December 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 DECEMBER 19, 2005

1//The Sunday Times, UK--TERROR REBORN IN FALLUJA RUINS (In November 2004 I was the last western reporter to leave Falluja before the US Army launched Operation Phantom Fury, an air and land assault aimed at eliminating insurgents from a city that had become a bastion of resistance to coalition rule. Last weekend I was the first to return independently and it was impossible not to be shocked by the devastation. Huge areas of what were once homes have been flattened. On countless street corners, mountains of rubbish spew plumes of black smoke into the air. … By sheer force of arms, the Americans occupied Falluja and put a temporary stop to resistance in the city. As the rest of the world soon discovered, the insurgency continued elsewhere. Yet what I found in Falluja last week was even more dispiriting. It is not only that promises to reconstruct the city and restore normality have manifestly been broken. The bitter truth is that the actions of US and Iraqi forces have reignited the insurgency. Anger, hate and mistrust of America are deeper than ever. Mistakes by American soldiers and Iraqi National Guards — drawn mainly from the country’s Shi’ite majority — have alienated residents and encouraged support for insurgents.)

2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--FALLUJAH TURNS INTO UNLIKELY MODEL FOR CIVIL-MILITARY TIES (A little more than a year ago, Fallujah was, in the words of a US diplomat, a “Green Zone for terrorists” until US Marines invaded in one of the fiercest battles since the fall of Saddam Hussein. A year later, Fallujah is slowly rebuilding and could well be a model of civil-military relations for the restive cities further west, especially Ramadi. Driving through Fallujah's war-ravaged streets, it is hard to realise this is a city on the mend. Entire street blocs are rubble-strewn wastelands and few buildings are spared the scars of machinegun fire. Yet civic leaders report that life is returning to markets in the “city of mosques” and people walk the streets without the furtive fear found in strife-torn Ramadi. “Fallujah is getting back on its feet and people are going out and participating in the political process,” said Mayor Dari Abdel Hadi on Thursday, the election day. … John Kael Weston, the US State Department representative in Fallujah, attributes the change to a decision by the city's religious and civil leadership to engage in the political process. A key figure in this switch was Sheikh Hamza Issawi, who over the summer paved the way for increased contacts between the US military and civic leaders. “He enabled a mood in the city for political engagement to happen,” said the US diplomat, who has spent nearly two years in Anbar. Issawi was gunned down on November 28.)

3//MosNews, Russia--IRAN MEDIA CHIEF CALLS ON RUSSIA FOR BIGGER MEDIA COOPERATION (The managing director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in a meeting with a number of reporters and officials in charge of the Russian television networks called for expansion of media cooperation between Iran and Russia, IRNA reported Saturday. Ahmad Khademolmelleh added that to change the unilateral flow of information from West to developing countries into a bilateral and fair process, he is looking for media allies. “We believe that the western media have launched a one-way flow of information in the world and unfairly administer the world public opinion in the interest of their own governments,” he added. Officials in charge and correspondents from Russia’s television networks including ORT, RTR, NTV, RNTV, Moscow Central TV and Saint Petersburg Network are visiting Tehran at the official invitation of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization. Khademolmelleh referred to Russia and its media as an ally in order to change the one-way flow of the media to the benefit of the regional people.)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--CHINA RAISES ITS STAKE IN NORTH KOREA (- North Korea is living through a foreign language boom. Learning languages has always been a good way to secure lucrative and prestigious jobs in the country, but in past one had to specialize in Russian, French or English. These days, Chinese is becoming the most popular choice, more or less equal to English. And it would appear young and ambitious North Koreans are making the right decision. The Chinese presence in North Korea is growing fast. In 2004, Chinese investment in the economy reached US$50 million. This year, the figure will be $85-90 million. This is remarkable growth: merely two years ago, in 2003, Chinese investment was just $1.1 million. … Foreign powers traded with North Korea because this was seen as a way to increase influence there. And it seems the same motivation is behind the present-day Chinese trade boom. So it comes as no surprise that South Korean officials, journalists and academics in the last two years have begun to talk about China's "neo-colonial push" toward North Korea.)

5//The Toronto Star, Canada--CANADIANS WANT CHANGE, MARTIN ADMITS (Prime Minister Paul Martin agrees Canada has an appetite for change — and says the best way to get it is to hand the Liberals a fifth straight mandate. During a campaign stop in Regina, Martin said his government has set in motion a number of changes to improve Canada for the better, starting with a national child-care plan, income-tax cuts and more federal help for cities. That's why the Liberals, who have been in power since 1993, deserve to stay there, Martin said. "Change, yes," Martin told a news conference Sunday. "But I think you've got to ask, 'Who's going to bring in that change, and what kind of change are people talking about?"' The Liberal party's Achilles heel and biggest fear is that the natural political cycle, which turfs and replaces governments after a certain period, will become a campaign issue. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, who took a day off the campaign on Sunday, has stressed the need for change: the need for a new political climate, an end to "the culture of entitlement.")

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1//The Sunday Times, UK December 18, 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1937778,00.html

TERROR REBORN IN FALLUJA RUINS
Hala Jaber, Falluja

FIRST they made me change out of my western clothes into a flowing black burqa and slippers. Then I squeezed on to the back seat of a car packed with other women and children for the nerve-jangling journey ahead. A toddler was told to sit on my lap so I was almost hidden from view.

The driver warned me not to speak if we were stopped, in case Iraqi National Guards noticed my foreign accent. All the precautions were in place for a perilous drive past roadblocks into Falluja, the shattered Iraqi city that no western newspaper reporter has entered for more than a year without the supervision of coalition forces.

(SNIP)

Moments later we were waved forward and my visit to Iraq’s most defiant insurgent stronghold had begun. For the next five days residents and insurgents alike smuggled me around the ruined city, showing me the searing reality of life under American siege.

In November 2004 I was the last western reporter to leave Falluja before the US Army launched Operation Phantom Fury, an air and land assault aimed at eliminating insurgents from a city that had become a bastion of resistance to coalition rule.

Last weekend I was the first to return independently and it was impossible not to be shocked by the devastation. Huge areas of what were once homes have been flattened. On countless street corners, mountains of rubbish spew plumes of black smoke into the air.

Fields of rubble stretch as far as the eye can see. Here and there children scamper across the ravaged landscape, seeking out larger bricks and rocks for use in laborious rebuilding.

Of the swift reconstruction promised by Baghdad in the wake of the US-led assault, there are only sporadic signs in wealthier areas. Mostly there are women like Rasmiya Mohammed Ali, crouching in the ruins of her home, chipping away with a small hammer at broken breeze blocks salvaged by her sons, aged seven and eight.

“They did not even give us a tent. What can I do but clean and clear these stones so that we can rebuild our home?” said Ali, a mother of five who received only $700 compensation after her home was destroyed during the American onslaught.

(SNIP)

It was on April 28, 2003, six weeks after the invasion of Iraq, that Falluja emerged as a focus of rebellion against the Americans. When a crowd gathered outside a school occupied by US forces, soldiers opened fire, killing 15 Iraqi civilians.

After sporadic clashes over the next year, four US contractors were ambushed on their way into Falluja. America was stunned by television pictures of their burnt and mutilated bodies suspended from a bridge over the Euphrates river.

By last November Falluja had spun out of the coalition’s control. Foreign fighters had poured into the city, turning it into a base for suicide bombers and kidnap gangs who fanned out across much of Iraq.

Shortly before the launch of Phantom Fury, Colonel Gary Brandl of the US Marines told reporters: “The enemy has a face. It is Satan’s. He is in Falluja and we are going to destroy him.”

By sheer force of arms, the Americans occupied Falluja and put a temporary stop to resistance in the city. As the rest of the world soon discovered, the insurgency continued elsewhere.

Yet what I found in Falluja last week was even more dispiriting. It is not only that promises to reconstruct the city and restore normality have manifestly been broken. The bitter truth is that the actions of US and Iraqi forces have reignited the insurgency. Anger, hate and mistrust of America are deeper than ever.

Mistakes by American soldiers and Iraqi National Guards — drawn mainly from the country’s Shi’ite majority — have alienated residents and encouraged support for insurgents.

(SNIP)

Abu Seif had no way of knowing when he went to bed one night last February that he was about to be seized and accused of killing Kenneth Bigley, the British engineer who was taken hostage and later beheaded.

It was 4am when Abu Seif, a wealthy businessman, was awoken by the sound of American helicopters flying low and close. Moments later US Marines with dogs burst into his house firing percussion grenades of tear gas.

Handcuffed and blindfolded, he was thrown on to a helicopter and eventually found himself being asked why he had murdered Bigley. His answer — “Who’s Bigley?” — apparently enraged his American interrogator, who unsheathed a knife and pressed it against his neck.

Over the next 15 days he was subjected to the interrogation routines that have become notorious in US internment camps. Electric cables were placed on his chained legs and he was subjected to a mock electrocution, he said. He suffered sleep deprivation and disorientation. Headphones were clamped to his ears and played “indescribable, ugly, loud noises”.

His captors soon realised that he had nothing to tell and he was flown to another location, where his handcuffs were removed and an Arabic-speaking woman marine was assigned to prepare him for release.

She brought him good food and let him use her CD player. A few days later he was offered a Koran and a new prayer mat, and was told to walk away without looking back.

The experience so embittered Abu Seif that he now supports the insurgents. “What the Americans have done to Falluja is unacceptable, and if they think it is over they do not know what is coming,” he said.

(MORE)

2//The Jordan Times, Jordan Monday, December 19, 2005
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/news/news7.htm

FALLUJAH TURNS INTO UNLIKELY MODEL FOR CIVIL-MILITARY TIES
By Paul Schemm
Agence France-Presse

FALLUJAH — A little more than a year ago, Fallujah was, in the words of a US diplomat, a “Green Zone for terrorists” until US Marines invaded in one of the fiercest battles since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

A year later, Fallujah is slowly rebuilding and could well be a model of civil-military relations for the restive cities further west, especially Ramadi.

Driving through Fallujah's war-ravaged streets, it is hard to realise this is a city on the mend. Entire street blocs are rubble-strewn wastelands and few buildings are spared the scars of machinegun fire.

Yet civic leaders report that life is returning to markets in the “city of mosques” and people walk the streets without the furtive fear found in strife-torn Ramadi.

“Fallujah is getting back on its feet and people are going out and participating in the political process,” said Mayor Dari Abdel Hadi on Thursday, the election day.

“The damage to Fallujah was more than that caused by the tsunami,” he added in reference to a catastrophic tidal wave that killed hundreds of thousands in southeast Asia one year ago. In October's referendum and again in last week's parliamentary elections, Fallujah had the highest turnout of any city in Sunni-dominated Anbar province and the city is comparatively calm these days.

John Kael Weston, the US State Department representative in Fallujah, attributes the change to a decision by the city's religious and civil leadership to engage in the political process.

A key figure in this switch was Sheikh Hamza Issawi, who over the summer paved the way for increased contacts between the US military and civic leaders.

“He enabled a mood in the city for political engagement to happen,” said the US diplomat, who has spent nearly two years in Anbar.

Issawi was gunned down on November 28.

All of Fallujah's leaders have had death threats, a fact that doesn't keep them from interacting with US forces.

(SNIP)

Still, there is little love lost between individual Fallujans and US forces, and most here will be glad to see the back of the latter, with memories of the November 2004 assault when 15,000 US Marines smashed into Fallujah still fresh in their minds.

“The Saddam era was bad, but the invasion by US forces was worse, they killed children and destroyed buildings and highways,” said resident Ahmed Fallahi. But in fact, much of the apparent success story stems from the grudging respect of the populace for the Marines as opposed to a continuing fear of the Iraqi interior ministry which they believe is beholden to vengeful Shiite militias.

“If the US arrests us we think it is good, if the national guard arrests us, we are terrified,” said Mekky Latif, echoing the view of many Fallujans.

Ramadi, however, is still far from having its own police force, especially since the city's former police chief was fired for embezzling his officers' salaries.

Instead an interior ministry unit commonly known as the Wolf Brigade is stationed outside the city and is soon due to take over security there.

3//MosNews, Russia Created: 18.12.2005 12:05 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:42 MSK
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/12/18/iranmedia.shtml

IRAN MEDIA CHIEF CALLS ON RUSSIA FOR BIGGER MEDIA COOPERATION

The managing director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in a meeting with a number of reporters and officials in charge of the Russian television networks called for expansion of media cooperation between Iran and Russia, IRNA reported Saturday.

Ahmad Khademolmelleh added that to change the unilateral flow of information from West to developing countries into a bilateral and fair process, he is looking for media allies.

“We believe that the western media have launched a one-way flow of information in the world and unfairly administer the world public opinion in the interest of their own governments,” he added.

Officials in charge and correspondents from Russia’s television networks including ORT, RTR, NTV, RNTV, Moscow Central TV and Saint Petersburg Network are visiting Tehran at the official invitation of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.

Khademolmelleh referred to Russia and its media as an ally in order to change the one-way flow of the media to the benefit of the regional people.

Concerning censorship, he said that in the world of today, it is impossible to censor the news, while in the world media, in particular the western mass media, modern ways of censorship are underway in a complicated way and they either overestimate or underestimate them without pointing to their global significance.

Turning to the victory of Islamic Revolution in Iran, he said that given that the Iranian revolutionary forces did not have any media tools at the time, the western media reflected the relevant news as they wished, which still holds true except that today Iran has a well-established media.

(SNIP)

Khademolmelleh noted that nowhere in the world, do the media ignore their own national interests and rather admitted that the Iranian media act with more freedom than the U.S. media.

“Seventy % of the U.S. media, which are sponsored by the country’s trade and industry sector, act in line with the interests of their sponsors rather than those of the people.

”The western media’s criticism of the president and government in Iran is incomparable to other countries. Here, the officials in charge welcome criticism and even respond to the critics,“ he added.

Meanwhile, Khademolmelleh underlined that IRNA is prepared to expand its technical and professional contacts with the Russian media in various fields.

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Dec 17, 2005
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GL17Dg01.html

CHINA RAISES ITS STAKE IN NORTH KOREA
By Andrei Lankov
(Dr Andrei Lankov is a lecturer in the faculty of Asian Studies, China and Korea Center, Australian National University. … . He is currently on leave, teaching at Kookmin University, Seoul.)

SEOUL - North Korea is living through a foreign language boom. Learning languages has always been a good way to secure lucrative and prestigious jobs in the country, but in past one had to specialize in Russian, French or English.

These days, Chinese is becoming the most popular choice, more or less equal to English. And it would appear young and ambitious North Koreans are making the right decision.

The Chinese presence in North Korea is growing fast. In 2004, Chinese investment in the economy reached US$50 million. This year, the figure will be $85-90 million. This is remarkable growth: merely two years ago, in 2003, Chinese investment was just $1.1 million.

This year, the trade volume between China and North Korea is expected to reach $1.5 billion. Not a great amount of money by the international standards, perhaps, but it still makes China the largest trade partner of the North. The share of trade with China is likely to reach 48% of all North Korean foreign trade. With the investment, China's share is even higher - some 85%.

Chinese traders are highly present in Pyongyang, and make up a large part of the crowds in Pyongyang's major casino, open only to foreigners. And in a much-publicized deal, a Chinese company has entered a joint venture to run First Department Store, the major shopping mall of the North Korean capital and its prominent landmark.

This growth in the Chinese presence is seen by Seoul with certain unease. The scale of activity is unprecedented, and it is well known that trade with or investment in North Korea has seldom been profitable. Throughout the 60-year history of this peculiar place, most trade with Pyongyang has been politically motivated.

Foreign powers traded with North Korea because this was seen as a way to increase influence there. And it seems the same motivation is behind the present-day Chinese trade boom. So it comes as no surprise that South Korean officials, journalists and academics in the last two years have begun to talk about China's "neo-colonial push" toward North Korea.

There are reasons for this suspicion. China has both serious incentives to keep North Korea afloat, and the ability to do so. The strategic goals of China are influenced by its rivalry with the United States. This rivalry lacks the intensity of the Cold War once waged by the Russians and Americans, but it is real nonetheless.

Since a unified Korea (should it ever happen) is likely to remain under a strong American influence, and perhaps even have a continuing US military presence, its unification would mean a deterioration of China's strategic position. In 1950, China chose to fight a major war to prevent exactly this - the unification of the Korean peninsula under a pro-US government.

The continuing survival of North Korea is also important for Chinese domestic policy. In spite of all its economic successes, the communist government still has concerns over internal stability, and the collapse of another communist regime might have consequences for Chinese internal stability.

(MORE)

5//The Toronto Star, Canada Dec. 18, 2005. 04:56 PM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=the...
[Article updated by publisher; newer version is linked]

CANADIANS WANT CHANGE, MARTIN ADMITS
Alexander Panetta, Canadian Press

REGINA — Prime Minister Paul Martin agrees Canada has an appetite for change — and says the best way to get it is to hand the Liberals a fifth straight mandate.

During a campaign stop in Regina, Martin said his government has set in motion a number of changes to improve Canada for the better, starting with a national child-care plan, income-tax cuts and more federal help for cities.

That's why the Liberals, who have been in power since 1993, deserve to stay there, Martin said.

"Change, yes," Martin told a news conference Sunday.

"But I think you've got to ask, `Who's going to bring in that change, and what kind of change are people talking about?"'

The Liberal party's Achilles heel and biggest fear is that the natural political cycle, which turfs and replaces governments after a certain period, will become a campaign issue.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, who took a day off the campaign on Sunday, has stressed the need for change: the need for a new political climate, an end to "the culture of entitlement."

The Liberals, however, have stretched the cycle twice over the years. Under prime ministers Mackenzie King and Louis St-Laurent, the party won five consecutive elections between 1935 and 1953. They accomplished the same feat under Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau between 1963 and 1974.

While the Liberals still hold the lead in every public-opinion poll, one recent survey suggested that a desire for change is an even bigger threat than the sponsorship scandal.

Martin recognized that threat even before he took office, which is why he presented himself as an agent of change, to a certain degree even repudiating predecessor Jean Chrétien's record in his Liberal leadership campaign and in the early days of his prime ministership.

"Change is a constant," Martin said Sunday.

"We are certainly — as a government — bringing in change. Creating the first new social program of our generation, a national system of early learning and child care. That is change."

Martin goes into the final pre-Christmas week of the election campaign swinging hard at Tory Leader Stephen Harper.

Fresh off a pair of broadcast debates that saw a lot of sparring but little blood, the prime minister is zeroing in on a set of issues where he perceives Harper is vulnerable.

Tory tax cuts? Tricks and gimmicks.

Same sex marriage? A prime minister has to defend the Charter.

National unity? Harper isn't going into Quebec to walk the walk.

Time for a change? The Liberals are changing.

(MORE)