October 13, 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.

* * *

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 13, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--IRAQ FACES SOARING TOLL OF DEADLY DISEASE (Soaring rates of disease and a crippled health system are posing a new crisis for the people of Iraq, threatening to kill more than have died in the aftermath of the war. Deadly infections including typhoid and tuberculosis are rampaging through the country, according to the first official report into the state of health in the country... Damage to water supplies and sanitation has led to a surge in typhoid, with 5,460 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2004. Almost one in five urban households and three in five rural households do not have access to safe drinking water. Poverty has risen sharply, with an estimated 27 per cent of the population living on less than $2 a day in 2003, in a nation with among the richest oil reserves in the world. One in three children are chronically malnourished, putting their lives at serious risk from outbreaks of measles, mumps and jaundice, which are sweeping the country and infecting thousands.)

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK--KURDS DISILLUSIONED BY THE MAIN PARTIES (Maliha Barzanji says that the last party she voted for ended up arresting her son and she never saw him again. This time around, she plans to cast no vote at all, saying she hates both of the two big parties that run the Kurdish north of Iraq. "If they give me their blood," she says, "I will gladly drink it."... Grievances like these hang heavy in the air ahead of the three-tiered January ballot - national, gubernatorial and Kurdish regional - which will test the Western-protected enclave's democracy and its future in postwar Iraq. Bearing the brunt of voter anger are the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which have ruled in tandem since coming out roughly equal in the last election, 12 years ago. Their past is dogged by betrayals.)

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--VIOLENT TURN FOR 'PAKISTANI AL-QAEDA' (- Despite Pakistan's efforts as a key ally in the United States' "war on terror", terror rings endure, from South Waziristan tribal agency to the port city of Karachi...The past few weeks have been particularly bloody in Pakistan, and according to top security experts the carnage is likely to continue...When Pakistan launched its serious operations on these networks, several returned to the tribal areas in search of a safe haven. In a matter of a few months they regrouped and restored their financial links with the outside world, and initiated recruitment drives for fresh blood...And unlike in the past, when the Pakistani establishment - despite its denials - had close contacts with jihadis, today's new breed of jihadis remain largely anonymous, just waiting for their chance to strike.)

4//The Jordan Times, Jordan--'WEST MAY MAKE ONE LAST OFFER TO IRAN' (Western nations are considering making one last try to get Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities that could be used to make nuclear weapons, although the United States has its hands tied until the Nov. 2 presidential election, diplomats said Tuesday...The diplomat, who asked not to be named, said there could be "a package" offer, which might include giving Iran access to imported nuclear fuel, but that Iran would in return have to totally suspend its own work on the nuclear fuel cycle. The diplomat said "the Americans are not ready now to participate in defining a package," due to the heated campaign ahead of the presidential election. "The day after the election, things will be clearer," about the position the world's major nations can take in relation to Iran.)

5//The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea--ISLAMIC GROUP THREATENS ATTACKS ON KOREA (A group calling itself "al-Qaida's terror network in Southeast Asia" posted a terrorism warning on an Internet website threatening to attack Korea if it did not pull its troops out of Iraq, a government official said Tuesday. A government official said Tuesday that the "Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion," which claimed to be part of al-Qaida's network in Southeast Asia, warned if Korea didn't pull its troops out from Iraq in 14 days, it would attack Korean troops in Iraq and facilities in Korea. The warning was posted on the Arabic-language site "Montada" on Sunday.)

* * *

1//The Independent, UK 13 October 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=571593

IRAQ FACES SOARING TOLL OF DEADLY DISEASE
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

Soaring rates of disease and a crippled health system are posing a new crisis for the people of Iraq, threatening to kill more than have died in the aftermath of the war. Deadly infections including typhoid and tuberculosis are rampaging through the country, according to the first official report into the state of health in the country.

The alarming evidence is the legacy of years of neglect, crippling sanctions and two bloody conflicts. Iraq's network of hospitals and health centres, once admired throughout the Middle East, has been severely damaged by war and looting, leaving staff struggling to cope and adding to the crisis.

The report, compiled by the Ministry of Health in Baghdad, provides the first detailed portrait of the health of the Iraqi population and the state of its health services since the 2003 war. It is being launched today by Dr Ala'din Alwan, the Iraqi interim government's Minister of Health, at a conference of international donors in Tokyo.

It charts the drastic decline in the health of the population and the catastrophic deterioration in health services during Saddam Hussein's era, one which has accelerated since the war. One third of the health centres and one in eight of the hospitals was looted of furniture, fridges and air conditioners or had equipment destroyed in the immediate aftermath of the war.

Damage to water supplies and sanitation has led to a surge in typhoid, with 5,460 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2004. Almost one in five urban households and three in five rural households do not have access to safe drinking water.

Poverty has risen sharply, with an estimated 27 per cent of the population living on less than $2 a day in 2003, in a nation with among the richest oil reserves in the world.

One in three children are chronically malnourished, putting their lives at serious risk from outbreaks of measles, mumps and jaundice, which are sweeping the country and infecting thousands. The report, compiled from Ministry of Health data and international surveys, says mothers and children have been hardest hit by a combination of domestic policies and international sanctions stretching back over a decade. Infant and child mortality doubled during the 1990s at a time when health was improving in most other countries.

(MORE)

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK 11/10/2004
http://www.kurdishmedia.com/news.asp?id=5580

KURDS DISILLUSIONED BY THE MAIN PARTIES
By Scheherezade Faramarzi, Associated Press

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq - Maliha Barzanji says that the last party she voted for ended up arresting her son and she never saw him again. This time around, she plans to cast no vote at all, saying she hates both of the two big parties that run the Kurdish north of Iraq. "If they give me their blood," she says, "I will gladly drink it."

Ata Mohammed, a writer, says he'll vote, but will cast a blank ballot as a protest against both parties because they are "corrupt and have blood on their hands."

Grievances like these hang heavy in the air ahead of the three-tiered January ballot - national, gubernatorial and Kurdish regional - which will test the Western-protected enclave's democracy and its future in postwar Iraq.

Bearing the brunt of voter anger are the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which have ruled in tandem since coming out roughly equal in the last election, 12 years ago.

Their past is dogged by betrayals. On various occasions the parties sided with their avowed foes - Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime, Iraq's Iranian and Turkish neighbors - in their drive to crush each other. Their attempt to establish a joint administration after the 1992 election was followed by four years of civil war.

(SNIP)

The regional election is supposed to end the split of Kurdish administration between the KDP in Irbil and PUK in Sulaymaniyah to the east, and usher in a single Irbil-based administration. KDP officials say they may form a coalition with the PUK against Islamic and leftist groups.

"I think it's better to form a coalition," said Karim Rowsch, a KDP official in Sulaymaniyah. "We went through a bitter experience in the past. This may be a guarantee that there won't be more bloodshed."

They agree on the principle of being part of a federal Iraq, but also want control of the oil city of Kirkuk, something the Arabs of Iraq may resist.

The merging of their politics makes it harder for voters to tell them apart. In the past, each group tried to play on emotions, flaunting its martyrs and heroes of the strife-ridden past.

But voters like the grieving Barzanji, and the writer Mohammed, feel they have a lot to answer for.

"How can such parties transform into a democratic entity and then expect us to support them?" Mohammed asked. "They have a fantastic ability to make people forget their past, even though it was dotted with murder and torture of the population. And the Kurdish people have a fantastic ability to forget."

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Oct 13, 2004
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FJ13Df04.html

VIOLENT TURN FOR 'PAKISTANI AL-QAEDA'
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Syed Saleem Shahzadis Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online.

KARACHI - Despite Pakistan's efforts as a key ally in the United States' "war on terror", terror rings endure, from South Waziristan tribal agency to the port city of Karachi.

The killing by Pakistani security forces of 26-year-old former Taliban commander Nek Mohammed in June was termed a major milestone in attempts to flush out foreign militants from Pakistan - Nek had acted as an important facilitator between the Taliban in Afghanistan and foreign elements.

However, eliminating Nek was not the end of the problem. On the weekend, another charismatic fighter, Abdullah Mehsud, was behind the abduction of two Chinese engineers and a paramilitary man in the tribal areas, showing the serious threat that still exists to Islamabad's writ, despite a strong military presence and several offensives.

(SNIP)

Fresh wave of violence
The past few weeks have been particularly bloody in Pakistan, and according to top security experts the carnage is likely to continue.

The current wave of violence began with the killing late last month of Amjad Farooqi in the southern city of Nawabshah. Farooqi, a suspected senior al-Qaeda figure, was gunned down by security forces, setting off a chain reaction.

(SNIP)

When Pakistan launched its serious operations on these networks, several returned to the tribal areas in search of a safe haven. In a matter of a few months they regrouped and restored their financial links with the outside world, and initiated recruitment drives for fresh blood.

As a result, hundreds of jihadi cells have been born and they have produced for the first time a "Pakistani al-Qaeda" with the sole aim to create maximum anarchy through any form of violence. They want the country to face maximum destabilization, and their supporters in institutions like the army will then have the chance to dismiss the present leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf and take over power.

And unlike in the past, when the Pakistani establishment - despite its denials - had close contacts with jihadis, today's new breed of jihadis remain largely anonymous, just waiting for their chance to strike.

4//The Jordan Times, Jordan Wednesday, October 13, 2004
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news5.htm

'WEST MAY MAKE ONE LAST OFFER TO IRAN'

VIENNA (AFP) - Western nations are considering making one last try to get Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities that could be used to make nuclear weapons, although the United States has its hands tied until the Nov. 2 presidential election, diplomats said Tuesday.

"There is indeed the idea from the G- 8to make a last try on Iran," ahead of a Nov.25 meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at which a deadline falls for Iran to suspend enrichment and answer all questions about its nuclear ambitions, a diplomat close to the IAEA told AFP.

The G-8, made up of the world's top industrialised nations, comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The diplomat, who asked not to be named, said there could be "a package" offer, which might include giving Iran access to imported nuclear fuel, but that Iran would in return have to totally suspend its own work on the nuclear fuel cycle.

The diplomat said "the Americans are not ready now to participate in defining a package," due to the heated campaign ahead of the presidential election.

"The day after the election, things will be clearer," about the position the world's major nations can take in relation to Iran.

(MORE)

5//The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea Updated Oct.12, 2004 20:53 KST
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200410/200410120036.html

ISLAMIC GROUP THREATENS ATTACKS ON KOREA

A group calling itself "al-Qaida's terror network in Southeast Asia" posted a terrorism warning on an Internet website threatening to attack Korea if it did not pull its troops out of Iraq, a government official said Tuesday.

A government official said Tuesday that the "Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion," which claimed to be part of al-Qaida's network in Southeast Asia, warned if Korea didn't pull its troops out from Iraq in 14 days, it would attack Korean troops in Iraq and facilities in Korea. The warning was posted on the Arabic-language site "Montada" on Sunday.

In a post entitled, "Warning to the Korean Government," the group said it would "make Korea suffer" if Korean troops were not pulled out of Iraq in 14 days. It said if the warning weren't heeded, it would attack Korean troops in Iraq "one by one" as well as facilities within Korea. The warning also claimed the group's forces weren't far from targets in Korea and it had a base in Seoul.

A government official explained that the group said it had posted the message on Sept. 30, but in fact, it had been confirmed the message was posted on Oct. 10. Accordingly, the official said it wasn't clear on which standard the government should base the deadline; authorities were still trying to determine the reliability of the threat. He said neither the group in question -- the Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri battalion -- nor the website were well known, and the government was in the process of collecting information on the group, website and the veracity of the terrorism warning.

The government, paying attention to claims that the group had a "base in Seoul," has heightened security at major national facilities and highly populated districts and strengthened security checks on those entering and leaving the country. The Ministry of Defense has informed the Zayitun Unit in Iraq of the threat as well and asked it to strengthen security.

(MORE)