March 30, 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 30, 2005

1//The Independent, UK--BLOW TO HOWARD AS ACTIVISTS BACK FLIGHT (Michael Howard failed in his attempt to end the turmoil in the Conservative Party over his decision to sack Howard Flight as a Tory MP. The crisis, which has derailed the Tories' general election campaign, deepened when senior local activists in Mr Flight's Arundel and South Downs constituency demanded that he be given the chance to address them before they accept his deselection. The MP had suggested at a private dinner last week that the Tories would cut spending by more than the £35bn they have admitted. … But senior Tories admitted privately that the continuing stand-off with Mr Flight, who is refusing to go quietly and was also sacked as a deputy chairman of the party, had put a question mark over Mr Howard's attempt to show strong leadership. "It's a shambles," said one shadow minister. "A week ago, we were setting the agenda in the election; now we look in disarray." … Ian McCartney, the Labour Party chairman, said the sacking of Mr Flight was a case of "unfair dismissal. He refused to say whether his party had been involved in taping Mr Flight's outspoken remarks and passing them to the press. "This is a desperate attempt at diversion by the Tory party and their friends in the Tory press. This is an attempt to divert us from the big issues," he said.)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--US SCATTERS BASES TO CONTROL EURASIA (The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia. Reports also make it clear that the decision to set up new US military bases was made during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Kabul last December. Subsequently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted the Pentagon diktat. Not that Karzai had a choice: US intelligence is of the view that he will not be able to hold on to his throne beyond June unless the US Army can speed up training of a large number of Afghan army recruits and protect Kabul. Even today, the inner core of Karzai's security is run by the US State Department with personnel provided by private US contractors. … Media reports coming out of the South Asian subcontinent point to a US intent that goes beyond bringing Afghanistan under control, to playing a determining role in the vast Eurasian region. In fact, one can argue that the landing of US troops in Afghanistan in the winter of 2001 was a deliberate policy to set up forward bases at the crossroads of three major areas: the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Not only is the area energy-rich, but it is also the meeting point of three growing powers - China, India and Russia.)

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon—U.S. TALKS WITH SYRIAN OPPOSITION GROUP DIVIDES DISSIDENTS (A State Department reception granted to a small U.S.-based Syrian opposition group last week has divided Syrian dissidents, with some expressing concern that Washington is lining up their country as the next candidate for regime change. The Reform Party of Syria (RPS) put out a statement in Beirut hailing its meeting Thursday with deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Elizabeth Cheney which it said had "had a galvanizing effect on the Syrian community as a whole. They realized the call for democracy in Syria is a matter being taken seriously at the highest levels of the Bush administration," said the statement. But the group's readiness to identify so openly with a U.S. administration which enforces unilateral sanctions against Syria was a step too far for several Damascus-based dissidents. … But pro-reform writer Michel Kilo expressed strong opposition. "We're struggling for democracy in Syria to make our country stronger in the face of the U.S. threat, not so that it is torn apart by the Americans.")

4//The News International, Pakistan--KASURI RULES OUT US ATTACK ON IRAN FROM PAK SOIL (Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri reiterated on Tuesday that Pakistan would never allow the use of its territory by a third country against the interests of Iran. "Our relations with Iran are growing as seen by the recent visit of the prime minister (to Iran) on February 22-25, 2005 during which a number of agreements in the economic and trading field were signed," he told a news conference at the State Guest House here. The foreign minister said the acquisition of F-16 fighter planes from the United States would not strain efforts to end decades of bitter relations with rival India. Kasuri said the jets would strengthen country’s defence and ensure a balance of power in South Asia.)

5//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--MEDIA CRIMES TO INCUR HEAVY PENALTIES (If the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) comes into force on April 1 without any changes, it will turn into a sort of April Fools joke for the media. In its current form a strict set of rules will tie the hands of the media, and journalists will face the threat of lengthy prison terms, in blatant disregard of the dictum that the punishment should fit the crime.)

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1//The Independent, UK 29 March 205
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=624489

BLOW TO HOWARD AS ACTIVISTS BACK FLIGHT
By Marie Woolf and Andrew Grice

Michael Howard failed in his attempt to end the turmoil in the Conservative Party over his decision to sack Howard Flight as a Tory MP.

The crisis, which has derailed the Tories' general election campaign, deepened when senior local activists in Mr Flight's Arundel and South Downs constituency demanded that he be given the chance to address them before they accept his deselection. The MP had suggested at a private dinner last week that the Tories would cut spending by more than the £35bn they have admitted.

Mr Howard tried in vain to end the row by launching his party's policies on child care. Instead he faced a barrage of questions about his sacked deputy chairman and, clearly embarrassed, cut short the press conference after there was not a single question about the party's childcare proposals. "I don't regret the decision that I took at all," he said. "I have made my position clear. I am sure that that will be appreciated in all quarters of the Conservative Party.

"It is about the suggestion that the Conservative Party is saying one thing before an election and intends to do something else afterwards. That is not the case. If you believe in honesty you have to act on it and that is why I took the very difficult decision I took on Friday."

But senior Tories admitted privately that the continuing stand-off with Mr Flight, who is refusing to go quietly and was also sacked as a deputy chairman of the party, had put a question mark over Mr Howard's attempt to show strong leadership. "It's a shambles," said one shadow minister. "A week ago, we were setting the agenda in the election; now we look in disarray."

David Mellor, a former Tory cabinet minister, said Mr Howard's treatment of Mr Flight was "outrageous, cruel and heartless" and that he was "ashamed" of his actions. "It is a silly mess all because Howard thought that he was going to prove he was a strong leader and, frankly, so far all he has managed to prove is that actually he is a rather fumbling and inept leader on this matter," he said. "To throw a man out of Parliament for having an intellectual argument is wrong."

Mr Howard now faces a trial of strength with the 2,000 members of Arundel and South Downs Conservative Association, one of the wealthiest and largest in the country. Baroness O'Cathain, its president, backed Mr Flight's call for an extraordinary meeting of the association to hear his case and said she felt "a grave injustice" has been done. Lady O'Cathain said many ordinary party members were deeply upset.

"It has come as a huge blow to the constituency. It is just disaster after disaster after disaster," she said. "They are going round like headless chickens. They are really in bereavement - grief status - because I don't think people realise just what a brilliant constituency MP Howard has been."

(SNIP)

Mr Flight, who is considering legal action, said he would abide by his local party's decision. "I have a loyalty to them, they selected me and they, if you like, dispose of me or keep me. I am advised that that is the correct constitutional position," he said.

Ian McCartney, the Labour Party chairman, said the sacking of Mr Flight was a case of "unfair dismissal." He refused to say whether his party had been involved in taping Mr Flight's outspoken remarks and passing them to the press. "This is a desperate attempt at diversion by the Tory party and their friends in the Tory press. This is an attempt to divert us from the big issues," he said.

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Mar 30, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GC30Ag01.html

US SCATTERS BASES TO CONTROL EURASIA
By Ramtanu Maitra

The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia.

Reports also make it clear that the decision to set up new US military bases was made during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Kabul last December. Subsequently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted the Pentagon diktat. Not that Karzai had a choice: US intelligence is of the view that he will not be able to hold on to his throne beyond June unless the US Army can speed up training of a large number of Afghan army recruits and protect Kabul. Even today, the inner core of Karzai's security is run by the US State Department with personnel provided by private US contractors.

Admittedly, Afghanistan is far from stable, even after four years of US presence. Still, the establishment of a rash of bases would seem to be overkill. Indeed, according to observers, the base expansion could be part of a US global military plan calling for small but flexible bases that make it easy to ferry supplies and can be used in due time as a springboard to assert a presence far beyond Afghanistan.

(SNIP)

Back on the base

When all is said and done, one cannot but wonder why the new military bases are being set up. Given that al-Qaeda is only a shadow of the past, the Taliban leaders are queuing up to join the Kabul government, and the US military is not interested in tackling the opium explosion, why are the bases needed?

A ray of light was shed on this question during the recent trip to Afghanistan by five US senators, led by John McCain. On February 22, McCain, accompanied by Senators Hillary Clinton, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham and Russ Feingold, held talks with Karzai.

After the talks, McCain, the No 2 Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was committed to a "strategic partnership that we believe must endure for many, many years." McCain told reporters in Kabul that America's strategic partnership with Afghanistan should include "permanent bases" for US military forces. A spokesman for the Afghan president told news reporters that establishing permanent US bases required approval from the yet-to-be-created Afghan parliament.

Later, perhaps realizing that the image that Washington would like to project of Afghanistan is that of a sovereign nation, McCain's office amended his comments with a clarification: "The US will need to remain in Afghanistan to help the country rid itself of the last vestiges of Taliban and al-Qaeda." His office also indicated that what McCain meant was that the US needs to make a long-term commitment, not necessarily "permanent" bases.

On March 16, General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said no decision had been reached on whether to seek permanent bases on Afghan soil. "But clearly we've developed good relationships and good partnerships in this part of the world, not only in Afghanistan," he added, also mentioning existing US bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

A military pattern

But this is mere word play. Media reports coming out of the South Asian subcontinent point to a US intent that goes beyond bringing Afghanistan under control, to playing a determining role in the vast Eurasian region. In fact, one can argue that the landing of US troops in Afghanistan in the winter of 2001 was a deliberate policy to set up forward bases at the crossroads of three major areas: the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Not only is the area energy-rich, but it is also the meeting point of three growing powers - China, India and Russia.

On February 23, the day after McCain called for "permanent bases" in Afghanistan, a senior political analyst and chief editor of the Kabul Journal, Mohammad Hassan Wulasmal, said, "The US wants to dominate Iran, Uzbekistan and China by using Afghanistan as a military base."

Other recent developments cohere with a US Air Force strategy to expand its operational scope across Afghanistan and the Caspian Sea region - with its vital oil reserves and natural resources: Central Asia, all of Iran, the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the northern Arabian Sea up to Yemen's Socotra Islands. This may also provide the US a commanding position in relation to Pakistan, India and the western fringes of China.

The base set up at Manas outside Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan - where, according to Central Asian reports, about 3,000 US troops are based - looks to be part of the same military pattern. It embodies a major commitment to maintain not just air operations over Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, but also a robust military presence in the region well after the war.

(MORE)

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, March 30, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition...

U.S. TALKS WITH SYRIAN OPPOSITION GROUP DIVIDES DISSIDENTS
Some fear Syria lined up for regime change

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

BEIRUT: A State Department reception granted to a small U.S.-based Syrian opposition group last week has divided Syrian dissidents, with some expressing concern that Washington is lining up their country as the next candidate for regime change.

The Reform Party of Syria (RPS) put out a statement in Beirut hailing its meeting Thursday with deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Elizabeth Cheney which it said had "had a galvanizing effect on the Syrian community as a whole."

"They realized the call for democracy in Syria is a matter being taken seriously at the highest levels of the Bush administration," said the statement.

But the group's readiness to identify so openly with a U.S. administration which enforces unilateral sanctions against Syria was a step too far for several Damascus-based dissidents.

The National Democratic Rally, an alliance of five banned opposition groups, said it opposed anyone "asking foreign parties to overthrow the regime."

"We're campaigning against a totalitarian system and for democratic change," its leader Hassan Abdel-Azim said.

"But at the same time we reject any aggression or occupation of our country," he said in allusion to the U.S.-led invasion of neighboring Iraq in 2003.

"Change is the responsibility of the national democratic opposition," he added.

Abdel Azim, leader of the Democratic Arab Socialist Union, a dissident group, criticized "certain people inside the regime" for resisting democratic reforms and so encouraging opponents like the RPS leader to "seek foreign support."

Leading human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni said he had no objection to the Washington meeting. "I'm in favor of any effort to halt human rights violations," he said.

But pro-reform writer Michel Kilo expressed strong opposition. "We're struggling for democracy in Syria to make our country stronger in the face of the U.S. threat, not so that it is torn apart by the Americans."

The RPS had called for a common front among all opposition groups, secular or religious, but had clearly foreseen the criticism from some quarters, alluding in its statement to the carping of a "government-supported opposition."

(SNIP)

The RPS was set up after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States to make a secular case for change in Syria, a country with a 42-year-old Baath party regime.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said Monday that last week's talks focused on "how can we support the Syrian people's desire for reform, for greater freedoms, for greater opportunity within the system that exists there now."

He dismissed suggestions that the session was part of American contingency planning in the event that the government of President Bashar Assad, under heavy pressure for its presence in Lebanon, might collapse.

(MORE)

4//The News International, Pakistan Wednesday March 30, 2005-- Safar 19, 1426 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/mar2005-daily/30-03...

KASURI RULES OUT US ATTACK ON IRAN FROM PAK SOIL

KARACHI: Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri reiterated on Tuesday that Pakistan would never allow the use of its territory by a third country against the interests of Iran.

"Our relations with Iran are growing as seen by the recent visit of the prime minister (to Iran) on February 22-25, 2005 during which a number of agreements in the economic and trading field were signed," he told a news conference at the State Guest House here.

The foreign minister said the acquisition of F-16 fighter planes from the United States would not strain efforts to end decades of bitter relations with rival India. Kasuri said the jets would strengthen country’s defence and ensure a balance of power in South Asia.

Kasuri’s comments came a day after Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the sale of the sophisticated aircraft would hurt ongoing efforts by the two countries to bury more than a half century of animosity.

"I am surprised by the Indian reaction," Kasuri said. "This is not at all in discord with the emerging thaw in relations with India," he said. "Pakistan is completely committed to the ongoing peace process with India, which we hope will lead to a resolution of all outstanding issues including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir."

Kasuri, however, said the decision to sell unlimited number of F-16s to Pakistan was yet another success of the country’s foreign policy. "The announcement of March 25, is also a sign of the acknowledgement by the international community of the responsible role that Pakistan is playing in the promotion of regional and global peace and security," he said.

The foreign minister the proposed sale may be seen as a part of the broader framework of our bilateral relationship. "We are working together to further strengthen and deepen our relations and transform them into a long-term engagement," he said, adding that this was also reflection of the high regard in which President Pervez Musharraf was held in the United States as well as by the broader international community.

Describing the F-16s sale to Pakistan as a major breakthrough, Kasuri pointed out that release of these aircraft to Pakistan had been a long outstanding demand of successive governments. Its release, as announced by the US, should be conceded by all in a bipartisan spirit as a major achievement of the government’s foreign policy.

As to the number of F-16s to be purchased, Kasuri said it was a little too early to give the exact number which would be inducted. "However, it has been made amply clear that there are no restrictions on the number. An unlimited number could be made available. The F-16s being made available would be the F-16s C and D models or the latest on the production line," he said.

However, Kasuri regretted that instead of rejoicing the victory achieved by Pakistan in the realm of foreign policy, some critics - just for the sake of levelling criticism - had stated that there was a deal that Pakistan would get F-16s and that in some indefinable way it could compromise its nuclear programme.

"Nothing can be farther from the truth. The nuclear and missile capacity is there to stay and literally tens of thousands of scientists and technicians have been working in this field for about 30 years at least - if not more," he said.

The programme, he said, was self-sufficient, had enough indigenous research and development built into it on a regular basis and was now self sustaining. It has reached a stage where there is a beginning to have a spin off in the civilian uses of this field as a result of the hard work of thousands of nuclear scientists.

"What we have to assure the international community is that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear power and that its strategic assets are in safe hands," he added. "For this purpose we have developed a strong command and control system and it has four civilian members in it - including himself and three other ministers as well as the prime minister, who is the vice-chairman, and the president, who is the chairman of the Command & Control Authority."

(MORE)

5//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey Tuesday, March 29, 2005
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=9419

MEDIA CRIMES TO INCUR HEAVY PENALTIES
Kemal Saydamer

ANKARA - TDN Parliament Bureau--If the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) comes into force on April 1 without any changes, it will turn into a sort of April Fools joke for the media. In its current form a strict set of rules will tie the hands of the media, and journalists will face the threat of lengthy prison terms, in blatant disregard of the dictum that the punishment should fit the crime.

The concept of insult unclear:

According to Turkish Daily News research the new TCK sets guidelines on the concept of insult. The concept of insult was defined using confusing terms that can be interpreted very broadly and could lead to controversial decisions. Such broad definitions will limit the media's room to maneuver. Prison terms, which start at six months, are increased by one-third if the crime was committed through the media.

Indirect identifications:

For example, if a journalist does not criticize the prime minister directly but rather identifies him as the prime minister of Patagonia, the person can be held liable for committing a crime. Such indirect limitations impose a sort of censorship on the media.

Broadening the definition of crime:

If there is an allegation that a journalist insulted a minister, the insult is recorded as being made against the entire Cabinet, allowing each minister to file a complaint against the journalist. The same thing is true for parliamentary deputies. An insult against a single deputy may result in all 550 deputies filing a complaint.

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