October 15, 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 WWATCH FOR OCTOBER 15, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--SHORT URGES BROWN TO MAKE HIS MOVE BEFORE ELECTION (Clare Short has urged Gordon Brown to try to topple Tony Blair before the next general election and warned that his reluctance to strike is harming his prospects of becoming Prime Minister...In the interview, she denies being part of any "conspiracy" to oust Mr Blair. But, referring to the Iraq war, she says: "It's just that I think what's happened is so serious that we need a change, and Gordon sits there as ... credible and capable." She claims "a very high number" of Labour MPs are "very troubled by all of this".)

2//The Toronto Star, Canada--NO CANADIAN TROOPS TO IRAQ: PM (Prime Minister Paul Martin isn't ready to commit troops to Iraq despite growing pressure on world leaders to help ease violent chaos there. "There's a limit to our resources," Martin said today after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac during a European tour. ``And that's why I'm putting the focus right now on Afghanistan, on Haiti. "Whatever it is that we do, I really want to see us do it in an area that makes a difference." It's best to focus on countries where Canada's work is obviously helping than to spread efforts too thin, Martin said.)

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--INDIA A DUMPING GROUND FOR IRAQI WAR JUNK (For Indian businesses, Iraqi scrap is a prime catch because it's dirt-cheap. With an overworked, understaffed and easily corruptible Indian Customs Department choosing to look the other way, Iraqi scrap thus easily makes its way to Indian shores, but with a few live shells too. One of them blew up late last month, killing 10 workers. The hunt for war junk in imported scrap began after this accident, which also left dozens injured in a private foundry, when the shell - routed through Iran, but originating in Iraq - blew up during handling in New Delhi's bustling industrial suburb of Ghaziabad. Subsequent investigations revealed that extremely dangerous material is being illegally transferred into the country along with war junk. "The find so far in New Delhi and nearby towns alone can start a little war," said a spokesman of the Indian army's bomb-disposal unit.)

4//KurdishMedia.com, UK--PUK OFFICIAL SUPPORTS BARZANI REMARKS ON KIRKUK (Following KDP leaders' controversial remarks regarding the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, a representative of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan says that his party is prepared for an armed struggle to ensure Kirkuk's Kurdistani identity...Mr Barzani, ..., seems to have found support backed by KDP's main rival faction, PUK...This is however the first time a PUK official speaks about a military solution to the problem of Kirkuk if it was required. "The Kurdish position is unyielding," (regarding Kirkuk), Mr Faili said, "and that is due to the fact that the Arabic communities are determined in refusing our requests.")

5//Xinhuanet.com, China--CHINA, RUSSIA COMPLETE BOUNDARY DELIMITATION (China and Russia signed an agreement here Thursday, completing the delimitation of the 4,300-kilometer-long boundary line between them...Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin were present at the signing ceremony. The signing of the agreement means that "following efforts by China and Russia for more than 40 years, the two countries have complete their border delimitation," announced Hu and Putin at a joint press conference following formal talks between them. The two heads of state stressed that the 4,300-kilometer-long China-Russia boundary line "will hence become a line of peace, friendship, cooperation and development between people of the two countries." )

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1//The Independent, UK 15 October 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=572329

SHORT URGES BROWN TO MAKE HIS MOVE BEFORE ELECTION
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor

Clare Short has urged Gordon Brown to try to topple Tony Blair before the next general election and warned that his reluctance to strike is harming his prospects of becoming Prime Minister.

In an interview with GMTV's Sunday Programme to be screened this weekend, the former cabinet minister says: "I think lots of people are waiting for Gordon to make his move, and if he can't or won't, that sort of diminishes him as the alternative. But I understand he's on a tightrope. It's a very difficult position."

Her comments will reignite tensions between the Blair and Brown camps, with Blairites suspecting that she has been encouraged to speak out by supporters of the Chancellor. When she was the International Development Secretary, Ms Short was a close ally of Mr Brown. But she insists she was "never a Brownie or a Blairie".

In the interview, she denies being part of any "conspiracy" to oust Mr Blair. But, referring to the Iraq war, she says: "It's just that I think what's happened is so serious that we need a change, and Gordon sits there as ... credible and capable." She claims "a very high number" of Labour MPs are "very troubled by all of this".

She describes Mr Blair's declaration that he wants to serve a full third term as "extraordinary", doubts that he will achieve it and believes it is still possible that he will be forced out over Iraq before the next election. "I would love a change of leader, so that Labour could face the truth, correct the mistake," she says.

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2//The Toronto Star, Canada Oct. 14, 2004. 05:36 PM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?p...

NO CANADIAN TROOPS TO IRAQ: PM
Reaffirms country's commitment in Afghanistan, Haiti, Jordan

Sue Bailey, Canadian Press

PARIS - Prime Minister Paul Martin isn't ready to commit troops to Iraq despite growing pressure on world leaders to help ease violent chaos there.

"There's a limit to our resources," Martin said today after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac during a European tour. ``And that's why I'm putting the focus right now on Afghanistan, on Haiti.

"Whatever it is that we do, I really want to see us do it in an area that makes a difference." It's best to focus on countries where Canada's work is obviously helping than to spread efforts too thin, Martin said.

The prime minister also wants to do more in the western Darfur region of Sudan, where the United Nations says the world's worst humanitarian crisis is unfolding. About 1.2 million people have fled their villages because of attacks blamed on government-backed militias. Many others have been killed or have died in refugee camps.

Still, Canada has not forgotten Iraq, Martin said. "We are not on the sidelines."

His predecessor, Jean Chrétien, refused to join the U.S.-led attack on Iraq last year because the invasion was not backed by the United Nations. Ottawa has committed $300 million for emergency aid and rebuilding efforts of which about $140 million has flowed.

A contingent of Canadian police officers is also offering related training for Iraqis in Jordan.

(SNIP)

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Oct 15, 2004
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FJ15Df06.html

INDIA A DUMPING GROUND FOR IRAQI WAR JUNK
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - Small Indian steel mills fed by scrap imported from Asian, African and Persian Gulf countries are nothing new. But the war in Iraq has added a new - and dangerous - dimension. India's hungry steel industry is now being fed by remnants of destroyed Iraqi infrastructure, sometimes even its armaments.

Huge consignments of looted machinery, shattered tanks, mangled building material, chopped-up railroad boxcars, machinery components, copper and aluminum ingots and bars, steel rods and water pipes are increasingly imported by India from Iraq. For Indian businesses, Iraqi scrap is a prime catch because it's dirt-cheap. With an overworked, understaffed and easily corruptible Indian Customs Department choosing to look the other way, Iraqi scrap thus easily makes its way to Indian shores, but with a few live shells too. One of them blew up late last month, killing 10 workers.

The hunt for war junk in imported scrap began after this accident, which also left dozens injured in a private foundry, when the shell - routed through Iran, but originating in Iraq - blew up during handling in New Delhi's bustling industrial suburb of Ghaziabad. Subsequent investigations revealed that extremely dangerous material is being illegally transferred into the country along with war junk. "The find so far in New Delhi and nearby towns alone can start a little war," said a spokesman of the Indian army's bomb-disposal unit.

Last week, 100 shells were found from metal consignments at Tughlaqabad (near Delhi), comprising mortar rounds, anti-tank shells, anti-aircraft missiles and fragmentation shells. Huge caches of live and extremely dangerous shells, bombs and mortar rounds numbering in thousands are being recovered from Jaipur (in the state of Rajasthan), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh), Mumbai, Karnal (Haryana) and Delhi, which are dotted with small-scale steelmakers and scrap consumers.

"No check is carried out when scrap is picked up or dumped in the exporting country. In most cases, bulldozers just tear down remnants of buildings and bridges that have been bombed. The scrap is then sold off. There are high chances of live shells or partially exploded shells being embedded in such scrap," said a customs official.

Piyooshe Goyal, an importer of metal scrap, says India buys scrap from all over the world. "The dangerous bit is coming mostly from the war-torn parts of the world. It's very cheap. Imports from war-ravaged regions figure high on the list of sensitive countries, but the port of origin declared to the customs department is often different."

A correspondent from Jordanian daily al-Arab al-Yawm visited a border crossing between Iraq and Jordan last month and witnessed "scrap metal" being sold over the border for export to Israel, India and Japan. According to the Jordanian newspaper, most of the scrap metal consisted of "old and new Iraqi tanks broken down to facilitate their shipment, armored personnel carriers, artillery shells, light arms, hand grenades and missiles".

(SNIP)

4//KurdishMedia.com, UK 14/10/2004
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=5599

PUK OFFICIAL SUPPORTS BARZANI REMARKS ON KIRKUK

14/10/2004 Peyamner.com (Peyamner)- Following KDP leaders' controversial remarks regarding the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, a representative of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan says that his party is prepared for an armed struggle to ensure Kirkuk's Kurdistani identity.

(SNIP)

KDP leader Massoud Barzani said last month that Iraqi Kurds will not hesitate to defend what he called the "Kurdistani" identity of Kirkuk by all means necessary, including going into war.

Mr Barzani, who repeated the same remarks in Ankara, seems to have found support backed by KDP's main rival faction, PUK. PUK which currently enjoys healthy relations with Ankara, has previously declared that it regards Kirkuk as the "Jerusalem" of Kurdistan and any compromise must take its departure from the "undisputed" fact that Kirkuk has and is located within the geography of Kurdistan.

This is however the first time a PUK official speaks about a military solution to the problem of Kirkuk if it was required. "The Kurdish position is unyielding," (regarding Kirkuk), Mr Faili said, "and that is due to the fact that the Arabic communities are determined in refusing our requests."

5//Xinhuanet.com, China Thursday, October 14, 2004 22:54:17
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/14/content_2092121.htm

CHINA, RUSSIA COMPLETE BOUNDARY DELIMITATION

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China and Russia signed an agreement here Thursday, completing the delimitation of the 4,300-kilometer-long boundary line between them.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed the Supplementary Agreement on the Eastern Section of China-Russia Boundary Line on behalf of their respective governments.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin were present at the signing ceremony.

The signing of the agreement means that "following efforts by China and Russia for more than 40 years, the two countries have complete their border delimitation," announced Hu and Putin at a joint press conference following formal talks between them.

The two heads of state stressed that the 4,300-kilometer-long China-Russia boundary line "will hence become a line of peace, friendship, cooperation and development between people of the two countries."

They said the agreement will "create more favorable conditions for the long-term, healthy and stable development of China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation." People of the two countries will "always be good neighbors, good friends and good partners," they stressed.

A joint statement signed by Hu and Putin Thursday described the agreement as a "balanced and reasonable" and "politically win-win" solution, and should be "valued and fully affirmed."

China and Russia signed two border agreements in 1991 and 1994 respectively, delimiting the eastern and western sections of the boundary line between them, leaving only two parts of land in the eastern section to be resolved.

Negotiations between China and Russia on boundary line lasted more than 40 years. The pace was greatly accelerated after the two countries singed a good-neighborly treaty of friendship and cooperation in 2001.

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