March 24, 2004

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World Media Watch

by Gloria R. Lalumia

BUZZFLASH NOTE: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

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WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR MARCH 24, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--BLAIR IN HISTORIC TRIP TO LIBYA FOR GADDAFI TALKS (Tony Blair is preparing to make a historic trip to Libya tomorrow for talks with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi...The prospect of a visit was raised by Britain after Libya's renunciation of WMD before Christmas. It could even be followed by a return visit by Colonel Gaddafi. It will be hailed by Mr Blair as a vindication of his stand against rogue states. Speaking after Libya renounced its weapons in December, Mr Blair said: "Libya has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations and Colonel Gaddafi knows the way forward.")

2//Al Bawaba, Jordan--WIDE ROYAL PARDON IN JORDAN MAY INCLUDE CHALABI (Deputy speaker of the lower house and a representative of the Islamic Labor Front, Ali Abu Sukkar, told Al Bawaba Sunday morning that "unofficial meetings have taken place between several members of parliament and the prime minister regarding a possible royal pardon."..."As Islamist deputies, we hope that financial crimes will not be included in this pardon, as any monetary interests that have been defrauded belong to the original owners...On the topic of Chalabi, (MP Jamal) Dmour explained that "Jordan is having to reconsider that way it handles its relationship with Iraq now that the old regime is gone...a fresh and clean start is required - one that does not carry any luggage from the past.")

3//Deutsche-Welle/dw-Worlde.de, Germany--ONE YEAR LATER, GERMANY ANYTHING BUT SMUG OVER IRAQ WAR (Germany's steadfast opposition to the Iraq war led to a division within Europe and a new ice age with the Bush administration in Washington. One year later, wounds have (mostly) been healed...A year later, vast stores of weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found, and coalition forces in Iraq are suffering heavy casualties in a guerrilla war with Islamic Jihadists. But Schröder has gone out of his way to disperse any notions that Germany feels justified in its Iraq opposition. "We have to talk about the present and the future now," he said at a joint White House press conference with President George W. Bush on Feb. 27 this year... Feb. 27 marked the final stages of a return to normalcy in a German-American relationship thrown off-track by divisions over the Iraq war...German police have already begun training the first 150 Iraqi police officers in the United Arab Emirates...But Berlin continues to rule out any deployment of German soldiers on Iraqi soil, even under a NATO mandate.)

4//The Daily Star, Lebanon--INVESTORS HAVE MIXED VIEWS ON REBUILDING IRAQ (Iraqi businessman Hamood Hamdi al-Samarraie is pessimistic. Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, the occupation forces have not given Iraqis the opportunity to rebuild their country. And the country's infrastructure is continuing to deteriorate...Samarraie, who said he had attended four conferences aimed at rebuilding Iraq, thinks that a great deal of reconstruction buzz is just ink on paper. According to him, most if not all of the big contracts are awarded to US companies. Iraqi contractors get a very small portion of the pie, despite assurances from the CPA that Iraqis should be involved. He said his three companies, along with three other domestic firms, have been awarded a contract worth only $500,000.

5//Xinuanet News Agency, China--CHINA INDIGNANT AT US HUMAN RIGHTS MOVE (The US decision to introduce an anti-China human rights motion at the UN human rights conference is a "severe interference in China's internal affairs", a Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Tuesday...Kong said that the US decision was made with a motive on its domestic politics rather than care for human rights, which marked an attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs under the disguise of human rights.)

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1//The Independent 24 March 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=504400

BLAIR IN HISTORIC TRIP TO LIBYA FOR GADDAFI TALKS
By Ben Russell in Madrid and Nigel Morris

Tony Blair is preparing to make a historic trip to Libya tomorrow for talks with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The visit, the first time a British prime minister has been to the north African state, is an indicator of Libya's progress back into the international community since its announcement last year that it would give up its weapons of mass destruction.

(SNIP)

The prospect of a visit was raised by Britain after Libya's renunciation of WMD before Christmas. It could even be followed by a return visit by Colonel Gaddafi. It will be hailed by Mr Blair as a vindication of his stand against rogue states.

Speaking after Libya renounced its weapons in December, Mr Blair said: "Libya has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations and Colonel Gaddafi knows the way forward."

(SNIP)

Last week US officials displayed equipment which they said were part of Libya's nuclear weapons programme, and claimed that its surrender was partly due to the invasion of Iraq.

The Libyans will press to get American sanctions lifted and urge military co-operation between Libya, Britain and America. Mr Blair will arrive two days after the US assistant secretary of state, William Burns, becomes Libya's highest-level American visitor in more than 30 years.

2//Al Bawaba March 21, 2004
http://www.albawaba.com/headlines/TheNews...

WIDE ROYAL PARDON IN JORDAN MAY INCLUDE CHALABI

Several Jordanian MPs have told Al Bawaba that unofficial talks between the parliament and the government over the issue of a wide royal pardon (general amnesty) are underway. Islamist deputies, who do not make up a majority in current parliament session, have expressed their satisfaction with the initiative, which they consider "a positive step by the government towards political openness".

The current talks have also given rise to Ahmad Chalabi's name, a powerful member of the Iraqi Interim Council, who was sentenced [in absentia] to22 years for fraud and embezzlement following the collapse of the Petra bank in1989 . Several political analysts expect the pardon to include Chalabi.

Deputy speaker of the lower house and a representative of the Islamic Labor Front, Ali Abu Sukkar, told Al Bawaba Sunday morning that "unofficial meetings have taken place between several members of parliament and the prime minister regarding a possible royal pardon."

(SNIP)

"As Islamist deputies, we hope that financial crimes will not be included in this pardon, as any monetary interests that have been defrauded belong to the original owners...no one in government has the right to forgo such rights on someone else's behalf," Abu Sukkar concluded, referring to Ahmad Chalabi's more than $300m lawsuit.

Last August, 21 MPs signed a petition demanding a re-opening of the Petra bank case. They have also suggested that the Interpol should intervene and return Chalabi to Jordan for sentencing.

SNIP)

On the topic of Chalabi, (MP Jamal) Dmour explained that "Jordan is having to reconsider that way it handles its relationship with Iraq now that the old regime is gone...a fresh and clean start is required - one that does not carry any luggage from the past."

"If Chalabi's name needs to be included in the list of those pardoned to ensure good relations with Iraq, which I think are in Jordan's best interest, then so be it. Jordan's interests should come first when dealing with the issue of Ahmad Chalabi," Dmour concluded.

3//Deutsche-Welle/dw-Worlde.de 20.03.2004
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1147748_1_A,00.html

ONE YEAR LATER, GERMANY ANYTHING BUT SMUG OVER IRAQ WAR

Germany's steadfast opposition to the Iraq war led to a division within Europe and a new ice age with the Bush administration in Washington. One year later, wounds have (mostly) been healed.

(SNIP)

Last year, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. were the United States' closest allies in the looming invasion of Iraq. Their support divided the European Union, opening deep wounds in the 15 member bloc that have only recently begun to heal.

Looking forward, not back

Germany, like anti-war opponent France, has done a lot to patch up its ties with Washington. In September 2002, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder fell foul of the Bush administration when he rode his opposition to the Iraq war to campaign victory.

Rather than abandon his position after his re-election, Schöder's government stood by its anti-war stance, pleading in the U.N. Security Council that the United States and Great Britain give U.N. weapons inspectors more time to search for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

A year later, vast stores of weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found, and coalition forces in Iraq are suffering heavy casualties in a guerrilla war with Islamic Jihadists. But Schröder has gone out of his way to disperse any notions that Germany feels justified in its Iraq opposition.

" We have to talk about the present and the future now," he said at a joint White House press conference with President George W. Bush on Feb. 27 this year. "We both have a great interest in seeing a stable and democratic Iraq develop."

After Iraq division, offers of help

The Feb. 27 marked the final stages of a return to normalcy in a German-American relationship thrown off-track by divisions over the Iraq war. On his trip to the White House, Schröder mentioned several olive branches Berlin had extended to the Bush administration in an effort to bridge the Iraq divide.

German police have already begun training the first 150 Iraqi police officers in the United Arab Emirates. The government is also mulling ways to forgive Iraq debt and increase the economic aid it wants to pour into the war-torn country.

But Berlin continues to rule out any deployment of German soldiers on Iraqi soil, even under a NATO mandate.

"We have absolutely no plans to send the military, the Bundeswehr into Iraq," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has said.

Germany better off through anti-war stance

The stance is one that has come under criticism from opposition politicians, who supported America's military invasion of Iraq one year ago. The Christian Democratic Union has said the Schröder government shouldn't rule out sending soldiers into the war-torn country.

(MORE)

4//The Daily Star Wednesday, March 24, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=1033

INVESTORS HAVE MIXED VIEWS ON REBUILDING IRAQ
Some say reconstruction buzz just ink on paper
Lack of infrastructure, closed borders, ongoing lack of security have given many businessmen a pessimistic outlook

By Abbas Salman
Special to The Daily Star

MANAMA: Iraqi businessman Hamood Hamdi al-Samarraie is pessimistic. Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, the occupation forces have not given Iraqis the opportunity to rebuild their country. And the country's infrastructure is continuing to deteriorate.

"My expectations about these reconstruction conferences are never high," says Samarrie, who is a member of a business association and manages three companies in Baghdad. In his 60s, Samarrie is one of hundreds of Iraqi businessmen who attended a three-day conference in Bahrain this past weekend. The meeting was attended by investors and traders from Gulf Arab states to meet face-to-face with their Iraqi counterparts.

"The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has stated that Iraq should be built by the Iraqis and that contracts should be handed to locals. What is happening now is the opposite. The promised democracy turned into poverty, sabotage and infrastructure destruction," he says.

Samarraie, who said he had attended four conferences aimed at rebuilding Iraq, thinks that a great deal of reconstruction buzz is just ink on paper. According to him, most if not all of the big contracts are awarded to US companies. Iraqi contractors get a very small portion of the pie, despite assurances from the CPA that Iraqis should be involved. He said his three companies, along with three other domestic firms, have been awarded a contract worth only $500,000.

"Where has all the oil revenue gone? Where are Iraq's frozen assets? And what happened to the money found with former Iraqi officials, estimated to be in the billions of dollars?" asks Samarraie.
Few Arab investors are inclined to put their money in Iraq because of the deteriorating security situation. However, they might seek out Iraqi partners.

(MORE)

5//Xinuanet News Agency 2004-03-23 14:50:50
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-03/23/content_1380206.htm

CHINA INDIGNANT AT US HUMAN RIGHTS MOVE

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The US decision to introduce an anti-China human rights motion at the UN human rights conference is a "severe interference in China's internal affairs", a Foreign Mini stry spokesman said here Tuesday.

The Chinese government and people express strong indignation at and are firmly opposed to the US move, spokesman Kong Quan said in a statement.

Kong said that the US decision was made with a motive on its domestic politics rather than care for human rights, which marked an attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs under the disguise of human rights.

Kong stressed that the US decision has politicized the human rights issue, and therefore tarnished the sacred cause of human rights. Such an unpopular attempt will be futile, he said.

(MORE)