August 10, 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 AUGUST 10, 2005

1//The Daily Star, Lebanon--U.S. MULLS VISA BAN FOR IRANIAN PRESIDENT (The United States mulled the unprecedented step of refusing Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad a visa to attend next month's UN General Assembly, the State Department said. Deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said the U.S. was looking at the visa request by Ahmadinejad in light of allegations he might have been involved in the 1979 seizure of U.S. diplomats in Tehran. The U.S. is obliged to permit world leaders to attend UN meetings at the organization's headquarters in New York. UN officials confirmed no visa had ever been refused for a head of state. … Tehran slammed Washington for threatening to reject the visa. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said: "We hope the Americans will not make such a big mistake. If the Americans cannot host the UN guests, they do not deserve to have the UN headquarters in their country.")

2//Global Politician, US--THE KINGS OF ASIA ARE GATHERING: BUT WHY? (In July, permanent members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, met in the Kazakh capital of Astana to discuss matters of mutual importance which included trade, energy, security and technology cooperation. A growing number of Western observers, however, fear that the SCO is less a cooperative arrangement and more a modern day "Warsaw Pact," determined to reduce U.S. global influence and confront what is perceived as growing Western expansionism in Central Asia and the Middle East. The addition of India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia as "observers" to the SCO, coupled with the abrupt rejection of U.S. requests for observer status, raise important questions concerning the organization's long-term strategic goals and vision. In short, is the SCO merely a union of independent member countries with mutual interests, or a military confederacy designed to eventually confront the U.S.? … If an attack by the SCO on U.S. forces stationed in Central Asia and the Middle East did occur, the combined armies of China, Russia, and Iran would provide a formidable adversary. Add India, Pakistan and several smaller Central Asian states into the fray and you have all the necessary ingredients of an unparalleled military conflict. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently boasted, "The organization [SCO] now represents half of all humankind" This was not merely a factual statement; rather, it was meant as a direct challenge to U.S. superiority. The military threat from the SCO becomes increasingly legitimate when we consider that even after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) completes its current downsizing of 200,000 men; it will still have a standing army of approximately 2.3 million men with another 10 million men available from its organized militia.)

3//The Independent, UK--MERKEL VICTORY IN DOUBT AS GAFFES ERODE SUPPORT (The German conservative leader Angela Merkel's chances of becoming the country's first woman Chancellor appear to have weakened dramatically after opinion polls predicted she could no longer bank on winning this autumn's general election with an absolute majority. … Despite an extensive image overhaul, Mrs Merkel has lost ground to Mr Schröder because of weak television interviews, a confusing election programme and embarrassing slip-ups over terminology. Last week, Mrs Merkel was criticised in the media for confusing net and gross income figures during a campaign speech. She was also made to appear no match for Mr Schröder after she refused to take part in more than one American-style television debate with the Chancellor. By contrast, Mr Schröder has appeared frequently on prime-time television to answer questions from political and business critics, the jobless and other aggrieved members of the public. He has appeared convincing despite his government's abysmal record on tackling unemployment.)

4//The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines--ARROYO PRESSED TO TAKE LEAVE FOR IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should take a leave of absence when the House of Representatives starts deliberating on the impeachment complaints against her, a Catholic Church leader said Tuesday, adding his voice to similar calls made by the opposition. In his homily during a mass for "truth and justice" at the Batasan Pambansa, in Quezon City, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias also urged the President to ask her allies in Congress not to obstruct the proceedings. "If I were the President, it's so easy [to] be great," Tobias said. "The call to greatness on her part is to allow this process without any suspicion and without any obstruction of justice or truth." He said the President could ask her allies in the House of Representatives not to obstruct the impeachment process to dispel insinuations of attempts to scuttle the case. … Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo said the President must answer three issues in the impeachment proceedings -- the allegation that she cheated in the last presidential election; the involvement of her family in "jueteng;" and how rotten our political system is.)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--NEWS CORP. FACES RIVAL BID FOR REN-TV STAKE (Ren-TV, the last national television network known for independent news coverage, could soon be at the center of a bidding war, after its founders joined News Corp. in the race to buy a stake in the channel. The founders, Irena Lesnevskaya and Dmitry Lesnevsky, are negotiating to buy back shares in the channel just a month after they sold their 30 percent stake, said a spokesman for Ren-TV and an executive at the channel's majority owner, steel giant Severstal Group. News Corp. executives held talks with Severstal last Monday about buying a 35 percent stake in Ren-TV, which broadcasts to over 700 cities and towns. If successful, a News Corp. bid for Ren-TV would mark the first time the global media empire has been able to get a serious foothold in Russian television. In 2002, its overtures for a stake in the satellite arm of Gazprom's NTV network, NTV-Plus, were turned down. … Ownership of Ren-TV, which is well-known for its probing, Western-style news coverage, has just changed hands. Last month, both of the channel's shareholders sold their shares. State-owned Unified Energy Systems sold its 70 percent stake in the channel to Severstal, while the Lesnevskys sold their 30 percent to Germany's RTL Group. Reports said that the Kremlin had pushed UES into selling the stake because it feared the channel could provide support for a rival liberal candidate in the 2008 presidential elections. UES's chief Anatoly Chubais is the founder of liberal party Union of Right Forces and has often quietly pursued a political line at odds with the Kremlin.)

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, August 10, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article...

U.S. MULLS VISA BAN FOR IRANIAN PRESIDENT
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

The United States mulled the unprecedented step of refusing Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad a visa to attend next month's UN General Assembly, the State Department said.

Deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said the U.S. was looking at the visa request by Ahmadinejad in light of allegations he might have been involved in the 1979 seizure of U.S. diplomats in Teheran.

The U.S. is obliged to permit world leaders to attend UN meetings at the organization's headquarters in New York. UN officials confirmed no visa had ever been refused for a head of state.

(SNIP)

But Ereli said that in reviewing the Iranian president's request, the Americans were "also taking into consideration previous activities with respect to hostage-taking."

Five former U.S. hostages have identified Ahmadinejad as an active participant in the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran by radical students who held 52 diplomats captive for 444 days.

Tehran slammed Washington for threatening to reject the visa. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said: "We hope the Americans will not make such a big mistake. If the Americans cannot host the UN guests, they do not deserve to have the UN headquarters in their country."

2//Global Politician, US 8/8/2005
http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes...

THE KINGS OF ASIA ARE GATHERING: BUT WHY?
Frederick Stakelbeck, Jr

In July, permanent members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/sco/t57970.htm, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, met in the Kazakh capital of Astana to discuss matters of mutual importance which included trade, energy, security and technology cooperation.

A growing number of Western observers, however, fear that the SCO is less a cooperative arrangement and more a modern day "Warsaw Pact," determined to reduce U.S. global influence and confront what is perceived as growing Western expansionism in Central Asia and the Middle East. The addition of India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia as "observers" to the SCO, coupled with the abrupt rejection of U.S. requests for observer status, raise important questions concerning the organization's long-term strategic goals and vision.

In short, is the SCO merely a union of independent member countries with mutual interests, or a military confederacy designed to eventually confront the U.S.?

A Timetable for U.S. Troop Withdraw

In July, the SCO urged the U.S. to set a deadline for the withdrawal of troops from its member countries in light of what the organization viewed as a decline in fighting in Afghanistan. U.S. bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have been in existence since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and have proved to be valuable assets in the war on terror.

However, the conciliatory relationship that signified the early days of the U.S. presence in Central Asia is quickly changing. Chinese President Hu Jintao noted in July, "The fate of Central Asian countries is in their own hands and they are wise and capable enough to sort out their domestic problems on their own."

Some U.S. leaders view the recent SCO request for the withdraw U.S. troops as the result of China and Russia bullying its smaller, less-experienced members. In July, a high ranking Russian official flatly rejected accusations made by U.S. General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russia and China were behind such requests, "As is well known, all decisions made within the framework of the SCO are consensus based and reflect the collective opinion of all the member countries," the official said.

A Disturbing Triad - China, Russia and Iran

In the past, Iran, Russia and China have made numerous independent statements regarding their displeasure with what they perceive as U.S. encroachment in Central Asia and the Middle East. But recently, their actions and rhetoric have become more coordinated and targeted. At a June meeting in Moscow, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a bilateral statement entitled, "World Order in the 21st Century," that warned against attempts by "outside forces" to dominate global affairs and opposition to attempts to "impose models of social and political development from outside."

Both leaders renewed their call for the development of a "multipolar world" calling on countries to "renounce striving for monopoly and domination in international affairs and attempts to divide nations into leaders and those being led." Many observers view the joint statements as a clear warning to Washington that perceived American unilateralism has become increasingly unacceptable.

Adding to Western suspicions surrounding the SCO, its two key members, Russia and China, continue to foster close military ties. China has accelerated its purchase of advanced Russian fighters, unmanned aircraft, long and short-range missiles, sophisticated submarines and guided-missile destroyers as part of their ongoing military modernization program.

In addition, Russia recently tested a new anti-ship weapon, a modified Raduga Kh-59 launched from an SU-30MK2 aircraft, which they hope to sell to China. The new missile is specifically designed to attack large naval targets such as U.S. carriers. "The Raduga Kh-59 is a serious story that is just beginning," stated Robert Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Later this month, the first ever combined China-Russia bilateral military maneuvers dubbed "Peace Mission 2005" are scheduled to take place in the coastal Chinese province of Shandong and in the Russian Far East. In an unexpected move that seems to support assertions of greater military cooperation, China and Russia invited the defense ministers of the SCO observer countries to watch the joint military exercises. The exercises will include over 10,000 army, navy marine, airborne and logistics units.

The most blatant expression of anti-American sentiment and overt hostility by an SCO member came in July when Chinese General Zhu Chenghu, a professor at China's National Defense University, threatened nuclear war if the U.S. attacked China over Taiwan. "If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons. If the Americans are determined to interfere, we will have to respond." Regrettably, condemnation of the General's outrageous comments from SCO member and observer countries never materialized.

Realizing the importance of a strong Middle East ally in the SCO, Moscow, with the blessing of Beijing, has made Iran a high organizational priority. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Gholam-Reza Ansari met in July to discuss the importance of Iran's membership in the SCO. The Iranian ambassador indicated that he hoped the SCO would manage to play an active role in "settling" regional issues. This, in addition to Moscow's continued assistance in the construction of the controversial Bushehr nuclear reactor and its promise to build an additional six reactors, present a national security threat to the U.S. and its allies.

A Military Showdown with the U.S.?

Could the SCO mount a coordinated military assault on U.S. armed forces based in Central Asia and Middle East?

(SNIP)

If an attack by the SCO on U.S. forces stationed in Central Asia and the Middle East did occur, the combined armies of China, Russia, and Iran would provide a formidable adversary. Add India, Pakistan and several smaller Central Asian states into the fray and you have all the necessary ingredients of an unparalleled military conflict. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently boasted, "The organization [SCO] now represents half of all humankind." This was not merely a factual statement; rather, it was meant as a direct challenge to U.S. superiority.

The military threat from the SCO becomes increasingly legitimate when we consider that even after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) completes its current downsizing of 200,000 men; it will still have a standing army of approximately 2.3 million men with another 10 million men available from its organized militia.

Could the PLA be streamlining its ground forces to prepare for a unified land-based attack against U.S. forces using the threat of a Taiwan invasion as a diversion? Having closely studied the U.S. armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Chinese now believe that to engage a technologically dominant U.S. force, they too will need a well-trained and well-equipped army.

In addition to being grossly outnumbered in terms of manpower by the SCO member countries, a U.S. army report released in July noted that U.S. troop morale in Iraq and Afghanistan is extremely low and psychological stress is weighing heavily on National Guard and Reserve troops – a key component of the U.S. force.

Does a powerful China-Russia-Iran triad now believe an opportunity to move against the U.S. has surfaced?

(MORE)

3//The Independent, UK Published: 09 August 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article304639.ece

MERKEL VICTORY IN DOUBT AS GAFFES ERODE SUPPORT
By Tony Paterson in Berlin

The German conservative leader Angela Merkel's chances of becoming the country's first woman Chancellor appear to have weakened dramatically after opinion polls predicted she could no longer bank on winning this autumn's general election with an absolute majority.

A survey conducted by Germany's Infratest Dimap organisation showed that Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats and their prospective liberal Free Democrat coalition partners would win only 48 per cent of the vote in the September election. It is the first poll to show Mrs Merkel's coalition falling short of a majority since she announced her decision to run for Chancellor.

Yesterday's poll showed the conservatives and liberals were running neck and neck with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's ruling Social Democrats and Greens and the country's recently formed radical left-wing "Left Party", which were also predicted to win a combined total of 48 per cent.

The survey's finding ended nearly two months in which Germany's conservative CDU had maintained a seemingly unassailable lead over its competitors and appeared on track to win the election. The bad news was compounded at the weekend by other polls which showed that more than 50 per cent of Germans would not welcome a change of government after the elections and that in a straight choice for the job of Chancellor, irrespective of party, Mr Schröder remained the clear favourite by 8 per cent.

Despite an extensive image overhaul, Mrs Merkel has lost ground to Mr Schröder because of weak television interviews, a confusing election programme and embarrassing slip-ups over terminology.

Last week, Mrs Merkel was criticised in the media for confusing net and gross income figures during a campaign speech. She was also made to appear no match for Mr Schröder after she refused to take part in more than one American-style television debate with the Chancellor. By contrast, Mr Schröder has appeared frequently on prime-time television to answer questions from political and business critics, the jobless and other aggrieved members of the public. He has appeared convincing despite his government's abysmal record on tackling unemployment.

His coalition still has little chance of being re-elected in September. Prospects for both parties, in particular the SPD, have suffered dramatically since the emergence of the Left Party headed by "Red" Oskar Lafontaine, the renegade former SPD leader and ex-German finance minister.

(SNIP)

The realisation, that the SPD's only realistic chance of remaining in office after the election may lie in a joint administration with the conservatives, prompted calls by leading members of Mr Schröder's government yesterday for a grand coalition government with the CDU. Predictably, these suggestions were angrily dismissed yesterday by Germany's smaller parties, which would stand to lose most from a grand coalition. Mr Schröder and Mrs Merkel also rejected debate on the issue as premature. However, some observers said that if the Left Party gained seats in parliament after the election a grand coalition would be unavoidable.

(MORE)

4//The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines Aug 09, 2005 Updated 04:02pm (Mla time)
http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/...

ARROYO PRESSED TO TAKE LEAVE FOR IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
Maila Ager, INQ7.net

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should take a leave of absence when the House of Representatives starts deliberating on the impeachment complaints against her, a Catholic Church leader said Tuesday, adding his voice to similar calls made by the opposition.

In his homily during a mass for "truth and justice" at the Batasan Pambansa, in Quezon City, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias also urged the President to ask her allies in Congress not to obstruct the proceedings.

"If I were the President, it's so easy [to] be great," Tobias said. "The call to greatness on her part is to allow this process without any suspicion and without any obstruction of justice or truth."

He said the President could ask her allies in the House of Representatives not to obstruct the impeachment process to dispel insinuations of attempts to scuttle the case.

"Anyway, people will still doubt her own sincerity," he said." "And so she says, 'all right let the impeachment come in so that I will not be suspected of obstructing, let me go on a leave of absence and let the rule of law takes its course.'"

"If the President heeds this, the House of Congress must limit the time frame. My proposal is two months to finish this," he stressed.

The prelate likewise appealed to the opposition to be quiet once the proceeding starts "to allow the real course of the rule of law to once again reign" in the country.

"Am I asking too much, my dear President? Or am I dreaming? Am I asking too much our public servants...or you're also hiding your own agenda?" Tobias asked.

Pro-impeachment lawmakers who attended the mass also offered 80 roses -- one for Speaker Jose de Venecia and the rest for those who would support the impeachment move.

Lead prosecutor Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan admitted that impeaching the President was a difficult task since it required not only determination but "a normal complete absence of thought with consequences."

"But it's important that we do this and we do this consciously and with full knowledge of [the] consequences," he said in his speech after the mass.

(SNIP)

Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo said the President must answer three issues in the impeachment proceedings -- the allegation that she cheated in the last presidential election; the involvement of her family in "jueteng;" and how rotten our political system is.

Ocampo noted that since the President delivered her State of the Nation Address last July 25, she had not directly answered these questions.

5//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, August 10, 2005. Issue 3227. Page 5.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/10/041.html

NEWS CORP. FACES RIVAL BID FOR REN-TV STAKE
By Catherine Belton, Staff Writer

Ren-TV, the last national television network known for independent news coverage, could soon be at the center of a bidding war, after its founders joined News Corp. in the race to buy a stake in the channel.

The founders, Irena Lesnevskaya and Dmitry Lesnevsky, are negotiating to buy back shares in the channel just a month after they sold their 30 percent stake, said a spokesman for Ren-TV and an executive at the channel's majority owner, steel giant Severstal Group.

News Corp. executives held talks with Severstal last Monday about buying a 35 percent stake in Ren-TV, which broadcasts to over 700 cities and towns.

If successful, a News Corp. bid for Ren-TV would mark the first time the global media empire has been able to get a serious foothold in Russian television. In 2002, its overtures for a stake in the satellite arm of Gazprom's NTV network, NTV-Plus, were turned down.

Ownership of Ren-TV, which is well-known for its probing, Western-style news coverage, has just changed hands. Last month, both of the channel's shareholders sold their shares. State-owned Unified Energy Systems sold its 70 percent stake in the channel to Severstal, while the Lesnevskys sold their 30 percent to Germany's RTL Group.

Reports said that the Kremlin had pushed UES into selling the stake because it feared the channel could provide support for a rival liberal candidate in the 2008 presidential elections. UES's chief Anatoly Chubais is the founder of liberal party Union of Right Forces and has often quietly pursued a political line at odds with the Kremlin.

UES denies it sold the channel because of political pressure. Severstal founder and CEO Alexei Mordashov worked on President Vladimir Putin's 2004 election campaign, reports say.

Just one month after that deal, Severstal says it is looking for a new investor in the channel.

"We're talking with different investors from the market, including RTL, the Lesnevsky family itself and News Corp.," said a Severstal executive who wished to remain unidentified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

(MORE)