October 3, 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 OCTOBER 3, 2005

1//The Daily Star, Lebanon--IRAQI MINISTER LASHES OUT AT SAUDI ARABIA OVER RUMORS (Iraq's interior minister lashed out angrily at Saudi Arabia, rejecting its accusations that Iran now dominates his country, and accusing the Saudis of discriminating against their own Shiites. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr went as far as saying Iraq will not accept "a Bedouin on a camel teaching us about human rights and democracy. In Iraq, we are proud of our civilization." The scathing attack - the latest in a series of squabbles between Shiite-controlled Iraq and its Sunni Arab neighbors - were certain to increase tensions as foreign ministers of eight Arab countries met in the Saudi port city of Jeddah to discuss plans to help Iraq restore its security.)

2//The Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates--RIYADH DOWNPLAYS US SANCTIONS THREAT OVER RELIGION (A Saudi official has downplayed US plans to slap sanctions on the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom in six months over allegations of violations of religious minority rights. “This whole issue does not require any comment because these sanctions stipulate the halting of a small US assistance of 26,000 dollars that the US administration is granting for a development project in Saudi Arabia,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. … US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided last week to postpone by six months imposing sanctions against Riyadh in the wake of a US finding that the Saudi government denied residents some of the most basic religious freedoms. … Rice decided to exercise her right to a waiver after talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, who visited Washington last week to discuss key security and economic issues, including the war in Iraq and ways to rein in runaway oil prices.)

3//The Daily Times, Pakistan--‘PAKISTAN CAN’T BE FORCED TO ABANDON NUKES’ (Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday that no country could force Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme. … There was no possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear assets falling into terrorist hands he added. “Don’t underestimate us. We know how to protect ourselves and our assets,” Aziz said while replying to questions during a seminar at the International Islamic University [IIU] of Malaysia. And we will protect our nuclear assets.” … “We don’t need to take lessons on democracy from anyone,” the prime minister said in response to a questioner criticising the military’s role in Pakistan.)

4//The Independent, UK--BRITAIN IN THE DOCK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS FAILURES AFTER MORE THAN 100 ‘GUILTY’ JUDGEMENTS FILED (Britain has one of the worst human rights records in Europe and faces investigation over its failure to comply with a series of European court rulings. More than 100 findings have been lodged against Britain to which the Government has not adequately responded, five years after Tony Blair said he had fulfilled his promise to "bring rights home" by implementing the Human Rights Act. These range findings from violations of the rights of mental health patients to the failure to protect children from unlawful corporal punishment in the home. … A declassified report from the council's committee on legal affairs and human rights, seen by The Independent, shows that Britain is one of 13 countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, where further action is necessary.)

5//Canada.com, Canada--AMERICAN CIVILIAN DEFENCE GROUP BEGINS PATROLS OF CANADA-U.S. BORDER (A U.S. civilian border-watch group is expanding its operation to the 49th parallel. For the month of October, the Minuteman Civil Defence Corps will take watch from their cars and lawn chairs, with binoculars at the ready, in eight northern U.S. states bordering seven Canadian provinces. The volunteer group will have observers in Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. Some posts will be on border watch 24/7. The Minutemen report to border officials when they observe individuals trying to illegally enter the U.S. Peter Buck of the Minutemen's New England chapter said the American government is failing to supply the manpower needed to secure the northern border.)

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, October 03, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id...

IRAQI MINISTER LASHES OUT AT SAUDI ARABIA OVER RUMORS
Compiled by Daily Star staff

Iraq's interior minister lashed out angrily at Saudi Arabia, rejecting its accusations that Iran now dominates his country, and accusing the Saudis of discriminating against their own Shiites.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabr went as far as saying Iraq will not accept "a Bedouin on a camel teaching us about human rights and democracy. In Iraq, we are proud of our civilization."

The scathing attack - the latest in a series of squabbles between Shiite-controlled Iraq and its Sunni Arab neighbors - were certain to increase tensions as foreign ministers of eight Arab countries met in the Saudi port city of Jeddah to discuss plans to help Iraq restore its security.

Last week, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said U.S. policy had deepened sectarian tensions in Iraq to the extent that the country was effectively being handed over to Iran.

Jabr rejected the Saudi claim during a visit to Jordan, saying: "Saudi Arabia has other motives to launch such accusations."

"Saudi Arabia has its own problems. There are four million Shiites who are treated as third-class citizens," he said.

"Let them give the right to their women to at least drive cars. Their women are deprived of their rights while the women in our country are equal to men."

He also called the Saudis "tyrants who think they are king and God, and they name their countries after their families."

Iran has also rejected the Saudi charges, accusing the Saudi foreign minister of "meddling" in Iraqi affairs.

On Saturday, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, also criticized some Arab neighbors, saying they should help Iraq to crush its insurgency if they want to stop Iran from interfering in the country.

He also called on Arab newspapers to stop describing the insurgents as "resistance fighters," saying such terms amounted to incitement.

Jabr also said yesterday he was the target of gunmen who had kidnapped his brother as he drove through a district in the Iraqi capital. Jabr did not specify who the gunmen were or explain why he was targeted.

The disputes have serious implications as Iraq heads toward a referendum vote October 15 on a constitution supported by many Shiites, but bitterly opposed by Sunni Arabs.

After an opinion poll forecast turnout would be as high as 80 percent, one of Iraq's electoral commissioners said voter registration had gone well with the Sunni Arab minority.

"There is an enthusiasm to vote. Even in the last month we have registered one million more people," Farid Ayyar told Reuters.

General John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said the level of Sunni participation in the political process was more important than approval of the constitution.
"If a legitimate government emerges that is broadly seen

as being representative of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish interests, I think there is no reason to suppose that we can't bring force levels down in the spring," he said.

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2//The Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates 2 October 2005
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile...

RIYADH DOWNPLAYS US SANCTIONS THREAT OVER RELIGION
(AFP)

RIYADH - A Saudi official has downplayed US plans to slap sanctions on the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom in six months over allegations of violations of religious minority rights.

“This whole issue does not require any comment because these sanctions stipulate the halting of a small US assistance of 26,000 dollars that the US administration is granting for a development project in Saudi Arabia,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

(SNIP)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided last week to postpone by six months imposing sanctions against Riyadh in the wake of a US finding that the Saudi government denied residents some of the most basic religious freedoms.

In a report on religious freedom released a year ago, Washington accused Riyadh of backing anti-Jewish and anti-Christian campaigns, torturing non-Muslims and discriminating against Shiites and other Muslims who do not adhere to the officially-sanctioned Wahhabi Sunni doctrine.

Rice decided to exercise her right to a waiver after talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, who visited Washington last week to discuss key security and economic issues, including the war in Iraq and ways to rein in runaway oil prices.

Saudi Arabia controls one-fourth of the world’s proven oil reserves and is the largest net exporter of crude.

During the first five months of this year, the kingdom supplied the United States with 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, which is roughly 15 percent of all US oil imports, according to US energy officials.

3//The Daily Times, Pakistan Monday, October 03, 2005
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-10-2005_pg1_4

‘PAKISTAN CAN’T BE FORCED TO ABANDON NUKES’

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday that no country could force Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme.

Dismissing apprehensions that international powers might deprive Pakistan of its nuclear capability, he said that Pakistan had a world-class command and control authority over its nuclear programme.

There was no possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear assets falling into terrorist hands he added. “Don’t underestimate us. We know how to protect ourselves and our assets,” Aziz said while replying to questions during a seminar at the International Islamic University (IIU) of Malaysia. And we will protect our nuclear assets.”

(SNIP)

Asked what Pakistan’s response would be in case it was forced to abandon its nuclear programme, Aziz said that Pakistan’s nuclear programme was a source of pride for the entire Muslim nation.

“Pakistan was called a failed state six years ago,” he said, adding that Musharraf’s policies had put the country on the track of economic, social and political development.

“We don’t need to take lessons on democracy from anyone,” the prime minister said in response to a questioner criticising the military’s role in Pakistan.

4//The Independent, UK Published: 03 October 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article316691.ece

BRITAIN IN THE DOCK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS FAILURES AFTER MORE THAN 100 ‘GUILTY’ JUDGEMENTS FILED

By Robert Verkaik, Legal Affairs Correspondent

Britain has one of the worst human rights records in Europe and faces investigation over its failure to comply with a series of European court rulings.

More than 100 findings have been lodged against Britain to which the Government has not adequately responded, five years after Tony Blair said he had fulfilled his promise to "bring rights home" by implementing the Human Rights Act.

These range findings from violations of the rights of mental health patients to the failure to protect children from unlawful corporal punishment in the home.

Of the 47 signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain has 107 guilty judgments - the sixth highest number - issued by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Most of these are expected to be resolved by Britain, but many of the most serious violations date to the first few years of the Labour government.

Because these cases require urgent remedial action, they have been sent to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the body that funds and oversees the court.

A declassified report from the council's committee on legal affairs and human rights, seen by The Independent, shows that Britain is one of 13 countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, where further action is necessary.

The committee is particularly concerned about 15 judgements against Britain that have not been properly addressed by the Government and are more than five years old.

It has recommended that its rapporteur, Erik Jurgens, investigate the worst offending countries with a view to taking further action, "including the proposal to commence specific monitoring procedures in the most serious cases of non compliance."

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, said: "The Human Rights Act is under attack as it has never been before. Not only do we have various Conservative pledges to do away with the legislation, but its own parent, the Labour party, is making veiled threats of derogations and abolition. This is a far cry from the words of Tony Blair, who once said that Labour's greatest achievements would be its commitment to an ethical foreign policy and the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights."

In a separate, detailed report, recently declassified by the committee, the Council of Europe highlighted six British breaches of the convention that are of most concern.

(SNIP)

5//Canada.com, Canada Sunday, October 02, 2005
http://www.canada.com/news/national/story.html...

AMERICAN CIVILIAN DEFENCE GROUP BEGINS PATROLS OF CANADA-U.S. BORDER
Lauren La Rose, Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) - A U.S. civilian border-watch group is expanding its operation to the 49th parallel.

For the month of October, the Minuteman Civil Defence Corps will take watch from their cars and lawn chairs, with binoculars at the ready, in eight northern U.S. states bordering seven Canadian provinces.

The volunteer group will have observers in Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. Some posts will be on border watch 24/7.

The Minutemen report to border officials when they observe individuals trying to illegally enter the U.S.

Peter Buck of the Minutemen's New England chapter said the American government is failing to supply the manpower needed to secure the northern border.

"People may be aware of the problem in the southwest but not be aware that the largest non-militarized border in the world, the border between the United States and Canada ... is completely open," he said in a phone interview from Massachusetts.

"Last year we had 3,000 (illegal immigrants) that got caught in New York and New England."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended 1.1 million people attempting to cross the border illegally last year, 600,000 in Arizona alone where the state borders with Mexico.

There are more than 11,000 border patrol agents in the U.S. with 1,000 stationed along the Canada-U.S. frontier.

Washington-based Minuteman Tom Williams spoke recently with a patrol agent who said the northern border Canada is just as vulnerable as anywhere else in the country.

"People still sneak across here all the time," Williams recounted. "They may not come in the hundreds, or in the thousands, but they still do come, and any one of them could be carrying a suitcase bomb for all we know."

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