May 27, 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 MAY 27, 2005

1//The Pakistan Daily Times, Pakistan--CENTRIFUGES SENT TO IAEA, SAYS FO (Pakistan has sent centrifuge components to the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist its investigation of Iran’s nuclear programme, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani told the Geo news channel on Thursday. Jilani said that Pakistan had sent “old and discarded parts of centrifuges,” accompanied by Pakistani experts to the United Nations’ nuclear agency. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky in Vienna confirmed that the testing and analysis of Pakistani samples was underway. Diplomats said that the IAEA had received centrifuge components for testing that could help agency experts determine whether the traces of highly enriched uranium came in on black market equipment originating from Pakistan or was a result of activities within Iran. … . IAEA spokesperson Melissa Flemming told Geo news channel … that if no link was found between Iran and Pakistan’s nuclear programmes it would be ominous because it would raise suspicions that Tehran was enriching uranium on its own without reporting to the agency.)

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--REMAKING CENTRAL ASIA (Most major media outlets have spelled out with a profusion of details the "exact" events that led to the death of what some claim to have been hundreds of people in the eastern Uzbekistan town of Andijan on May 13. Led by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the world media condemned much-maligned Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov for yet another bloody and ruthless suppression of "public dissent". Yet, all the details so far provided do not explain who the real players were or their end objectives. It is certain, however, that the puzzle cannot be solved unless the London factor is understood. The answers lie in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Liverpool. The old British colonial establishment, with former intelligence officer Bernard Lewis as its mentor, appears to have set in motion a series of events that will bring endless bloodshed to Central Asia. London's objective would appear to be to keep both China and Russia under an open-ended threat. At this point, there is no one who can better serve this "Lewis Doctrine" than Muslims nurtured in Britain - the Hizbut-Tehrir [H].)

3//RIA Novosti (Russian News & Information Agency), Russia--OPINION & ANALYSIS: AZERBAIJAN: OIL PIPELINE, AMERICANS, WAHHABITES (Recently, the expansion of ties between Washington and Baku has become obvious. The opening on May 25 of the oil pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, by-passing Russia, is one of the best examples of the recent trend. According to many experts, this project bears clearly geopolitical rather than economic significance. It fits perfectly in the framework of other projects related to the US military presence in that strategically important region. … . However, the US expansion in the region might face an unexpected obstacle. It is well known that there is a fierce clash between the ruling regime and the secular opposition defending democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan. … . The Americans cooperate both with the official regime and the opposition in Azerbaijan, trying to avoid laying eggs in one basket. However, there is a "third force" in the country that gradually gains popularity. It unites representatives of radical Islam, popularly called wahhabites on post-Soviet territory. … .
It is a known fact that radical Islamists despise the US and the West in general not less than they despise authoritarian Muslim regimes. Therefore, the growing popularity of wahhabites in Azerbaijan might create serious problems both for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the plans of future military cooperation between Baku and the West.)

4//Inter Press Service News Agency Service, Italy--KURDS STILL WITHOUT GOVT AFTER JANUARY POLL (The two main Kurdish parties have still not reached agreement on setting up a regional government and parliament after elections held Jan. 30. In that election Kurds voted for the National Assembly and also for a 111-seat regional parliament. A coalition comprising the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won 104 seats in the parliament. … . The two parties set those differences aside for the purpose of contesting the election early this year. But the two parties failed to come together, despite the intervention of independent leaders. This has led to widespread public anger with both.)

5//DW-World.de/Deutsche Welle, Germany--GERMANY REDISCOVERS RELIGION (Some 400,000 people flocked to the city of Hanover Wednesday for the opening of the 30th annual German Protestant Convention -- a record number that reflects a renewed national interest in religious values. Despite the current turmoil in Berlin with the upcoming early elections, many of the country's leading politicians are present at the meeting, including Chancellor Schröder, SPD Chairman Franz Müntefering and opposition leader Angela Merkel -- all acutely aware that every public appearance now has immediate repercussions for the campaign. Featuring over 2,500 talks on topics ranging from globalization and social equality to spirituality and faith, this year's convention has made it its mission to blaze a trail for values designed to kick-start change in Germany. "The Protestant Church is based on values with a future," said the bishop of Hanover, Margot Kässmann. "Schröder, (President Horst) Köhler and Merkel have one thing in common - they are all Protestant. (The convention) gives them a platform to discuss the best way forward for our country.")

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1//The Pakistan Daily Times, Pakistan Friday, May 27, 2005
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-5-2005_pg1_2

CENTRIFUGES SENT TO IAEA, SAYS FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent centrifuge components to the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist its investigation of Iran’s nuclear programme, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani told the Geo news channel on Thursday.

Jilani said that Pakistan had sent “old and discarded parts of centrifuges,” accompanied by Pakistani experts to the United Nations’ nuclear agency. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky in Vienna confirmed that the testing and analysis of Pakistani samples was underway.

Diplomats said that the IAEA had received centrifuge components for testing that could help agency experts determine whether the traces of highly enriched uranium came in on black market equipment originating from Pakistan or was a result of activities within Iran. Last year, the disgraced chief of Pakistan’s nuclear programme Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed to supplying sensitive nuclear technology to Iran, as well as North Korea and Libya. Khan is accused of having operated an international black market in nuclear weapons technology. He was pardoned by President General Pervez Musharraf but now lives under house arrest.

Meanwhile in Bern, a report released by Swiss authorities claimed that AQ Khan’s clandestine network continued to operate last year even though its founder was under house arrest.

(SNIP)

Daily Times Monitor adds from Lahore: Pakistan has been very cooperative about nuclear proliferation issue and results of centrifuge parts provided by it will take some time, IAEA spokesperson Melissa Flemming told Geo news channel.

Flemming avoided answering whether a Pakistani was on the investigating team but said but praised Islamabad’s cooperation on the matter. She told the channel that if no link was found between Iran and Pakistan’s nuclear programmes it would be ominous because it would raise suspicions that Tehran was enriching uranium on its own without reporting to the agency.

2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong May 27, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GE27Ag01.html

REMAKING CENTRAL ASIA
By Ramtanu Maitra

Most major media outlets have spelled out with a profusion of details the "exact" events that led to the death of what some claim to have been hundreds of people in the eastern Uzbekistan town of Andijan on May 13. Led by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the world media condemned much-maligned Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov for yet another bloody and ruthless suppression of "public dissent". Yet, all the details so far provided do not explain who the real players were or their end objectives.

It is certain, however, that the puzzle cannot be solved unless the London factor is understood. The answers lie in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Liverpool. The old British colonial establishment, with former intelligence officer Bernard Lewis as its mentor, appears to have set in motion a series of events that will bring endless bloodshed to Central Asia. London's objective would appear to be to keep both China and Russia under an open-ended threat. At this point, there is no one who can better serve this "Lewis Doctrine" than Muslims nurtured in Britain - the Hizbut-Tehrir (HT).

Ferghana Valley's importance

The most significant aspect of the violent incident in Andijan is that it occurred in the Ferghana Valley, a confluence of three former Soviet republics - Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Andijan is located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, where the seed crystal for the March uprising against Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev was planted. Within a span of 48 hours after the uprising began in Osh, Akayev was gone.

Andijan is also about 25 miles east of Namangan, the hotbed of the Saudi-funded Wahhabi form of Islamic extremism. Juma Namangani, now dead, was the leader of the movement that began in Namangan. The Ferghana Valley's 7 million inhabitants make it the most densely populated region in Central Asia. In other words, Andijan is in the heart of Ferghana Valley, and is the key to controlling it.

For years, Central Asian governments have pointed to the valley as a hotbed of Muslim extremists aiming to set up an Islamic state in the region. Largely ethnically Uzbek, the valley is split between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in a confused patchwork of Soviet-era borders that often leave enclaves of one country surrounded by the territory of another. In general, Uzbekistan holds the valley floor, Tajikistan holds its narrow mouth and Kyrgyzstan holds the high ground around. Though the valley mouth is narrow, the actual valley is vast at 22,000 square kilometers (8,500 square miles), and the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains that rise above it are only dimly visible, but they are the main source of the water that fertilizes the valley.

During the Soviet era, the valley was a major center of cotton and silk production, and the hills above are covered by walnut forests. The valley also has some oil and gas. That scene has not changed much. What has changed significantly since the1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, is its integration with the "free world", and that process has made Central Asia economically decrepit and turned it into a hotbed of transnational Islamic militants, controlled and funded by outside forces. Recently, the Kyrgyz media reported of personnel of the country's border control services saying that the illegal entry of foreign nationals and individuals without any citizenship into Kyrgyzstan was on the rise. What is important to note is that these militants were not parachuted out of airplanes: they are coming through Afghanistan and Pakistan. It could very well be a ticking time bomb for India, China and Russia.

Footsoldiers of foreign powers

Apart from various Islamic preachers, two major Islamic groups function in the Ferghana Valley, whose common objective is to change the regimes in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. These are the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the HT. While the IMU openly thrives on violence, the HT is strongly promoted by the United Kingdom, where it is headquartered, as peaceful. But records indicate that that the IMU and the HT work hand-in-hand. Most of the IMU recruits are from the HT, according to Rohan Gunaratna, an expert on world terrorist outfits. Gunaratna claims that Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the US, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian of Chechen origin who has remained active in the Iraqi insurgency against the US occupying forces, were both once members of the HT.

(SNIP)

In 1979, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took over power in Iran and the West was in a quandary, Lewis sucked Brzezinski into his notion that "Koranic evangelism" could be a very useful political tool against Russia in the long term. His Time magazine story at the time, "The Crescent of Crisis", ended with the following telling observation:
In the long run there may even be targets of opportunity for the West created by ferment within the crescent. Islam is undoubtedly compatible with socialism, but it is inimical to atheistic communism. The Soviet Union is already the world's fifth largest Muslim nation. By the year 2000, the huge Islamic populations in the border republics may outnumber Russia's now dominant Slavs. From Islamic democracies on Russia's southern tier, zealous Koranic evangelism might sweep across the border into these politically repressed Soviet states, creating problems for the Kremlin ... Whatever the solution, there is a clear need for the US to recapture what [Henry] Kissinger calls the "geopolitical momentum". That more than anything else will help maintain order in the crescent of crisis.
The recent developments in Uzbekistan have all the hallmarks of the same process. This time the objective is to weaken China, Russia, and possibly India, using the HT to unleash the dogs of war in Central Asia. It is not difficult for those on the ground to see what is happening. The leader of the Islamic Party of Tajikistan, Deputy Prime Minister Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda, has identified HT as a Western-sponsored bogeyman for "remaking Central Asia". He said: "A more detailed analysis of HT's programmatic and ideological views and concrete examples of its activities suggests that it was created by anti-Islamic forces. One proof of this is the comfortable existence this organization enjoys in a number of Western countries, where it has large centers and offices that develop its concept of an Islamic caliphate." It is evident that Turajonzoda has seen through this game. But he has little capability to stop the juggernaut once it has been unleashed.

It is not a lack of understanding on the part of American neo-conservatives associated with the Bush administration, but their keenness to use the "Lewis Doctrine" to achieve what they believe is justified that promises untold danger. How important a brains-trust is Lewis to the neo-conservatives? Just read the words of Richard Perle, a leading neo-conservative who remains a close adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "Bernard Lewis has been the single-most important intellectual influence countering the conventional wisdom on managing the conflict between radical Islam and the West."

3//RIA Novosti (Russian News & Information Agency), Russia May 26, 2005 14:34
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050525/40413690.html

OPINION & ANALYSIS: AZERBAIJAN: OIL PIPELINE, AMERICANS, WAHHABITES
Alexei Makarkin, deputy director general of the Center for Political Technologies, for RIA Novosti

MOSCOW: Recently, the expansion of ties between Washington and Baku has become obvious.
The opening on May 25 of the oil pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, by-passing Russia, is one of the best examples of the recent trend. According to many experts, this project bears clearly geopolitical rather than economic significance. It fits perfectly in the framework of other projects related to the US military presence in that strategically important region.

From time to time, information leaks into the media about the US plans to deploy its military contingents in Azerbaijan. The sources hint at the possibility of "temporarily deploying mobile forces," which might stay in the region for a rather prolonged period. These forces are supposed to provide security for the pipeline and exert pressure on Iran and Russia.

Officials in Baku denied these rumors, although it does not mean Azerbaijan would not contemplate the possibility of talks on the issue. The Azeri Defense Ministry took a different position on another issue, though. It did not confirm or deny information about the possible creation of a military bloc consisting of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, a sort of NATO "subsidiary." Some sources assume Ukraine might become a member of the new alliance later.

(SNIP)

Such a development will certainly hurt Russia's interests. That is why Russia attempts to delay the withdrawal of its military bases from Georgia for as long as possible and receive guarantees that the US bases will not replace them in the future. Political risks for Armenia and Iran will increase as well. Armenia still remembers the Turkish genocide during World War I, and Iran remains a potential target of the US invasion.

However, the US expansion in the region might face an unexpected obstacle. It is well known that there is a fierce clash between the ruling regime and the secular opposition defending democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan. Recently, the police in Baku harshly dispersed an opposition meeting. Dozens of people were beaten unmercifully.

The Americans cooperate both with the official regime and the opposition in Azerbaijan, trying to avoid laying eggs in one basket. However, there is a "third force" in the country that gradually gains popularity. It unites representatives of radical Islam, popularly called wahhabites on post-Soviet territory.

The leader of Azeri Communists Ramiz Akhmedov directly accused the country's traditional Islamic leaders of supporting the growth of wahhabites' popularity. The problem is that these leaders start losing their authority among the believers and that, according to Akhmedov, forces people to search for "pure" Islam. Normally, their search leads them to the radical camp.

It is a known fact that radical Islamists despise the US and the West in general not less than they despise authoritarian Muslim regimes. Therefore, the growing popularity of wahhabites in Azerbaijan might create serious problems both for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the plans of future military cooperation between Baku and the West.

4//Inter Press Service News Agency Service, Italy May 26, 2005
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28833

KURDS STILL WITHOUT GOVT AFTER JANUARY POLL

ARBIL, Iraq, May 26 (IPS) - The two main Kurdish parties have still not reached agreement on setting up a regional government and parliament after elections held Jan. 30.

In that election Kurds voted for the National Assembly and also for a 111-seat regional parliament. A coalition comprising the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won 104 seats in the parliament.

Kurds had established their own regional and government under U.S. and British protection after rising against the Saddam Hussein regime in 1991 after the first Gulf War. But a civil war between the different Kurdish factions broke out in 1994.

Following the end of that war in 1997, the two parties set up their separate administrations, with the KDP controlling the Arbil and Dohuk governorates, and the PUK Sulaimaniya and parts of Kirkuk.

The two parties set those differences aside for the purpose of contesting the election early this year. But the two parties failed to come together, despite the intervention of independent leaders. This has led to widespread public anger with both.

Festering differences between the parties surfaced shortly before the first session of the regional parliament was due April 24. The differences arose over choice of president and the role of president.

The two parties differ over fundamental issues such as the relative powers of the prime minister and the president, whether the president must be elected by popular mandate or by parliament, and the length of his term.

The KDP wants the post of president to be functional rather than ceremonial, and that he should be elected by popular vote for a four-year term. The PUK does not share this view.

(SNIP)

By way of putting pressure on the parties, 17 newly elected Kurdish MPs threatened on May 17 that they will enter the parliament building Wednesday (May 25) and take their seats even if the parties fail to reach agreement. They say the differences should be settled in parliament itself.

But only two of the 17 turned up at the parliament building Wednesday.

”We want to tell people that we are ready to convene and as the elected candidates of the people we have a right to do so,” Nouri Talabani, regional parliament MP from Kirkuk told IPS. ”If they had put the issue before parliament, it would have been resolved earlier.”

While blaming one another for the deadlock, both parties say a solution is likely soon.

(SNIP)

Meanwhile the Kurdistan region remains in administrative limbo.

”Kurdistan is facing a crisis of legitimacy, since the two separate administrations of the major parties operate without the existence of a legislature,” local journalist Hawar Ahmad told IPS.

”Besides, don't forget that the role of the Kurdistan parliament has always been a symbolic one, and everything is settled at behind the scenes talks between leaders of the parties,” Ahmad said.

5//DW-World.de/Deutsche Welle, Germany 26.05.2005
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1596298,00.html

GERMANY REDISCOVERS RELIGION

Some 400,000 people flocked to the city of Hanover Wednesday for the opening of the 30th annual German Protestant Convention -- a record number that reflects a renewed national interest in religious values.

Despite the current turmoil in Berlin with the upcoming early elections, many of the country's leading politicians are present at the meeting, including Chancellor Schröder, SPD Chairman Franz Müntefering and opposition leader Angela Merkel -- all acutely aware that every public appearance now has immediate repercussions for the campaign.

Featuring over 2,500 talks on topics ranging from globalization and social equality to spirituality and faith, this year's convention has made it its mission to blaze a trail for values designed to kick-start change in Germany.

Countering "depression and pessimism"

" The Protestant Church is based on values with a future," said the bishop of Hanover, Margot Kässmann. "Schröder, (President Horst) Köhler and Merkel have one thing in common - they are all Protestant. (The convention) gives them a platform to discuss the best way forward for our country."

At the opening ceremony, Köhler said the event could help Germans gather strength for the social changes headed their way, while Convention President Eckardt Nagel proposed the event "take a stand against society's current depression and pessimism."

Born again?

One of the most striking aspects of this year's gathering is the large number of young participants. They said they're here to meet people and enjoy the convention's various side events.

The increased presence of the younger generation at this year's Protestant Convention could be part of a wider trend. Recently, the Church has observed an upsurge in religious fervor across society, most notably in the eastern states, where religion took a back seat during communist times.

(SNIP)

What Christianity really means

But even more people are leaving it. In 2003, some 1,424 people joined the Church, compared to 11,232 who turned their back on it. Even so, the situation's not as bad as it looks. 11 years previously, 43,508 people became lapsed Christians.

The Catholic Church is witnessing a similar trend. In the years following the fall of the Berlin wall, it saw the number of Church-leavers fall from 14,500 in 1990 to 3000 in 2002.

" A lot of religious communities are asking themselves what Christianity really means," Stefan Förner, spokesman with the Berlin Archbishopric, told the Morgenpost. One factor, he said, is the recent appointment of Pope Benedict XVI. "There was a rise of re-entries and conversions in the period just before and after his election."