help train Iraqi's new armed forces, Defence Minister Robert Hill said today. Senator Hill said the sailors would be ready to deploy to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in February but their actual deployment date would depend on facilities, construction and support contracts being finalised. The newly-established, post-Saddam Iraqi defence service, known as the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force, will shortly take delivery of five patrol boats, the minister said. "The RAN has a world-class reputation and can bring a wealth of contemporary experience to train Iraqi sailors in patrol boat and small vessel operations," Senator Hill said. "Australian sailors will join the United Kingdom and United States colleagues in training Iraqi sailors in vessel acceptance trials, maritime operations in sovereign waters, leadership instruction and general seamanship." Senator Hill said the establishment of the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force would allow Iraqi naval personnel to work alongside the coalition to control Iraq's territorial waters. (MORE)
EUROPE'S DREAM OF OVERTAKING US COLLAPSES IN FAILURE Europe's drive to overtake the US economy by 2010 is in trouble, the European Commission admitted yesterday, in a report that showed the EU has lost ground in key areas since it launched reforms. The document is a "wake-up call" to European governments, according to EU officials, and will be an embarrassment to Tony Blair, who helped initiate plans to revitalise the economy at a summit in Lisbon four years ago. Mr Blair sees the reform agenda as a vital part of the battle to convince the public that the 12-nation eurozone is an economic success. Instead low productivity, sluggish investment, the slow pace of reform and deteriorating public finances were seen as the cause of the continuing gap with the US, according to the report. The Lisbon summit agreed a range of targets for job creation, innovation and liberalisation, and laid down an agenda for economic reform from the creation of a EU-wide patent to mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The meeting was a success for Mr Blair, who surprised his critics by isolating France as it resisted moves to open up its energy market to competition. But officials now concede that the objective of becoming the world's most competitive economy by 2010 is under threat. (MORE)
CITIGROUP SUCCUMBS TO 'GREEN' CAMPAIGN WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (IPS) - The world's largest private financial institution, Citigroup, has signed on to a comprehensive environmental policy that sets a new industry standard, says the grassroots group that ran a two-year campaign against the banking giant. Rainforest Action Network (RAN) said the new policy applies to Citi's funding of projects that might have an impact on sensitive ecosystems, logging, indigenous areas and climate change. The policy also marks an advance over the so-called ''Equator Principles'', an agreement signed by Citi and 17 other major international banks last year, committing them to apply the environmental policies of the World Bank's private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to their lending practices. The IFC's standards have been stricter than those of private banks and most western governments' export credit agencies (ECAs), which finance infrastructure and other major projects in poor countries. ''Today, Citi has articulated the strongest environmental policies yet of any private financial institution in the world'', said Michael Brune, the executive director of San Francisco-based RAN, which sponsored consumer boycotts and held colourful protests in its effort to persuade the bank to stop financing ecologically destructive projects. (MORE) | |||||
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