July 14, 2004

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 JULY 14, 2004

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--NEW UN ENVOY TO IRAQ SKILLFUL NEGOTIATOR (Seasoned Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, named as the UN's most senior officer in Iraq, is a skilful negotiator and good communicator who could handle any crisis, a colleague said Tuesday. Qazi replaces Sergio Vieira de Mello as the world body's special envoy. De Mello was among 22 people killed in a bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad last year...Muslim Pakistan, though a key ally in the US war against terror, did not support the US-led invasion of Iraq. Islamabad has said it may contribute troops to a stabilisation force. Khan, however, said Qazi's appointment and Pakistan's Iraq policy were "not interlinked." "The issue of sending troops to Iraq would depend on the situation in Iraq and if the people of Iraq consider it comfortable for them," he said.)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--ARABIC BBC CHANNEL REGARDED WITH SKEPTICISM IN MIDDLE EAST (The BBC announced last month that it intends to set up an Arabic television station backed by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) with a $50 million a year budget. This has been met with skepticism in the Middle East, coming so soon after the US-led war on Iraq, and hot on the heels of a US-government backed Arabic channel...Opening a channel in a region suspicious of British motivations after military involvement in Iraq is made more difficult by the last February's start up of Al-Hurra - "The Free One" - by the US State Department. Al-Hurra has not been well-received in the region, generally considered a form of US soft propaganda. The feeling in the Middle East, according to Jihad Ballout, a spokesman for the Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite Al-Jazeera, is that the BBC would be seen as complementing Al-Hurra.)

3//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--US ENVOY ENDS BIG CHILL WITH LATHAM (A substantial and positive shift in relations between the ALP and the US is under way, after the American ambassador yesterday offered rare praise for the Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, and said policy differences between the two had narrowed. The rapprochement follows two months of condemnation and complaint from Washington about Labor's stand on Iraq and Mr Latham's criticism of President George Bush as the most dangerous and incompetent US leader in living memory...he US ambassador, Tom Schieffer, said he welcomed Kim Beazley's promotion to Labor's defence spokesman and Mr Latham's speech on Monday in which he outlined a policy of humanitarian and non-combat help for Iraq...Mr Schieffer, a former business partner of Mr Bush, said Mr Beazley was a man of "great substance".)

4//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy--JAPANESE DELIVER VERDICT ON KOIZUMI'S TROOP DECISION (Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's humiliating blow in Sunday's House of Councillors election could have a fallout effect on his controversial decision to keep troops in Iraq, say analysts. ''The election results reflected people's anger. Koizumi had too easily followed the United States in drawing up policies on Iraq's reconstruction,'' Toshihiro Shimizu, the secretary-general of the Japan International Volunteer Center told IPS...Last month, Koizumi said Japanese troops would join a United Nations-led multinational force in Iraq as long as their role is limited to humanitarian missions. He made the commitment at the end of the annual two-day gathering of leaders from the Group of Eight countries in the U.S. state of Georgia. But on Sunday, the Japanese people delivered their verdict against Koizumi's decision.)

5//The Independent, UK--BLAIR ACCUSED OF CRONYISM OVER PUBLIC POSTS (Tony Blair was accused yesterday of presiding over a "culture of cronyism" after reports that ministers have defied the rules on public appointments. Dame Rennie Fritchie, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, revealed that four ministries have refused to obey the rules on appointments to public posts, drawn up to avoid the jobs being awarded to political allies of ministers...The commissioner, who revealed the problems in her annual report, said she "had been under pressure for some months" to drop her objections.)

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1//The Jordan Times, Jordan Wednesday, July 14, 2004
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news8.htm

NEW UN ENVOY TO IRAQ SKILFUL NEGOTIATOR

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Seasoned Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, named as the UN's most senior officer in Iraq, is a skilful negotiator and good communicator who could handle any crisis, a colleague said Tuesday.

Qazi replaces Sergio Vieira de Mello as the world body's special envoy. De Mello was among 22 people killed in a bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad last year.

In a 40-year career, the 62-year-old diplomat from the country's poor southwestern province of Baluchistan has held five ambassadorial posts, including his present position in the key ambassadorial mission in the United States.

Before his posting to Washington in September 2002 he led missions in China, India, Russia, Syria and the former East Germany.

"He is a very skilful negotiator, very good communicator and a good public speaker," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told AFP. "He is soft spoken, a very well read person and a career diplomat." Qazi has "superb command" of the English language, Khan said, and is "a people's person highly respected by his junior colleagues who consider him a role model."

(SNIP)

Qazi's appointment follows the release of Pakistani driver Amjad Hafeez after eight days being held captive by Iraqi insurgents who took him for a CIA agent. They spared his life as he was a Muslim.

Muslim Pakistan, though a key ally in the US war against terror, did not support the US-led invasion of Iraq. Islamabad has said it may contribute troops to a stabilisation force.

Khan, however, said Qazi's appointment and Pakistan's Iraq policy were "not interlinked."

"The issue of sending troops to Iraq would depend on the situation in Iraq and if the people of Iraq consider it comfortable for them," he said.

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, July 14, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=6222

ARABIC BBC CHANNEL REGARDED WITH SKEPTICISM IN MIDDLE EAST
Media expert: Unwelcome parallels will be drawn with Al-Hurra

By Paul Cochrane
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The BBC announced last month that it intends to set up an Arabic television station backed by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) with a $50 million a year budget. This has been met with skepticism in the Middle East, coming so soon after the US-led war on Iraq, and hot on the heels of a US-government backed Arabic channel.

The BBC channel was requested by the FCO, a BBC spokesperson said, and would be based out of London, broadcasting 24 hours a day across the Arab world. The BBC added that the proposal was still under discussion between the FCO and the British Treasury, and a start up date had not been established.

The BBC has attempted to break into the Arab television market before, running an aborted attempt in the early 1990s that closed down after backers pulled out.

"It was a lot friendlier climate back then and I think now they're going to have a much tougher time," said Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi, chairman of the London-based Arab Media Watch in a telephone interview with The Daily Star.

"They didn't have the Arab competition they have now, and the political climate, in my view, is rightly hostile towards UK and US policy, and the BBC might be associated with that," he added.

Opening a channel in a region suspicious of British motivations after military involvement in Iraq is made more difficult by the last February's start up of Al-Hurra - "The Free One" - by the US State Department. Al-Hurra has not been well-received in the region, generally considered a form of US soft propaganda.

The feeling in the Middle East, according to Jihad Ballout, a spokesman for the Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite Al-Jazeera, is that the BBC would be seen as complementing Al-Hurra.

"Because of Al-Hurra, the BBC is going to find it more difficult, as it is associated indirectly with the government. This government, although less than the US, is not viewed positively among a majority of Arabs because of their stance on Iraq. They are starting with a handicap if they actually go ahead," he said in a telephone interview.

Nashashibi said that parallels would be drawn with Al-Hurra, even if the BBC does not want them to be. "The BBC will probably have a bit more legitimacy than Al-Hurra but it will be seen in the same bracket, that this is a propaganda station and of British policy. I don't think it will go down that well," he said.

(MORE)

3//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia July 14, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/13/1089694362604.html?oneclick=true

US ENVOY ENDS BIG CHILL WITH LATHAM
By Tom Allard, Defence Reporter

A substantial and positive shift in relations between the ALP and the US is under way, after the American ambassador yesterday offered rare praise for the Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, and said policy differences between the two had narrowed.

The rapprochement follows two months of condemnation and complaint from Washington about Labor's stand on Iraq and Mr Latham's criticism of President George Bush as the most dangerous and incompetent US leader in living memory.

It came as the Federal Government announced yesterday it would send 30 more troops and six light armoured vehicles to Iraq, and revealed its "ceiling" on Australia's presence would allow a further 75 or so personnel to be deployed in the future, taking total numbers to 950.

The US ambassador, Tom Schieffer, said he welcomed Kim Beazley's promotion to Labor's defence spokesman and Mr Latham's speech on Monday in which he outlined a policy of humanitarian and non-combat help for Iraq.

Mr Latham used the address to also stress that Labor supported the US alliance and that it would join a military action if the US was attacked again and the source of the terrorist act was clearly identified.

"We appreciate the speech. Labor's policy is evolving and we welcome that," Mr Schieffer said. "I thought it was a thoughtful speech. There are still clear differences but the speech worked to reduce them."

Mr Schieffer, a former business partner of Mr Bush, said Mr Beazley was a man of "great substance". "Kim Beazley is a person who is well thought of in Washington by members of both parties," he said. "We welcome the chance to work with him."

(MORE)

4//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy July
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=24605

JAPANESE DELIVER VERDICT ON KOIZUMI'S TROOP DECISION
Edwin Karmiol

TOKYO, Jul 13 (IPS) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's humiliating blow in Sunday's House of Councillors election could have a fallout effect on his controversial decision to keep troops in Iraq, say analysts.

''The election results reflected people's anger. Koizumi had too easily followed the United States in drawing up policies on Iraq's reconstruction,'' Toshihiro Shimizu, the secretary-general of the Japan International Volunteer Center told IPS.

Shimizu, whose group delivers medical aid to Iraq, was scathing of the Koizumi government.

''The decision to dispatch Japanese troops to Iraq should have been done after proper research into what Iraqis actually need and after proper discussion. But, no, those things were never done,'' he said.

Prof. Takeru Ohe, who teaches at Tokyo's Waseda University also agreed with Shimizu.

''People were disappointed that they were not consulted over Iraq as the deployment of the SDF to Iraq could violate our pacifist stance in the constitution,'' he told IPS.

Japan's constitution drafted with the United States after World War II, forbids Japanese troops from engaging in the act of combat unless the nation is under attack.

At present Japan has about 600 Self Defense Forces or SDF based near the town of Samawah in southern Iraq -- the nation's first troop deployment under its own flag instead of the United Nations.

Last month, Koizumi said Japanese troops would join a United Nations-led multinational force in Iraq as long as their role is limited to humanitarian missions. He made the commitment at the end of the annual two-day gathering of leaders from the Group of Eight countries in the U.S. state of Georgia.

But on Sunday, the Japanese people delivered their verdict against Koizumi's decision.

(MORE)

5//The Independent, UK 14 July 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=540668

BLAIR ACCUSED OF CRONYISM OVER PUBLIC POSTS
By Marie Woolf Chief Political Correspondent

Tony Blair was accused yesterday of presiding over a "culture of cronyism" after reports that ministers have defied the rules on public appointments.

Dame Rennie Fritchie, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, revealed that four ministries have refused to obey the rules on appointments to public posts, drawn up to avoid the jobs being awarded to political allies of ministers.

In the departments - The Department for Education and Skills; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; and the Department for Transport - shortlists for jobs were shown privately to ministers, which could "lead to influencing or alteration taking place".

In one ministry a name was removed from a list of candidates for a public appointment because a minister felt he could not work with the person. In another case a minister was asked to personally select the shortlist of candidates.

Dame Rennie said: "I was concerned that the unrecorded involvement of a minister at such a late stage in the appointments process could be interpreted as political interference."

The commissioner, who revealed the problems in her annual report, said she "had been under pressure for some months" to drop her objections.

(SNIP)

Yesterday Dr Tony Wright, the Labour chairman of the Commons Public Appointments Select Committee, said he was disturbed by the revelations. He would be investigating the matter and would call Dame Rennie to give evidence about the ministries' non-compliance.

"This report is very distressing," he said. "The Nolan rules are central to confidence in public life."