November 1, 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 NOVEMBER 1, 2004

1//The Daily Star, Lebanon--U.S. ELECTION RESULT WILL DETERMINE NATURE OF CONFERENCE ON IRAQ (Uncertainty hovered over the Iraq conference set to take place in Egypt next month, as commentators warned that the result of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election was likely to radically affect expectations for the gathering, which is crucial to Iraq's future. "We will hold a completely different conference depending on whether George W. Bush remains in power," one European diplomat said Sunday in Cairo. The conference has been set for Nov. 22-23 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to lay out the final steps toward free elections in Iraq, but Washington had initially wanted the gathering to precede the Nov. 2 vote..."If Bush wins the election, the Sharm el-Sheikh conference could be a first test of his willingness to overcome old differences and cooperate (with the international community) on restoring stability in Iraq," the governmental Al-Ahram daily said. Some commentators say that Kerry's promises of a less unilateral Iraq policy may not last longer than his Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony. "With Kerry, we'll be facing another case scenario, but nobody can prejudge whether his position (on Iraq) will outlast the campaign," said one Arab diplomat.)

2//The Pakistan Times, Pakistan--UPCOMING BAGHDAD ELECTIONS: REGISTRATION CENTRES DUE TO OPEN TODAY (Any Iraqi wanting to vote or run in the country's upcoming elections must ensure that their name is registered from Monday as organisers pave the way for the landmark poll in three months' time. But some people doubt whether credible elections can take place nationwide with violence still raging in rebel-held towns such as Fallujah, west of Baghdad. Dismissing such misgivings, Iraq's electoral commission insists that preparations for the vote, promised by January 31, are running smoothly with help from a handful of experts from the United Nations.)

3//The Guardian, UK--'FOREIGN MEDIA ARE ABOUT AS USEFUL AS LICE' - KERRY AIDE (And yet it's not an easy gig. For one thing, the candidates treat the foreign media with contempt. During the 2000 election, a reporter from a German newspaper asked Karen Hughes, Bush's senior adviser, a question. Half way through her answer, something struck her. "Who do you work for?" she asked. "A German newspaper," he began. "Then what am I wasting my time talking to you for?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically, and turned on her heel. One Kerry aide was equally specific. "To us," he told the Washington Post last week, "foreign media are about as useful as lice.")

4//The Daily Times, Pakistan--TONY BLAIR'S OFFICE PLAYS DOWN REPORTS OF FEB ELECTIONS (Tony Blair's office played down reports on Sunday that the British prime minister plans to call a snap general election in February. Blair has ordered top election strategist Alan Milburn to launch a television and poster advertising campaign in the New Year under the slogan "Britain is Working", the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Times reported, without disclosing their sources...Meanwhile a poll showed Labour extending its lead over the opposition Conservatives by four points. Asked how they would vote if there were a general election tomorrow, 39 percent said Labour, a seven point rise since the last equivalent poll a month ago, according to the Communicate Research poll for the Independent on Sunday...On the question of whether the world would be a safer place if US President George W. Bush rather than Democrat challenger John Kerry wins this week's US presidential election, 24 percent said it would be, 56 percent disagreed and 20 percent did not know.)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--USTINOV: DETAIN TERRORISTS' RELATIVES (Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said Friday that authorities should be allowed to detain relatives of terrorists by force as a "counter-hostage-taking" measure, prompting harsh criticism from some politicians, including Kremlin loyalists...Ustinov said the current law makes it hard to combat terrorism effectively and proposed a bill that would allow authorities to detain terrorists' relatives forcefully during a hostage crisis and use them as a negotiating tool. "Detaining relatives and showing terrorists what may happen to their relatives could help save people's lives, so let's not close our eyes or put a diplomatic face on it," he said. "When you live by the sword, you die by the sword.")

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, November 01, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=9761

U.S. ELECTION RESULT WILL DETERMINE NATURE OF CONFERENCE ON IRAQ
Vote outcome likely to radically affect expectations

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

CAIRO: Uncertainty hovered over the Iraq conference set to take place in Egypt next month, as commentators warned that the result of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election was likely to radically affect expectations for the gathering, which is crucial to Iraq's future.

"We will hold a completely different conference depending on whether George W. Bush remains in power," one European diplomat said Sunday in Cairo.

The conference has been set for Nov. 22-23 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to lay out the final steps toward free elections in Iraq, but Washington had initially wanted the gathering to precede the Nov. 2 vote.

After weeks of bitter sparring between the incumbent and his Democrat rival, John Kerry, on the best course of action in Iraq, the real purpose of the conference seems up in the air.

Egyptian analysts were split on the likely impact of one or the other's victory, with some assuring that Bush would use a re-election to forge ahead with his policies, while others argued he could soften his stance.

"If Bush wins the election, the Sharm el-Sheikh conference could be a first test of his willingness to overcome old differences and cooperate (with the international community) on restoring stability in Iraq," the governmental Al-Ahram daily said.

Some commentators say that Kerry's promises of a less unilateral Iraq policy may not last longer than his Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony.

"With Kerry, we'll be facing another case scenario, but nobody can prejudge whether his position (on Iraq) will outlast the campaign," said one Arab diplomat.

Kerry has been relentless in his jabs at Bush's Iraq policies, accusing the president of committing a "colossal error" by going to war, and saying he mismanaged postwar developments.

The Iraq conference will bring together the governments of Iraq and its neighbors, as well as the Group of Eight most industrialized countries, the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

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2//The Pakistan Times, Pakistan Monday, November 01, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-11-2004_pg4_3

UPCOMING BAGHDAD ELECTIONS: REGISTRATION CENTRES DUE TO OPEN TODAY

BAGHDAD: Any Iraqi wanting to vote or run in the country's upcoming elections must ensure that their name is registered from Monday as organisers pave the way for the landmark poll in three months' time.

But some people doubt whether credible elections can take place nationwide with violence still raging in rebel-held towns such as Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

Dismissing such misgivings, Iraq's electoral commission insists that preparations for the vote, promised by January 31, are running smoothly with help from a handful of experts from the United Nations. Voters and candidates, whether party-sponsored or independent, have six weeks to register from November 1, according to an election calendar. They will be able to do so at some 550 registration centres throughout Iraq set up in the same location or near where Iraqis are accustomed to receiving their food rations - a leftover from a UN oil-for-food programme. "Holding free and fair elections in today's Iraq is a must and everybody is looking forward for such an important step," said Salah Omar al-Ali, a veteran Iraqi politician and ex-member of the former Baath party.

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3//The Guardian, UK Monday November 1, 2004
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1340759,00.html

'FOREIGN MEDIA ARE ABOUT AS USEFUL AS LICE' - KERRY AIDE

Ahead of tomorrow's American poll, Stephen Armstrong meets a Sky News team who are struggling with 8,000 other international journalists to gain access to candidates who see them as a waste of time

(SNIP)

The BBC has 200 people dedicated to covering the election, including engineering and technical staff, Sky News has about 50, with a similar presence from ITN's ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five news teams, plus radio news and the national dailies, which brings the total UK media presence to almost 400 people. Spreading out across Europe, these numbers are replicated. There are four Russian television news operations with teams in the US; German, Spanish, Italian and French news channels, state and independent broadcasters as well as their print compatriots. Even Croatian state television has a presence. Then there's North Africa, Asia, Oceania - indeed, latest estimates put the number of foreign journalists covering the story at almost 8,000 people - roughly the equivalent of the UK's military presence in Iraq and probably better equipped.

And yet it's not an easy gig. For one thing, the candidates treat the foreign media with contempt. During the 2000 election, a reporter from a German newspaper asked Karen Hughes, Bush's senior adviser, a question. Half way through her answer, something struck her. "Who do you work for?" she asked. "A German newspaper," he began. "Then what am I wasting my time talking to you for?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically, and turned on her heel. One Kerry aide was equally specific. "To us," he told the Washington Post last week, "foreign media are about as useful as lice."

As a result, when it comes to media access, rationing is extremely harsh. There are ten media places on Air Force One and Kerry's campaign plane and these go to the four US television networks - Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC - as well as CNN and the big daily newspapers (whose journalists are charmingly known as "scribblers"). These people form the "gaggle", the small group of hacks who get daily briefings from the campaign team, outlining the theme for the day at the various speeches the candidate plans to give. On October 27, for instance, the Kerry gaggle travelled with the senator as he visited Iowa, then Minnesota, back to Iowa and on to Ohio. They were pre-briefed that Kerry planned to pick up on the New York Times story about missing explosives in Iraq, managing to feed reports into every bulletin - even those that went out before a speech had been made.

Following close behind each campaign jet are the press charters, two planes booked by the White House Press Club, who have to keep close tabs on what the plane in front is doing just in case a tight poll forces everyone to veer off to Florida. Foreign media can apply for a place on one of these charters, but it costs a couple of thousand dollars a day and that's a lot of money to pay to have the candidates ignore you.

What's more galling to international superstar anchors is how important tiny local cable stations and newspapers suddenly become. The decision is going to be made in the handful of states that aren't already cast-iron Republican or Democrat loyalists. At the start of the final week, that meant ten states; Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania plus Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin - although by Wednesday, previously pro-Gore Michigan started to look like a Bush target. The local media in those states suddenly achieve a status commensurate with that of CNN or NBC. Last week, for instance, some overseas broadcasters began talks to gain access to Carl Rove, the mastermind behind the Bush campaign. He blew them off for lunch with the chief reporter of the Ohio Sentinel.

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4//The Daily Times, Pakistan Monday, November 01, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-11-2004_pg4_2

TONY BLAIR'S OFFICE PLAYS DOWN REPORTS OF FEB ELECTIONS

LONDON (AFP): Tony Blair's office played down reports on Sunday that the British prime minister plans to call a snap general election in February.

Blair has ordered top election strategist Alan Milburn to launch a television and poster advertising campaign in the New Year under the slogan "Britain is Working", the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Times reported, without disclosing their sources.

But a spokesman for the prime minister's office described the claims as "idle speculation". Political analysts have previously said an election is likely to be held in May or later in 2005.

A spokesman for Blair's Labour Party said that the election date was ultimately a matter for the prime minister, but added that he was unaware of anything to suggest that it would be in February.

A February poll is favoured by the prime minister to maximise his present opinion poll advantage over Michael Howard and his main opposition Conservative party, the newspapers said.

In addition, Blair hopes that Labour will benefit from a "Baghdad bounce", following what he hopes will be the successful staging of elections in Iraq at the end of January, they said.

Meanwhile a poll showed Labour extending its lead over the opposition Conservatives by four points.

Asked how they would vote if there were a general election tomorrow, 39 percent said Labour, a seven point rise since the last equivalent poll a month ago, according to the Communicate Research poll for the Independent on Sunday.

(SNIP)

On the question of whether the world would be a safer place if US President George W. Bush rather than Democrat challenger John Kerry wins this week's US presidential election, 24 percent said it would be, 56 percent disagreed and 20 percent did not know.

Link to election story in The Telegraph
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...

Link to story on the poll in The Independent:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=577821

5//The Moscow Times, Russia Monday, November 1, 2004. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/11/01/003.html

USTINOV: DETAIN TERRORISTS' RELATIVES
By Nabi Abdullaev, Staff Writer

Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said Friday that authorities should be allowed to detain relatives of terrorists by force as a "counter-hostage-taking" measure, prompting harsh criticism from some politicians, including Kremlin loyalists.

Ustinov was speaking to the State Duma, which summoned senior law enforcement officials to report on the investigation into the Sept. 1-3 Beslan school hostage-taking and their efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Ustinov said the current law makes it hard to combat terrorism effectively and proposed a bill that would allow authorities to detain terrorists' relatives forcefully during a hostage crisis and use them as a negotiating tool.

"Detaining relatives and showing terrorists what may happen to their relatives could help save people's lives, so let's not close our eyes or put a diplomatic face on it," he said. "When you live by the sword, you die by the sword."

Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov welcomed the proposed bill, noting that the law now allows relatives to be used as a negotiating tool but their participation is only voluntary.
Although Ustinov's speech was met with applause, several senior Duma deputies fiercely criticized his remarks afterward as inappropriate and unconstitutional.

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