January 7, 2005

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 JANUARY 7, 2005

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--‘CHINA READY TO TAKE ON MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN MIDEAST POLITICS’ (China is ready to take on a more active role in Middle East politics and enhance partnership with the region, including Jordan, Chinese Ambassador to Amman Luo Xingwu announced on Thursday. At a press conference yesterday, the envoy said Beijing has put forward four-point initiative for peace in the Middle East. The move was taken after Chinese Deputy Prime Minister and State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan's Dec. 26-29 visit to Palestine and Israel, where he met senior officials from both sides. In the initiative, China urges trust-building measures between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a halt to attacks against Israeli civilians, facilitation of smooth Palestinian elections and respect for the ensuing Palestinian government, the resumption of peace talks, and an improvement in the living conditions of the Palestinian people. The ambassador announced that his country has decided to extend urgent assistance of $1.5 million, in addition to a $5 million grant to the Palestinians.)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--UZBEKISTAN COURTS THE GREAT POWERS (The "heart" of Central Asia - as its president, Islam Karimov, calls it - Uzbekistan has become an object of interest and contention for world and regional power centers due to its geostrategic significance. The major players are the United States, Russia and China, all of which covet access to its abundant energy and mineral resources, and view it as an essential element in their designs for dominant influence in the region… From a geostrategic perspective, Uzbekistan is one of the most unpredictable and problematic areas of great power conflict in the world; it bears close watching by those concerned with the future configuration of world politics. Recent developments point to a confirmation of the drift toward multipolarity, but that could change if the current regime in Tashkent loses its hold on power… As the parliamentary elections played out, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified the Moscow-Tashkent strategic partnership agreement, and Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev pledged that Tashkent will continue to cooperate with Washington in the "war on terrorism." On December 28, newspapers and news services around the world reported that Uzbekistan was one of the recipients of suspected terrorists from the custody of US security agencies - a process of "rendition" of detainees to cooperating countries that apply torture.)

3//IranMania, UK--IRAN TO PUSH AHEAD WITH TRANS-AFGHAN CORRIDOR (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran joined forces Wednesday to speed up realisation of a trans-Afghan transportation corridor aimed at securing a lucrative trade link between Asia and the Persian Gulf region… The goal, agreed upon in 2003 at a summit of the leaders of Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, is to extend a road from Uzbekistan southwards through Afghanistan to Iran's Persian Gulf Coast, possibly supplemented by a railway. Uzbekistan has been pushing for the construction of a rail link eastward through Kyrgyzstan and deep into China in order to create a complete oil transit route between China and the Persian Gulf… Another $150 mln railway project in Afghanistan to connect the northern part of the country with Uzbekistan's rail systems is waiting for US approval and grant money, an official from the Uzavtoyol (Uzbek auto roads) company, told AFP.)

4//The Daily Star, Lebanon--U.S. AMBASSADOR ISSUES VEILED WARNING TO SYRIA (In the latest veiled warning to Syria, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday he hopes that foreign forces will not interfere with Lebanon's upcoming parliamentary elections. In a statement, following a visit by Feltman to President Emile Lahoud, the U.S. Embassy said: "The United States hopes that - consistent with the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 - the elections will be credible and free from foreign interference." …The ambassador's visit to the president was to inform him of the details of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to Damascus on Jan. 2, where Armitage emphasized that Washington and its international partners will watch Lebanon's spring parliamentary elections closely and with great interest.)

5//The News International, Pakistan--NO PLAN OF US FORCES TO VACATE SHAHBAZ AIRPORT (…Just after 9/11, the US authorities took control of the Shahbaz airbase as the base camp for their operation in Afghanistan. "Although, the operation from Jacobabad has shrunk substantially, but there is no sign of vacating the airport by the US forces," the official said on condition of anonymity.)

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1//The Jordan Times, Jordan Friday-Saturday, January 7-8, 2005
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews5.htm

‘CHINA READY TO TAKE ON MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN MIDEAST POLITICS’
By Mahmoud Al Abed

AMMAN — China is ready to take on a more active role in Middle East politics and enhance partnership with the region, including Jordan, Chinese Ambassador to Amman Luo Xingwu announced on Thursday.

At a press conference yesterday, the envoy said Beijing has put forward four-point initiative for peace in the Middle East.

The move was taken after Chinese Deputy Prime Minister and State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan's Dec.26-29 visit to Palestine and Israel, where he met senior officials from both sides.

In the initiative, China urges trust-building measures between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a halt to attacks against Israeli civilians, facilitation of smooth Palestinian elections and respect for the ensuing Palestinian government, the resumption of peace talks, and an improvement in the living conditions of the Palestinian people.

The ambassador announced that his country has decided to extend urgent assistance of $1.5 million, in addition to a $5 million grant to the Palestinians.

Luo told reporters that as the peace process moves forward, China will continue to contribute to Palestinian nation building by offering assistance and administrative expertise to the leadership and expects that stability in the conflict zone would attract Chinese investors to initiate projects in Palestine.

The Chinese peace initiative stresses the need to reactivate the roadmap that envisions an independent Palestinian state, and urges concerned parties to take simultaneous steps to implement the relevant UN resolutions, underlining its support for the principle of land for peace.

Peace efforts should also be activated on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks, Beijing said, urging both Arab countries and Israel to resume talks "as soon as possible."

In the fourth point of the initiative, China highlights the need "to maximise the role of the international community in pushing forward the peace process... and taking tangible and effective steps to ensure the success of the Palestinian election and support the rebuilding of the Palestinian economy."

The Chinese ambassador said that his country is sending a delegation to take part in monitoring the Jan. 9 elections for a successor for late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Beijing's initiative favours an international conference on Mideast peace under the auspices of the UN Security Council.

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2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Jan 6, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GA07Ag01.html

UZBEKISTAN COURTS THE GREAT POWERS
By Dr Michael A Weinstein

The "heart" of Central Asia - as its president, Islam Karimov, calls it - Uzbekistan has become an object of interest and contention for world and regional power centers due to its geostrategic significance. The major players are the United States, Russia and China, all of which covet access to its abundant energy and mineral resources, and view it as an essential element in their designs for dominant influence in the region.

Bordering Kazakhstan on the north and west, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on the south, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the east, Uzbekistan is a post-Soviet state that has been ruled by Karimov since 1990, shortly before it declared independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart. Since then, Karimov has used the country's strategic importance to establish a dictatorship and to resist successfully domestic and foreign pressures for democratic and market reforms. Uzbekistan has been and continues to be perceived as too great a prize for interested powers to risk destabilizing Karimov's regime, which, through its repressive practices, has awakened widespread public discontent and armed opposition, some of which subscribes to Islamic revolution.

Aware of the Karimov regime's instability, interested powers have not seen any better alternative to it. The domestic democratic and secular opposition, which is banned from participating in elections and state institutions, is divided and fractious; Muslims are unacceptable to the interested powers; and Karimov has been willing to work with all sides, favoring one or the other according to his calculations of which tilt will best secure his continued rule for the moment.

(SNIP)

Great Power Competition

As the Karimov regime faces growing civil unrest and loss of authority, and seeks to right itself, interested powers continue to jockey for influence over it. The US, Russia and China, as military and economic powers, have strategic and economic interests in Uzbekistan, and Japan has economic interests there. During 2004, the balance of power tilted against the US, as Karimov cultivated stronger ties with the other players, partly due to Washington's cancellation of foreign aid to Tashkent on the basis of human-rights violations and, more fundamentally, because US investment had not come up to expectations.

After Tashkent's embrace of the "war on terrorism" in 2001, it appeared that Washington would become the strongest outside influence in Central Asia. Since then, Moscow has striven to regain its foothold in the region, and Beijing and Tokyo have moved to establish footholds there too. Washington and Moscow have divided interests in Uzbekistan, which bring them into collaboration and conflict, whereas Japan and China have coherent and mutually conflicting interests.

(SNIP)

From a geostrategic perspective, Uzbekistan is one of the most unpredictable and problematic areas of great power conflict in the world; it bears close watching by those concerned with the future configuration of world politics. Recent developments point to a confirmation of the drift toward multipolarity, but that could change if the current regime in Tashkent loses its hold on power.

(SNIP)

As the parliamentary elections played out, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified the Moscow-Tashkent strategic partnership agreement, and Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev pledged that Tashkent will continue to cooperate with Washington in the "war on terrorism." On December 28, newspapers and news services around the world reported that Uzbekistan was one of the recipients of suspected terrorists from the custody of US security agencies - a process of "rendition" of detainees to cooperating countries that apply torture.

3//IranMania, UK Thursday, January 06, 2005
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default...

IRAN TO PUSH AHEAD WITH TRANS-AFGHAN CORRIDOR

LONDON, Jan 6 (IranMania)(AFP) - Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran joined forces Wednesday to speed up realisation of a trans-Afghan transportation corridor aimed at securing a lucrative trade link between Asia and the Persian Gulf region.

(SNIP)

The road-building project is important for Uzbekistan, a landlocked central Asian nation, in its drive to reach Persian Gulf seaports, while Afghanistan wants to serve as a transit country between southeast Asia and the Gulf. Iran for its part is anxious to boost trade in the region.

The goal, agreed upon in 2003 at a summit of the leaders of Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, is to extend a road from Uzbekistan southwards through Afghanistan to Iran's Persian Gulf Coast, possibly supplemented by a railway.

Uzbekistan has been pushing for the construction of a rail link eastward through Kyrgyzstan and deep into China in order to create a complete oil transit route between China and the Persian Gulf.

Last year Japan granted a $150 mln loan to Uzbekistan to help bring its rail system to the border with Afghanistan by developing a mountainous 110-kilometre section of track in southern Uzbekistan.

Another $150 mln railway project in Afghanistan to connect the northern part of the country with Uzbekistan's rail systems is waiting for US approval and grant money, an official from the Uzavtoyol (Uzbek auto roads) company, told AFP.

"Once money to help to build Afghanistan's infrastructure is granted, our company will start construction of the 101-kilometre Termez-Hayraton-Mazari Sharif railway," he said, asking not to be named.

Uzbek construction teams have been participating in war-torn Afghanistan's rebuilding, restoring bridges and roads in the north.

4//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, January 05, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition...

U.S. AMBASSADOR ISSUES VEILED WARNING TO SYRIA
Feltman cautions against 'foreign interference' in Lebanese elections

By Nada Raad, Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: In the latest veiled warning to Syria, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday he hopes that foreign forces will not interfere with Lebanon's upcoming parliamentary elections. In a statement, following a visit by Feltman to President Emile Lahoud, the U.S. Embassy said: "The United States hopes that - consistent with the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 - the elections will be credible and free from foreign interference."

The statement added that Lebanon's upcoming parliamentary elections offered a superb opportunity for the people and the government to show the world that the country's historic democratic traditions remain strong.

In addition to meeting Lahoud, Feltman also paid a visit Tuesday to Prime Minister Omar Karami, Beirut's Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Aoude and Tripoli MP Mohammad Safadi - a traditional rival of Karami.

The ambassador's visit to the president was to inform him of the details of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to Damascus on Jan. 2, where Armitage emphasized that Washington and its international partners will watch Lebanon's spring parliamentary elections closely and with great interest.

(SNIP)

After a half hour meeting with Karami, Feltman refrained from delivering any statement.

But, following his visit to Aoude, he said: "We exchanged views about the situation in Lebanon, I asked his eminence, based on experience, his views of current developments in Lebanon and I shared with him the U.S. policy toward Lebanon."

Feltman's visit to Aoude comes just days after the archbishop severely criticized the Syrian presence in Lebanon.

Aoude said on Saturday the Lebanese people refuse to be slaves to anyone, but have been made into children because Syria does not allow Lebanon to make its own political decisions. During Feltman's visit to Safadi, he discussed the parliamentary elections.

Safadi said: "The ambassador wanted to be informed about our parliamentary bloc's position regarding the next electoral law and the political future of Lebanon amid the regional developments." Washington has expressed concerns about political developments in Lebanon since last September's extension of Lahoud's term of office by an additional three years, and with France sponsored 1559.

5//The News International, Pakistan Friday January 07, 2005-- Ziq'a Qad 25, 1425 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2005-daily...

NO PLAN OF US FORCES TO VACATE SHAHBAZ AIRPORT
By Masood Anwar

KARACHI: There is no plan of the US authorities to vacate Shahbaz airbase, Jacobabad, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told The News on Thursday.

Just after 9/11, the US authorities took control of the Shahbaz airbase as the base camp for their operation in Afghanistan. "Although, the operation from Jacobabad has shrunk substantially, but there is no sign of vacating the airport by the US forces," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Not only the entire area is still under strict control of the US authorities but the allocated flying height is also under the usage of the US aircraft, he said, adding the CAA has not been allowing any aircraft in that corridor to fly between 30,000 and 34,000 feet. "This altitude is restricted area for all the planes except for the coalition forces," he said, adding that even the aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force are not allowed to operate in the above heights.

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