April 13, 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 APRIL 13, 2005

1//The Daily Star, Lebanon--IRAN TO PROMOTE TOURIST POTENTIAL ON CNN (Iran, which long castigated the United States as the "Great Satan," is to promote its tourist potential on America's CNN television station and Britain's BBC, the country's vice president for tourism Hossein Marachi has revealed to AFP. Tense relations between Tehran and Washington will not stop Iran from exploiting its attractions on the U.S. cable network, said Marachi, who insists U.S. sanctions preventing American companies from trading with Iran "will not apply in this instance." Both BBC and CNN campaigns should start within two months under a one-year contract, the value of which Marachi did not disclose. … Tehran's aim is not to persuade Americans to visit the country, but to have an impact on the two networks' worldwide audiences so Iran can develop an industry, largely neglected given its potential.)

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK--TURKISH PRESIDENT SET FOR SYRIA VISIT IN DEFIANCE OF US PRESSURE (… "What can be said on Syria is that the international community is completely unanimous" on a Syrian withdrawal, US ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, said last month. "We hope Turkey will join the international community." Turkey supports a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but also says it wants to contribute to developing good neighborly ties in the conflict-torn Middle East. Edelman’s call, which came at a cool period in Turkish-US relations due to differences over Iraq, was largely interpreted as a warning for Sezer to drop plans to visit Damascus which Washington accuses of supporting terrorism. Sezer announced that he would go ahead with the visit, in a stance that has been hailed by his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. "Turkey denied other countries the opportunity to interfere in its decision. This is the most important side of this visit," he told Turkey’s CNN-Turk news channel in remarks translated to Turkish.)

3//Aljazeera.net, Qatar--US ‘WILL RISK’ MIDDLE EAST REFORMS (The US is prepared to accept the consequences of the democratic process that it has been fostering in the Middle East. Addressing a session on "elections and their consequences" at the US-Islamic World Forum at Doha, J Scott Carpenter, the American deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, reiterated US resolve to help pro-reform forces in the region. "At the task force meetings of this forum, many raised the question whether America is prepared to accept the consequences of democracy in the region. "The answer is yes," he said, indicating to the possibility of Islamist forces coming to power in Arab countries through democratic elections. … He said the US policy was not to interfere in every detail of the democratic process but only help the pro-reform forces in the region. Referring to the Arab Human Development Report, he spoke about three possible scenarios - the worst is maintaining the status quo while the ideal situation is people reforming themselves. … The third scenario is partnership of external actors in the peoples' initiative for reforms. "This is our view," he said.)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--HOUSE OF SAUD RE-EMBRACES TOTALITARIANISM
(… Through its actions against militants and close, behind-the-scenes cooperation with US, British and French intelligence services, the regime has convinced all but the most entrenched anti-Saudi voices in Washington that it is a crucial and reliable ally in the global "war on terrorism." Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto leader, is expected to meet with US President George W Bush at his Crawford, Texas ranch later this month, signaling the importance Bush continues to place on US-Saudi relations (notwithstanding the pre-election excitement over the issue). Partial elections for municipality councils, dismissed by the vast majority of Saudis as a waste of time and in which even many senior princes did not bother to set an example by voting, have meanwhile given other pro-al-Saud voices in the West - who often have links to Saudi-funded think-tanks and/or the arms and oil industries - an additional reason to champion the regime as a force for modernization and democratization. In reality, the opposite is true. The regime is not giving up power or changing its historically repressive domestic policies in the face of opposition, but - more predictably - closing ranks and reasserting its totalitarian rule.)

5//The Toronto Star, Canada--NO NEED TO WAIT FOR GOMERY: HARPER (Get ready for another June election. Conservatives eager to capitalize on the latest sensational sponsorship allegations and rosy poll numbers plan to force an election soon, party officials said today. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said strategists are looking at bringing down the minority Liberal government in mid-May, which would mean an election for late June. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was far more coy about his party's plans, but he hinted today that he wants to do battle sooner rather than later.)

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Tuesday, April 12, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition...

IRAN TO PROMOTE TOURIST POTENTIAL ON CNN
Tehran hopes to reach worldwide audiences in an attempt to develop the industry

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

TEHRAN: Iran, which long castigated the United States as the "Great Satan," is to promote its tourist potential on America's CNN television station and Britain's BBC, the country's vice president for tourism Hossein Marachi has revealed to AFP.

Tense relations between Tehran and Washington will not stop Iran from exploiting its attractions on the U.S. cable network, said Marachi, who insists U.S. sanctions preventing American companies from trading with Iran "will not apply in this instance."

Both BBC and CNN campaigns should start within two months under a one-year contract, the value of which Marachi did not disclose. Kevin Young, acting head of public relations for BBC World, said: "There have been long discussions about this and we're optimistic the campaign will be launched but it's not been finalised yet." He added that no actual starting date had been decided and the ads would only be shown on the state-funded broadcaster's semi-commercial BBC World.

"We would be looking at what we call a spot campaign, which is a straightforward commercial campaign for 30- or 60-second adverts that would appear for a period of six months." Spokesman Nigel Pritchard for CNN international in Atlanta said only: "We can't comment on commercial deals unless they are in place. There is no deal in place." Marachi said Iran would provide footage for the slots. They will show Iranian tourist sites. "You'll not see Friday prayers," he added with a smile.

Tehran's aim is not to persuade Americans to visit the country, but to have an impact on the two networks' worldwide audiences so Iran can develop an industry, largely neglected given its potential.

Global network campaigns will be followed by ads on local channels in 20 countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians living in the United States "will also be targeted and we will try to reach them via Iranian satellite channels" although American audiences are not currently a priority.

"The United States will be targeted later," he said.

However, said Marachi, "counter revolutionary" channels controlled by Iranian exiles, mostly broadcast from Los Angeles, will not be asked to show the ads.

According to Marachi, fewer than 500 Americans visit Iran every year.

(SNIP)

The Iranian visa application process is also complex and drawn out, as it is for Iranians wanting to visit the U.S.

Iran, which has an impressive but under-exploited array of cultural sites, wants to raise its current one million foreign visitors annually to 20 million in 20 years' time, said Marachi.

(SNIP)

"Tourism in Iran currently brings in $500 million a year and the aim is to reach $25 billion in 20 years' time," he said.

"From now on, foreign tourists can get a one-week visa on arrival at Tehran airport and this visa can be renewed once. In a month's time, you will be able to get a tourist visa over the Internet," said Marachi.

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK 12/04/2005
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6586

TURKISH PRESIDENT SET FOR SYRIA VISIT IN DEFIANCE OF US PRESSURE

ANKARA, April 12 (AFP) - 3h50 - Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer begins a two-day visit to neighbouring Syria on Wednesday, overriding pressure from the United States for Ankara to keep its distance from a country which Washington sees as a threat to the Middle East.

The April 13-14 visit, which has been long in the making, was originally expected to be the latest in a string of routine bilateral contacts between the two neighbours, but took on a different significance with the latest political upheaval in Lebanon.

As the international community issued call after call for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, the United States asked Turkey to side with its western allies.

"What can be said on Syria is that the international community is completely unanimous" on a Syrian withdrawal, US ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, said last month. "We hope Turkey will join the international community."

Turkey supports a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but also says it wants to contribute to developing good neighborly ties in the conflict-torn Middle East.

Edelman’s call, which came at a cool period in Turkish-US relations due to differences over Iraq, was largely interpreted as a warning for Sezer to drop plans to visit Damascus which Washington accuses of supporting terrorism.

Sezer announced that he would go ahead with the visit, in a stance that has been hailed by his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

"Turkey denied other countries the opportunity to interfere in its decision. This is the most important side of this visit," he told Turkey’s CNN-Turk news channel in remarks translated to Turkish.

According to Mustafa Aydin, an international relations expert at Ankara University, strong ties between Turkey and Syria are not against US interests as Washington pursues its campaign for a democratic and transparent Middle East.

"The United States has said it sees Turkey as an example for Middle Eastern countries with its democratic and secular regime. By explaining its progress to Syria, Turkey is actually fulfilling its part as a role model," Aydin said.

(SNIP)

Assad told CNN-Turk that he would discuss with Sezer the role of the United States and European countries in the region which he said was resembling "the colonial era."

"We can reduce the dangers to a minimum only if we act together. The dangers are threatening all of us.

"They started with Iraq, now they are threatening Syria and other countries... They are trying to interfere in Turkey’s affairs," he said.

Turkey and Syria have greatly improved their stormy ties since 1998, when they came to the brink of war over Ankara’s accusations that Damascus was sheltering separatist Kurdish militants fighting the Turkish government.

(SNIP)

"Syria is an extremely important neighbour for Turkey. Ankara wants close contact with Syria in order to keep Kurdish rebels in check and to have a supporter in its policy concerning Iraq," Aydin said.

(MORE)

3//Aljazeera.net, Qatar Wednesday 13 April 2005, 3:30 Makka Time, 0:30 GMT
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/31ADB105...

US ‘WILL RISK’ MIDDLE EAST REFORMS

The US is prepared to accept the consequences of the democratic process that it has been fostering in the Middle East.

Addressing a session on "elections and their consequences" at the US-Islamic World Forum at Doha, J Scott Carpenter, the American deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, reiterated US resolve to help pro-reform forces in the region.

"At the task force meetings of this forum, many raised the question whether America is prepared to accept the consequences of democracy in the region.

"The answer is yes," he said, indicating to the possibility of Islamist forces coming to power in Arab countries through democratic elections.

US policy

"We didn't interfere in the election results in Iraq. The person who has now been elected president is an Islamist," Scott said in reply to a query from the audience about the US stance towards groups like Hamas and Hizb Allah.

He, however, added that it was the people who will decide whether they should be ruled by groups talking with weapons or those who are actually supporting democracy.

He said the US policy was not to interfere in every details of the democratic process but only help the pro-reform forces in the region. Referring to the Arab Human Development Report, he spoke about three possible scenarios - the worst is maintaining the status quo while the ideal situation is people reforming themselves.

"We will be very happy if Mubarak of Egypt one day wakes up from his sleep and decide to hold democratic elections in his country," he said, indicating that such a scenario is not likely to happen. The third scenario is partnership of external actors in the peoples' initiative for reforms. "This is our view," he said.

(MORE)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Apr 12, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GD12Ak01.html

HOUSE OF SAUD RE-EMBRACES TOTALITARIANISM
By John R Bradley

Residents of the tiny provincial capital of Saudi Arabia's northernmost province last week witnessed a grisly scene in the main public square: the corpses of three militants tied to poles, on top of which were placed their severed heads. The three - who returned to the kingdom after fighting in Afghanistan - were beheaded in Sakaka, the capital of al-Jouf province, after being convicted of murdering the region's deputy governor, a top religious court judge and a police chief. They also killed a Saudi soldier, and kidnapped a foreign national.

At its height in 2003, the unrest had seemed to represent in microcosm the kingdom-wide tensions that threatened to spill over into a general uprising. The rebellion's end, then, with the crudely symbolic public display of its leaders' heads on poles, could now likewise be seen as marking the al-Saud's triumph over the most extreme of its homegrown enemies - at least for now.

The al-Saud regime appears to have got the upper-hand in its battle with radical Islamists. Al-Qaeda's suspected chief in Saudi Arabia, Saleh al-Aoofi, was reportedly among at least 16 militants killed last week in three days of fierce gun battles with security forces in the north of the kingdom. Another two of the 26 most-wanted terrorists were confirmed killed in that and another clash in the capital Riyadh, leaving only three from the list still at large.

That small-scale rebellion in al-Jouf, along with a prison riot and a rare public demonstration in support of the Palestinians, occurred in a region that is a power base of the al-Sudairy branch of the al-Saud ruling family. The branch, known as the "Sudairy Seven," includes King Fahd and his six full brothers, who hold most of the key government posts. Saudi officials admitted in January last year that the rebellion's three leaders had attracted the support of dozens of locals. At one stage, perhaps fearing an explosion of violence or even a popular uprising, some 8,000 soldiers from the National Guard were deployed in the nearby city of Tabuk.

Through its actions against militants and close, behind-the-scenes cooperation with US, British and French intelligence services, the regime has convinced all but the most entrenched anti-Saudi voices in Washington that it is a crucial and reliable ally in the global "war on terrorism." Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto leader, is expected to meet with US President George W Bush at his Crawford, Texas, ranch later this month, signaling the importance Bush continues to place on US-Saudi relations (notwithstanding the pre-election excitement over the issue). Partial elections for municipality councils, dismissed by the vast majority of Saudis as a waste of time and in which even many senior princes did not bother to set an example by voting, have meanwhile given other pro-al-Saud voices in the West - who often have links to Saudi-funded think-tanks and/or the arms and oil industries - an additional reason to champion the regime as a force for modernization and democratization.

In reality, the opposite is true. The regime is not giving up power or changing its historically repressive domestic policies in the face of opposition, but - more predictably - closing ranks and reasserting its totalitarian rule. Emboldened by its success in the domestic "war on terror," which got under way only after their rule was directly threatened, the al-Saud is flexing its other muscles so that the masses, too, are left in no doubt that it is back in total control. As with other Arab regimes, it is using the "war on terror" to silence all dissent, but in ways that have peculiar Saudi characteristics.

(SNIP)

The kingdom now has an estimated US$60 billion budget surplus, and has announced massive new infrastructure projects. Flush with cash, the regime again seems to be resorting to the tried and tested, following the strategy of spending ostentatiously to keep the people happy or satisfied, or at least not dissatisfied, just as had been the case in the oil boom years of the 1970s. Once again, it wants to be seen as the goose laying the golden egg. But it is fool's gold.

The regime has always sought to buy the loyalty of the Saudi people by providing a cradle-to-grave welfare system, and crush all those who refused to play the game. But by once again dealing with the symptoms and not the causes, the regime is merely tightening the lid on a pressure cooker in an attempt to delay the inevitable. And what worked in the 1970s, with a population of less than 10 million, will not work with a population of 24 million.

The hoped-for stability is therefore delusional in a country where underlying social and economic problems are not being addressed, and to where thousands of Saudi jihadis will return in due course from neighboring Iraq. Indeed, unconfirmed reports on Islamist websites say dozens of Saudi jihadis have returned to the kingdom from Iraq in recent months specifically to plan a fresh wave of attacks against the oil industry, following an unprecedented call by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden last December for just such attacks.

All the talk now on Islamist websites is about the remarkably vulnerable Saudi oil pipeline network. It is not a matter of if, but when, those attacks start to take place, in a second wave of violence that will once again punish the al-Saud regime for burying its head in the oil-rich sand.

5//The Toronto Star, Canada Apr. 12, 2005. 04:26 PM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer...

NO NEED TO WAIT FOR GOMERY: HARPER
Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Get ready for another June election.

Conservatives eager to capitalize on the latest sensational sponsorship allegations and rosy poll numbers plan to force an election soon, party officials said today.

One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said strategists are looking at bringing down the minority Liberal government in mid-May, which would mean an election for late June.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was far more coy about his party's plans, but he hinted today that he wants to do battle sooner rather than later.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has urged the Conservatives to hold off forcing an election until Justice John Gomery issues his final report on the sponsorship scandal, expected by December.

But Harper suggested voters don't need to wait that long.

"Canadians don't need to form the kind of judgments Mr. Justice Gomery is going to form," he said after a speech to a real estate group.

"Justice Gomery has to make decisions about potential prosecutions, about criminality. Frankly, the standards of the electorate are a lot higher than that."

Harper has said he wants to take the next few weeks to talk to voters to see whether they want an election. He's also sure to be eyeing the polls.

Three polls released today suggest Liberal support plunged after damaging allegations at the federal sponsorship inquiry late last week.

A survey by Decima Research put the Liberals and Conservatives in a statistical dead heat, with the Tories favoured by 32 per cent of respondents compared to 31 per cent for the Grits.

A week earlier, Decima pollsters had the Liberals out in front by a nine-point margin.

An Ipsos-Reid poll put the Conservatives at 30 per cent and the Liberals at 27 per cent.

A Leger survey had the Tories ahead with 34 per cent support compared to 31 per cent for the Liberals.

All three polls were conducted after the release of devastating testimony by former Montreal ad executive Jean Brault who alleged kickbacks to Liberal officials in relation to the sponsorship program.

Decima CEO Bruce Anderson said such a dramatic shift in public opinion is unusual. And he said the direct linkage between Canadian opinion and the corruption allegations at the sponsorship inquiry is also out of the ordinary.

The first attempt to bring down the Liberals had been expected to come Thursday with a Bloc Quebecois motion of non-confidence in the government.

(SNIP)

In a speech to the Canadian Real Estate Association, Harper sounded like a man on the campaign trail.

"We must go beyond the Liberal party in replacing the Liberal government," he said.

"A Conservative government will make better accountability and efficient management of public funds a national priority.

"We're going to strengthen the internal audit and controllership functions of government. We'll ensure that program delivery matches the intent of the program, that spending is measured against objectives."

(MORE)