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| April 21, 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. * * * WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR APRIL 21, 2004 1//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--AUSTRALIAN
TROOPS FIRED ON AS IRAQ DANGER WORSENS (Australian
troops in Iraq have come under fire in recent weeks
from mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small
arms. The alarming new picture of the dangers facing
Australian military personnel - in particular the
security detachment guarding officials in Baghdad
- highlights the highly unstable nature of the
war-ravaged country. It came as a spokesman for
the radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr said
that insurgents under his control would aim to
kidnap and kill Australian soldiers and officials
as part of the rebellion that has rocked coalition
forces.) Related Story: HONDURAS TO PULL OUT TROOPS, AND THAIS LOOK SHAKY (The Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, said of his troops: "If we get hurt or killed, I will not keep them there." The Thai Senate began a debate yesterday on a resolution calling for the troops to come home.) 3//The Daily Yomiuri, Japan--74% BACK GOVT'S HANDLING
OF IRAQ HOSTAGE CRISES (The survey result indicates
that the majority of the public supported the government's
efforts to secure the safe release of five Japanese
hostages through negotiations with the Iraqi authorities
and other relevant countries, while refusing to
comply with the demands of militant groups to withdraw
the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq...Sixty percent
of the respondents said they strongly or moderately
approved of the SDF dispatch, the highest percentage
since a similar survey was conducted in January,
when the result was 53 percent. Those who had little
support for or had never approved of the dispatch
totaled 37 percent.) 5//The Independent, UK--RUSSIA MAY BE READY TO RATIFY KYOTO TREATY ON CLIMATE CHANGE (Russia may be about to perform a dramatic policy U-turn in ratifying the Kyoto climate change protocol despite months of saying that it would cause irreparable damage to its booming economy. Such a decision would allow the United Nations treaty to finally become legally binding and leave America isolated on the world stage as an environmental sinner.) * * * 1//The
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia April
21, 2004 AUSTRALIAN TROOPS FIRED ON AS IRAQ DANGER WORSENS Australian troops in Iraq have come under fire in recent weeks from mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. The alarming new picture of the dangers facing Australian military personnel - in particular the security detachment guarding officials in Baghdad - highlights the highly unstable nature of the war-ravaged country. It came as a spokesman for the radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr said that insurgents under his control would aim to kidnap and kill Australian soldiers and officials as part of the rebellion that has rocked coalition forces. Defence sources said the makeshift headquarters of Australia's 90-strong security detachment in Baghdad - in a windowless building known as the Flats - had come under mortar fire and attack by rocket-propelled grenades. "Some of them have come close . . . It's a harassing operation," the senior military officer said. "You worry that soon enough they might get lucky." (SNIP) Incidents included a bomb exploding near an area being patrolled by Australians last week. There had been no significant injuries and rigorous protection was in place, the spokesman said. It is the first time the Defence Department has acknowledged Australian forces have been placed in such grave danger. Until now, there has been no compelling evidence they have been especially targeted, but the Chief of the Defence Force, Peter Cosgrove, expressed concern yesterday about threats from Sadr. (SNIP) The Prime Minister stood firm yesterday, saying it would be irresponsible to leave civilian diplomats and officials in Iraq without the protection of Australian troops. John Howard was responding to news that Honduras had joined Spain in announcing it would withdraw its troops.
DECISION TO WITHDRAW HONDURAN TROOPS WELCOMED
AT HOME MEXICO CITY, Apr 20 (IPS) - Civil society groups in Honduras applauded the government's decision to withdraw the country's 370 troops from Iraq, while voices in El Salvador called for a pullout of the Salvadoran forces as well. ''We were taken by surprise, because it looked like the troops would stay there,'' Juan Barahona, coordinator of the Popular Bloc, which links 21 Honduran social and labour organisations, told IPS by telephone Tuesday. ''The decision to pull them out was the right one and comes in response to the clamour and pressure from the people,'' he added. Honduran President Ricardo Maduro announced late Monday that he had ordered the withdrawal of the Central American country's troops in Iraq ''in the shortest possible time.'' The news came after Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero said on his second day in office Sunday that the 1,300 Spanish troops stationed in Iraq would be pulled out several months earlier than expected. Spain's defence minister confirmed late Monday that Spanish troops had already begun to return home. Maduro said the Honduran soldiers ''have lived up to the objectives of the mission to which they were assigned in the terms of the legislative decree that authorised their departure''. The Honduran soldiers, along with 380 from El Salvador and 300 from the Dominican Republic, formed the Plus Ultra Battalion in the base located in the Iraqi city of Diwaniya, which was commanded by Spain. The battalion also included 113 Nicaraguan soldiers who left Iraq at the end of March and will not return due to a lack of funds, according to official sources. (SNIP) The Central American troops are the only forces from Latin America and the Caribbean taking part in the occupation of Iraq. They represent a tiny deployment compared to the 130,000 U.S. forces. In much of Latin America and the Caribbean, the war on Iraq was overwhelmingly opposed by society as well as the governments, and contributing troops to the coalition force was never even an option. (MORE) Related Story: The
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia April 21,
2004 HONDURAS TO PULL OUT TROOPS, AND THAIS LOOK SHAKY Honduras has followed Spain in announcing it will pull its troops out of Iraq, and Thailand said its 451 medical and engineering troops will be withdrawn if they are attacked. (SNIP) The Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, said of his troops: "If we get hurt or killed, I will not keep them there." The Thai Senate began a debate yesterday on a resolution calling for the troops to come home. The soldiers have been confined to their camp in Kerbala, south of Iraq, since a wave of violence erupted a few weeks ago. "We do not go there to fight. If we get killed why should we stay?" Mr Thaksin said. (MORE)
74% BACK GOVT'S HANDLING OF IRAQ HOSTAGE CRISES Nearly three in four Japanese people, or 74 percent, approved of the government's overall handling of the recent hostage crises in Iraq, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey conducted Saturday and Sunday. The survey result indicates that the majority of the public supported the government's efforts to secure the safe release of five Japanese hostages through negotiations with the Iraqi authorities and other relevant countries, while refusing to comply with the demands of militant groups to withdraw the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq. Three Japanese were initially abducted, with another two later help separately. Apparently mirroring the public's support for the tough approach the government took during the crises, the number of respondents who said they approved of the SDF dispatch increased to 60 percent. Public support for the Cabinet also rose to nearly 60 percent, according to the poll. (SNIP) The survey was conducted through the random sampling of 3,000 voters, of which 1,872, or 62.4 percent responded, at 250 different locations around the country. Of the respondents, 56 percent were women. (SNIP) Sixty percent of the respondents said they strongly or moderately approved of the SDF dispatch, the highest percentage since a similar survey was conducted in January, when the result was 53 percent. Those who had little support for or had never approved of the dispatch totaled 37 percent. (MORE)
20 KILLED ON FIRST DAY OF INDIAN POLLS NEW DELHI: Up to 105 million people voted on Tuesday as India began the world's largest election, with the ruling Hindu nationalists hoping soaring economic growth will win them a new mandate. Those opposed to the election launched sporadic attacks leaving at least 20 people dead, as up to 60 per cent of the 175 million eligible voters cast ballots on the first of five polling dates, officials said. "By and large, things were under control. So far it has been a relatively peaceful poll," Deputy Election Commissioner AN Jha said. More than 670 million people can vote through May 10, with the results due to be announced three days later. Exit polls run by television networks said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies remained on top in the 140 seats contested on Tuesday but may have lost ground. The projections, which were in line with pre-election surveys, foreshadowed a second, post-poll contest in which the BJP or the main opposition Congress tries to form a coalition among small, regional parties. (SNIP) Forty-three parties were represented in the last parliament, with more than half of them at some point helping bolster Vajpayee's government. "We have repeatedly affirmed that even if the BJP gets a majority it will be a coalition government that will be formed," Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said after casting his vote in the western state of Gujarat. Vajpayee gambled by calling the election five months ahead of schedule after a bountiful monsoon kicked the economy into top gear, helping his party to a sterling performance in December regional elections. The Congress party, led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, charges that India's growth of more than eight per cent last year was engineered by nature, not the BJP, and scoffs at the ruling party's "India Shining" slogan. India's 14th general election since independence, and fourth since 1996, is the first carried out on electronic voting machines in the hope of ending allegations of fraud. Of the 20 people killed in election violence, four died in Kashmir. Police also reported ambushes and bombings by Maoist rebels in the insurgency-hit states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand and by tribal insurgents in far-eastern Manipur state. (MORE)
RUSSIA MAY BE READY TO RATIFY KYOTO TREATY ON
CLIMATE CHANGE Russia may be about to perform a dramatic policy U-turn in ratifying the Kyoto climate change protocol despite months of saying that it would cause irreparable damage to its booming economy. Such a decision would allow the United Nations treaty to finally become legally binding and leave America isolated on the world stage as an environmental sinner. An anonymous Kremlin source told the daily Kommersant that the announcement may be made during a two-day visit to Russia by Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, which started yesterday. If Russia's policy shift on Kyoto is not made public during the visit it is likely to emerge at an EU-Russia summit in May. Diplomatic sources said that the main outstanding element was the scale of compensation given to Moscow for trading in "credits", which were given to nations that did not pollute as much as they were entitled to. Because the US is not taking part in the Kyoto system it will not be buying Russian credits. That has prompted Moscow to demand a better financial regime from the EU, which has campaigned for the protocol. EU sources said that the press reports in Russia arose from an internal document in the Russian economics ministry which suggested that the credit trading system could be beneficial for the country. (SNIP) A Russian rapprochement with Brussels has been fuelled by recent progress in its negotiations with the EU over Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. Mr Putin has so far avoided speaking publicly about the likelihood of Russian ratification, leaving that to his leading adviser on the subject, Andrei Illarionov. Mr Illarionov has been extremely negative about Kyoto, but analysts believe that his often provocative comments on the subject may be part of an elaborate negotiation designed to secure financial compensation from the EU for Russian compliance. (MORE) | ||||||
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