August 19, 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 19, 2005

1//KurdishMedia.com, UK--IRAQI GROUP FEARS REVIVAL OF "DEVIL-WORSHIP" TAG (Fresh accusations that an ancient Iraqi sect worships the devil raises concerns about the future of religious minorities in the new Islamist-dominated Iraq, a presidential adviser said on Thursday. Mirza Dinnayi, President Jalal Talabani's adviser for Yazidi affairs, said that despite efforts to ensure that minorities are protected in a new constitution being drafted in Baghdad, whisperings about the nature of the Yazidi faith had raised fears of violence against the community. "As a liberal I find the future of Iraq miserable and for minorities like the Yazidis it will be even more difficult," said Dinnayi. "I don't know if this new constitution will even be put into practice. Minorities have a great problem now," he added, speaking from Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has almost entirely been spared the sectarian violence tearing at Iraq. … Yazidi leaders, who say there have been a number of attacks on them since the 2003 U.S. invasion, say the incident bodes ill for the future in a country meant to be guided by democracy. "While we are not devil worshippers, one has to take into account that people deride us as such," MP Adel Nasser said.)

2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--KING, PUTIN TALK MIDEAST ISSUES, WAR ON TERROR (His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met here with Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on bilateral ties and developments in the Middle East, including the Palestinian situation and Iraq. The two leaders described the Jordan-Russian ties as "solid and dynamically growing," the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. In remarks to the press following talks in this Black Sea resort, the King said Jordan seeks better economic relations with Russia and an enhanced role of the private sector in both countries. Acknowledging King Abdullah's efforts to spell out the true essence of Islam as a faith that rejects terrorism, Putin said: "It's inadmissible to allow for any identification of the great global religion of Islam with terrorism." … On Iraq, Putin called for an international conference on the violence-hit country by year's end and a timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops, saying they were considered "occupying forces" by many Iraqis, AFP reported. … The Russian leader added that force alone would not be enough to defeat international terrorism. "Our mutual view is that forceful methods will not be enough to eliminate this evil," Putin said.)

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon--RUSSIA: USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAN 'DANGEROUS' (Russia warned against using force to stop Iran's nuclear program, saying any such action would have grave and unpredictable consequences. "We consider that it would be counterproductive and dangerous to use force, the serious consequences of which would be barely predictable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement clearly aimed at U.S. President George W. Bush's recent assertion that force is an option. The statement urged that the crisis over Iran's insistence on producing its own nuclear fuel be resolved "exclusively through expert consultations and diplomatic negotiations." The Russian position echoes a call by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over the weekend for military force to be ruled out as an option in Iran, saying it was "extremely dangerous." …  Meanwhile, senior Iranian officials warned the European Union to stop pressuring the Islamic Republic to limit its nuclear activities and setting conditions for future negotiations. "After re-starting the activities at Isfahan, we stress that we should have the continuation of negotiations without any pre-conditions," said Manouchehr Mottaki, nominated as Iran's new foreign minister under hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. … A similar warning was made by the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Saidi. "The rougher and faster these countries make the game, the more decisive we become to operate the rest of our nuclear facilities," he told ISNA.)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--INDIA, CHINA: COMRADES IN OIL (Having gingerly circled around each other like two cautious pugilists for the past decades, India and China may be taking their first step in the creation of an Asian synergy that has much more to do with making real money than the rhetorical bombast of anti-imperialist morality. Last week in Beijing, within days of China announcing that it would vote against a resolution led by India and Japan to expand the UN Security Council, vice chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang of China's National Development and Reform Commission was feting Talmiz Ahmad, an Indian diplomat seconded to the Oil and Petroleum Ministry in New Delhi with the task of creating energy partnerships abroad. As Ahmad and his delegation were shown around Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai, a senior Chinese oil executive told him, "The possibilities of India and China cooperating in Central Asia, Russia and Africa are enormous of course, but both of us must also work together in America and the big nations of Europe." … "The visit far, far exceeded my expectations," Ahmad said, pointing out that India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar would visit China in November to formalize principles and understandings between both nations in the energy sector.)

5//MercoPress, Uruguay--US INITIATIVE TO CONTAIN CHAVEZ INVOLVEMENT (United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld in a brief visit to Paraguay praised the local government for its commitment to combat terrorism and "develop free from all foreign influence." This is the Pentagon's chief fifth visit to Latin America and according to sources from his delegation one of the main motives is to gather information on the extent of Venezuelan and Cuban involvement in the area. Landlocked Paraguay has borders with Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil, and since last July US troops have been participating in limited military exercises. … Besides the alleged Cuban and Venezuelan interference, United States is also concerned with the "triple frontier" and the City of the East, a frontier city in Paraguayan territory, with a strong Arab speaking population, which is also refuge for smugglers, arms dealers and drug trafficking. The City of the East, which borders with Argentina and Brazil, has been signalled as fertile ground for some of the extremist groups operating in the Middle East such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Almost simultaneously in Buenos Aires Daniel Glaser US Deputy Treasury Secretary said that Washington is convinced that "terrorism is being helped with financing from the Triple Frontier.")

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1//KurdishMedia.com, UK 18/08/2005
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=7531

IRAQI GROUP FEARS REVIVAL OF "DEVIL-WORSHIP" TAG
By Andrew Hammond

BAGHDAD, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Fresh accusations that an ancient Iraqi sect worships the devil raises concerns about the future of religious minorities in the new Islamist-dominated Iraq, a presidential adviser said on Thursday.

Mirza Dinnayi, President Jalal Talabani's adviser for Yazidi affairs, said that despite efforts to ensure that minorities are protected in a new constitution being drafted in Baghdad, whisperings about the nature of the Yazidi faith had raised fears of violence against the community.

"As a liberal I find the future of Iraq miserable and for minorities like the Yazidis it will be even more difficult," said Dinnayi.

"I don't know if this new constitution will even be put into practice. Minorities have a great problem now," he added, speaking from Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has almost entirely been spared the sectarian violence tearing at Iraq.

Politicians in Baghdad are putting together a permanent constitution they hope will create a political system that allows Iraq's main ethnic and religious groups to live together after decades of Saddam Hussein's Baath party rule.

But minorities such as the esoteric pre-Islamic Kurdish sect fear they will be victims of the zealotry gripping the country.

Yazidis say they have often faced the charge because the chief angel they venerate as a manifestation of God is often identified as the fallen angel Satan in biblical terminology. They also believe God created good and evil in the world.

Their concerns were underlined last week when one of the three Yazidis in parliament tried to challenge the widespread perception among Islamists that they are friends of Satan.

He spoke of accusing looks he said were directed at Yazidis whenever ministers began speeches with Koranic verses cursing the devil.

But the press, including in Mosul where most Yazidis live, took the comment as a plea not to offend Yazidi veneration for their supposed idol. "They worship Lucifer and consider him head of the angels," al-Ittijah al-Akhar newspaper said this week.

Yazidi leaders, who say there have been a number of attacks on them since the 2003 U.S. invasion, say the incident bodes ill for the future in a country meant to be guided by democracy.

"While we are not devil worshippers, one has to take into account that people deride us as such," MP Adel Nasser said.

(SNIP)

Now Sunni Islamist insurgents are strong in the Mosul region where most of the half a million Yazidis live.

Leading Christian Yonadem Kanna said he had personally written into the constitution a section that ensured freedoms for groups like Yazidis not considered "people of the book", a Koranic term referring to the main monotheistic religions.

"I wrote this by my own hand and they (Islamists) accepted that," he said.

2//The Jordan Times, Jordan Friday-Saturday, August 19-20, 2005
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews1.htm

KING, PUTIN TALK MIDEAST ISSUES, WAR ON TERROR
Russia calls for Iraq conference, troop pullout timetable

SOCHI, Russia (Agencies) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met here with Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on bilateral ties and developments in the Middle East, including the Palestinian situation and Iraq.

The two leaders described the Jordan-Russian ties as "solid and dynamically growing," the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In remarks to the press following talks in this Black Sea resort, the King said Jordan seeks better economic relations with Russia and an enhanced role of the private sector in both countries.

Acknowledging King Abdullah's efforts to spell out the true essence of Islam as a faith that rejects terrorism, Putin said: "It's inadmissible to allow for any identification of the great global religion of Islam with terrorism." On the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip that began this week, Putin, quoted by Agence France-Presse, praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for "demonstrating personal courage and consistency in implementing the decision taken."

(SNIP)

Putin briefed the King on a phone conversation he had earlier Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the Israeli pullout from Gaza.

He told reporters that Russia will continue its support for Middle East peace process and empower the Palestinians to administer the areas Israel pulls out from.

On Iraq, Putin called for an international conference on the violence-hit country by year's end and a timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops, saying they were considered "occupying forces" by many Iraqis, AFP reported.

"We deem it necessary to work out a schedule for the staged withdrawal of foreign troops in Iraq," he said.

"Many Iraqis perceive these forces as occupying forces, and this is a reality that should be taken into account."

The Russian leader added that force alone would not be enough to defeat international terrorism.

"Our mutual view is that forceful methods will not be enough to eliminate this evil," Putin said.

The Associated Press quoted Putin as urging "all principal ethnic and religious groups, and political parties, including leading opposition forces," to take part in an inter-Iraqi dialogue.

"It's important to develop a broad, interconfessional, intercivilisational dialogue and so contribute to the resolution of harsh, social problems," he said.

Earlier Thursday, King Abdullah met with editors of Russian media outlets at the Itar-Tass news agency and spoke on an array of issues.

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon Thursday, August 18, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition...

RUSSIA: USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAN 'DANGEROUS'
Tehran warns European Union to stop pressuring Islamic Republic over nuclear activities

Compiled by Daily Star staff (AFP, Reuters)

Russia warned against using force to stop Iran's nuclear program, saying any such action would have grave and unpredictable consequences. "We consider that it would be counterproductive and dangerous to use force, the serious consequences of which would be barely predictable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement clearly aimed at U.S. President George W. Bush's recent assertion that force is an option.

The statement urged that the crisis over Iran's insistence on producing its own nuclear fuel be resolved "exclusively through expert consultations and diplomatic negotiations."

The Russian position echoes a call by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over the weekend for military force to be ruled out as an option in Iran, saying it was "extremely dangerous."

Russia, which has constructed a nuclear power plant for Iran and is hoping for more such contracts, has criticized Tehran for restarting the uranium conversion.

Moscow says there is no technical need for Iran to convert its own uranium since Moscow has agreed to supply all necessary nuclear fuel for the Bushehr power plant due to go into operation next year.

Meanwhile, senior Iranian officials warned the European Union to stop pressuring the Islamic Republic to limit its nuclear activities and setting conditions for future negotiations.

"After re-starting the activities at Isfahan, we stress that we should have the continuation of negotiations without any pre-conditions," said Manouchehr Mottaki, nominated as Iran's new foreign minister under hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

(SNIP)

A similar warning was made by the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Saidi.

"The rougher and faster these countries make the game, the more decisive we become to operate the rest of our nuclear facilities," he told ISNA.

Iran, accused by the U.S. of seeking nuclear weapons, insists it has the right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

But it has so far maintained its suspension of uranium enrichment at its Natanz facility.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called on Iran to halt all nuclear fuel cycle work and the UN watchdog is to report on September 3 on Tehran's compliance with international safeguards.

Iran has refused to backtrack, despite the risk of being referred to the Security Council. "Legally the IAEA is not in a position to talk about a violation," Saidi said, calling on the Europeans to deal with Iran's nuclear issue "logically and not to jeopardize and agitate the region."

"Despite the possibility of another resolution in the September session of the IAEA board of governors to call on Iran for re-suspension of the Isfahan installations, we will definitely not accept such a call," he said.

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Aug 19, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GH19Df04.html

INDIA, CHINA: COMRADES IN OIL
By Jyoti Malhotra

NEW DELHI - Having gingerly circled around each other like two cautious pugilists for the past decades, India and China may be taking their first step in the creation of an Asian synergy that has much more to do with making real money than the rhetorical bombast of anti-imperialist morality.

Last week in Beijing, within days of China announcing that it would vote against a resolution led by India and Japan to expand the UN Security Council, vice chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang of China's National Development and Reform Commission was feting Talmiz Ahmad, an Indian diplomat seconded to the Oil and Petroleum Ministry in New Delhi with the task of creating energy partnerships abroad.

As Ahmad and his delegation were shown around Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai, a senior Chinese oil executive told him, "The possibilities of India and China cooperating in Central Asia, Russia and Africa are enormous of course, but both of us must also work together in America and the big nations of Europe."

The senior Chinese oil executive's message was clear: American oil major Unocal's recent rejection of China National Offshore Oil Cooperation (CNOOC)'s nearly US$18 billion offer to take over the US oil company had been grounded as much in American realpolitik as in the number-crunching offered by Unocal. India, on the other hand, growing at 8% per annum and hungry to elbow its way into the world's top 10, could definitely bring something to the table.

According to PetrolWorld statistics, Beijing imports one-third of its oil supplies, accounting for as much as 7% of the world demand at 5.46 million barrels a day. India, on the other hand, imports as much as two-thirds of its oil needs, consuming about 2 million barrels a day. But Indian officials say that if the Indian economy maintains its robust growth, by 2025 it could be consuming 7.4 million barrels a day.

This overpowering need for energy security is obsessing India. President Abdul Kalam referred to it in his government-cleared address to the people on the occasion of India's independence day on August 15. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described it as being "second only in our scheme of things to food security." And, indeed, it lies at the heart of New Delhi's ability to win American confidence that accompanied the pathbreaking nuclear energy deal between the two countries in July.

Political observers point out that China's growing interest in India also had something to do with this nuclear deal, in which Washington implicitly accorded nuclear-power status to India. "India's elevation in the eyes of the world, that too at the hands of the Americans, has concurrently given it greater respect in Chinese eyes," an observer said.

Ahmad and his delegation were given such a right royal tour of the three Chinese cities that they were thrilled. Just as the Chinese side had carefully prepared for the Indian team, the Indian delegation had brought with them power-point presentations comparing Indian and Chinese oil strategies - the latter in answer to questions posed by the Chinese delegation to the round table of Asian oil ministers in New Delhi in January.

"The visit far, far exceeded my expectations," Ahmad said, pointing out that India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar would visit China in November to formalize principles and understandings between both nations in the energy sector.

(MORE)

5//MercoPress, Uruguay Thursday, 18 August, 2005
http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=6272

US INITIATIVE TO CONTAIN CHAVEZ INVOLVEMENT

United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld in a brief visit to Paraguay praised the local government for its commitment to combat terrorism and "develop free from all foreign influence."

This is the Pentagon's chief fifth visit to Latin America and according to sources from his delegation one of the main motives is to gather information on the extent of Venezuelan and Cuban involvement in the area.

Landlocked Paraguay has borders with Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil, and since last July US troops have been participating in limited military exercises.

During his 24 hours visit to Paraguay, Rumsfeld met for over two hours and a half with president Nicanor Duarte Frutos.

"There is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in Bolivian affairs in ways that are not precisely of aid," said Mr. Rumsfeld.

"Since last year we're seeing the return of an aggressive Cuban foreign policy in the area," admitted one of the US Defence Secretary aides.

Besides the alleged Cuban and Venezuelan interference, United States is also concerned with the "triple frontier" and the City of the East, a frontier city in Paraguayan territory, with a strong Arab speaking population, which is also refuge for smugglers, arms dealers and drug trafficking.

The City of the East, which borders with Argentina and Brazil, has been signalled as fertile ground for some of the extremist groups operating in the Middle East such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Almost simultaneously in Buenos Aires Daniel Glaser US Deputy Treasury Secretary said that Washington is convinced that "terrorism is being helped with financing from the Triple Frontier."

"Although it's not new, we are concerned," said Mr. Glaser who nevertheless praised Argentina, both the Executive and Congress, for their commitment in keeping close watch of the area.

(SNIP)

The US official spent four days in Buenos Aires contacting people from the Central Bank, Justice Department, Human Rights Office, Foreign Affairs and Economy ministries as well as members of Congress.

Mr. Glaser is promoting "units of trade transparency," a US initiative to exchange and cross data from different countries which supposedly helps to identify money laundering and terrorism financing.

Last June the US State Department identified Assad Ahmad Barakat as one of the Hezbollah members in the Triple Frontier area who helps finance terrorist groups by "deviating funds to Iran and Lebanon," recalled Mr. Glaser.

The Argentine Congress is finalizing the consideration of a bill which typifies as a crime terrorism financing activities.