World Media Watch for May 13, 2002

BUZZFLASH NOTE: Once again, these are the views and perspectives of the individual papers, not of BuzzFlash or Gloria. They offer BuzzFlash readers a way of reading what other nations are saying about the crisis, whether we like it or not. We repeat: This is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

* * *

1//Ha'aretz, Israel--ANALYSIS: NETANYAHU ALMOST LOSES HIS COOL (The rules of the game have changed, the protagonists have removed their gloves and, from now on, it's all-out war…His (Netanyahu's) criticism was so sharp and piercing that even the members of the central committee, who are great fans of the former prime minister, felt uncomfortable.)

2//Gulf News Online, United Arab Emirates--KUWAIT FACES POLITICAL CRISIS (Kuwaiti members of parliament yesterday said they planned to question Youssef Al Ibrahim, Finance Minister, over the alleged mishandling of public funds, sparking fears of political chaos in the country.)

3//The Independent, UK--MURDOCH FURIOUS AT GOVERNMENT CALL TO TAX SATELLITE TV AIRWAVES (Taken together with the possibility of a satellite transmission tax, the Bill amounted to a surprisingly gutsy initiative from a Government constantly accused of kow-towing to big business…There is speculation the Government will use the threat of this tax to keep Mr Murdoch in check and possibly wring concessions out of him. Political pundits maintain that the Labour Government needs the support of his newspapers if it has any hope of winning a referendum on the euro.)

4//Dawn, Pakistan-EDITORIAL: IN THE NAME OF SECURITY (…there have been complaints that these searches have become an excuse for the police to harass law-abiding citizens and extort money from them. While no one can question the need to tighten security and conduct snap checks of suspicious vehicles, there is a fine line between genuine security precautions and sheer harassment.)

5//Pravda, Russia--BRAZIL: TRADITIONAL POLITICAL CONSPIRACY (The big question is: who rules Brazil, the people or the foreign investors?)

6//Japan Today, Japan--GOV'T MAY ALLOW BEACHED WHALES TO BE EATEN (The move is likely to raise fresh controversy about Japan's consumption of the giant mammals just a week before the main session of the International Whaling Commission opens in the southwestern Japanese city of Shimonoseki… Japan will push for the resumption of commercial whaling at the plenary sessions of the IWC, which start on May 20 and end on May 24.)

******************

1//Ha'aretz Monday, May 13, 2002 Sivan 2, 5762
http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=162867&contrass
ID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=162867

ANALYSIS: NETANYAHU ALMOST LOSES HIS COOL
By Yossi Verter

The war of inheritance between Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, which has until now been waged mainly in television studios and by "sources close to," erupted yesterday like a terrifying volcano, directly in the faces of the members of the Likud Central Committee and onto every television screen in Israel and beyond.

Even before the results of the vote are in, it is clear that nothing will ever be the same. The rules of the game have changed, the protagonists have removed their gloves and, from now on, it's all-out war. Netanyahu came to the Central Committee yesterday with a well-prepared speech that amounted to one long indictment of Sharon and his policies: Netanyahu criticized the premature end of Operation Defensive Shield, the decision to allow Arafat to remain at large in the West Bank, Sharon's proposal to convene an international summit and, of course, the prime minister's open acceptance of a Palestinian state.

In 1990, then prime minister Yitzhak Shamir launched an unprecedented attack on Sharon, but that infamous evening was nothing compared to what Netanyahu did to Sharon last night. His criticism was so sharp and piercing that even the members of the central committee, who are great fans of the former prime minister, felt uncomfortable. Some of them even heckled him, over and over.

The anti-Netanyahu brigade was not there by chance. Sharon and his supporters had learned the lessons of central committee meetings past, and had positioned their supporters - their loyal foot soldiers, as Sharon called them - among the other activists. Netanyahu appeared stunned by such vocal opposition, especially in his own backyard. For the first time at the central committee, Netanyahu sweated, appeared under pressure and almost lost his cool. "Enough of these tricks, these intrigues. Learn to listen," he hoarsely implored the fist-waggling hecklers. He accused them of not even being central committee members.

The brunt of Netanyahu's attack on Sharon concentrated on the question of a Palestinian state. He accused Sharon of "undermining national security," no less, by supporting the call for an independent Palestinian state. "Nobody approved it," said Netanyahu. "Not by democratic process, not by the Likud, not by the government, not by the Knesset and certainly not in a general election."

(MORE)

2//Gulf News Online Dubai:Monday, May 13, 2002
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=50937

KUWAIT FACES POLITICAL CRISIS
Kuwait |Reuters | 13-05-2002

Kuwaiti members of parliament yesterday said they planned to question Youssef Al Ibrahim, Finance Minister, over the alleged mishandling of public funds, sparking fears of political chaos in the country.

Kuwait's government said it would resign if the debate turned into a no-confidence motion in the reformist minister.

The move raised fears of political instability in the country, diplomats said.

Parliament's Islamic bloc said it would present a request to question Ibrahim, who has faced strong criticism in recent weeks over the alleged mishandling of public funds, recent appointments and the performance of Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), which runs over $60 billion in overseas investments.

"We will now coordinate with the Popular bloc on when to present the request and who will lead it," said one MP following a meeting of the Islamic bloc yesterday.

The two blocks have 23 of the 50 elected MPs in Kuwait's parliament and had allied in a joint bid to question Ibrahim.

(SNIP)

"The meeting agreed that the government would not abandon the minister and is ready to take steps, including resignation, if the issue is escalated from a formal questioning to a no-confidence vote," a ministerial source said.

3//The Independent 13 May 2002 01:39 GMT+1
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=294449

MURDOCH FURIOUS AT GOVERNMENT CALL TO TAX SATELLITE TV AIRWAVES
By Saeed Shah

Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB hit out last night at a proposed new tax that would impose a levy on the use of the airwaves for satellite broadcasting for the first time.

The move, hidden in the small print of last week's draft communications Bill, could prove costly for the satellite broadcaster and represents the second blow for Mr Murdoch contained in the proposed legislation. A spokesman for Sky said: "These proposals would unfairly discriminate against dozens of satellite operations across Europe, who broadcast efficiently and without interfering with other transmissions."

Although the draft Bill gave the Murdoch empire the ability to take over Channel 5, it was barred - as a major newspaper owner - from buying ITV as Mr Murdoch owns The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times. His rivals, such as Disney and Viacom, which do not own newspapers in this country, were however freed to make a bid for ITV.

Taken together with the possibility of a satellite transmission tax, the Bill amounted to a surprisingly gutsy initiative from a Government constantly accused of kow-towing to big business. The Bill, said the Government, broadly backed an independent review of radio spectrum management carried out by Professor Martin Cave, of Warwick University. Professor Cave said there was a discrepancy between terrestrial broadcasters, which paid for the spectrum used, and satellite transmissions, which were untaxed.

(SNIP)

The Government says it has not reached any "firm" conclusion on the satellite tax but it "recognises the underlying rationale". There is speculation the Government will use the threat of this tax to keep Mr Murdoch in check and possibly wring concessions out of him. Political pundits maintain that the Labour Government needs the support of his newspapers if it has any hope of winning a referendum on the euro.

(MORE)

4//Dawn (Pakistan) 12 May 2002 Sunday 28 Safar 1423
http://www.dawn.com/2002/05/12/ed.htm

EDITORIAL
IN THE NAME OF SECURITY

The pattern is depressingly familiar. As soon as a serious terrorist attack takes place in Karachi, certain key roads are blocked off and commuters are forced to take long detours and endure frustrating traffic jams. The same pattern can be witnessed once again following Wednesday's devastating suicide bomb attack in the city. For motorcyclists, in particular, there is the additional hassle of constantly being stopped and searched by the police, ostensibly as a security precaution.

However, there have been complaints that these searches have become an excuse for the police to harass law-abiding citizens and extort money from them. While no one can question the need to tighten security and conduct snap checks of suspicious vehicles, there is a fine line between genuine security precautions and sheer harassment.

(SNIP)

The authorities clearly need the cooperation of the public if they are serious about rooting out terrorism and crime. Petty harassment and extortion, as well as major disruptions in their already hard-pressed lives, can only alienate people and make the task of the law enforcement agencies more difficult.

5//Pravda 2002-05-10
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/05/10/28474.html

BRAZIL: TRADITIONAL POLITICAL CONSPIRACY
Marcia Miranda
BRAZIL

The behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring in Brazil will put the political courage of the people to the test in next October's presidential election. The big question is: who rules Brazil, the people or the foreign investors?

The candidate who has the interests of the Brazilian people in mind is Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula), a Trade Unionist who represents the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores), currently leading the opinion polls with 35% of voting intentions.

Fearing that the prospect of a Lula presidency would frighten off foreign investors (and with them their commissions), the "establishment" conducts its traditional manoeuvring into a united block, trying to form a united front involving the PSDB (Social Democrats), PFL (Liberals) and PMDB (Democratic Movement). This would substantially increase the chances of a joint right-wing candidate beating Lula in an election, giving the candidate the right to far more media coverage and vaster resources to pump into the campaign.

(SNIP)

As usual, the right-wing establishment, which controls 95% of Brazil's vast wealth while 40,000,000 live below the poverty line on one USD per day or less, pulls together to give the hard shoulder to the one and only candidate who would give the Brazilian people a chance to realise their true potential over the ruling clique which holds them down.

It remains to be seen whether the people of Brazil have the courage to become the stakeholders in the future of their nation, giving voice to the words "Order" and "Progress" on their national flag.

6//Japan Today Monday, May 13, 2002
http://www.japantoday.com/campaigns/businesstravel/default.asp

GOV'T MAY ALLOW BEACHED WHALES TO BE EATEN

Sunday, May 12, 2002 at 18:00 JST (Reuters News)
TOKYO - Japan, where whale meat is an expensive gourmet treat, is considering allowing whales that beach themselves on its shores to be eaten, Japanese media said on Saturday.

The move is likely to raise fresh controversy about Japan's consumption of the giant mammals just a week before the main session of the International Whaling Commission opens in the southwestern Japanese city of Shimonoseki.

The Fisheries Agency will soon set up a group of experts to study ways to "make good use" of the meat and teeth of beached whales, Jiji news agency quoted agency officials as saying.

The group will also consider how to confirm whether beached whales are safe for consumption and how to block poaching under the guise of beaching, it said. Officials could not be reached for comment.

Mass whale beachings take place frequently along Japan's coastlines but local authorities are required to dispose of the whales without eating them because of health concerns.

(SNIP)

Cash-strapped local authorities have called for the lifting of the ban on eating beached whales, citing heavy disposal costs.

(SNIP)

Much of the whale meat in Japanese shops and restaurants comes from its controversial scientific whaling program, but limited quantity and high prices have made it an expensive gourmet food that is rarely eaten.

Japan will push for the resumption of commercial whaling at the plenary sessions of the IWC, which start on May 20 and end on May 24.

It believes in protecting endangered species but argues that other species such the minke whale, are numerous enough to be hunted in a controlled way.

* * *

© 2002, Gloria R. Lalumia
insight@zianet.com

More Stuff at: http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical

* * *