November 24, 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 24, 2004

1//The Guardian, UK--BLAIR DEFENDS FOCUS ON SECURITY (Tony Blair today defended the emphasis of the Queen's speech on security measures, insisting that the "threats faced by this country and every other major country are real". The prime minister was responding to opposition taunts that the government was "scaremongering" by unveiling so many bills designed to crack down on terrorism, crime and antisocial behaviour. The legislative programme outlined in the Queen's speech, the last before the general election, includes plans to introduce a national identity database and card as well as an agency to tackle serious and organised crime - a so-called British FBI…The government is expected to link the insecurity caused by terrorism and crime in the election campaign, arguing that people need to feel secure before they are willing to vote for the politics of hope and progress with which it prefers to be associated.)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--KUWAIT SAYS SYRIA IS STOPPING IRAQI INFILTRATORS (Kuwait revealed Tuesday that Syria had detained at least five of its nationals for trying to enter Iraq illegally, weakening U.S. charges that Damascus was turning a blind eye to militant infiltrators.

"In the past few months, at least five Kuwaiti citizens tried to cross the Syrian border into Iraq illegally," said Kuwaiti Ambassador to Damascus, Suleiman Ibrahim al-Marjan. After their arrest and interrogation by Syrian security forces, they were handed over to the embassy for repatriation, he added. The revelation came amid renewed U.S. accusations that Syria was failing to deliver on a September agreement for joint patrols and other measures to stem the flow of militants across its 600-kilometer border with Iraq.)

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SEOUL ROWS AGAINST THE US TIDE (When it comes to North Korea and defusing its nuclear crisis, the United States is finding that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who wants to be friends with North Korea, is becoming increasingly obstructionist. US neo-conservatives want to play hard ball, very hard ball, with Pyongyang, and say South Korea is too soft. Who's side is Seoul on, anyhow? they ask. Roh made clear just how soft - and infuriating to the US - his policy is when he addressed the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile. Roh, never one to mince words, stunned many in the audience of foreign-policy experts with his assertion that the central argument underpinning North Korea's nuclear-weapons program - that it is a necessary defense in the face of hostility and threat - is not entirely illogical. But it was a shocking, if frank, pronouncement, to be sure.)

4//The Moscow Times, Russia--PUTIN’S HIGH-STAKES GAMBLE IN JEOPARDY (President Vladimir Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko had scrambled Monday to be the first to congratulate Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and proclaim him Ukraine's next president. As of Tuesday evening, they remained the only two state leaders to do so, and Putin sought to retract his congratulations as European Union members and the United States cranked up the pressure on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, Yanukovych's patron, to order a vote recount or risk sanctions…Both Putin and Lukashenko share an interest in Yanukovych becoming president. Putin has clearly taken to heart Yanukovych's campaign vows to forge a closer relationship with Russia, while Lukashenko is concerned that a victory by opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko might inspire opposition forces in Belarus.)

5//The Independent, UK--ARRESTS OF POLITICIANS WITH LINKS TO MAFIA CONTRACTS FRAUD SHAKE ITALY (A round-up of leading politicians, lawyers and mafiosi accused of collaborating to cheat the state has shaken Italy's southern backwater of Basilicata "like an earthquake". The public prosecutor behind the purge is a half-British, Somerset-born magistrate who styles himself Henry John Woodcock. He has long hair, rides a powerful motorbike and at the age of 37 has made a name for himself as a scourge of the powerful and corrupt…Those fingered in his latest onslaught constitute a roll-call of the region's top dogs…The arrests provoked shock and consternation in Rome. Piero Fassino, head of the Left Democrats, spoke of his "solidarity and esteem" for his party colleague Mr Bubbico. Forza Italia officials claimed "political persecution".)

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1//The Guardian, UK Tuesday, November 23, 2004 5:15 pm update
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/queensspeech2004/story/0,15521,1357670,00.html

BLAIR DEFENDS FOCUS ON SECURITY

Simon Jeffery

Tony Blair today defended the emphasis of the Queen's speech on security measures, insisting that the "threats faced by this country and every other major country are real".

The prime minister was responding to opposition taunts that the government was "scaremongering" by unveiling so many bills designed to crack down on terrorism, crime and antisocial behaviour.

The legislative programme outlined in the Queen's speech, the last before the general election, includes plans to introduce a national identity database and card as well as an agency to tackle serious and organised crime - a so-called British FBI.

Less heralded but significant measures include giving police the power to arrest and take DNA samples and fingerprints from minor offenders.

(SNIP)

The government is expected to link the insecurity caused by terrorism and crime in the election campaign, arguing that people need to feel secure before they are willing to vote for the politics of hope and progress with which it prefers to be associated.

It will be left largely to chancellor Gordon Brown's tax and spend decisions to address the work-life balance and related issues.

Commenting on the speech in the Commons, the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, said his overall reaction was "haven't we heard this all before?"

The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, meanwhile, accused the government of going down an "insidious and dangerous" path of conflating terrorism with anti-social behaviour.

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, November 24, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=10356

KUWAIT SAYS SYRIA IS STOPPING IRAQI INFILTRATORS

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

DAMASCUS: Kuwait revealed Tuesday that Syria had detained at least five of its nationals for trying to enter Iraq illegally, weakening U.S. charges that Damascus was turning a blind eye to militant infiltrators.

"In the past few months, at least five Kuwaiti citizens tried to cross the Syrian border into Iraq illegally," said Kuwaiti Ambassador to Damascus, Suleiman Ibrahim al-Marjan.

After their arrest and interrogation by Syrian security forces, they were handed over to the embassy for repatriation, he added.

The revelation came amid renewed U.S. accusations that Syria was failing to deliver on a September agreement for joint patrols and other measures to stem the flow of militants across its 600-kilometer border with Iraq.

"The Syrians have taken steps recently but we think there is a lot more they can do and we are looking for greater opportunities to work with the Syrians," Secretary of State Colin Powell said after talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara on the sidelines of an international Iraq conference.

(SNIP)

Syria and its key regional ally Iran have borne the brunt of U.S. anger over the recruitment of foreign volunteers for the anti-U.S. insurgency that has raged in Sunni Arab areas north and west of Baghdad virtually since last year's invasion.

But it is not the first time Kuwait has admitted to the recruitment of its nationals for the insurgency.

Last month, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah said two Kuwaiti volunteers had been killed in the Iraq fighting. Another 16 Kuwaitis were arrested earlier this year on suspicion of running a recruitment network for Iraq, although most were later released on bail.

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Nov 24, 2004
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FK24Dg03.html

SEOUL ROWS AGAINST THE US TIDE

By David Scofield

When it comes to North Korea and defusing its nuclear crisis, the United States is finding that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who wants to be friends with North Korea, is becoming increasingly obstructionist. US neo-conservatives want to play hard ball, very hard ball, with Pyongyang, and say South Korea is too soft. Who's side is Seoul on, anyhow? they ask.

Roh made clear just how soft - and infuriating to the US - his policy is when he addressed the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile. Roh, never one to mince words, stunned many in the audience of foreign-policy experts with his assertion that the central argument underpinning North Korea's nuclear-weapons program - that it is a necessary defense in the face of hostility and threat - is not entirely illogical. But it was a shocking, if frank, pronouncement, to be sure.

Neo-cons are arguing that the US needs to be a lot tougher with North Korea, assuming that all efforts to date in "six-party talks" are going nowhere fast. What is needed, they say, is to plan for economic sanctions or an embargo and at least to plan for military strikes, in hopes these moves will bring Pyongyang to its senses. Conservative scholar at the American Enterprise Institute Nicholas Eberstadt said in an interview with the Seoul Shinmin two weeks ago that "we've come to doubt whether South Korea is sincerely interested in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula".

Last Friday, US General Leon J Laporte, the current commander of US troops in Korea, responded in kind by reiterating that there was a very real threat of fissile-material proliferation from "cash-strapped" North Korea. But the restatement of the wider threat is an argument South Koreans have heard many times before, its resonance having faded among most of them in recent years.

The "Korean problem", many now believe, is for Koreans to solve.

(MORE)

4//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, November 24, 2004. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/11/24/002.html

PUTIN’S HIGH-STAKES GAMBLE IN JEOPARDY

By Simon Saradzhyan, Staff Writer

President Vladimir Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko had scrambled Monday to be the first to congratulate Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and proclaim him Ukraine's next president.

As of Tuesday evening, they remained the only two state leaders to do so, and Putin sought to retract his congratulations as European Union members and the United States cranked up the pressure on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, Yanukovych's patron, to order a vote recount or risk sanctions.

" Both leaders' actions are more than logical because they both supported this candidate and have nothing to lose," said Nikolai Petrov, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Both Putin and Lukashenko share an interest in Yanukovych becoming president. Putin has clearly taken to heart Yanukovych's campaign vows to forge a closer relationship with Russia, while Lukashenko is concerned that a victory by opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko might inspire opposition forces in Belarus.

In addition, the Kremlin has given unprecedented support to Yanukovych's bid, so his loss would cast doubt on Russia's ability to influence affairs in what it considers to be its own backyard.

As such, the Russian and Belarussian leaders threw their support behind Yanukovych even though their actions put their governments on a collision course with the United States and the EU.

The U.S. State Department expressed regret Monday that Putin had offered his congratulations before a victor was declared.

Putin faces tough questioning from the EU that might boil over into a public dispute at the annual EU-Russia summit this Thursday.

In a clear effort to avoid a confrontation with the West, Putin tried to adjust his position on the vote Tuesday afternoon, saying Russia will not "recognize or reject the Ukrainian election results until they are officially announced."

In remarks that amounted to a retraction of his congratulations, Putin told reporters in Portugal that he had congratulated Yanukovych on the basis of the results of exit polls Sunday.

(MORE)

5//The Independent, UK 24 November 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=586047

ARRESTS OF POLITICIANS WITH LINKS TO MAFIA CONTRACTS FRAUD SHAKE ITALY

By Peter Popham in Rome

A round-up of leading politicians, lawyers and mafiosi accused of collaborating to cheat the state has shaken Italy's southern backwater of Basilicata "like an earthquake".

The public prosecutor behind the purge is a half-British, Somerset-born magistrate who styles himself Henry John Woodcock. He has long hair, rides a powerful motorbike and at the age of 37 has made a name for himself as a scourge of the powerful and corrupt.

Basilicata, on the instep of the Italian boot, has none of the lurid Mafia history of Sicily or neighbouring Calabria. It is best known for the vehemence with which the regional population united last year to force the central government to drop its plan to store radioactive waste by the sea. Its calm and recent good luck with tourism and agriculture have given it the nickname "Basilicata Felix" - "Happy Basilicata". But the arrests this week are universally described in the Italian media as an "earthquake".

(SNIP)

Those fingered in his latest onslaught constitute a roll-call of the region's top dogs. They include Filippo Bubbico, the president of the region, a member of Left Democrats and the most powerful man in Basilicata; Gianfranco Blasi, a MP with Forza Italia and the party's organiser for the south of Italy; the heads of two top lawyers' organisations in the region, and a mayor and former mayor of Potenza, the regional capital. The president of Basilicata's penal chamber, Piervito Bardi, was arrested and accused of feeding gangsters with information about investigations against them. When the news of Mr Bardi's arrest broke, the lawyers of Potenza declared they were going on strike for the rest of the week.

The key gangster fingered by the investigation is Renato Martorano, who was also arrested. Prosecutors claim that Mr Martorano and his political friends developed an ingenious scheme for entangling legitimate businessmen. Firms wishing to bid for work on a new hospital or resurfacing the region's roads were obliged to take out insurance policies with an agency run by Mr Martorano's wife. Apparently legitimate insurance contributions were in fact payments to the Mob, which often had a lock on the choice of manpower for the works.

The arrests provoked shock and consternation in Rome. Piero Fassino, head of the Left Democrats, spoke of his "solidarity and esteem" for his party colleague Mr Bubbico. Forza Italia officials claimed "political persecution".