March 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 MARCH 7, 2005

1//The Daily Star, Lebanon--EDITORIAL: HIZBULLAH IS NOT A PROBLEM - IT IS PART OF LEBANON'S SOLUTION (Civil violence is a red line that should never be crossed - "If we cross it, the country will return to square one in the history of the Lebanese crisis." These are words of experience and wisdom, and they came from Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah…By the same token, Nasrallah emphasized that a Syrian withdrawal does not give a green light for other powers to step into Syria's shoes: "Sovereignty and freedom means to be masters of our own destiny. We are ready to unite with the opposition in the fight for true freedom and independence." If sovereignty means anything at all, then it means independence from the United States and Israel as much as it means independence from Syria. Sovereignty means sovereignty - it cannot be interpreted one way for one party and another way for another party. This is why, Nasrallah maintains, Hizbullah cannot support UN Resolution 1559. Nasrallah has a point, and Lebanese of all persuasions would be advised to listen more closely and afford the Hizbullah leader the respect he is due…To dismiss Hizbullah or to entertain thoughts of confronting it, is to approach the red line that must be avoided at all costs.)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--DAMASCUS PUTS SYRIA FIRST (Some indicators show that Syria has finally started to reconcile with the United States and the rest of the world. The road to normalization is still very long, however, and Syria needs a lot of pragmatism if it wants to stick by its convictions, yet appease Washington to avoid a head-on-clash…Many in Syria have been calling on President Bashar al-Assad to follow a "Syria first" strategy, although it contradicts the ideology of the ruling Ba'ath Party, which places emphasis on "Arabism first". "He [Assad] should do what it takes to preserve Syria," is a phrase being heard all over Damascus. It should replace the Ba'ath Party motto, "One united Arab world with an eternal message," and the trinity of "unity, freedom and socialism" that Syrians have been indoctrinated with since 1963. It is this trinity, and the notion of "Arabism first" that have brought Syria to the troubled situation it is in today.)

3//DW-WORLDE.DE/Deutsche Welle, Germany--SCHRODER WRAPS UP BIG BUSINESS GULF TOUR (German Chancellor Schröder ended his week-long visit to the Persian Gulf region Saturday on a robust economic note as he oversaw the signing of a series of lucrative projects worth several million euros. Speaking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the last leg of his seven-day tour, on Saturday, Schröder was upbeat about his several meetings with Gulf leaders and businessmen, saying the political and economic talks in all seven nations he had visited had been "extraordinarily successful." The chancellor underlined that his desire to forge closer contacts with the region had found a positive resonance in the Gulf countries… A further important topic on Schröder's agenda Saturday included giving the go-ahead for further German help in training the Iraqi army and police. Schröder also visited German security officials stationed in Abu Dhabi, who are currently training Iraqi soldiers. The agreement provides for the German armed forces to train a battalion of 250 Iraqi army engineers, which could eventually be expanded to 350, in the UAE, an AFP correspondent reported. Between 70 and 80 German soldiers will train the Iraqis starting in April and ending in November. The UAE and Germany will supply the required equipment. The Iraqis will receive equipment worth €2 million from the German army. It will include heavy trucks and transporters as well as 30 ambulances.)

4//The Independent, UK--CLARKE PLANS NEW TERROR LAW FOLLOWING ELECTION (Charles Clarke is preparing a further terror crackdown even as he backs down on controversial house arrest measures. The Home Secretary will stage a face-saving climb-down in the next few days to get the new powers ahead of a deadline next week. But while he will offer two concessions to appease critics of so-called control orders, he is determined to drive through new measures immediately after the election. A new terror Bill is currently being drafted and will be introduced shortly in a Labour third term, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. It will create new offences of helping or associating with terrorists to make it easier for the police to prosecute those they suspect of involvement.)

5//BBC News, UK--CHINA INFLUENCE SEEN AS POSITIVE (China's influence on the world is seen as positive by more people than is the case for the US or Russia, according to a new BBC World Service poll. In total, 48% of people polled in 22 countries said China's role was mainly positive. Only 30% saw it as mainly negative…An average of 38% of respondents saw the US as having a positive influence, with just 36% saying the same for Russia. Indeed China, at 48%, is almost on a par with Great Britain, which scored 50%. China's growing economic power is also seen as positive in the majority of nations polled.)

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, March 07, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edi...

EDITORIAL: HIZBULLAH IS NOT A PROBLEM - IT IS PART OF LEBANON'S SOLUTION

Civil violence is a red line that should never be crossed - "If we cross it, the country will return to square one in the history of the Lebanese crisis." These are words of experience and wisdom, and they came from Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah is the custodian of other commonsense concepts that found public expression on Sunday. For example, he called for a national dialogue to cement the things on which all parties concur. He was making clear that Hizbullah is Lebanese and that despite some differences in approach from some groups firmly entrenched in the opposition camp, there are, in fact, many points of agreement, including national unity and the parliamentary system.

He also said the "time was ripe for a safe withdrawal" of Syria's military presence in Lebanon, and that because Syria had been successful in its policies in Lebanon, the withdrawal would not cause instability, as long as the withdrawal was conducted sensibly and carefully. This means, Nasrallah said, that the best mechanism for such a withdrawal is the 1989 Taif Accord, which Syrian President Bashar Assad announced Saturday would be implemented.

By the same token, Nasrallah emphasized that a Syrian withdrawal does not give a green light for other powers to step into Syria's shoes: "Sovereignty and freedom means to be masters of our own destiny. We are ready to unite with the opposition in the fight for true freedom and independence." If sovereignty means anything at all, then it means independence from the United States and Israel as much as it means independence from Syria. Sovereignty means sovereignty - it cannot be interpreted one way for one party and another way for another party. This is why, Nasrallah maintains, Hizbullah cannot support UN Resolution 1559.

Nasrallah has a point, and Lebanese of all persuasions would be advised to listen more closely and afford the Hizbullah leader the respect he is due. There may be too many who are prepared to reject out of hand the words of moderation - in the very difficult circumstances in which Lebanon currently finds itself - coming out of the southern suburbs of Beirut. To dismiss Hizbullah or to entertain thoughts of confronting it, is to approach the red line that must be avoided at all costs.

(MORE)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Mar 5, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GC05Ak02.html

DAMASCUS PUTS SYRIA FIRST

By Sami Moubayed
Dr Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst.

DAMASCUS - Some indicators show that Syria has finally started to reconcile with the United States and the rest of the world. The road to normalization is still very long, however, and Syria needs a lot of pragmatism if it wants to stick by its convictions, yet appease Washington to avoid a head-on-clash.

Over the past two weeks, former friends of Damascus, such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his Foreign Minister Jack Straw, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and French President Jacques Chirac, have pitched in with US President George W Bush, telling the Syrians to leave Lebanon.

Many are speculating that the US will deal with the presence of 15,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon as it dealt with the Iraqi presence in Kuwait in 1991: war. The widely read Syrian journalist Ibrahim Hamidi wrote in the London-based al-Hayat that in 1991, Saddam Hussein believed that the US would invade Iraq, regardless of whether he withdrew the Iraqi army from Kuwait or not.

The situation in Syria is totally different and the US will not strike at Syria, nor does it want to topple the Syrian regime. Bush wants to change the policies of the Ba'athist regime in Damascus, and not the Syrian regime in itself. Among Syria's gestures signaling that it wants to cooperate with Washington and avoid such an outcome are tight control on the Syrian-Iraqi border, extraditing wanted ex-officials of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party from Syria, supporting the Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts, starting to withdraw the Syrian army from Lebanon, and permitting the resignation of the pro-Syrian cabinet of Lebanese prime minister Omar Karameh.

Many in Syria have been calling on President Bashar al-Assad to follow a "Syria first" strategy, although it contradicts the ideology of the ruling Ba'ath Party, which places emphasis on "Arabism first".

"He [Assad] should do what it takes to preserve Syria," is a phrase being heard all over Damascus. It should replace the Ba'ath Party motto, "One united Arab world with an eternal message," and the trinity of "unity, freedom and socialism" that Syrians have been indoctrinated with since 1963. It is this trinity, and the notion of "Arabism first" that have brought Syria to the troubled situation it is in today.

(SNIP)

The Syrian regime today should learn from Hafez al-Assad and do what it takes to maintain "Syria first", even if, sadly, this would be at the expense of its interests in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. "Syria first" means bowing before the storm that is heading toward Damascus at monumental speed, and at this stage, doing what it takes to please the neo-conservatives in the White House. Some might call it weakness, others might say it is abandoning Arab nationalism, but to the average Syrian, it would be great conventional wisdom. It is the average Syrian who will suffer if war breaks out in Syria, therefore, they are the ones entitled to say what suits Syria most. "Syria first" they are saying all over Syria, and apparently, Assad has heard their calls, and is responding promptly.

(SNIP)

What Syria needs to do today is secure the resignation of the unpopular and Syrian-imposed President Emile Lahoud, because that is what the entire world wants, and totally absent itself from the upcoming parliamentary election of Lebanon in May. In the meantime, its allies in Lebanon should be completely abandoned and left to deal with their constituencies in the elections.

If they are popular among their people, like Hezbollah, they will survive in post-Syria Lebanon. Anti-Syrian figures like Aoun should be permitted to return to Lebanon, and the arrested warlord Samir Gagegea should be released (he was arrested during the Hariri era in 1994). All of this would restore the confidence of the Lebanese, the UN, France, and all of Europe, in Syria, and Assad. It would gain more time for Syria, and make it easier to engage in dialogue with the US.

3//DW-WORLDE.DE/Deutsche Welle, Germany 05.03.2005
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1509572,00.html

SCHRODER WRAPS UP BIG BUSINESS GULF TOUR

German Chancellor Schröder ended his week-long visit to the Persian Gulf region Saturday on a robust economic note as he oversaw the signing of a series of lucrative projects worth several million euros.

Speaking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the last leg of his seven-day tour, on Saturday, Schröder was upbeat about his several meetings with Gulf leaders and businessmen, saying the political and economic talks in all seven nations he had visited had been "extraordinarily successful." The chancellor underlined that his desire to forge closer contacts with the region had found a positive resonance in the Gulf countries.

On Saturday, Schröder capped his fruitful tour by overseeing the signing of eight contracts for a series of projects worth some $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi. A consortium led by Siemens AG Power Generation and including Italy's Fisia Italimpianti signed an $860 million contract with the Abu-Dhabi based Asia Gulf Power Holding Company for a privatization project in Abu Dhabi's electricity sector, according to members in Schröder's delegation.

(SNIP)

Defense deals could be awkward

A further done deal on Saturday centered on defense, a topic which is expected to prove controversial in Germany.

The UAE is set to get 32 NBC Fox (ABC Fuchs in German) armored reconnaissance vehicles from Germany's Germany's Rheinmetall AG for €160 million.

Schröder was cautious about arms exports to the region, saying that they would be "decided on a case to case basis" according to legal regulations in Germany.

Chancellor Schröder's junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Greens, are long known to have deep misgivings about the prospect of exporting arms and tanks to the Gulf region.

The Greens are currently against the export of the NBC Fox armored reconnaissance vehicles to the UAE. Security spokesman for the Greens, Winfried Nachtwei recently told the Netzzeitung that the reason for their opposition was the fact that the UAE "has not ratified important arms control agreements."

More German aid for Iraq

A further important topic on Schröder's agenda Saturday included giving the go-ahead for further German help in training the Iraqi army and police. Schröder also visited German security officials stationed in Abu Dhabi, who are currently training Iraqi soldiers.

The agreement provides for the German armed forces to train a battalion of 250 Iraqi army engineers, which could eventually be expanded to 350, in the UAE, an AFP correspondent reported. Between 70 and 80 German soldiers will train the Iraqis starting in April and ending in November. The UAE and Germany will supply the required equipment. The Iraqis will receive equipment worth €2 million from the German army. It will include heavy trucks and transporters as well as 30 ambulances.

" The troops are doing a good job here," Schröder commented. Germany, which opposed the 2003 US-led war on Iraq, has been training Iraqi police and soldiers in the UAE since last year. In a speech following the signing ceremony, Schröder suggested that Berlin and Abu Dhabi also work together in assisting "the civil reconstruction process in Iraq."

4//The Independent, UK 06 March 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=617271

CLARKE PLANS NEW TERROR LAW FOLLOWING ELECTION
By Andy McSmith and Francis Elliott

Charles Clarke is preparing a further terror crackdown even as he backs down on controversial house arrest measures.

The Home Secretary will stage a face-saving climb-down in the next few days to get the new powers ahead of a deadline next week. But while he will offer two concessions to appease critics of so-called control orders, he is determined to drive through new measures immediately after the election.

A new terror Bill is currently being drafted and will be introduced shortly in a Labour third term, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. It will create new offences of helping or associating with terrorists to make it easier for the police to prosecute those they suspect of involvement. Tony Blair also wants a new offence of being party to terrorist offences committed abroad. "What we are seeing now is the beginning. We will be doing much more after the election," a senior aide said.

Mr Clarke, however, has quietly dropped plans to introduce no-jury trials and a lower standard of proof for those prosecuted for terrorist offences. The measures, mooted by David Blunkett, are thought to have no chance of being accepted by Parliament or the judiciary. Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has warned Mr Clarke he could not support them.

His immediate priority is to ensure that his controversial proposals for control orders, including house arrest, are in place before powers to jail foreign terror suspects without trial lapse in a week's time.

The deadline means he is almost certain to accept Tory amendments to ensure judges impose all, not just the most serious, orders. Mr Clarke is also preparing to accept a so-called "sunset clause" that requires a further review of the use of the powers this autumn. However, the Home Secretary is expected to dig his heels in over demands that suspects be shown the evidence on which they are detained. The issue is regarded as the most important by former judges and peers.

(MORE)

5//BBC News, UK Last Updated: Saturday, 5 March, 2005, 22:11 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4318551.stm

CHINA INFLUENCE SEEN AS POSITIVE

China's influence on the world is seen as positive by more people than is the case for the US or Russia, according to a new BBC World Service poll.

In total, 48% of people polled in 22 countries said China's role was mainly positive. Only 30% saw it as mainly negative.

The majority of respondents were also positive about the communist nation's growing economic power.

But far fewer people wanted to see an increase in its military might.

Even in neighbouring Asian countries, which have historically been suspicious of China's dominance, opinions were relatively benign.

An exception was Japan, where only 22% of people polled said China had a mainly positive influence.

Most Japanese respondents expressed no opinion, with only 25% saying China's role was negative.

The survey of 22,953 people was conducted for the BBC World Service by the polling organisation GlobeScan, together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland.

Steven Kull, director of Pipa, said: "It is quite remarkable that with its growing economic power, China is viewed as so benign, especially by its Asian neighbours."

"However, this cordial view... does appear to depend on China restraining itself from seeking to convert its burgeoning economic power into a threatening military presence."

Economic growth
In 17 of the 22 nations polled, more people thought China had a positive influence than a negative influence.

China came out favourably when the results were compared with similar surveys looking at the global influence of Russia and the US.

An average of 38% of respondents saw the US as having a positive influence, with just 36% saying the same for Russia.

Indeed China, at 48%, is almost on a par with Great Britain, which scored 50%.

China's growing economic power is also seen as positive in the majority of nations polled.

(MORE)