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| May 14, 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 MAY 14, 2004 1//The Independent, UK--BLAIR: 'I WILL REMAIN SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH GEORGE BUSH' (A defiant Tony Blair said yesterday that he would not change course over Iraq and rejected the growing demands by Labour MPs for him to distance himself from President George Bush. In his first interview since the crisis over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners caused speculation that he might stand down, the beleaguered Prime Minister told The Independent he was "frustrated" that Iraq was overshadowing what he called the Government's significant achievements on the economy, jobs and public services. He slapped down calls for him to "put some light" between Britain and the US, insisting that it would be exactly the wrong time to do so.) 2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS WAIT THEIR CHANCE (Following decades of Saddam Hussein's unpredictable rule, Iraq's neighbors are now interested in a stable and secure country, and no capital is seriously suggesting the United States-led coalition withdraw its forces immediately. That's just about where agreement ends, however... Julian Lindley-French said all of Iraq's neighbors want US forces to stay in the country, at least for the near future. He said all states, including Iran, clearly understand that a hasty departure would create instability in the region. "I don't think they want the Americans out of Iraq until things are far more stable in Iraq," he said. "If the Americans withdraw from Iraq when there's chaos - if there's chaos - then that has security implications for Syria, for Saudi Arabia, in particular, for the Gulf states, for Jordan. None of them want that instability.") 3//The Hindu, India--SHOCK AND AWESOME (It became clear well before noon on Thursday that the Congress and its allies had pulled off a historic upset, outdistancing the NDA and finding power well within their grasp. In no election in the past had opinion and exit polls gone so wrong. Every pollster and pundit had put the NDA close to the majority mark and the Congress nowhere in the picture as far as forming a government was concerned... As the celebrations continued at the AICC headquarters, the big question remained: who will be the new prime minister? Most Congressmen were clear. They wanted Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the largest single party in the new Lok Sabha, to lead any potential coalition as Prime Minister...The problem is what many perceive as Sonia's own ambivalence.) 4//The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines--BISHOP TO MACPAGAL FOES: SHOW PROOF OF FRAUD (Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said Thursday he met with representatives of presidential candidates Fernando Poe Jr. and Eduardo Villanueva, but said it would be "premature" to make a judgment on whether massive fraud marked last Monday's elections. Vidal said that at their meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay and Luis Sison, representatives of Poe and Villanueva, respectively, told him about the massive fraud allegedly perpetrated by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and asked him to do something about it.) 5//The Moscow Times, Russia--NO MORE JAIL TERMS FOR DRUG POSSESSION (Under a new law that came into effect this week, drug users can possess a greatly increased amount of an illegal substance -- for instance, 20 grams of marijuana or 1.5 grams of cocaine -- without the risk of being thrown in jail...President Vladimir Putin signed an amendment to the Criminal Code in December stipulating that possession of no more than 10 times the amount of a "single dose" would now be considered an administrative infraction rather than a criminal offense. Punishment would be a fine of no more than 40,000 rubles ($1,380) or community service.) * * * 1//The
Independent, UK 14 May 2004 BLAIR: 'I WILL REMAIN SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH
GEORGE BUSH' A defiant Tony Blair said yesterday that he would not change course over Iraq and rejected the growing demands by Labour MPs for him to distance himself from President George Bush. In his first interview since the crisis over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners caused speculation that he might stand down, the beleaguered Prime Minister told The Independent he was "frustrated" that Iraq was overshadowing what he called the Government's significant achievements on the economy, jobs and public services. He slapped down calls for him to "put some light" between Britain and the US, insisting that it would be exactly the wrong time to do so. He dismissed "this idea that at the time of maximum difficulty you start messing around your main ally", adding: "I am afraid that is not what we are going to do. "The most important thing is that we work with our coalition partners and sort it out, get the security situation right, so the Iraqis themselves are capable of doing the security, which is what they want to do. If we succeed in that, that is a huge bonus for the security not just of the region but of the world." Mr Blair also rejected pressure from Labour MPs for him to show tangible gains from his close relationship with President Bush. He said that he would not "get into the business of seeing the relationship with America as a list of gains you have made. That is not the way I look at it." He insisted the US was still committed to the "road map" for the Middle East peace process and raised the prospect of an American-backed aid plan for Africa being approved when Britain holds the chairmanship of the G8 nations next year. The Prime Minister admitted the present crisis meant the Government needed to restate the case for its actions from first principles, a point pressed on him by several ministers at yesterday's meeting of the Cabinet. "We have got to deal with it," he said. "We have got to make sure the country ends up a better country as a result of removing Saddam. You have always got to bring people back to the basic choice. "I just wish the Iraqi voices were heard more. I think people misunderstand what the Iraqis actually say to us. Of course they want the coalition forces to leave when it is right to do so, but they do not want the country to be left at the mercy of religious fanatics, former Saddam loyalists or terrorists. What they want is the legitimate transfer of sovereignty after 30 June, which we will do." (MORE)
IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS WAIT THEIR CHANCE PARIS - Following decades of Saddam Hussein's unpredictable rule, Iraq's neighbors are now interested in a stable and secure country, and no capital is seriously suggesting the United States-led coalition withdraw its forces immediately. That's just about where agreement ends, however. Iran Trying to take the maximum advantage from the situation the United States and its leaders face over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the ayatollahs who rule over Iran have gone on the offensive against the "Great Satan", urging all people over the world, but most particularly the Muslim community, to make "the maximum use" of the "golden" occasion to "tear down the bastion of Western arrogance and corruption on earth". In a strongly worded article published at the weekend, Hussein Shari'atmadari, a high-ranking intelligence and security services officer appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the executive editor of the hardline daily Keyhan asked whether "divine duty does not urge depriving diplomats and employees of the United States and its allies of safety? Closing oil taps that have a vital importance for America and its allies is not the least action to revenge all the Muslims slaughtered at their hands," he wrote, reflecting the views of senior Iranian ruling clerics. (SNIP) Turkey Darwish said other Turkish concerns in Iraq are largely economic. Ankara wants stability so that economic cooperation and trade can be renewed. "A large part of the Turkish economy relies on trade from northern Iraq and central Iraq and the oil pipeline going through Turkey," he said. "So they are very interested in having a stable Iraq, but if Iraq is fragmented, they always have the Turkoman minority card to play." (SNIP) Other neighbors But not everyone in Saudi Arabia agrees. Darwish noted that the royal family does not fully control Saudi society, especially its different religious groups. "It might not be necessarily the Saudi royal family, but as you see in Saudi Arabia, the royal family is not in full control of the religious elements there, and those religious elements are facilitating the volunteers, what we call foreign fighters in Iraq, with Wahhabi ideology, with links to al-Qaeda," he said. Jordan is another influential Sunni state, a US ally, and Iraq's neighbor to the west. A Hashemite king, Abdullah II, rules the kingdom. Jordan also wants stability in Iraq and seeks to renew economic cooperation and trade through Jordanian ports. As such, it is trying to downplay the prison scandal. Darwish believes Jordan would prefer to see a Hashemite monarchy in Baghdad. "Jordan's interest would be served best with a stable Iraq under monarchy," he said. "Whether someone from King Hussein's family would do it or Sharif Ali [bin al-Hussein, a cousin of former Iraqi King Faisal II] or someone else is a secondary question." Darwish pointed out that Jordan is not united on the subject because many Palestinians, who make up half the population, support the anti-US insurgency in Iraq and have their own agenda. Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in 1990, is also interested in a stable Iraqi state and will always be supportive of US and British projects there, Darwish said. As for Syria, the US imposed sanctions on Damascus on Tuesday for its alleged support for terrorism, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and for its failure to stop anti-US fighters from entering Iraq. It is not clear how Syria's policies toward Baghdad will be affected by the US move. Julian Lindley-French said all of Iraq's neighbors want US forces to stay in the country, at least for the near future. He said all states, including Iran, clearly understand that a hasty departure would create instability in the region. "I don't think they want the Americans out of Iraq until things are far more stable in Iraq," he said. "If the Americans withdraw from Iraq when there's chaos - if there's chaos - then that has security implications for Syria, for Saudi Arabia, in particular, for the Gulf states, for Jordan. None of them want that instability." (MORE)
SHOCK AND AWESOME It became clear well before noon on Thursday that the Congress and its allies had pulled off a historic upset, outdistancing the NDA and finding power well within their grasp. In no election in the past had opinion and exit polls gone so wrong. Every pollster and pundit had put the NDA close to the majority mark and the Congress nowhere in the picture as far as forming a government was concerned. In the end, the Congress and allies got 219 seats while the NDA could manage only 188 seats. Adding the numbers the Left got, it was easily past the majority mark. As the celebrations continued at the AICC headquarters, the big question remained: who will be the new prime minister? Most Congressmen were clear. They wanted Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the largest single party in the new Lok Sabha, to lead any potential coalition as Prime Minister. Further, they said, Sonia's claim to the job had been strengthened by the BJP's foreign origin campaign. Because voters had chosen the Congress despite the BJP's attempts to portray Sonia as a foreigner, this proved that she now had electoral legitimacy. Moreover, the BJP had said that this was a personality-based election: Vajpayee vs Sonia. In that case, said Congressmen, it was Sonia who had defeated Vajpayee. The Congress was confident that there would be no objections to Sonia's candidacy from the Left, whose leaders are already on record as saying that foreign origin is not an issue. Nor will there be an objection from the DMK, though nobody is sure what line Sharad Pawar will take. The problem is what many perceive as Sonia's own ambivalence. In the only print interview she gave during the campaign, to the HT, she said that she was not in politics for the sake of power. And there are fears that she may refuse to accept the prime ministership. In that case, two other Congressmen are being considered. The front-runner must be Manmohan Singh, the most respected finance minister in Indian history and a man of stature and integrity. Singh has Sonia's complete confidence. A second candidate is Pranab Mukherjee. While he lacks Manmohan Singh's stature, he is an experienced politician who is believed to have secured the support of the Left. His candidacy would also please a corporate house and, therefore, the SP. But for the record, Sonia said at a press conference after a CWC meeting that the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) would choose its leader. Before a further meeting of the CPP on May 15, she will hold consultations with her pre-election allies. (MORE)
BISHOP TO MACPAGAL FOES: SHOW PROOF OF FRAUD CEBU CITY -- Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said Thursday he met with representatives of presidential candidates Fernando Poe Jr. and Eduardo Villanueva, but said it would be "premature" to make a judgment on whether massive fraud marked last Monday's elections. Vidal said that at their meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay and Luis Sison, representatives of Poe and Villanueva, respectively, told him about the massive fraud allegedly perpetrated by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and asked him to do something about it. He said he told them to provide documented proof of the alleged fraud. "After listening to what they had to say ... I told them that for me it seems to be premature to make a judgment now on the May 10 electoral process," the cardinal said at a news conference. "We have to wait until everything is completed. We will collect all the documents they might have, and these could be a source for us to make a fair judgment of what had happened." Sison and Binay promised to submit the documents in a week, Vidal said. The cardinal said he called the news conference to dispel reports that he had formed an alliance with Poe and Villanueva following his meeting with their representatives in his residence. (MORE)
NO MORE JAIL TERMS FOR DRUG POSSESSION Under a new law that came into effect this week, drug users can possess a greatly increased amount of an illegal substance -- for instance, 20 grams of marijuana or 1.5 grams of cocaine -- without the risk of being thrown in jail. The law has been criticized by the Federal Anti-Drug Service, which says it hampers the battle against drugs, but praised by those who work to rehabilitate drug addicts, who predict more addicts will now seek help. President Vladimir Putin signed an amendment to the Criminal Code in December stipulating that possession of no more than 10 times the amount of a "single dose" would now be considered an administrative infraction rather than a criminal offense. Punishment would be a fine of no more than 40,000 rubles ($1,380) or community service. It then took five months to hammer out what would be considered the single dose of various drugs. (SNIP) Anyone caught in possession of these amounts or less cannot legally be detained, a spokeswoman for the Moscow branch of the Federal Anti-Drug Service said. Instead, a report will be filed and the fine will be determined by a court. This is a major change. Under the old standards, someone caught with 0.1 grams of marijuana, for instance, could be punished by incarceration. Foreigners, even those with deep pockets, should still take the new law seriously, however. Yelena Zhigayeva, a lawyer at the Moscow law firm Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner, said that by law foreigners who violate Russian drug laws, even if it is only an administrative infraction, can be expelled from the country or denied re-entry. (MORE) | ||||||
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