February 24, 2006

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 FEBRUARY 24, 2006

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SHRINE ATTACK DEALS BLOW TO ANTI-US UNITY (Spring is only a month away, and preparations for Nauroz (the Persian new year) are well under way. In Iran this year, however, Nauroz was due to come with a deadly dimension: the start of a new phase of a broad-based anti-US resistance movement stretching from Afghanistan to Jerusalem. Wednesday's attack on a revered shrine in Iraq could change all this. … Security contacts have told Asia Times Online that several al-Qaeda members have been moved from detention centers to safe houses run by Iranian intelligence near Tehran. The aim of these people in Iran is to establish a chain of anti-US resistance groups that will take the offensive before the West makes its expected move against Tehran. … With Wednesday's attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra in Iraq, home to a revered Shi'ite shrine, the dynamics have changed overnight. … The potentially bloody polarization in the Shi'ite-Sunni world now threatens to unravel the links that have been established between Shi'ite-dominated Iran and radical Sunni groups from Afghanistan and elsewhere. … Instead, Iraq could become a new battlefield, not only against US-led forces, but between different factions. Iran, meanwhile, would be left to deal with the West on its own.)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--NASRALLAH DARES AMERICA TO TRY TO DISARM HIZBULLAH (Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday dared the United States to come to Lebanon's shores and try to take the resistance's weapons. Nasrallah's made his comments before tens of thousands of Shiites, many of them denouncing the U.S., who rallied in Beirut's southern suburbs to protest the bombing of one of their sacred shrines in Iraq. Nasrallah's speech was delivered in the wake of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Lebanon to promote the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Nasrallah lashed out at the U.S. administration, which he accused of seeking to disarm the resistance in order to serve Israel's interests. "America wants the resistance's weapons? Then let America come to Lebanon's shores and try to take them," he said.)

3//The Times of India, India--DIFFERENCES REMAIN AS INDIA, US HOLD TALKS (Seeking to conclude the nuclear deal before President George W Bush's visit here next week, India and the US on Thursday held intense last ditch talks here but both sides admitted that "differences" persisted and more negotiations would be required. US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, leading the American side, said he was not sure whether the deal would be finalised by the time Bush undertakes the three-day trip here from March one. … Burns and Saran, who will hold another session of talks on Friday, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to brief him about the negotiations. The two sides had encountered "difficulties" over the issue of separation, with the US insisting that India put more reactors than it was ready to in the civilian side. These included the home-grown fast breeder reactors (FBRs), a move opposed by New Delhi. Both countries are now understood to have expressed readiness to show flexibility on their respective positions. India, on its part, is believed to have agreed to put at least half of 22 nuclear reactors in the civilian side while the US is understood to have accepted to leave FBRs out of the loop for next seven years.)

4//The Times of India, India--INDIA, IRAN TO CARRY ON WITH PIPELINE, LNG DEAL (India and Iran on Thursday sent a clear message across that despite New Delhi's vote against Tehran on its nuclear programme, the two countries would continue to deepen ties and carry on with bilateral projects, including the tri-nation pipeline and a multi-billion dollar gas deal. "They reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and an early ratification of the LNG deal already signed between the two countries," external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said. … Safari's visit coincides with the one by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, who is here to discuss finer points of nuclear deal ahead of President George Bush's visit to India early March. The Iranian nuclear issue would also be discussed between Burns and Indian officials on Friday, sources said.)

5//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--TURKEY, IRAN AGREE ON ACTIVE COOPERATION AGAINST TERROR (Turkish and Iranian officials have decided to enter into active bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism and signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] late on Tuesday in Tehran. The decision came at the end of a three-day meeting of Turkish and Iranian officials who had gathered in the Iranian capital for the 11th round of Turkey-Iran High Security Commission meetings. The substance of the MoU in brief is “the region becoming a peaceful land which is purified from all kinds of terror,” according to Harput. Ankara has similar concerns as Tehran in regards to mutual neighbor Iraq and the threat posed by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK], which is carrying out attacks on Turkish soil. The group is also believed to be behind ongoing ethnic unrest in Iran's northwest.

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1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Feb 24, 2006

SHRINE ATTACK DEALS BLOW TO ANTI-US UNITY
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - Spring is only a month away, and preparations for Nauroz (the Persian new year) are well under way. In Iran this year, however, Nauroz was due to come with a deadly dimension: the start of a new phase of a broad-based anti-US resistance movement stretching from Afghanistan to Jerusalem.

Wednesday's attack on a revered shrine in Iraq could change all this.

The presence in Iran of the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as members of the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan, is well known, as is the presence of other controversial figures related to the "war on terror", such as al-Qaeda members. Security contacts have told Asia Times Online that several al-Qaeda members have been moved from detention centers to safe houses run by Iranian intelligence near Tehran.

The aim of these people in Iran is to establish a chain of anti-US resistance groups that will take the offensive before the West makes its expected move against Tehran.

Iran has been referred to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program, which the US and others say is geared towards developing nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency is due to present a final report to the Security Council next month, after which the council will consider imposing sanctions against Tehran. Many believe that the US is planning preemptive military action against Iran.

With Wednesday's attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra in Iraq, home to a revered Shi'ite shrine, the dynamics have changed overnight.

Armed men detonated explosives inside the mosque, blowing off the domed roof of the building. Iraqi leaders are trying to contain the angry reaction of Shi'ites, amid rising fears that the country is on the brink of civil war. At least 20 Sunnis have been killed already in retaliatory attacks, and nearly 30 Sunni mosques have been attacked across the country.

The potentially bloody polarization in the Shi'ite-Sunni world now threatens to unravel the links that have been established between Shi'ite-dominated Iran and radical Sunni groups from Afghanistan and elsewhere.

(SNIP)

Impact of the attack on the resistance
Both the Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Mujahideen Shura Council - an alliance that includes Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda-affiliated group - are suspected of perpetrating the attack. Both groups have insurgents operating in Samarra, and have claimed responsibility for attacks against US and Iraqi forces there in recent weeks. No group has claimed responsibility for the Samarra attack.

Given that the sensibilities of both Shi'ites and Sunnis have been violated by the attack, the foreign factor in the Iraqi resistance could be curtailed.

At the same time, escalating sectarian strife will hamper the national resistance movement in cities such as Basra in the south and Baghdad, which have strong Shi'ite populations. People in these areas could quickly turn against what is perceived as a largely Sunni-led resistance, with a strong al-Qaeda link.

Leaders have scrambled to limit the damage. Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani immediately called for seven days of mourning following the attack, and urged Shi'ites to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations. The cleric, who rarely appears in public, could be seen on Iraqi state television in a meeting with other leading ayatollahs.

The violence comes at a time that Iraqi leaders are trying to form a new coalition government that will bring Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds together. This process, like the resistance, is now also in jeopardy, as calls for separate, quasi-independent regions are bound to intensify.

The anti-US resistance movement had wanted to use Shi'ite Iran as the final base to link the resistance groups of this whole region. If the current volatile situation results in Shi'ites sitting on one side, and Sunnis and al-Qaeda-linked groups on the other, this is unlikely to happen.

Instead, Iraq could become a new battlefield, not only against US-led forces, but between different factions. Iran, meanwhile, would be left to deal with the West on its own.

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Friday, February 24, 2006

NASRALLAH DARES AMERICA TO TRY TO DISARM HIZBULLAH
By Karine Raad
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday dared the United States to come to Lebanon's shores and try to take the resistance's weapons. Nasrallah's made his comments before tens of thousands of Shiites, many of them denouncing the U.S., who rallied in Beirut's southern suburbs to protest the bombing of one of their sacred shrines in Iraq.

Nasrallah's speech was delivered in the wake of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Lebanon to promote the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.

Nasrallah lashed out at the U.S. administration, which he accused of seeking to disarm the resistance in order to serve Israel's interests.

"America wants the resistance's weapons? Then let America come to Lebanon's shores and try to take them," he said.

"Let me ask Condoleezza Rice, who praises democracy, if early elections take place, or in three years, elections take place and a new majority is in place that doesn't support the U.S., will she remain so effusive in her praise? Or will this democracy be forced and a terrorist's democracy?" he asked.

"Let the Lebanese decide their own affairs," added Nasrallah, addressing Rice.

Nasrallah called for toning down political rhetoric in Lebanon and holding dialogue to discuss national affairs calmly and openly.

"I am asking for calm ... and for calming the people down," Nasrallah said.

"It is imperative not to resort to the street," he added.

"People will say I am saying this because the March 14 forces are trying to oust the president. This is not true. I am talking about maintaining national unity."

(SNIP)

Nasrallah's speech was strongly welcomed by the crowds, who chanted "America, America is the enemy of Muslims," "Muslims, unite, unite" and "Israel, Israel is the enemy of Muslims."

Hizbullah organized the protest to denounce a bomb attack on Wednesday that damaged to the golden dome on the Askariya shrine in Samarra, about 95 kilometers north of Baghdad, enraging Shiites in Iraq, where Sunni mosques were attacked in retaliation.

(SNIP)

Nasrallah called for peaceful expressions of sadness and anger and urged Iraqi Shiites to refrain from launching accusations at the Sunnis.

"Division serves the interests of the U.S., Israel and the radical groups," he argued.

Nasrallah urged the Iraqis to be patient and united, stressing that "strife should be contained, not allowed to expand to our local scene."

"Loyalty should remain to the Prophet," Nasrallah concluded.

3//The Times of India, India [ Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:22:33 pm PTI]

DIFFERENCES REMAIN AS INDIA, US HOLD TALKS

NEW DELHI: Seeking to conclude the nuclear deal before President George W Bush's visit here next week, India and the US on Thursday held intense last ditch talks here but both sides admitted that "differences" persisted and more negotiations would be required.

US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, leading the American side, said he was not sure whether the deal would be finalised by the time Bush undertakes the three-day trip here from March one.

"Both of us want to complete these negotiations but there are still some remaining differences between us and those differences need to be worked out," he told reporters after talks with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran here.

"We simply don't know whether we will have an agreement before President Bush's visit. We are trying our best, both sides," Burns said.

He said he had "good conversation" with the Foreign Secretary "but there are still remaining differences".

(SNIP)

Burns and Saran, who will hold another session of talks on Friday, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to brief him about the negotiations.

The two sides had encountered "difficulties" over the issue of separation, with the US insisting that India put more reactors than it was ready to in the civilian side. These included the home-grown fast breeder reactors (FBRs), a move opposed by New Delhi.

Both countries are now understood to have expressed readiness to show flexibility on their respective positions.

India, on its part, is believed to have agreed to put at least half of 22 nuclear reactors in the civilian side while the US is understood to have accepted to leave FBRs out of the loop for next seven years.

Burns and Saran also gave final touches to Bush's itinerary and the agenda of the talks between the US President and the Prime Minister.

The US Under Secretary's meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma was cancelled at the last minute. Burns, who along with US Ambassador David C Mulford, reached South Block office to meet Sharma had to return when told that the minister was busy somewhere, sources said.

4//The Times of India, India [ Thursday, February 23, 2006 09:56:40 pm IANS]

INDIA, IRAN TO CARRY ON WITH PIPELINE, LNG DEAL

NEW DELHI: India and Iran on Thursday sent a clear message across that despite New Delhi's vote against Tehran on its nuclear programme, the two countries would continue to deepen ties and carry on with bilateral projects, including the tri-nation pipeline and a multi-billion dollar gas deal.

"They reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and an early ratification of the LNG deal already signed between the two countries," external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said.

Sarna was commenting on the talks between Iran's deputy foreign minister Mehdi Safari, who arrived here on Thursday, and top Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Rajiv Sikri, Secretary (East) in the ministry of external affairs.

This is the first high profile bilateral visit after New Delhi voted against Tehran early this month at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report Tehran to the UN Security Council for its alleged violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"The two sides had a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, and agreed to continue cooperation in all areas of mutual interest and benefit, including in the energy field," Sarna said.

India's Iran vote had sparked anxieties about the future of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and the gas deal for transporting 5 million tones of LNG annually to India, with some saying Tehran might suspend projects with all countries who voted against it at the IAEA. Price negotiations with Tehran for importing another 2.5 million tones of LNG will continue between the two sides.

The Indian side also reiterated the need for finding a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and again asked all sides "to eschew confrontation, exercise restraint and demonstrate flexibility" to resolve the issue within the IAEA.

Safari's visit coincides with the one by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, who is here to discuss finer points of nuclear deal ahead of President George Bush's visit to India early March. The Iranian nuclear issue would also be discussed between Burns and Indian officials on Friday, sources said.

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5//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey Thursday, February 23, 2006

TURKEY, IRAN AGREE ON ACTIVE COOPERATION AGAINST TERROR
Ankara - Turkish Daily News
Turkish and Iranian officials have decided to enter into active bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) late on Tuesday in Tehran.

The decision came at the end of a three-day meeting of Turkish and Iranian officials who had gathered in the Iranian capital for the 11th round of Turkey-Iran High Security Commission meetings.

Head of the Turkish delegation Interior Ministry Undersecretary Sahabettin Harput and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Baqer Zolqadr, signed the MoU on the two countries' active cooperation against terrorism.

(SNIP)

The substance of the MoU in brief is “the region becoming a peaceful land which is purified from all kinds of terror,” according to Harput.

Ankara has similar concerns as Tehran in regards to mutual neighbor Iraq and the threat posed by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is carrying out attacks on Turkish soil. The group is also believed to be behind ongoing ethnic unrest in Iran's northwest.

“I can state that we're in full agreement concerning having tight and absolute cooperation against PKK terror and jointly fighting against any PKK activity in the region,” Harput was quoted as saying by Anatolia, while he noted as well that the two countries would also have tight cooperation against all kinds of smuggling, particularly drug smuggling, which poses a threat to both countries' peoples.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Kurdish areas in Iran have occasionally witnessed unrest against the ruling Islamic establishment. Last year, the unrest rocked several Kurdish towns in northwestern Iran. Clashes with police and arrests led to more protests.

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