April 20, 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 20, 2005

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--THE WAXING OF THE SHI'ITE CRESCENT (Since the Islamic revolution took place in Iran in 1979, one of its prime objectives was to strengthen Shi'ites all over the Muslim world. Before that revolution, they were a disinherited, underprivileged and neglected community in Lebanon and Iraq. … After 25 years of underground struggle, this community succeeded in toppling Saddam, ironically, with the help of the US. The overthrow of Saddam, the newfound status of the Shi'ites in Iraq, their victory in the January 2005 elections, and the election of Jaafari were all well received in Tehran. They summed up what Iran had wanted in Iraq since 1979. Jaafari, who has been active in Shi'ite politics since 1968, raises hopes throughout the Muslim world that struggle, persecution and long years of banishment will not prevent the Shi'ites from rising to power in their respective communities, just like they did in Iran in 1979, and Iraq in 2003. A member of the pan-Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance, and a brother-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Jaafari's appointment as premier raises more than an eyebrow in the Arab world.)

2//Xinhua News Agency, China--PAKISTAN MILITARY DISPUTES US GENERAL'S REMARKS (Pakistani military Tuesday disagreed with remarks by a top US general in Afghanistan that Islamabad is planning to launch an operation against militants in its North Waziristan tribal region. "We decide for ourselves what needs to be done and when and where," a spokesman of the armed forces' Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement while commenting on the impression created by the remarks from commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lt. General David Barno. … It was reported that Barno told reporters that "We collectively feel that there is a need to undertake an operation in North Waziristan. That's an area where I think the Pakistani military is about to undertake a military operation to keep pressure on terrorist networks.")

3//The Moscow Times, Russia--UNITED RUSSIA GROUP CALLS FOR LIBERAL POLICIES (A group of influential United Russia politicians on Tuesday called for the party to adopt a more liberal platform in what appeared to be a move sanctioned by the Kremlin to form a liberal faction that could sideline existing liberal parties. Vladimir Pligin, chairman of the State Duma's Constitutional and State Affairs Committee, told a news conference that the party should adopt a clear liberal ideology based on "democratic values, civil liberty and the sovereignty of the state." He predicted that United Russia would get more than 35 percent of the vote in the 2007 Duma elections with such a program. … A senior Kremlin official said by telephone Tuesday that there was an understanding in the presidential administration that liberal ideas should be present in the national political spectrum. "And if these ideas are promoted by United Russia, they pose no potential danger for the Kremlin," he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing Kremlin rules on speaking to the press. … "Showing the people a fake discussion between United Russia's different ideological factions, the party of power will present this as a real political competition between real political parties," said Sergei Mitrokhin, a senior member of the Yabloko party. He added that such a move would also help the Kremlin to deflect growing criticism over not allowing opposition voices in the national media.)

4//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--CHINA MAKES SOME ROOM AT THE SUMMIT (In a change of China's position, the Premier, Wen Jiabao, has told the Prime Minister, John Howard, that Beijing will support Australia's membership of the East Asian Summit. Thirteen East Asian countries - plus India and New Zealand, but not Australia - have been invited to the inaugural meeting of the group in December. It is widely viewed as an important new forum for Asia's political and security affairs.  … China had maintained a studied neutrality on the question of Australia's membership. … The US is excluded from the summit and is seeking to be admitted as an observer. A White House official told the Herald last year that Beijing was seeking to turn the group into "a plaything of the Chinese.")

5//Inter Press Agency News Service, Italy--MPs DEMAND MORE BUDGETARY CONTROL FROM IMF AND BANK (Hundreds of members of parliaments around the world are calling on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, two institutions that lend billions of dollars every year, to roll back dozens of conditions they impose on borrowing countries and let local legislators have the final say in domestic economic policies. The appeal came on Saturday as the two institutions started their spring meetings in Washington under tight security. The parliamentarians called on the two organisations, known as the Bretton Woods institutions (BWI), and their principal shareholders within the industrialised nations ”to ensure that the democratically elected representatives of recipient nations are the final arbiters of all economic policies in their countries.” … The petition, the first of its kind, contends that poverty is better fought if policies have local backing and are under the control of sovereign parliaments. If adopted by the two public lenders, approval of PRSPs would shift from the boards of the Bank and Fund, where they are dominated by rich nations, to the national parliaments of recipient countries.)

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1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Apr 20, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GD20Ak01.html

THE WAXING OF THE SHI’ITE CRESCENT
By Sami Moubayed

DAMASCUS - Since the Islamic revolution took place in Iran in 1979, one of its prime objectives was to strengthen Shi'ites all over the Muslim world. Before that revolution, they were a disinherited, underprivileged and neglected community in Lebanon and Iraq.

This "Shi'ite emancipation" was first done in Lebanon, through the charismatic cleric Musa al-Sadr, who was funded and supported by the mullahs of Tehran in his "Movement of the Dispossessed" and its military branch, Amal, created in 1974 and 1975, respectively.

They later supported Hezbollah, a pure Iranian creation, that strove at first to establish a theocracy in Lebanon, similar to the one in Iran. In time, the role of Hezbollah became to defend the Shi'ite community in Lebanon, rather than bring them to power in Beirut, and safeguard their political rights in the complex confessional system of Lebanon.

In Iraq, the mullahs began to fund, train, protect and harbor Shi'ite dissidents opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein, where they were oppressed by the Sunni minority. Ibrahim Jaafari, the new prime minister, who is the de facto ruler of the new Iraq, spent the years 1980-89 as a fugitive in Iran.

After 25 years of underground struggle, this community succeeded in toppling Saddam, ironically, with the help of the US. The overthrow of Saddam, the newfound status of the Shi'ites in Iraq, their victory in the January 2005 elections, and the election of Jaafari were all well received in Tehran. They summed up what Iran had wanted in Iraq since 1979.

Jaafari, who has been active in Shi'ite politics since 1968, raises hopes throughout the Muslim world that struggle, persecution and long years of banishment will not prevent the Shi'ites from rising to power in their respective communities, just like they did in Iran in 1979, and Iraq in 2003. A member of the pan-Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance, and a brother-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Jaafari's appointment as premier raises more than an eyebrow in the Arab world.

(SNIP—detailed discussion of Shi’ites in specific Middle East countries)

There is a fear rapidly creeping throughout the Arab world from the rising Shi'ite influence in the Middle East.

Shi'ite resurgence?

Two years after the fall of Saddam's regime in Iraq, it is safe to ask: Who were the real victors in this bloody war of the Middle East in 2003? At first glance, the only victors were George W Bush and the neo-conservatives at the White House. A closer look would show, however, that Iran as well, ironically, has a lot to gain from the new Middle East.

Or more specifically, the real victors are the Shi'ites of Iran and the Muslim world. They will enjoy the fruits of the post-Saddam order long after Bush's army leaves Iraq. This region, many fear, is now dominated by a "Shi'ite crescent" uniting the Shi'ites of Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the Arab Gulf region.

Fear of this threat was first used by King Abdullah of Jordan in an interview with the Washington Post last December, arousing anger of the Shi'ite community in the Arab world. Actually, the fear of a "crescent" in this part of the world dates back to the 1950s, when Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Sa'id talked about a "fertile crescent" plan for the Middle East, to unite Iraq with Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, in a federal union to be ruled by the Hashemite family in Baghdad.

This plan, lobbied for extensively in Amman and Baghdad, was received with cold shivers in Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and Riyadh. The "crescent" remains, but players and roles have shifted over the past 50 years. Today's "crescent" is lobbied for extensively by its Iranian creator, and supported by Baghdad, parts of Beirut and Damascus, while it is being spurned in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait.

2//Xinhua News Agency, China 2005-04-19 22:58:02
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/19/content_2851810.htm

PAKISTAN MILITARY DISUPUTES US GENERAL’S REMARKS

ISLAMABAD, April 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistani military Tuesday disagreed with remarks by a top US general in Afghanistan that Islamabad is planning to launch an operation against militants in its North Waziristan tribal region.

"We decide for ourselves what needs to be done and when and where," a spokesman of the armed forces' Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement while commenting on the impression created by the remarks from commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lt. General David Barno.

Barno was in Islamabad Monday to discuss with Afghan and Pakistani sides how to cooperate closely in the fight against terrorism. He briefed a group of selected reporters on the meeting and disclosed the US forces prepare to undertake a spring offensive in Afghanistan while the Pakistani military will launch an operation in North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.

It was reported that Barno told reporters that "We collectively feel that there is a need to undertake an operation in North Waziristan. That's an area where I think the Pakistani military is about to undertake a military operation to keep pressure on terrorist networks."

(MORE)

3//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, April 20, 2005. Issue 3150. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/20/003.html

UNITED RUSSIA GROUP CALLS FOR LIBERAL POLICIES

By Francesca Mereu and Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writers

A group of influential United Russia politicians on Tuesday called for the party to adopt a more liberal platform in what appeared to be a move sanctioned by the Kremlin to form a liberal faction that could sideline existing liberal parties.

Vladimir Pligin, chairman of the State Duma's Constitutional and State Affairs Committee, told a news conference that the party should adopt a clear liberal ideology based on "democratic values, civil liberty and the sovereignty of the state." He predicted that United Russia would get more than 35 percent of the vote in the 2007 Duma elections with such a program.

"We want to widen the support for our party," he said, adding that the call for liberal policies would be further discussed at a party conference on Saturday.

Pligin was flanked at the news conference by a group of influential party members, including Duma deputies Andrei Makarov and Alexander Lebedev, the billionaire owner of the National Reserve Corporation, and Novgorod Governor Mikhail Prusak and Tver Governor Dmitry Zelenin.

"We think that the party lacks an ideology, but people believed in us and we cannot ignore this," Pligin said. "We ask our party colleagues to start an open party discussion and to come up with an ideology to present to our voters."

A senior Kremlin official said by telephone Tuesday that there was an understanding in the presidential administration that liberal ideas should be present in the national political spectrum.

"And if these ideas are promoted by United Russia, they pose no potential danger for the Kremlin," he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing Kremlin rules on speaking to the press.

(SNIP)

The politicians, who as United Russia members are usually outspoken in defense of President Vladimir Putin, criticized the government over policy but dodged questions on whether the party's liberal wing would support Putin.

They said that United Russia's electoral success had been due to Putin's high ratings, and that United Russia's popularity was falling.

Prusak, Zelenin and Lebedev called on the government not to hamper the development of the country's economy, which they said needed "good" reforms.

Liberal parties, on whose political turf the group appeared to be moving in on, accused United Russia of seeking to dominate political discussion in the media.

"Showing the people a fake discussion between United Russia's different ideological factions, the party of power will present this as a real political competition between real political parties," said Sergei Mitrokhin, a senior member of the Yabloko party.

He added that such a move would also help the Kremlin to deflect growing criticism over not allowing opposition voices in the national media.

Boris Nadezhdin, a senior member of the Union of Right Forces, said that United Russia was trying to accommodate all interest groups in an effort to retain its influence in the next Duma.

"Today they turned to the liberals, tomorrow they plan to create a social democratic faction, the day after tomorrow they will add a Nazi one," he said.

But were United Russia to make an ideological stand, it would have to begin answering unpleasant questions about its support for the Kremlin's authoritarian policies, Nadezhdin said.

(MORE)

4//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia April 20, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/China-makes...
CHINA MAKES SOME ROOM AT THE SUMMIT

By Peter Hartcher, International Editor in Beijing

In a change of China's position, the Premier, Wen Jiabao, has told the Prime Minister, John Howard, that Beijing will support Australia's membership of the East Asian Summit.

Thirteen East Asian countries - plus India and New Zealand, but not Australia - have been invited to the inaugural meeting of the group in December. It is widely viewed as an important new forum for Asia's political and security affairs.

The meeting is being hosted by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, with the strong encouragement of China.

China had maintained a studied neutrality on the question of Australia's membership.

(SNIP)

The US is excluded from the summit and is seeking to be admitted as an observer. A White House official told the Herald last year that Beijing was seeking to turn the group into "a plaything of the Chinese."

(SNIP)

A meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers this month decided that the grouping would only allow Australia to join if it signed ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Co-operation, which Mr Howard had previously rejected. He has since said he is reconsidering.

Yesterday Mr Howard told a Beijing business audience including China's Commerce Minister, Bo Xilai, that "Australia sees herself naturally and properly being part of evolving regional political arrangements and political structures."

As a joint feasibility study into a free trade agreement to be negotiated between the two countries was published yesterday, Mr Howard reiterated that the agreement would be "very complex." But he said that Australia would approach it with "a positive frame of mind and with great energy and commitment."

China's Government has been agitated at the recently negotiated rise in the price of iron ore from countries including Australia of 71.5 per cent. While Mr Howard said the matter was not raised with him, he indirectly addressed these concerns in his meeting with Mr Wen.

"I stressed the fact that commercial decisions were made by companies and not by governments," he said.

5//Inter Press Agency News Service, Italy April 18, 2005
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28344

MPs DEMAND MORE BUDGETARY CONTROL FROM IMF AND BANK

WASHINGTON, Apr 18 (IPS) - Hundreds of members of parliaments around the world are calling on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, two institutions that lend billions of dollars every year, to roll back dozens of conditions they impose on borrowing countries and let local legislators have the final say in domestic economic policies.

The appeal came on Saturday as the two institutions started their spring meetings in Washington under tight security.

The parliamentarians called on the two organisations, known as the Bretton Woods institutions (BWI), and their principal shareholders within the industrialised nations ”to ensure that the democratically elected representatives of recipient nations are the final arbiters of all economic policies in their countries.”

The two institutions were set up in Bretton Woods in the U.S. state of New Hampshire in 1944 following the Second World War to coordinate economic policies among the victors.

”It is vital that national parliaments in recipient nations have the right and obligation to be fully involved in the development and scrutiny of all measures associated with BWI activities within their borders, and hold the final power of ratification,” said the petition, signed by more than 800 members of parliament from around the world.

Traditionally IMF conditionalities have included devaluation of local currencies, deregulation of state-owned industry, tight public spending caps, liberalisation of trade and exchange controls, withdrawal of subsidies, and more protections for the private sector and multinational companies.

However, the IMF and the World Bank have also publicly voiced a commitment to ensuring that individual countries determine their own economic policies.

The IMF now says that it is streamlining the conditions attached to loans, and that progress on those policies was discussed at the weekend meetings.

But many economists from independent development groups and the parliamentarians who signed the appeal say that broad economic policies continue to be imposed by both the World Bank and IMF from their headquarters in Washington as conditions for receiving debt relief and new loans.

The boards of the two sister institutions retain veto power over all measures, including those in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), economic plans that borrowing nations must submit before they can obtain more loans.

The petition, the first of its kind, contends that poverty is better fought if policies have local backing and are under the control of sovereign parliaments.

If adopted by the two public lenders, approval of PRSPs would shift from the boards of the Bank and Fund, where they are dominated by rich nations, to the national parliaments of recipient countries.

(MORE)

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