February 14, 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 FEBRUARY 14, 2005


1//The Independent, UK--PRIME MINISTER PITCHES TO THE ‘CROCKERY-THROWERS’
(Humble yet supremely self-confident, contrite yet unapologetic, forward not backward, there was a new kind of Tony Blair on show yesterday. The tone and delivery of the Prime Minister's speech was in marked contrast with his previous conference presentations, delivering a tone of self-deprecation, admitting many people really do not like him… "And then all of a sudden there you are, the British people, thinking: you're not listening and I think; you're not hearing me. And before you know it you raise your voice. I raise mine. Some of you throw a bit of crockery." Mr Blair used the device of his personal experiences talking to ordinary voters to illustrate the party's six staccato, verb-free, pledge soundbites, widely criticised on Friday… But there was still the old messianic undertone of Mr Blair striving to make Britain a better place for all. He said he "felt anger" because patients still had to wait up to six months for an operation. He said parents had said it was a pity a new breakfast club for children was the exception not the rule. He said: "I thought there is still so much to do, so many lives still not what they could be, so many opportunities for happiness and security not delivered when with time and effort they could.")

2//Moscow Times Online, Russia--OPINION: STATE CONTROL OVER LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL (The recent announcements that Russia intends to exclude companies or groups that are not majority Russian-owned from bidding for natural resource development licenses, together with the plan to prioritize the building of a $15 billion, 4,200-kilometer pipeline to Nakhodka on the Pacific, do not make great economic sense. But as mechanisms to further government control over the country's most important industry and to use that control to further its geopolitical ambitions, they make perfect sense… Apart from developing internal production and export capacity, another important element of Putin's attempts to position Russia at the center of global energy will be greater efforts to forge alliances with Kazakhstan and other energy producers around the Caspian. Having effectively lost Azerbaijan to the West with the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, Putin is unlikely to risk losing Kazakhstan with a similar route for the million-barrel pipeline that will feed off its giant Kashagan field. Already Russia, the United States, China, India and Iran are positioning to play this 21st-century version of the Great Game. The difference this time is that while Russia played the original Great Game with tsarist cavalry and spies, this new version will be played with pipelines and oil train wagons.)

3//TurkishPress.com, US--TURKEY SAYS IRAQI VOTE FAILS AT FAIR REPRESENTATION, CALLS FOR MEASURES (Turkey said Sunday that the results of the Iraqi elections failed to ensure the fair representation of all ethnic groups in the conflict-ridden country and called for measures to compensate for what it called flaws and irregularities in the electoral process. "The low turnout of some groups in the elections, the fact that almost no votes were cast in a number of provinces and the fact that manipulations in certain regions, including Kirkuk, led to unbalanced results are issues that need to be considered seriously," the foreign ministry said in a statement… "It has become clear that certain elements in Iraq tried to manipulate votes in this historic process and have obtained unjustified gains from this," the Turkish statement said, without giving any names. It added that Ankara expected Iraqi authorities to properly examine complaints filed over the elections and look into claims of irregularities.)

4//KurdishMedia.com, UK--TURKMEN PROTESTORS IN BAGHDAD DENOUNCE ‘ELECTORAL FRAUD’ (Members of Iraq’s Turkmen minority demonstrated in central Baghdad Sunday to protest alleged electoral fraud in the disputed northern oil city of Kirkuk during last month’s historic election. Around 150 demonstrators crossed the Tigris river and gathered at one of the entrances to the fortified Green Zone, home to the offices of the electoral commission. "We want reparation for electoral violations in Turkmen areas," read one banner carried by demonstrators, who rallied just hours before the results of the January 30 vote were due to be announced.)

5//Iran Focus, unknown--CLASHES IN IRAN BETWEEN PEOPLE AND SECURITY FORCES IN FIRST WEEK OF REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY (Thousands of people flooded the streets of Mahabad (northwest Kurdistan province in Iran) this morning, clashing violently with State Security Forces after days of gas, water, and electricity interruptions… The demonstration quickly turned into a mass rally and youths set fire to banners and poster celebrating the 26th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the monarchy and brought to power Iran's turbaned clerics, residents reported… SSF agents, plainclothes police, and members of the Bassij (Iran's paramilitary police) attacked the demonstrators with clubs and batons, arresting at least ten individuals, as residents shouted slogans against the Iranian regime.)

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1//The Independent, UK 14 February 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=610882

PRIME MINISTER PITCHES TO THE ‘CROCKERY-THROWERS’
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent

Humble yet supremely self-confident, contrite yet unapologetic, forward not backward, there was a new kind of Tony Blair on show yesterday. The tone and delivery of the Prime Minister's speech was in marked contrast with his previous conference presentations, delivering a tone of self-deprecation, admitting many people really do not like him.

There was none of the rhetorical statements of philosophy which have characterised earlier speeches, such as Gordon Brown's "progressive consensus" which has taxed commentators since.

Instead we were treated to a classically smooth - some might say manipulative - Tony Blair performance, this time using anecdotes and personal self-analysis to make his pitch, using the politics of the personal to try to reconnect with the public, his public.

Mr Blair referred to how the mood of the country changed after the heady days that followed Labour's 1997 election victory: "So after the euphoria came the steady hard slog of decision-making and delivery and the events that tested me. And the media mood turning and friends sometimes being lost as the big decisions mounted and the thousand little things that irritate and grate.

"And then all of a sudden there you are, the British people, thinking: you're not listening and I think; you're not hearing me. And before you know it you raise your voice. I raise mine. Some of you throw a bit of crockery."

Mr Blair used the device of his personal experiences talking to ordinary voters to illustrate the party's six staccato, verb-free, pledge soundbites, widely criticised on Friday.

(SNIP)

In sections designed to counter the belief that he is arrogant and unwilling to listen, he freely used the language of the counsellor's couch, admitting that a lot of people's anger at the Government was "about me." He spoke about "my relationship with the country," sounding like a lost pop star, as he said: "Everyone thinks they know you. Everyone has a view. Sometimes the view is settled. You're a good thing. Sometimes it's settled the other way."

This is all part of Labour's strategy to bring its election campaign to the level of the ordinary person in the pub.

(SNIP)

But there was still the old messianic undertone of Mr Blair striving to make Britain a better place for all. He said he "felt anger" because patients still had to wait up to six months for an operation. He said parents had said it was a pity a new breakfast club for children was the exception not the rule. He said: "I thought there is still so much to do, so many lives still not what they could be, so many opportunities for happiness and security not delivered when with time and effort they could."

2//Moscow Times Online, Russia Monday, February 14, 2005. Issue 3105. Page 8.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/14/006.html

OPINION: STATE CONTROL OVER LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL
By Christopher Weafer
Christopher Weafer, chief analyst at Alfa Bank, contributed this comment to The Moscow Times.

The recent announcements that Russia intends to exclude companies or groups that are not majority Russian-owned from bidding for natural resource development licenses, together with the plan to prioritize the building of a $15 billion, 4,200-kilometer pipeline to Nakhodka on the Pacific, do not make great economic sense. But as mechanisms to further government control over the country's most important industry and to use that control to further its geopolitical ambitions, they make perfect sense.

Over the past year, the state has moved to restore greater direct and regulatory control over the oil and gas industry. Officials intend not only to use greater export volumes of oil and gas to encourage GDP growth, but also to push for fast-track integration into the global economy. More oil exports will also mean broader geopolitical gains, including a possible push for WTO entry by the end of this year and for more results from Russia's upcoming chairmanship of the G8 in 2006.

In practical terms, the government's apparent dithering over the reform plan authored by Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref can be seen as part of a strategy shift away from supporting Gref's idealistic diversified growth plan toward a more focused -- and more pragmatic -- effort to increase budget revenues from oil and gas and to sustain these revenues by building future volume growth that might compensate for an inevitable cyclical decline in export prices. Higher export volumes also give Russia substantial bargaining power with energy consumer countries, leverage that President Vladimir Putin has already used successfully to deflect a whole range of potential criticisms. This would surely have otherwise marginalized Russia in the international community, if the supply of oil from OPEC countries were more secure.

(SNIP)

Without a doubt, Putin's government was fortunate to come to power just as the world was about to experience a paradigm shift in the sustainable average price of oil and right when the major consumer countries embarked on efforts to secure a better balance in future supplies. Oil and gas have proven a very reliable route to economic and geo-political health. Putin is a second-term president, but he heads a first-term power structure. The people behind this power structure cannot afford to lose much more public support, if their vision of a modern Russia is to be sustained beyond 2008. Changing a proven economic model, though based on risky high commodity prices, is clearly not an option for reasons of both domestic and international expediency. Hence, the main reform initiatives envisaged by Gref's plan, namely administrative reforms and growth incentives for small and medium-sized business, are destined to sit on the shelf for at least several more years.

The need to restore state control over this critical lynchpin of the economy and international policy goes a long way to explain such events as the Yukos/Group Menatep case and the government's desire to consolidate ownership and control over the energy sector under one holding, Gazprom. Of course, an unfavorable ruling by a Texas court may delay the creation of this national energy giant. However, it will not derail the goal of setting up Russia's rival to Saudi Arabia's Aramco, probably by the end of Putin's presidency.

A state industrial policy for developing the oil and gas industry is already emerging. It resembles a sort of macro central planning, and the Yukos case, along with the proposed Gazprom-Rosneft merger, was the mechanism to consolidate the state's direct control.

(SNIP)

Apart from developing internal production and export capacity, another important element of Putin's attempts to position Russia at the center of global energy will be greater efforts to forge alliances with Kazakhstan and other energy producers around the Caspian. Having effectively lost Azerbaijan to the West with the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, Putin is unlikely to risk losing Kazakhstan with a similar route for the million-barrel pipeline that will feed off its giant Kashagan field. Already Russia, the United States, China, India and Iran are positioning to play this 21st-century version of the Great Game. The difference this time is that while Russia played the original Great Game with tsarist cavalry and spies, this new version will be played with pipelines and oil train wagons.

Oil, the "devil's blood" to those who have suffered in the battle for its control, has the potential to become the foundation of a solid and stable economic future for Russia. Yet history shows that all too often, oil can also be abused in political games. One has only to think of Indonesia under General Suharto, where high oil revenues not only slowed the process of economic diversification, but also led to a sharp increase in corruption at the highest levels of government. Prioritizing a 4,200-kilometer pipeline, limiting the access of foreign oil companies and the Yukos affair are not encouraging signs to those hoping for economic liberalism and a free economy. To the government, it seems that these are the pragmatic steps necessary not only to sustain GDP growth, but to achieve its political goals.

3//TurkishPress.com, US 02/13/2005 19:20 GMT
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=37311

TURKEY SAYS IRAQI VOTE FAILS AT FAIR REPRESENTATION, CALLS FOR MEASURES

ANKARA, Feb 13 (AFP) - Turkey said Sunday that the results of the Iraqi elections failed to ensure the fair representation of all ethnic groups in the conflict-ridden country and called for measures to compensate for what it called flaws and irregularities in the electoral process.

"The low turnout of some groups in the elections, the fact that almost no votes were cast in a number of provinces and the fact that manipulations in certain regions, including Kirkuk, led to unbalanced results are issues that need to be considered seriously," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added these led to an unfair representation of different ethnic and religious groups in the Iraqi parliament, which will draw up the country's constitution.

"It is seen as absolutely essential for the safety of the political process in Iraq to compensate for the unbalanced representation in the country's administration," the statement added.

Turkey is particularly irked by the strong gains of the two main Kurdish parties in the north of Iraq, which came in second in the elections after the main Shiite alliance with 25.7 percent of the vote and an estimated 71 seats in the 275-member parliament.

The Kurds also won an absolute majority in local polls in the oil-rich city Kirkuk, which many want to see as the capital of a future independent Kurdish state.

(SNIP)

"It has become clear that certain elements in Iraq tried to manipulate votes in this historic process and have obtained unjustified gains from this," the Turkish statement said, without giving any names.

It added that Ankara expected Iraqi authorities to properly examine complaints filed over the elections and look into claims of irregularities.

Turkey fears that independence-minded Kurdish moves in northern Iraq will embolden separatism across the border in southeastern Turkey, where a Kurdish rebellion has already claimed some 37,000 lives.

4//KurdishMedia.com, UK 13/02/2005
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6261

TURKMEN PROTESTORS IN BAGHDAD DENOUNCE ‘ELECTORAL FRAUD’

BAGHDAD, Feb 13 (AFP) - 13h35 - Members of Iraq’s Turkmen minority demonstrated in central Baghdad Sunday to protest alleged electoral fraud in the disputed northern oil city of Kirkuk during last month’s historic election.

Around 150 demonstrators crossed the Tigris river and gathered at one of the entrances to the fortified Green Zone, home to the offices of the electoral commission.

"We want reparation for electoral violations in Turkmen areas," read one banner carried by demonstrators, who rallied just hours before the results of the January 30 vote were due to be announced.

"There were violations in Kirkuk where ballot boxes were stolen," said demonstrator Nawal Mohammed.

Hundreds of Turkmen and Arabs held a similar protest in Kirkuk on Friday condemning alleged fraud and calling for a re-run of the election there.

Iraq’s Turkmen say they account for 13 percent of the population of 27 million, but the most recent census dating from 1977 puts the proportion at just two percent.

(MORE)

5//Iran Focus, unknown Sun. 13 Feb 2005
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1471

CLASHES IN IRAN BETWEEN PEOPLE AND SECURITY FORCES IN FIRST WEEK OF REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY
Iran Focus

Tehran, Feb. 13 - Thousands of people flooded the streets of Mahabad (northwest Kurdistan province in Iran) this morning, clashing violently with State Security Forces after days of gas, water, and electricity interruptions.

According to local residents, household gas has been cut off in the town for the past four days, electricity has been out for more than 24 hours, and water was repeatedly cut off for several hours at a time over the past day.

(SNIP)

Temperatures in Mahabad have reportedly dropped to as low 15 degrees below freezing over the past few days.

The demonstration quickly turned into a mass rally and youths set fire to banners and poster celebrating the 26th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the monarchy and brought to power Iran's turbaned clerics, residents reported.

Mahabad residents complained that the price of bread on the black-market had increased to 2,000 rials.

SSF agents, plainclothes police, and members of the Bassij (Iran's paramilitary police) attacked the demonstrators with clubs and batons, arresting at least ten individuals, as residents shouted slogans against the Iranian regime.

(MORE)