June 14, 2006

World Media Watch

Edited 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.

* * *

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JUNE 14, 2006

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--US OPENS NEW WAR FRONT IN NORTH AFRICA (Despite a setback in Somalia, where anti-Islamist warlords recently lost control of the capital, Mogadishu, to a jihadist militia, the United States is plunging into a far vaster set of commitments, stretching across the "Wild West" of Saharan Africa. Over the next five years, Washington is expected to spend US$500 million on an overt counter-terror program to secure what it has dubbed the latest front in its "global war on terror". Detractors insist the move could backfire and have the same unintended consequences as in the Horn of Africa, albeit on a much larger scale with even more at stake. … In its campaign to justify the increase, the US military has likened the Sahara to the "Wild West", and the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat, or GSPC) is its most wanted enemy. … "If anything, the [initiative] ... will generate terrorism, by which I mean resistance to the overall US presence and strategy," said Jeremy Keenan, a Sahara specialist at the University of East Anglia in Britain. Aside from the 2003 kidnapping issue, US and Algerian authorities have failed to present "indisputable verification of a single act of alleged terrorism in the Sahara", Keenan insists. "Without the GSPC, the US has no legitimacy for its presence in the region," he said, noting that a growing US dependence on African oil, which the administration of President George W Bush has declared a "national strategic interest", has moved the United States to bolster its presence in the region.)

2//The Mail & Guardian, South Africa--GROWING POPULARITY OF ISLAMISTS WORRIES MOROCCO (Moroccan authorities have launched a wave of repression to stem the growing influence of an illegal Islamist movement, which many observers are already describing as the country's biggest de-facto political party. Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality) is now so popular it would probably win elections if it was legalised and decided to enter politics, analysts said. The regime of King Mohammed VI wants to curb the growing influence of Islamists, but knows it risks doing just the opposite if it appears too heavy handed. … The only political force in Morocco to question the monarchy, Al Adl Wal Ihsane has become the mouthpiece of discontent in a country where masses of young people have fled rural unemployment to urban slums and where about 15% of the population is estimated to live in poverty. … Al Adl Wal Ihsane has traditionally focused on social work, but observers say it now appears to have become increasingly political in a development that frightens the regime. … The regime does not want to see Morocco go the same way as neighbouring Algeria, where the Islamic Salvation Army was outlawed to prevent it from seizing power through the polls.)

3//The Moscow Times, Russia--PUTIN TOUTS RUSSIA AS WORLD LEADER (President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday trumpeted Russia's leading role in a world economy moving rapidly eastward, while Dmitry Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister and possible presidential successor, suggested Russia had a few economics lessons for the United States. "No one has any doubt that for several years in a row Russia has been a world leader in economic growth," Putin said at the start of a two-day conference billed as the Russian Davos. The leaders of Finland, Latvia, Slovenia and Serbia were among those in the audience listening to Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. … "Our GDP by purchasing power parity has exceeded $1.5 trillion," Putin said. "We no longer need foreign loans. What's more, the size of our gold and currency reserves this year may cover the total amount of both government and private external debt." … . There were no signs of uncertainty from Medvedev, however. Delivering the keynote speech at the conference's plenary session on the challenges of globalization, he mapped out a confident and detailed vision for Russia's future and raised questions about the dominant role of the dollar -- and the United States itself -- in the changing world economy.)

4//The Independent, UK--BLAIR ROUNDS ON HIS CRITICS AT UNION CONFERENCE (Tony Blair has vented his frustration on Labour activists who yearn for a left-wing government and want him to quit. … The Prime Minister was addressing an audience who will be expected to act as foot soldiers in Labour's election campaign. But he said the Government had been elected by attracting a "broad coalition of support" and that a left-wing administration was not going to be elected "some time soon". … Mr Blair began a question and answer session to polite ripples of applause, but ended with a standing ovation having brushed aside a query from a delegate who wanted to know when he would stand down. The Prime Minister had faced hostile questions from delegates on a range of issues including education, health and the Iraq war.)

5//GulfNews.com, United Arab Emirates--TERROR GROUP PLANS ‘WATER INSURRECTION’ (A terror group based in the southern Philippines has been preparing for underwater terror attacks, two anti terror experts and other sources told Gulf News. The Abu Sayyaf Group has a plan to poison the drinking water system of the US forces which are now based for medical and military mission in Sulu, said a source. … "Underwater terror attack is called water insurrection," explained Singapore-based anti terror think tank Rohan Gunaratna. "But it is very hard to poison a water system" said Gunaratna, adding that the so-called underwater insurrection being prepared by a terror group in Mindanao is related to bombing of ferryboats.)

* * *

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Jun 14, 2006

US OPENS NEW WAR FRONT IN NORTH AFRICA
By Jason Motlagh

Despite a setback in Somalia, where anti-Islamist warlords recently lost control of the capital, Mogadishu, to a jihadist militia, the United States is plunging into a far vaster set of commitments, stretching across the "Wild West" of Saharan Africa.

Over the next five years, Washington is expected to spend US$500 million on an overt counter-terror program to secure what it has dubbed the latest front in its "global war on terror". Detractors insist the move could backfire and have the same unintended consequences as in the Horn of Africa, albeit on a much larger scale with even more at stake.

The Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI) kicked off last June to provide military expertise, equipment and development aid to nine Saharan nations whose vast, ungoverned reaches are considered fertile ground for militant Islamist groups looking to establish Afghanistan-style terror training camps and to engage in smuggling and other illicit activities.

The TSCTI represents a massive upgrade from the Pan-Sahel Initiative, a $7 million forerunner that was initiated in 2002 in what Theresa Whelan, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, called "just a drop in the bucket" compared with the region's security needs.

In its campaign to justify the increase, the US military has likened the Sahara to the "Wild West", and the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat, or GSPC) is its most wanted enemy. On the US State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations and estimated to have a few hundred remaining members based in Algeria, the group was formed in the late 1990s to overthrow the government in Algiers and create a hardline Islamic state. Its founders broke ranks with the notorious Armed Islamic Group over its policy of killing civilians indiscriminately during Algeria's 1992-99 civil war that left more than 100,000 dead. The GSPC was accused of kidnapping European tourists in 2003 and claimed responsibility for a spate of strikes around the Sahara last year that reportedly killed a total of 40 soldiers from Algeria and Mauritania. But some observers say terrorism in the Sahara is little more than a mirage and that protracted, high-profile US involvement could destabilize the region.

"If anything, the [initiative] ... will generate terrorism, by which I mean resistance to the overall US presence and strategy," said Jeremy Keenan, a Sahara specialist at the University of East Anglia in Britain.

Aside from the 2003 kidnapping issue, US and Algerian authorities have failed to present "indisputable verification of a single act of alleged terrorism in the Sahara", Keenan insists. "Without the GSPC, the US has no legitimacy for its presence in the region," he said, noting that a growing US dependence on African oil, which the administration of President George W Bush has declared a "national strategic interest", has moved the United States to bolster its presence in the region.

A report by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said that although the Sahara is "not a terrorist hotbed", repressive governments in the region are taking advantage of the Bush administration's "war on terror" to tap US largess and deny civil freedoms. The report noted that former Mauritanian president Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya - a US ally in West Africa who was deposed last August in a bloodless coup - used the threat of terrorism to justify human-rights abuses.

(MORE)

2//The Mail & Guardian, South Africa 13 June 2006 02:34

GROWING POPULARITY OF ISLAMISTS WORRIES MOROCCO

Rabat, Morocco -- Moroccan authorities have launched a wave of repression to stem the growing influence of an illegal Islamist movement, which many observers are already describing as the country's biggest de-facto political party.

Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality) is now so popular it would probably win elections if it was legalised and decided to enter politics, analysts said.

The regime of King Mohammed VI wants to curb the growing influence of Islamists, but knows it risks doing just the opposite if it appears too heavy handed.

Fifteen Al Adl Wal Ihsane members were on Monday each sentenced to four months in prison for organising an unauthorised demonstration in 2001.

They will not, however, have to serve the sentences, because they have already been jailed for much longer than four months.

Press commentators criticised the sentences as too lenient, but in private even some anti-Islamist Moroccans have sympathies towards the peaceful movement, which is in judicial limbo.

Technically illegal, Al Adl Wal Ihsane was tolerated until recent months, when the apparent politicisation of its activities prompted a police crackdown.

(SNIP)

The only political force in Morocco to question the monarchy, Al Adl Wal Ihsane has become the mouthpiece of discontent in a country where masses of young people have fled rural unemployment to urban slums and where about 15% of the population is estimated to live in poverty.

Advocating an Islamic state with Sharia law, Al Adl Wal Ihsane adheres to the mystical Sufi strand of Islam and rejects violence.

Its leaders include Sheikh Yassine's daughter, Nadia, whose particular brand of Islamist feminism has given the conservative movement a modern touch.

Al Adl Wal Ihsane has traditionally focused on social work, but observers say it now appears to have become increasingly political in a development that frightens the regime.

Over the past few months, the movement has opened premises around the country, staging "open door" days, including exhibitions and videos to promulgate its ideas.

Police moved promptly to close the venues, evacuating a total of 500 people and detaining more than 150 others, who were released immediately afterwards.

A trial against Nadia Yassine for advocating a republic has been suspended, apparently to avoid provoking critics at home and in the United States, which she has visited.

The regime does not want to see Morocco go the same way as neighbouring Algeria, where the Islamic Salvation Army was outlawed to prevent it from seizing power through the polls.

Hundreds of suspected violent Islamists have been detained in Morocco since suicide bombers killed 45 people in Casablanca in 2003, but it is more difficult for the authorities to move against the popular Al Adl Wal Ihsane.

So far, the movement has declined to enter politics or to give its backing to the parliamentary Islamist party Justice and Development, which gained ground in 2002 elections to become the third political force in the country.

"The security forces have nothing to fear," Nadia Yassine said.

"We are not planning anything that would go against our principles of non-violence."

3//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, June 14, 2006. Issue 3431. Page 1.

PUTIN TOUTS RUSSIA AS WORLD LEADER
By Stephen Boykewich and Yuriy Humber, Staff Writers

ST. PETERSBURG -- President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday trumpeted Russia's leading role in a world economy moving rapidly eastward, while Dmitry Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister and possible presidential successor, suggested Russia had a few economics lessons for the United States.

"No one has any doubt that for several years in a row Russia has been a world leader in economic growth," Putin said at the start of a two-day conference billed as the Russian Davos.
The leaders of Finland, Latvia, Slovenia and Serbia were among those in the audience listening to Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"Our GDP by purchasing power parity has exceeded $1.5 trillion," Putin said. "We no longer need foreign loans. What's more, the size of our gold and currency reserves this year may cover the total amount of both government and private external debt."

Russia has been awash in petrodollars at a time of record-high energy prices and a surge of investor interest in emerging markets -- though both, curiously, took a major hit Tuesday.
The RTS stock index dropped 9.4 percent, while crude oil prices in Europe fell to $66.80, down by more than 2 percent.

There were no signs of uncertainty from Medvedev, however. Delivering the keynote speech at the conference's plenary session on the challenges of globalization, he mapped out a confident and detailed vision for Russia's future and raised questions about the dominant role of the dollar -- and the United States itself -- in the changing world economy.

While the United States is running huge trade and budget deficits and growth is stagnating in Western Europe, Medvedev said, Russia's fiscal health "gives us the moral right to initiate a discussion about the need for more balanced rules in this area."

"The current state of the economy in the United States -- the issuer of the world's sole reserve currency -- raises concerns," he said.

Global economic stability would be enhanced if the dollar were joined by a number of world reserve currencies, including Russia's own, he said. "Given rising world demand for the ruble, our currency may become one of these reserve currencies."

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, speaking at a round table on the so-called BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- not only supported Medvedev's suggestion but added China's yuan as a possibility.

At present, the yuan's exchange rate is pegged to the dollar at an artificially low rate, which has protected Beijing's exports from growing more expensive as the dollar has fallen. It has also led to heated U.S. accusations of market manipulation.

The breadth of Medvedev's speech, which included an economic assessment of the Soviet Union's collapse and references to several Western economists, was particularly striking coming from the a man tipped as a possible future president. Most observers say Medvedev is in a close race with Defense Minster Sergei Ivanov to win Putin's blessing as successor.

Ivanov was scheduled to speak on the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian economy at the conference Wednesday.

Though usually seen as a far less commanding presence than Ivanov, Medvedev borrowed a page from Putin in his speech, beginning by lightheartedly likening his remarks to an appetizer before lunch and then speaking with visible self-assurance about Russia's unique path.

(MORE)

4//The Independent, UK Published: 14 June 2006

BLAIR ROUNDS ON HIS CRITICS AT UNION CONFERENCE
By Barrie Clement, Labour Editor

Tony Blair has vented his frustration on Labour activists who yearn for a left-wing government and want him to quit.

Warned that working people felt "betrayed" and that traditional supporters had been "alienated" by his policies, Mr Blair delivered a passionate defence of his record. Speaking after a barrage of criticism from delegates at the GMB general union's annual conference in Blackpool, an uncompromising Mr Blair said his Government had achieved "masses" for ordinary people.

The Prime Minister was addressing an audience who will be expected to act as foot soldiers in Labour's election campaign. But he said the Government had been elected by attracting a "broad coalition of support" and that a left-wing administration was not going to be elected "some time soon".

In response to a question from the floor, Mr Blair said: "You say people are losing faith in the Labour Government, well it's better than having a Tory government. This Government has done masses for ordinary people.

"Pensioners used to have to choose between eating and heating. Don't let anyone tell me that pensioners were better off under the Tories. They weren't."

During successive Conservative governments, he said, school buildings crumbled "and there was not a computer in sight".

It was easy to forget what the 18 years of Tory rule was like," Mr Blair said. "I don't want to see them back ever again. We've make mistakes, but I'm proud of what we've achieved. Long after I've gone, I want to think that Labour prime ministers will be addressing this union. Sometimes they will get a hard time, but it's better than the impotence and waste of opposition."

Mr Blair began a question and answer session to polite ripples of applause, but ended with a standing ovation having brushed aside a query from a delegate who wanted to know when he would stand down.

The Prime Minister had faced hostile questions from delegates on a range of issues including education, health and the Iraq war.

(MORE)

5//GulfNews.com, United Arab Emirates Published: 06/14/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

TERROR GROUP PLANS ‘WATER INSURRECTION’
By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Bureau Chief

Manila: A terror group based in the southern Philippines has been preparing for underwater terror attacks, two anti terror experts and other sources told Gulf News.

The Abu Sayyaf Group has a plan to poison the drinking water system of the US forces which are now based for medical and military mission in Sulu, said a source.

But Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani has been pushed out of Sulu since the government allowed the US presence in Sulu, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, reports said.

There were other reports saying that Janjalani has been with Umar Patek and Dulmatin, two Indonesian nationals who were allegedly involved in the bombing in Bali, Indonesia which had killed more than 200 in 2002.

Patek and Dulmatin are members of the Jemaah Islamiyah, the alleged Southeast Asian conduit of the Al Qaida terror network.

"Underwater terror attack is called water insurrection," explained Singapore-based anti terror think tank Rohan Gunaratna.

"But it is very hard to poison a water system" said Gunaratna, adding that the so-called underwater insurrection being prepared by a terror group in Mindanao is related to bombing of ferryboats.

(MORE)