February 25, 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 WATCHFOR FEBRUARY 25, 2005


1//The Moscow Times, Russia--KASYANOV HINTS HE MAY RUN IN 2008 (Breaking a year of silence, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Thursday slammed Russia's leadership for turning away from democracy and indicated he may run for president in 2008 in order to correct the nation's course. "Everything is possible," Kasyanov said at a news conference in answer to a direct question on whether he plans to bid for the presidency in 2008… Kasyanov's return to big politics is a sign parts of Russia's political elite may be ready to challenge Putin's previously unshakable power, said Lilia Shevtsova, political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center. "This means one very serious thing: that not just Kasyanov but the Russian political class felt the weakness of the current regime," Shevtsova said. "They felt the weakness of Putin. They felt that the moment had come when they could come back on the political stage.")

Related: YOUTH GROUPS SAY IT'S TIME TO OPPOSE PUTIN

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--THE REMAKING OF AL-QAEDA (More than four years since the launch of the campaign to catch Osama bin Laden "dead or alive," the US has initiated a new phase in the "war on terror" to counter perceived threats from al-Qaeda generated by a new breed of operatives spawned in the post-September 11 era. Unlike the pre-September 11 al-Qaeda, the structure, central command, depth and whereabouts of the latest incarnation remain largely a mystery… Well-placed people Asia Times Online spoke to maintain that the new phase of the "war on terror" has started across the world, but unlike the present campaign in Pakistan, the aim is not to trace bin Laden, but rather his "links" …Al-Qaeda itself has stopped all operations pending a new phase. In the meantime it is focusing on developing these new links - the very links that the US is now after.)

3//Inter Press Agency News Service, Italy--THIS MAKES GUANTANAMO LOOK LIBERAL
(New anti-terror legislation proposed in Britain makes U.S. rights to the Guantanamo Bay camp appear liberal in some respects. Britain has had its own Guantanamo Bay for more than three years by way of the high security Belmarsh prison where ten foreign nationals have been held without charge and without trial for most of three years since December 2001. A panel of law lords, the supreme legal authority in Britain, has declared the detention of the foreigners illegal. But home secretary Charles Clarke has now introduced legislation that would give the British far more sweeping detention and control powers than the United States - or indeed any other country.)

4//The Jordan Times, Jordan--PROTESTERS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST MUBARAK (Several unprecedented protests have rocked Egypt over the past three months as demonstrators took to the streets to denounce the likelihood of President Hosni Mubarak being elected to a fifth term in office. The rallies, organised by the Egyptian Movement for Change, have coined a slogan — “kefaya” (enough) — to vent their exasperation with Mubarak and his consecutive administrations. Their simple message broke ground in Egypt, where the president was always sheltered against public rage. On Monday, the third protest since December 12, demonstrators shouted “Down with Hosni Mubarak” as they gathered in front of Cairo University while around 50 trucks packed with police were deployed nearby… The demonstrators, mostly intellectuals and never more than a few hundred, included Marxists, Nasserites, liberals and Islamic dissidents from the Muslim Brotherhood.)

5//Xinhuanet.com, China--CHINA, US TIGHTEN TIES IN GLOBAL CRIME FIGHT (The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will continue to make its relationship with its Chinese counterparts as close as possible, a visiting senior official with the FBI said yesterday in Beijing. Thomas V. Fuentes, special agent in charge of international operations of the bureau, said the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security will hold a second working group meeting in Beijing in March. "It will include matters such as organized crime, cyber crime, economic crimes and other issues to make sure we are helping each other as much as we possibly can," he said. According to Fuentes, a first meeting was held in Washington in August and it is likely to become a regular occurrence.)

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1//The Moscow Times, Russia Friday, February 25, 2005. Issue 3113. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/25/001.html

KASYANOV HINTS HE MAY RUN IN 2008
By Valeria Korchagina and Catherine Belton, Staff Writers

Breaking a year of silence, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Thursday slammed Russia's leadership for turning away from democracy and indicated he may run for president in 2008 in order to correct the nation's course.

"Everything is possible," Kasyanov said at a news conference in answer to a direct question on whether he plans to bid for the presidency in 2008.

"The main thing is not who it is going to be, the main thing is that whoever comes to power spearheads a movement toward democratic values," Kasyanov said as he made his first step back onto the political stage since losing his post one year ago to the day.

Kasyanov said he wanted to remain out of the government in the near future. He announced the creation of his own consulting and research firm, MK_Analytica, which he said would focus on attracting investment to Russia.

Kasyanov, 48, lost the prime minister's post on Feb. 24, 2004, when President Vladimir Putin abruptly fired the Cabinet less than three weeks before the March presidential elections. The reshuffle was believed to have been a result of a power game played at the very top between old and new elites, which also led to a further tightening of Putin's control over the government and the parliament.

The stand-off also resulted in the dismembering of Yukos, once the nation's biggest oil producer, and its partial takeover by a state-owned oil firm close to Putin. Kasyanov was one of the last remaining members in Putin's regime of a powerful clique of officials and businessmen close to former President Boris Yeltsin.

But after ridding himself of much of the old elite and gathering power, Putin had a disastrous start to his second term.

(SNIP)

Kasyanov's return to big politics is a sign parts of Russia's political elite may be ready to challenge Putin's previously unshakable power, said Lilia Shevtsova, political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center.

"This means one very serious thing: that not just Kasyanov but the Russian political class felt the weakness of the current regime," Shevtsova said. "They felt the weakness of Putin. They felt that the moment had come when they could come back on the political stage."

Kasyanov, who as prime minister had strong liberal credentials, said he was not ready to name a party or movement that he was ready to align himself with. He said the right democratic wing of Russia's political scene was too divided.

He stressed that he did not consider himself to be a member of the opposition. Instead, he said, it is the regime itself that is now the opposition to the previous course, the course people voted for in the 2003 parliamentary elections and again in the 2004 presidential election.

(MORE)

RELATED: YOUTH GROUPS SAY IT'S TIME TO OPPOSE PUTIN http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/25/002.html

Two liberal youth movements joined forces on Thursday in their fight against President Vladimir Putin's policies and claimed the time was right for a mass pro-democracy movement in Russia similar to those in Ukraine and Serbia.

(MORE)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Feb 25, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GB25Df04.html

THE REMAKING OF AL-QAEDA
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - More than four years since the launch of the campaign to catch Osama bin Laden "dead of alive," the US has initiated a new phase in the "war on terror" to counter perceived threats from al-Qaeda generated by a new breed of operatives spawned in the post-September 11 era. Unlike the pre-September 11 al-Qaeda, the structure, central command, depth and whereabouts of the latest incarnation remain largely a mystery.

An Asia Times Online investigation based on interviews with well-placed sources in Pakistan who have been in coordination with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at a very senior level attempts to shed some light on today's threat from al-Qaeda.

What is known is that the al-Qaeda network has been battered over the past few years, with curbs on its ability to access money and coordinate. Out of this, though, new groups have sprung up worldwide, strongly politically motivated, patient and with the broader perspective of toppling pro-US governments. This development has not gone unnoticed in Langley, Virginia - CIA headquarters - which has advised Washington to develop a counter-strategy to be on a "war footing" all over the world in the shape of alliances with Europe and a powerful North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence in South and Central Asia and the Middle East.

Almost as a publicity stunt to announce its newfound determination, the United States has launched a massive US$57 million campaign in Pakistan's press and electronic media (and in other countries), drawing attention to the world's most wanted man and reaffirming the $25 million bounty on bin Laden's head.

Though there have been claims in the media of a good response to the advertisements, the media blitz is just the first salvo in a broader battle.

(SNIP)

The new campaign
Well-placed people Asia Times Online spoke to maintain that the new phase of the "war on terror" has started across the world, but unlike the present campaign in Pakistan, the aim is not to trace bin Laden, but rather his "links."

After interrogations of several people arrested in the past few months in Balochistan - prominent among them being Sharifal Misri, an Egyptian said to be an important link to bin Laden - it has emerged that thousands of youths in many countries have taken inspiration from bin Laden's calls for jihad against the US. However, that was not the end of the matter. Many of these youths have managed to organize themselves into independent anti-US groups, and through interaction in various places in Europe and the Middle East with like-minded people have ultimately made contact with al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda itself has stopped all operations pending a new phase. In the meantime it is focusing on developing these new links - the very links that the US is now after.

"Most of al-Qaeda's cells have either been caught or exposed, and they just cannot operate. The present threat is the fast-growing network inspired by Osama bin Laden. This new network is loosely connected [to al-Qaeda] among the top brass, but for sure is associated with it, and the US and Pakistan are both looking forward to catching this new network and their links to reach bin Laden. The network is not in Pakistan and Afghanistan alone, but all across the world," explained a well-placed contact who has 35 years of experience in the counter-intelligence and internal-security business. He spoke to Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity.

"There is no indication that they are from a specific community or ethnic group. They can be anyone, even blonds from the West. They are predominantly Western-educated, and not so much from Islamic seminaries," he added.

(MORE)

3//Inter Press Agency News Service, Italy February 23, 2005
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=27592

THIS MAKES GUANTANAMO LOOK LIBERAL
Sanjay Suri

LONDON, Feb 23 (IPS) - New anti-terror legislation proposed in Britain makes U.S. rights to the Guantanamo Bay camp appear liberal in some respects.

Britain has had its own Guantanamo Bay for more than three years by way of the high security Belmarsh prison where ten foreign nationals have been held without charge and without trial for most of three years since December 2001.

A panel of law lords, the supreme legal authority in Britain, has declared the detention of the foreigners illegal. But home secretary Charles Clarke has now introduced legislation that would give the British far more sweeping detention and control powers than the United States - or indeed any other country.

These include the power of house arrest of any British or foreign national, on the basis only of a suspicion stated by intelligence agencies. A detained person need not be told what he or she is accused of, and what evidence there is to warrant such detention.

A government minister can impose all sorts of restrictions considered necessary ''for purposes connected with preventing or restricting further involvement by that individual in terrorism-related activity.''

House arrest is only one option. Others are restrictions on the use of articles, services or facilities; restrictions on work, association, communications, residence, visitors or travel; a requirement to allow premises to be searched and items to be removed; allowing one's movements, communications or other activities to be monitored; and a requirement to provide information to a specific person or report to specified places.

Someone suspected by an intelligence agency of supporting terrorism on only ''a balance of probabilities'' can be incarcerated ''in accommodation owned and managed by the government.''

This range of measures has been divided into a ''higher level'' and a ''lower level." The higher level includes house arrest. The lower level means anyone suspected by an intelligence agency will be forced to carry an electronic tag at all times, and have all movements monitored by a satellite surveillance system.

House arrest would require derogation from Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Clarke says he does not intend to invoke that immediately, but the option is being kept ''in reserve'' and can be introduced at short notice. He has said the option would be used against only a few, and only rarely. A house arrest order would need to be backed later by both houses of parliament.

The government would have the option to opt out of Article 5 only if there is an ''emergency threatening the life of the nation'' and then only ''to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation.''

The proposed legislation has raised a storm of protest despite such safeguards. After Britain has been shown to have gone to war in Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence, few believe that intelligence should be allowed by law to place an individual under house arrest.

(MORE)

4//The Jordan Times, Jordan Friday-Saturday, February 25-26, 2005
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news7.htm

PROTESTERS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST MUBARAK

CAIRO (AFP) — Several unprecedented protests have rocked Egypt over the past three months as demonstrators took to the streets to denounce the likelihood of President Hosni Mubarak being elected to a fifth term in office.

The rallies, organised by the Egyptian Movement for Change, have coined a slogan — “kefaya” (enough) — to vent their exasperation with Mubarak and his consecutive administrations.

Their simple message broke ground in Egypt, where the president was always sheltered against public rage.

On Monday, the third protest since December 12, demonstrators shouted “Down with Hosni Mubarak” as they gathered in front of Cairo University while around 50 trucks packed with police were deployed nearby.

Under the state of emergency in force since the 1981 assassination of Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, demonstrations are normally tolerated in Egypt only on university campuses or outside mosques.

But even then, hardly was a word heard against Mubarak himself.

The organisers represent a coalition of groups that first surfaced two months ago when it organised a protest by some 300 people outside the Palace of Justice.

The second protest was held February 4 at the Cairo International Book Fair.

The demonstrators, mostly intellectuals and never more than a few hundred, included Marxists, Nasserites, liberals and Islamic dissidents from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mubarak, 76, succeeded Sadat who was killed by Islamists in 1981.

If he wins a fifth six-year term later this year, he will become the longest serving president since the overthrow of the monarch in 1954. “A quarter of a century in power is enough” and “Mubarak, admit you're a despot,” the protesters chanted on Monday.

(SNIP)

During February's rally the tone rose.

“Mubarak, you bankrupt, what are you doing with our money,” the demontrators chanted. “We want a free government, life is becoming bitter.”

A speaker told the crowd: “During Mubarak's four terms in office, a quarter of a million Egyptians have been jailed. If you want others to follow them, vote for a fifth term.”

5//Xinhuanet.com, China 2005-02-25 08:47:44
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005...

CHINA, US TIGHTEN TIES IN GLOBAL CRIME FIGHT

BEIJING, Feb. 25 -- The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will continue to make its relationship with its Chinese counterparts as close as possible, a visiting senior official with the FBI said yesterday in Beijing.

Thomas V. Fuentes, special agent in charge of international operations of the bureau, said the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security will hold a second working group meeting in Beijing in March.

"It will include matters such as organized crime, cyber crime, economic crimes and other issues to make sure we are helping each other as much as we possibly can," he said.

According to Fuentes, a first meeting was held in Washington in August and it is likely to become a regular occurrence.

As an example of the growing association between US and Chinese law officials, he mentioned the extradition from Las Vegas to Beijing last April of Yu Zhendong, former branch manager of the Bank of China in Guangdong Province.

(SNIP)

Drug traffickers
In another development, the United States and China agreed yesterday to expand co-operation in drug enforcement amid concerns that traffickers are using Chinese routes to haul heroin and other drugs from neighbouring Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Yang Fengrui, deputy secretary-general of the National Narcotics Control Commission, and Karen Tandy, head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, signed a pact to allow the exchange of information on enforcement, drug trends, money-laundering techniques and trafficking organizations.

(MORE)