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 SEPTEMBER 27. 2004

1//The Independent, UK--THE SHADOW OVER BLAIR (Three years ago, Mr Blair spoke of the "high ideals" that were the driving force behind his Government. When he makes his keynote speech to the conference tomorrow, he is planning to strike a defiant note, insisting that the war on Iraq was right. The Prime Minister dismissed reports on BBC's Breakfast with Frost that he had undergone a "wobble" earlier this year over his low personal standing in the polls as a result of the Iraq war. "I am not the wobbling sort," he said. Iraq now threatens to be his nemesis. One poll yesterday showed that Labour's majority could be slashed to 24 seats at the general election. The Cabinet, as this newspaper revealed last week, has been warned that Labour could lose three million votes because voters are dismayed at the way Mr Blair has been blown off course.)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--DESPITE SECURITY WOES, IRAQ OFFERS HUGE POTENTIAL TO INVESTORS (Businessmen and economists gathered here to discuss reconstruction prospects in violence-racked Iraq said Saturday that lack of security was a major impediment to investment but that the country still offers enormous potential. Participants in an Iraq reconstruction conference differed, however, on whether a new law that opens up the country to foreign investors was the right answer to decades of a state-controlled economy which left the private sector "completely disenfranchised," as one banker put it..."The problem is that you're approaching an economy that has been state-managed for 35 years (under the Baath regime of ousted president Saddam Hussein) ... and if you open the floodgates to foreign investors, you'll never give the private sector a chance to get on its feet and compete, and you will not allow domestic wealth creation," he said.)

3//The News International, Pakistan--WANA FIGHTERS SOPHISTICATED, BRUTAL: MILITARY (Al-Qaeda-linked fighters battling Pakistani troops along the border with Afghanistan are sophisticated and brutal combatants who carry satellite phones and mutilate their enemies' corpses, according to a profile unveiled by an army commander. Major General Niaz Khattak, field commander in the mountainous frontier district of South Waziristan, said fighters hiding there had falsely convinced local tribes that they were waging a Jihad, or holy war, against "infidels". In the first-ever profile presented to journalists, the general who has led several offensives against al-Qaeda-linked militants this year painted a picture of hardened, well-trained, and brutal fighters with little adherence to Islamic values.)

4//Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK--COMMANDERS RECRUITING DISARMED SOLDIERS ("We received the list of the commanders who have recruited the disarmed soldiers and we sent it to our main office in Kabul to hand it over to the defence ministry," said Krsmanovic, who refused to identify the commanders or where exactly they operated... To date, over 16,000 soldiers and officers have been disarmed through the DDR programme. Of that number, more than 13,000 have undergone training - during which they receive 30 US dollars a day - in such areas as basic literacy, de-mining, agriculture, small business, teaching, carpentry, tailoring, mechanics and metal work. Some of the latter have joined the Afghan National Army or the Afghan National Police. Participants are paid 30 US dollars a month during the training period... Many of the fighters who have participated in the programme say they've become discouraged when they see other demobilised soldiers in their classes rejoining the militias.)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--PUTIN TELLS REPORTERS TO FIGHT TERROR (President Vladimir Putin urged journalists to stop being simply observers and join the fight against terrorism, apparently by making sure that news coverage does not help terrorists achieve their goals. "Terrorists cynically use the capabilities of mass media, and democracy on the whole, to multiply the psychological and informational impact in the course of hostage-taking or conducting other terrorist acts," Putin told more than 100 representatives of international news agencies at a conference Friday...One element of the fallout from major acts of terrorism in recent years has been new pressure on the media, which have faced increasing restrictions since Putin came to office in 2000.)

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1//The Independent, UK 27 September 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=566042

THE SHADOW OVER BLAIR
By Colin Brown and Hugh Macleod in Damascus

The war in Iraq last night cast a pall over Tony Blair's hopes for using the Labour Party conference in Brighton as the springboard for his ambitions for a third term.

The Prime Minister, who was swept to power on a wave of optimism about the new politics he would introduce, was brought down to earth by the hostage crisis surrounding Kenneth Bigley, the assassination a Palestinian Hamas leader in Syria, death and suicide bombs in Iraq and a rebel vote by delegates to force Iraq on to the agenda for the conference.

(SNIP)

Three years ago, Mr Blair spoke of the "high ideals" that were the driving force behind his Government. When he makes his keynote speech to the conference tomorrow, he is planning to strike a defiant note, insisting that the war on Iraq was right. The Prime Minister dismissed reports on BBC's Breakfast with Frost that he had undergone a "wobble" earlier this year over his low personal standing in the polls as a result of the Iraq war. "I am not the wobbling sort," he said.

Iraq now threatens to be his nemesis. One poll yesterday showed that Labour's majority could be slashed to 24 seats at the general election. The Cabinet, as this newspaper revealed last week, has been warned that Labour could lose three million votes because voters are dismayed at the way Mr Blair has been blown off course.

The leadership planned to recover the momentum at this week's conference, by rolling out policies on pensions, working families and schools that will form the centrepiece of the general election manifesto.

Mr Blair prepared the ground by announcing that the second war for Iraq had begun, thus challenging supporters to back him or the terrorists who are wreaking mayhem in Iraq.

(MORE)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, September 27, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=8741

DESPITE SECURITY WOES, IRAQ OFFERS HUGE POTENTIAL TO INVESTORS

New law opening up foreign investment could hurt private sector
Conference on postwar reconstruction hears that transition from a state-managed economy will be rough unless done with caution
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

DUBAI: Businessmen and economists gathered here to discuss reconstruction prospects in violence-racked Iraq said Saturday that lack of security was a major impediment to investment but that the country still offers enormous potential.

Participants in an Iraq reconstruction conference differed, however, on whether a new law that opens up the country to foreign investors was the right answer to decades of a state-controlled economy which left the private sector "completely disenfranchised," as one banker put it.

Calling for the repeal of CPA Law 39, enacted by the now defunct U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, London-based Iraqi banker Basil al-Rahim said the law states that Iraq "should be opened immediately to foreign investment," except for property and oil and other natural resources.

"The problem is that you're approaching an economy that has been state-managed for 35 years (under the Baath regime of ousted president Saddam Hussein) ... and if you open the floodgates to foreign investors, you'll never give the private sector a chance to get on its feet and compete, and you will not allow domestic wealth creation," he said.

Rahim, whose argument was contested by other panelists, made a powerful case for the "empowerment of the private sector" in Iraq, calling for the creation of a "private sector commission" to oversee its revival and for drastically reducing the state's role in economic activities.

The government's role should become that of "regulator, enabler and facilitator," he said. Rahim, managing director of MerchantBridge investment bank, said Iraq had six resources which "never converged in one country." Apart from "potential oil reserves estimated at 300 billion barrels," far exceeding the 113 billion barrels of proven reserves, he said Iraq had water from two major rivers, considerable arable land, an educated and professional population and archeological and religious sites that give it a high tourism potential. In addition, Iraq is a focus of "international interest," he said.

Christopher Exline, president of Home Essentials, an American furniture rental company which has been operating in Iraq for a year, said the "barbarism and insanity" practiced against both Iraqis and foreigners over the past weeks should not blur the broader picture.

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3//The News International, Pakistan Monday September 27, 2004-- Sha'aban 11, 1425 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2004-daily/27-09-2004/main/main7.htm

WANA FIGHTERS SOPHISTICATED, BRUTAL: MILITARY

ISLAMABAD: Al-Qaeda-linked fighters battling Pakistani troops along the border with Afghanistan are sophisticated and brutal combatants who carry satellite phones and mutilate their enemies' corpses, according to a profile unveiled by an army commander.

Major General Niaz Khattak, field commander in the mountainous frontier district of South Waziristan, said fighters hiding there had falsely convinced local tribes that they were waging a Jihad, or holy war, against "infidels".

In the first-ever profile presented to journalists, the general who has led several offensives against al-Qaeda-linked militants this year painted a picture of hardened, well-trained, and brutal fighters with little adherence to Islamic values.

Officials suspect some 600 to 700 mainly Uzbek and Chechen fighters allied to al-Qaeda are still hiding in the area out of those who fled Afghanistan in late 2001 when the Taliban were toppled. Some of those already killed and captured had Uzbek, Turkmen and Chechen features, he said. Khattak dismissed claims by opponents of the operation that the central Asians are veteran fighters of the 1979 to 1989 battle to oust occupying Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

"Among them are some genuine believers who may have been here during the Afghan Jihad, but they are few," the general said. "Most of them are aged 18 to 25. Where were they during the Afghan Jihad?," he pointed out during a briefing to reporters in South Waziristan's main town Wana. "They are not remnants of part of jihad against Russians, they are a new influx." Khattack described the militants as "very advanced, educated and militarily well-trained" fighters who had overpowered local Wazir tribesmen.

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4//Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK (ARR No. 135, 24-Sep-04)
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/arr/arr_200409_135_3_eng.txt

COMMANDERS RECRUITING DISARMED SOLDIERS

Some northern generals appear to be subverting a UN programme designed to disarm their powerful militias.
By Yaqub Ibrahimi in Mazar-e-Sharif

Four years ago, when he was 15, Enayatullah was forced to leave his job as a shepherd and work for militia commander Abdul Mohammed in the northern region of Jowzjan province.

But after quitting this July - under a UN-sponsored Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme, DDR - his former commander forced him to rejoin.

He had just started attending workshops so he could acquire the skills needed to re-enter civilians life when he was re-recruited.

"I turned in my weapon through the DDR programme, but the local commanders armed me again and now I am a soldier," he said.

IWPR has since learned that many soldiers who participated in the DDR programme have subsequently been forcefully recruited back by local commanders.

Milos Krsmanovic, head of the northern regional office for DDR, confirmed the reports but said he could not give exact numbers.

"We received the list of the commanders who have recruited the disarmed soldiers and we sent it to our main office in Kabul to hand it over to the defence ministry," said Krsmanovic, who refused to identify the commanders or where exactly they operated.

Defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi told IWPR that the ministry had not received any information about disarmed soldiers rejoining militias. He said that the number of commanders on such a list would be very few, if such cases even existed.

He added that the practice was against the law and that the government was not prepared to forgive soldiers involved.

To date, over 16,000 soldiers and officers have been disarmed through the DDR programme. Of that number, more than 13,000 have undergone training - during which they receive 30 US dollars a day - in such areas as basic literacy, de-mining, agriculture, small business, teaching, carpentry, tailoring, mechanics and metal work. Some of the latter have joined the Afghan National Army or the Afghan National Police. Participants are paid 30 US dollars a month during the training period.

DDR began in October 2003. The goal of the programme is to disarm 40,000 militia members by the October presidential election and 100,000 by the end of 2006.

Many of the fighters who have participated in the programme say they've become discouraged when they see other demobilised soldiers in their classes rejoining the militias.

(MORE)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia Monday, September 27, 2004. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/09/27/001.html

PUTIN TELLS REPORTERS TO FIGHT TERROR
By Anatoly Medetsky, Staff Writer

President Vladimir Putin urged journalists to stop being simply observers and join the fight against terrorism, apparently by making sure that news coverage does not help terrorists achieve their goals.

"Terrorists cynically use the capabilities of mass media, and democracy on the whole, to multiply the psychological and informational impact in the course of hostage-taking or conducting other terrorist acts," Putin told more than 100 representatives of international news agencies at a conference Friday.

"The news community can create a model of work that could make the media an effective tool in the fight against terrorism and that could exclude any, even involuntary, form of assistance to terrorists," he said, according to a transcript of his speech posted on the Kremlin web site.

Putin spoke at the conference, organized by state news agency Itar-Tass, in the wake of the Sept. 1-3 hostage crisis at School No. 1 in Beslan, in which more than 330 people were killed.

"I am convinced that in the conditions of a global terrorist threat, when people die, the media cannot be simply observers," Putin said.

One element of the fallout from major acts of terrorism in recent years has been new pressure on the media, which have faced increasing restrictions since Putin came to office in 2000.

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