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| March 10, 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 MARCH 10, 2004 1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--IRAQIS LEARN RED TAPE, THE INDIAN WAY (Although India refused to join the US-led war in Iraq, criticized President George W Bush and declined to send Indian troops for post-war peace-keeping missions - a departure from the traditional Indian role as a global peace keeper under the United Nations in Korea, Africa and Cyprus - India might still prove to be an asset to the US in helping create a democratic administration in Iraq...Quietly, though, as opposed to sending troops, India has chosen the less glamorous task of training Iraqi bureaucrats, at the request of the US. The first batch of 14 senior officials from Iraq arrived in India recently and are being trained at the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute, which turns out India's vaunted and feared civil servants... India has a world-wide reputation for its 9 million-strong central and state government bureaucracy, the foundations of which were honed during British rule, although it also has a reputation for excessive red tape, and being prone to corruption.) 2//BBC,
UK--LIBYA BLAMED FOR W. AFRICA WARS (The chief
prosecutor at the UN's new court for Sierra
Leone has repeated claims that the Libyan leader
is behind the past decade of war in West Africa...The
Libyan leader has improved his relations with the
United States and Britain, and sanctions have been
lifted. However, the US and Britain also support
the new Sierra Leone war crimes court where - when
cases start in the coming weeks and months - potentially
explosive allegations will be made against the
Libyan leader..."We know that, specifically
up until last year, that there was a 10-year plan
to take down Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire,
then move to Guinea and then elsewhere as the situation
developed," he said.) 4//The Moscow Times, Russia--PROFESSOR PICKS UP MEDIA BATON (The man picked to lead the newly created Culture and Press Ministry is perhaps the most surprising choice of all in President Vladimir Putin's pre-election Cabinet reshuffle. Alexander Sokolov, a 54-year-old professor of music theory, was until Tuesday the rector of Moscow State Conservatory, better known in musical circles than the corridors of powder..."The issue now is who [Sokolov's] deputies will be," said Anna Kachkayeva, a media analyst for Radio Liberty in Moscow. "Although the whole idea of the Press Ministry should have been abolished altogether -- if we are to live in a real democracy -- it is obvious that it has been decided to keep it, but to give it a lower profile," she said.) 5//The Independent, UK--GM CROPS ARE GIVEN QUALIFIED GO-AHEAD (The long argument over whether or not genetically-modified crops should be commercially grown in Britain ended yesterday when the Environment Secretary, Margaret Beckett, announced a formal but heavily-qualified go-ahead for the growing of GM maize. Her decision was denounced by environmental and consumer groups who have long contended that GM crops may damage the environment and are not wanted by the public.) * * * 1//Asia
Times Online March 10, 2004 IRAQIS LEARN RED TAPE, THE INDIAN WAY NEW DELHI - Behind the more visible show of cooperation through a joint air exercise between the air forces of the two countries over Alaska, or joint commando operations in Kashmir, relations between India and the United States have reached a stage where apparent differences over principles no longer derail the process of understanding that has taken almost half a century to build. Although India refused to join the US-led war in Iraq, criticized President George W Bush and declined to send Indian troops for post-war peace-keeping missions - a departure from the traditional Indian role as a global peace keeper under the United Nations in Korea, Africa and Cyprus - India might still prove to be an asset to the US in helping create a democratic administration in Iraq. The government of India is trying to achieve this without the media glare and by not antagonizing a large section of Muslims in the country just weeks before general elections in which every Muslim vote counts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is wooing prominent Muslim leaders in a bid to dilute its hardline Hindu image, and it is unwilling to publicize any activities related to Iraq, says Arun Jaitley, the commerce minister and a prominent BJP leader in charge of managing the coming general elections scheduled for April and May. (SNIP) Quietly, though, as opposed to sending troops, India has chosen the less glamorous task of training Iraqi bureaucrats, at the request of the US. The first batch of 14 senior officials from Iraq arrived in India recently and are being trained at the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute, which turns out India's vaunted and feared civil servants - officers of the Indian Administrative Services - at the Himalayan hill station of Mussourie, 340 kilometers from the capital Delhi. The Iraqis will be schooled in how to function in a democratic society, and will go through various orientation programs at most ministries, especially foreign, finance and commerce. India has a world-wide reputation for its 9 million-strong central and state government bureaucracy, the foundations of which were honed during British rule, although it also has a reputation for excessive red tape, and being prone to corruption. J N Dikshit, a retired foreign secretary, says that the Iraqi officers will not only receive training in administration, but in diplomacy as well. A senior officer from the Iraqi group, who requested not to be named, commented that there is a feeling among many officials in Iraq that the US-led war was precipitated in part by Iraq's diplomatic failures. He says that perhaps the war and the consequent miseries of the Iraqis could have been avoided with mature diplomacy, rather than saber rattling. (MORE)
LIBYA BLAMED FOR W. AFRICA WARS The chief prosecutor at the UN's new court for Sierra Leone has repeated claims that the Libyan leader is behind the past decade of war in West Africa. The accusation against Muammar Gaddafi was made by David Crane in an interview with the BBC. It comes at a time when Libya is trying to improve relations with the West. The Sierra Leone war crimes court officially opens its doors this week, in the wake of international courts for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. 'Potentially explosive' It has been known for some time that several West African rebel leaders were trained in Libya, but the accusations from war crimes prosecutor David Crane come at a politically sensitive time. The Libyan leader has improved his relations with the United States and Britain, and sanctions have been lifted. However, the US and Britain also support the new Sierra Leone war crimes court where - when cases start in the coming weeks and months - potentially explosive allegations will be made against the Libyan leader. Mr Crane said there was a detailed plan by Mr Gaddafi to destabilise several West African countries which had caused widespread suffering in the region. "We know that, specifically up until last year, that there was a 10-year plan to take down Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, then move to Guinea and then elsewhere as the situation developed," he said. "The 10-year plan was to put in surrogates who were beholden to Muammar Gaddafi," Mr Crane said. (MORE)
SHAHEEN-II TEST-FIRED ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test-fired a Shaheen-II (Hatf-VI) surface-to-surface ballistic missile. It has a range of 2,700 kilometres. It was the first test flight of the solid-fuel Shaheen-II, which is capable of hitting any target in India. Shaheen-II is the longest-range missile tested by Pakistan so far. "Shaheen-II is an India-specific missile and it can cover the entire length and breadth of India," a senior official said. Shaheen-II is an advanced version of Shaheen-I, which has a range of 700 kilometres. Shaheen-II is a two-stage missile and can carry all kinds of conventional and unconventional warheads. "All the planned technical parameters were successfully validated during the test," an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said, adding that the test dismissed the apprehensions of a rollback of Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme. (SNIP) FO: Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan hopes that the Shaheen-II missile test will not have an adverse impact on the composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India, according to the BBC.
PROFESSOR PICKS UP MEDIA BATON The man picked to lead the newly created Culture and Press Ministry is perhaps the most surprising choice of all in President Vladimir Putin's pre-election Cabinet reshuffle. Alexander Sokolov, a 54-year-old professor of music theory, was until Tuesday the rector of Moscow State Conservatory, better known in musical circles than the corridors of powder. Sokolov will now head a ministry formed by the merger of the Press Ministry and the Culture Ministry, replacing Press Minister Mikhail Lesin and Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi. (SNIP) But while to Russia's most prominent musicians Sokolov is an authority, he appears to be an unknown variable to political and media analysts. (SNIP) "The issue now is who [Sokolov's] deputies will be," said Anna Kachkayeva, a media analyst for Radio Liberty in Moscow. "Although the whole idea of the Press Ministry should have been abolished altogether -- if we are to live in a real democracy -- it is obvious that it has been decided to keep it, but to give it a lower profile," she said. The structure of the new combined ministry and the agencies and services for which it will be responsible remained unclear Tuesday. In particular, which agency will be authorized to issue licenses to the media, and the fate of access for printed media to cheap paper and imported printing equipment, under subsidies established by Lesin, remain to be decided. The presidential administration said Tuesday that three agencies would be created under the new ministry to deal with archives, culture and cinematography, and mass communications, RIA Novosti reported. The specific functions of the three are yet to be defined and made public. (MORE)
GM CROPS ARE GIVEN QUALIFIED GO-AHEAD The long argument over whether or not genetically-modified crops should be commercially grown in Britain ended yesterday when the Environment Secretary, Margaret Beckett, announced a formal but heavily-qualified go-ahead for the growing of GM maize. Her decision was denounced by environmental and consumer groups who have long contended that GM crops may damage the environment and are not wanted by the public. But it was welcomed by the biotech industry, and by many leading scientists who insist that GM technology can bring many benefits to agriculture in the future. Mrs Beckett based the Government's decision squarely on its own four-year-long, large-scale trial of three GM crops proposed for growth in Britain, all genetically-modified to be herbicide-tolerant to allow the use of extra-powerful weedkillers. Reporting last autumn, the trials found that in the case of beet and oilseed rape, the GM crops and their associated weedkillers were more likely to harm farmland wildlife such as insects, wild flowers and birds than their conventional crop equivalents. But with maize the opposite was true, and the GM crop was less damaging. On this basis, Mrs Beckett told MPs yesterday, the Government would oppose the cultivation of the particular varieties of GM beet and oilseed rape throughout the European Union but would agree "in principle" to the growing of GM maize. She said GM growers would be expected to monitor changes in herbicide use on conventional maize. A much-raised objection to GM maize "passing its test" in the trials is that the weedkiller used with the conventional crops for comparison, atrazine, is such a deadly chemical that it is being phased out across Europe, and therefore the comparison was invalid. (MORE) | ||||||
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