March 2, 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 MARCH 2, 2005


1//The Telegraph, UK--MPS’ FURY AS CLARKE RETREATS ON HOUSE ARREST (New anti-terrorism laws were in disarray last night after Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, bowed to pressure to allow a judge to decide whether suspects should be placed under house arrest… At the end of an impassioned debate the Government's 161 majority was cut to 14. Sixty Labour MPs voted with the Opposition… This is the closest Tony Blair has come to defeat since the Government scraped home by five votes over university top-up fees a year ago… Kenneth Clarke, a former Tory home secretary, said the proceedings were "a complete outrage" and the Government was treating the Commons with "intolerable contempt.")

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--CHINA FUELS ENERGY COLD WAR (…China's quest for energy resources on the world stage is creating a destabilizing effect on international and regional security. Fueled by the lack of a coherent multilateral approach to energy security in Asia and by China's already tense relations with neighboring states, the competition for energy resources may prove to be the spark for regional and international conflict. In many cases, China is vying for energy resources in some of the most unstable parts of the world. Its involvement in regions with raging conflicts could potentially draw it into the disputes, escalating a regional conflict into an international conflict.)

3//KurdishMedia.com, UK--KURDISH AND SHIITE LEADERSHIP BEGIN HEAVY BARGAINING (Negotiations to form Iraq’s next government intensified Monday as Shiite Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the frontrunner to become the next prime minister, and Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani held talks on forming a coalition… The two groups, which have bickered in the past over Kurdish demand’s for wide-ranging autonomy, papered over their differences as they vowed to create a national unity government… Jaafari has previously said he wants to repeal the interim law’s provision that a two-thirds majority in three provinces could veto the constitution, which is due to be drafted by the next government and put to a referendum in October. Kurds--who control the provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah--see the provision as an iron-clad guarantee that they will be able to guard their virtual autonomy in northern Iraq and ensure they are never again persecuted by Iraq’s Arab majority.)

4//The News International, Pakistan--GENERAL DOSTAM TO COMMAND NEW AFGHAN ARMY (President Hamid Karzai has appointed General Abdul Rashid Dostam, a feared Afghan warlord who ran against him for the presidency, to head the country’s fledgling army, a source close to Karzai said on Tuesday. "General Dostam has been appointed as the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces. The appointment will officially be announced via national TV tonight," the source told AFP. The appointment is likely to alarm rights groups who have been calling for those who committed war crimes during the country’s bloody civil war to be brought to justice…. [Karzai spokesman] Ludin insisted that Dostam’s appointment to a government post was "a good thing, a positive one.")

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--OPINION: NEW TV CHANNEL INSPIRES CHAGRIN, NOT PRIDE (Zvezda, the new patriotic television channel that is quite literally continuing the best traditions of the Soviet Army, began broadcasting on Feb. 22, the eve of the national holiday honoring the defenders of the fatherland. Apparently, someone longed to report to the top brass, "Comrade Minister! Our mission is complete!" …In short, there was enough patriotism without Zvezda to satisfy even the most hardcore of Russian nationalists. This means the new channel could have postponed its launch and hit the airwaves later in all its patriotic glory. Yet Zvezda preferred to follow Napoleon's principle of attacking first and then watching what unfolds. It attacked, but viewers were the ones that had to watch. And at the moment, Zvezda is a pitiful sight to see… But what next? Judging by the numerous interviews Zvezda's organizers have given, we will be taught to love Mother Russia. When an interviewer tries to get them to explain exactly how they plan to do this and who will pay for it, they get all mixed up. They can't recall if Zvezda is a military patriotic or a state patriotic channel. They can't tell if they will get their money from the Defense Ministry and a few private sponsors recruited with the help of the government, or if they will operate like any other commercial channel.)

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1//The Telegraph, UK (Filed: 01/03/2005)
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main....

MPS’ FURY AS CLARKE RETREATS ON HOUSE ARREST
By George Jones and Sue Clough

New anti-terrorism laws were in disarray last night after Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, bowed to pressure to allow a judge to decide whether suspects should be placed under house arrest.

There were angry scenes in the Commons when he said that he would table amendments to the proposed control orders in the Lords, depriving MPs of the opportunity to debate the changes in detail.

At the end of an impassioned debate the Government's 161 majority was cut to 14. Sixty Labour MPs voted with the Opposition.

The House voted by 267 to 253 to defeat a cross-party amendment aimed at writing into the Bill a tougher requirement for all control orders and not just house arrest to be decided by a judge rather than the Home Secretary.

This is the closest Tony Blair has come to defeat since the Government scraped home by five votes over university top-up fees a year ago.

(snip)

Mr Clarke faced one of the roughest rides experienced by any member of the Government after sending a letter to his Conservative opposite number, David Davis, confirming a U-turn on the controversial proposal that the Home Secretary alone could order the house arrest of a terrorist suspect.

Kenneth Clarke, a former Tory home secretary, said the proceedings were "a complete outrage" and the Government was treating the Commons with "intolerable contempt."

Other MPs expressed anger at being cheated of consideration of the new legal moves before being asked to approve the Prevention of Terrorism Bill. But attempts to force the suspension of the Commons to allow time to consider the changes were unsuccessful.

The Government climbdown followed protests from all sides of the Commons over Mr Clarke's plan to take powers unprecedented in peacetime to curtail the activities of suspects - both British citizens and foreign nationals.

(MORE)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Mar 2, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GC02Ad07.html

CHINA FUELS ENERGY COLD WAR
By Chietigj Bajpaee

HONG KONG - A notable feature of 2004 was the volatility in oil prices - New York light sweet crude prices reached a peak of US$55.67 on October 25, ending the year up 33.6% at $43.45 per barrel. While a number of supply-side and supply-chain factors have contributed to this situation, the most significant long-term factor contributing to rising oil prices is an increase in Asian demand, most notably from China. China's unprecedented growth not only makes it a driver of a long-term increase in energy prices, but also the most vulnerable to rising oil prices.

China, which has been a net oil importer since 1993, is the world's number two oil consumer after the US and has accounted for 40% of the world's crude oil demand growth since 2000. China's proven oil reserves stand at 18 trillion barrels, and oil imports account for one-third of its crude oil consumption.

China has initiated numerous policies to cope with its increasing energy needs, including stepping up exploration activities within its own borders, diversifying beyond oil to access other energy resources, such as nuclear power, coal, natural gas and renewable energy resources, promoting energy conservation and encouraging investment into energy-friendly technologies such as hydrogen-powered fuel cells and coal gasification.

China has also joined the United States and Japan in developing strategic petroleum reserves, with the creation of 75 days of emergency reserves in four locations in Zhejiang, Shandong and Liaoning provinces.

Nevertheless, in the face of sporadic power shortages, growing car ownership and air travel across China and the importance of energy to strategically important and growing industries such as agriculture, construction, and steel and cement manufacturing, pressure is going to mount on China to access energy resources on the world stage.

As a result, energy security has become an area of vital importance to China's stability and security. China is stepping up efforts to secure sea lanes and transport routes that are vital for oil shipments, and diversifying beyond the volatile Middle East to find energy resources in other regions, such as Africa, the Caspian, Russia, the Americas and the East and South China Sea region.

However, just as China has for centuries engaged in competition for leadership of Asia, the developing world and status on the world stage, so the need for energy security has now raised the possibility of further competition and confrontation in the energy sphere.

This competition has so far been limited to the economic sphere through state-owned oil and gas companies such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), its subsidiary PetroChina and China National Offshore Oil Corporation. However, as oil prices rise and China imports an increasing amount of its energy needs, the competition is likely to spill over into the political and military spheres. There are already indications of this.

China's quest for energy resources on the world stage is creating a destabilizing effect on international and regional security. Fueled by the lack of a coherent multilateral approach to energy security in Asia and by China's already tense relations with neighboring states, the competition for energy resources may prove to be the spark for regional and international conflict. In many cases, China is vying for energy resources in some of the most unstable parts of the world. Its involvement in regions with raging conflicts could potentially draw it into the disputes, escalating a regional conflict into an international conflict.

MORE

3//KurdishMedia.com, UK 01/03/2005
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6343

KURDISH AND SHIITE LEADERSHIP BEGIN HEAVY BARGAINING

ARBIL, Iraq, March 1 (AFP) - 18h08 - Negotiations to form Iraq’s next government intensified Monday as Shiite Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the frontrunner to become the next prime minister, and Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani held talks on forming a coalition.

"We decided to continue the negotiations and create an Iraqi government of national unity, in which Arab Sunnis should play a role," Barzani told reporters, after the two met for several hours in the Kurdistan mountain retreat of Salahuddin.

The two groups, which have bickered in the past over Kurdish demand’s for wide-ranging autonomy, papered over their differences as they vowed to create a national unity government.

"There was a sharing of our points of view and we have decided to continue the discussions," said Jaafari, who was due to visit the other main Kurdish leader, Jalal al-Talabani, in Sulaimaniyah on Wednesday.

The Shiite leader added that the sides had "resolved some points" but declined to elaborate. Jaafari, who headed a five-man delegation, reiterated the joint commitment to "the participation of all in the political process and on the necessity of Sunnis being represented in the next government."

But before joining any coalition, the Kurds are demanding written pledges that the next government will follow to the letter the interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), and work toward restoring Kirkuk to the Kurds, interim deputy prime minister Barham Saleh told AFP in Baghdad.

Saleh insisted there was "broad agreement" between Jaafari’s United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and the Kurdish list, the two biggest vote getters in January’s historic election, but repeated that the Kurds wanted more than words.

"We would need specific written pledges and agreements between all the various lists in parliament as far as their commitment to the provisions of the TAL," Saleh said.

Jaafari has previously said he wants to repeal the interim law’s provision that a two-thirds majority in three provinces could veto the constitution, which is due to be drafted by the next government and put to a referendum in October.

Kurds--who control the provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah--see the provision as an iron-clad guarantee that they will be able to guard their virtual autonomy in northern Iraq and ensure they are never again persecuted by Iraq’s Arab majority.

(MORE)

4//The News International, Pakistan Wednesday March 02, 2005-- Muharram 20, 1426 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/mar...

GENERAL DOSTAM TO COMMAND NEW AFGHAN ARMY

KABUL: President Hamid Karzai has appointed General Abdul Rashid Dostam, a feared Afghan warlord who ran against him for the presidency, to head the country’s fledgling army, a source close to Karzai said on Tuesday.

"General Dostam has been appointed as the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces. The appointment will officially be announced via national TV tonight," the source told AFP.

The appointment is likely to alarm rights groups who have been calling for those who committed war crimes during the country’s bloody civil war to be brought to justice.

Dostam, one of the most powerful men in northern Afghanistan, won 10 percent of last October’s presidential vote, mostly in northern provinces where he garnered much support from the ethnic Uzbek and Turkmen communities.

However the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission for the violence of his troops named him during the civil war, which raged in the Afghan capital between 1992 and 1995, and for his bombing of Kabul during that period.

Karzai’s spokesman Jawed Ludin did not say if Dostam had been made the country’s military chief, but hinted that he would be given a key post.

"I think General Dostam will be offered a very good, respectable and appropriate job within the government," Ludin told AFP.

Ludin insisted that Dostam’s appointment to a government post was "a good thing, a positive one."

(MORE)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, March 2, 2005. Issue 3116. Page 11.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories...

OPINION: NEW TV CHANNEL INSPIRES CHAGRIN, NOT PRIDE
By Irina Petrovskaya

Zvezda, the new patriotic television channel that is quite literally continuing the best traditions of the Soviet Army, began broadcasting on Feb. 22, the eve of the national holiday honoring the defenders of the fatherland. Apparently, someone longed to report to the top brass, "Comrade Minister! Our mission is complete!"

Of course, the majority of other channels also offered viewers the typical display of passionate patriotism. Twice a year, on Victory Day and Defenders Day, television goes khaki and sings the praises of our brave soldiers. The television repertoire on patriotic holidays is now set in stone: war movies, concerts by pop stars who learn a couple civic-minded songs for the occasion, and popular performer Oleg Gazmanov singing the song "Officers" over and over as the audience rises ceremoniously.

In short, there was enough patriotism without Zvezda to satisfy even the most hardcore of Russian nationalists. This means the new channel could have postponed its launch and hit the airwaves later in all its patriotic glory. Yet Zvezda preferred to follow Napoleon's principle of attacking first and then watching what unfolds. It attacked, but viewers were the ones that had to watch. And at the moment, Zvezda is a pitiful sight to see.

Let's take, for instance, the calling card of any television channel, its logo. Even the portion of the television audience longing for a return to eternal values has gotten used to a certain level of computer graphics wizardry. In this context, the patriots' minimalist logo leaves one flabbergasted. The little red star looks like one of the channel's directors sketched it hastily on a napkin.

Then, of course, there's the actual programming. It consists almost exclusively of old films shown one after the other. It's impossible to tell if you've missed the beginning, as the channel does not print its schedule in the papers. It also doesn't bother with the titles other channels provide to remind viewers what they are watching. In the breaks between films, I happened upon a couple of patriotically themed shows, but it was impossible to figure out who made them and in what bygone era.

Perhaps these are just start-up glitches that will disappear when the test run comes to an end. But what next? Judging by the numerous interviews Zvezda's organizers have given, we will be taught to love Mother Russia. When an interviewer tries to get them to explain exactly how they plan to do this and who will pay for it, they get all mixed up. They can't recall if Zvezda is a military patriotic or a state patriotic channel. They can't tell if they will get their money from the Defense Ministry and a few private sponsors recruited with the help of the government, or if they will operate like any other commercial channel.

Two things do not change in all this talk, the bombastic patriotic rhetoric and the open disdain for all other television channels. It seems they are flooding the nation with gloom and doom laced with porn and waging a guerrilla war against Mother Russia. But the people want to take pride in their country and their army.

(MORE)