World Media Watch for July 10, 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.

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1//The Japan Times, Japan--EDITORIAL: THE UGLY AMERICAN AGAIN (There is always something disturbing about a leader that pronounces himself above the law. That only partially explains the unease surrounding the United States' decision to oppose creation of the International Criminal Court. Just as important have been the implications of that resistance -- which were on full display last week in the United Nations, where the U.S. had threatened to end the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.)

2//Stratfor Strategic Forecasting, USA--DESPITE RESIGNATIONS, TURKEY NOT READY FOR NEW ELECTIONS (Opinion polls indicate that the popular pro-Islamist Justice and Development party might sweep early elections if held. This in turn could prompt the military to step in and either cancel the polls, dissolve parliament or even repeat its actions of 1997, when it forced a recently elected pro-Islamist prime minister to crack down on his own party and then pushed him to resign a month later. Few among Turkey's current political leaders want to risk losing to the Islamists, which could endanger the country's chances for gaining entry to the European Union and receiving debt relief from the International Monetary Fund. A possible Islamist victory is also a concern to Washington, which is counting on Turkey's cooperation for a possible attack on Iraq.)

3//The Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates--PALESTINIAN ANTI-ARAFAT GROUP CALLS FOR CONFEDERATION WITH ISRAEL (But Orayib Rintawi, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, who was reportedly named interior minister, denied any link to the MPNS and told AFP he knew nothing of his "appointment". He said the group was set up some seven months ago by Palestinians living abroad and some prominent people in the Palestinian territories who had no connection with Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Al-Hilal, quoting "well-informed" sources, said the MPNS was "in contact with the US administration and has the support of certain Arab parties.")

4//TheNewsmexico.com, Mexico--TOP U.S. DIPLOMAT FOR LATIN AMERICA REACHES OUT TO REGIONAL LEADERS (The controversial top U.S. diplomat for Latin America on Monday began a tour of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay aiming to persuade leaders that Washington has not lost all interest in the economically troubled region…"Reich is going there to discuss how they can all work together more closely," said a State Department official, speaking privately. "He's also looking forward to hearing the points of view of the political legislators and business leaders that he'll meet in the trip.")

5//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--INDIA: BUSINESS AT A PRICE (The latest stinging revelations by Xerox Corp that the company had made "improper payments" to bag government contracts clearly indicates that there are more worms in the can. Although Indian company laws consider paying as well as receiving graft illegal, and impose punitive actions for such offenses, most of it is on paper, and there is a simple route to beat it. A company in India is not supposed to possess unaccounted money - known as "black money" in the country, required for paying graft. So, a smart manager appoints an agent who is paid for fictitious services. The agent then returns the money in cash, after, of course, taking his cut, which is then used to purchase influence in government departments.)

6//The Moscow Times, Russia--EDITORIAL: PUTIN HAS ALL THE LAWS HE NEEDS (Vladimir Putin on his trip this week to the Volga Federal District expressed his disappointment at its regions' economic performance and -- without mentioning any names -- spoke of the need for a mechanism for removing governors who lead their regions into economic crisis.)

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1//The Japan Times Wednesday, July 10, 2002
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20020710a1.htm

EDITORIAL: THE UGLY AMERICAN AGAIN

There is always something disturbing about a leader that pronounces himself above the law. That only partially explains the unease surrounding the United States' decision to oppose creation of the International Criminal Court. Just as important have been the implications of that resistance -- which were on full display last week in the United Nations, where the U.S. had threatened to end the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.

A temporary solution was reached, but U.S. demands that it be given blanket immunity from the court's jurisdiction fly in the face of established notions of justice. Worse, there is no reason for this impasse: The ICC was designed in such a way as to foreclose the political prosecutions the U.S. fears.

(SNIP)

In an unusually blunt letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that "the whole system of U.N. peacekeeping operations is being put at risk" by Washington's single-minded pursuit of immunity.

Mr. Annan pointed out that no member of a U.N. peacekeeping mission has been accused of war crimes and that the U.S. position amounts to amending the court statute's after it has been formed.

The U.S. worries that American personnel would be the targets of frivolous or politically motivated prosecutions. The charge is understandable only in theoretical terms. In addition to Mr. Annan's point, the ICC only has jurisdiction when a country refuses to prosecute its own people. (That statute was crafted in an attempt to allay precisely those U.S. fears.) It would be difficult, if not impossible, for the court to claim that the U.S. has shown the requisite failure of its judicial institutions for the ICC to assert jurisdiction.

The real rub is Washington's hostility to any institution that infringes upon its sovereignty. In the simplest terms, the U.S. wants to claim that it is above the law. That may appeal to patriots in the U.S., but it is bad policy. Washington daily demands that other nations hew to international norms and standards -- be it in the fight against international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or even more mundane issues such as whaling rights -- and rightly claims that the world would be a better place if they were respected.

The U.S. cannot demand their adherence to those norms and then simultaneously assert that it is free from those same constraints. International law must bind all nations or it will bind none. The irony is that international law is a low-cost way of ensuring the furtherance of U.S. aims and objectives. Few nations have played such a fundamental role in the construction of the postwar order. It is for good reason that we talk about the "Washington consensus" when discussing the prevailing international policy framework.

American exceptionalism not only undermines the legal framework that Washington has worked so hard to build -- and which reflects in large measure U.S. values and goals -- but it also erodes the good will that the U.S. has developed during the last half century. Few policies seem as short-sighted or destructive of the U.S. national interest. Yet that does not seem to be sufficient rationale to get Washington to change its mind.

2//Stratfor Strategic Forecasting 9 July 2002
http://www.stratfor.com/fib/topStory_view.php?ID=205178

DESPITE RESIGNATIONS, TURKEY NOT READY FOR NEW ELECTIONS

Summary

Mass defections from Turkey's ruling coalition over the refusal of ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to step down have raised the likelihood of early elections. However, none of the steps needed for such an action have yet been taken, indicating that the country's political parties have more maneuvering to do before they are ready to go to the polls.

Analysis

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit defied calls for his resignation July 9 and instead replaced three ministers who quit the government the previous day to protest his refusal to step down in the face of chronic health problems. So far 26 parliament members -- including four of Ecevit's own ministers -- have left his governing coalition.

The political crisis has cost Ecevit's ruling Democratic Left Party (DSP) its position as the single-largest party in parliament, and it could set the stage for snap elections. But although many legislators have demanded such polls, the steps needed to call a vote have yet to be taken. This delay is due to internal wrangling in the government, including among members of the ruling coalition who may hope to maintain the current parliament rather than face elections.

If early elections do take place, they would give Islamist group Justice and Development -- the most popular political party in Turkey -- a chance to take power in the government. This would trigger an intervention from Turkey's military, which has shown a willingness in the past to involve itself in the government's affairs if it feels the country's secular status is threatened. The crisis has also triggered uncertainty inTurkey's already troubled economy, causing the lira to sink to an all-time low against the dollar.

However, the government is still far from collapsing, and there are several political maneuverings that could occur in the meantime. Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer could ask Ecevit to remain in power for the short term and pick a prime minister designate. This would give Ecevit's party leverage in trying to rebuild the coalition.

(SNIP)

Opinion polls indicate that the popular pro-Islamist Justice and Development party might sweep early elections if held. This in turn could prompt the military to step in and either cancel the polls, dissolve parliament or even repeat its actions of 1997, when it forced a recently elected pro-Islamist prime minister to crack down on his own party and then pushed him to resign a month later.

Few among Turkey's current political leaders want to risk losing to the Islamists, which could endanger the country's chances for gaining entry to the European Union and receiving debt relief from the International Monetary Fund. A possible Islamist victory is also a concern to Washington, which is counting on Turkey's cooperation for a possible attack on Iraq.

Having started the ball rolling, the former members of Ecevit's party -- especially Ozkan -- will be eager to form an alliance that will put them into the driver's seat in parliament. That however may not be possible, as it will be difficult to convince enough legislators to join their side to give any possible new coalition that is formed a parliamentary majority. The next few days will be telling, as the amount of effort made to gather signatures for an extraordinary parliament session will signal the desire for new elections.

3//The Khaleej Times 09 July 2002. 28 Rabi Al Thani, 1423.
http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/middleeast.htm#storym

PALESTINIAN ANTI-ARAFAT GROUP CALLS FOR CONFEDERATION WITH ISRAEL

AMMAN - A previously unknown group said on Tuesday it intended to head a future Palestinian state in a confederation with Israel and a shared capital of Jerusalem, in a statement published in a Jordanian newspaper.

But while it attacked Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the "Movement for Palestinian National Solidarity" (MPNS), gave no indication of its own leadership, claiming it was "the voice of the Palestinian masses and the legitimate heir of the intifada". The statement was published in the newspaper Al-Hilal, which said members of the MPNS met in Zurich, Switzerland, last week and drew up a planned "transitional" government for the Palestinians. But Orayib Rintawi, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, who was reportedly named interior minister, denied any link to the MPNS and told AFP he knew nothing of his "appointment".

He said the group was set up some seven months ago by Palestinians living abroad and some prominent people in the Palestinian territories who had no connection with Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Al-Hilal, quoting "well-informed" sources, said the MPNS was "in contact with the US administration and has the support of certain Arab parties."

US President George W. Bush called last month for Arafat and other Palestinian leaders "compromised by terror" to be ousted in planned elections in January, and officials in Washington were said to be sounding out possible replacements. Tuesday's statement announcing the foundation of the MPNS, which covered a whole page of the weekly, said Arafat and the Palestinian Authority had "humiliated and oppressed our people for 10 years" and called his leadership "no longer valid." It proposed peace with Israel leading to the creation of "a Palestinian state friendly to all the countries of the region including Israel", and said it was against violence "especially the murder of civilians on both sides."

But the group said "a permanent and just peace" required the withdrawal of Israeli troops from areas occupied since the outbreak of the intifada, or Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Recognition by Israel of a Palestinian state "three months after the MPNS takes over the leadership" would be followed by "an agreement of the two states on the creation of a federation or confederation with the unified city of Jerusalem as its capital."

(SNIP)

Al-Hilal said that the provisional government list drawn up by the MPNS at its Zurich meeting included Palestinian academic and human rights leader Mustafa Barguthi as deputy prime minister and foreign minister. US-based writer and theoretician Edward Said was named as an adviser for political and international affairs, the paper said. "I have nothing to do with this and deny it completely. What's more I am unhappy about (the group) putting my name in without any consultation with me," Barguthi said in a telephone call to AFP in Jerusalem.

(MORE)

4//TheNewsmexico.com Tuesday, July 09, 2002
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=29868

TOP U.S. DIPLOMAT FOR LATIN AMERICA REACHES OUT TO REGIONAL LEADERS
AFP - 7/9/2002

WASHINGTON - The controversial top U.S. diplomat for Latin America on Monday began a tour of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay aiming to persuade leaders that Washington has not lost all interest in the economically troubled region.

Otto Reich arrived Monday in Brasilia, and Wednesday will head to Argentina, the hardest hit economy in South America's southern cone. Thursday, he will visit Uruguay's capital, Montevideo before returning to Buenos Aires until Friday.

Investors are increasingly jittery amid concern leftist presidential frontrunner Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva may win Brazil's October vote, and that Brasilia could default on its public debt, which has sent its credit ratings and currency, the real, down the slide.

Argentina, bankrupt and facing a more than four-year recession, is desperately seeking to iron out a deal to make possible an injection of fresh credit from the International Monetary Fund.

(SNIP)

Uruguay, sunk by the failure of its neighbor Argentina, has been praised by Washington as a policy "model" for the region, though it remains in dire economic straits.

"Reich is going there to discuss how they can all work together more closely," said a State Department official, speaking privately. "He's also looking forward to hearing the points of view of the political legislators and business leaders that he'll meet in the trip."

Reich, a Cuban-born former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela whom President George W. Bush picked to be assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, headed the State Department's office of public diplomacy in the mid-1980s.

He has been accused by some, including members of Congress, of illegal propaganda activities in Nicaragua during former president Ronald Reagan's tenure.

The allegations were detailed in a 1997 report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, but Reich has never been charged with any crime.

5//Asia Times Online Jul 10, 2002
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG10Df03.html

INDIA : BUSINESS AT A PRICE
By Indrajit Basu

KOLKATA - How corrupt is India? It is a question that hangs embarrassingly over the country after Xerox Corp, the troubled office equipment giant that is embroiled in an accounting scandal in the United States, made a startling admission last week that its Indian subsidiary, Xerox ModiCorp, had paid up to US$700,000 in graft to secure government contracts.

News of the payment of graft is certainly not new in India. It is a known fact that before Xerox, many multinationals, such as the disgraced Enron, have resorted to this strategy to achieve their objectives. What is new, however, is that the Xerox revelation is the first instance of a multinational corporation admitting payments of graft to the government of India to get its work done. Experts say that this disclosure could lead to many more skeletons emerging from corporate closets.

Time was when anything happening across the world failed to make ripples in India, protected as it was by closed-door economic policies that were a mixture of the capitalism of the free world and socialism advocated by the erstwhile Soviet Union. But not any more. In fact, if the decade-old liberalization process has brought India opportunities - the best from foreign shores - it has also brought in the worst forms of corruption and fraud.

The latest stinging revelations by Xerox Corp that the company had made "improper payments" to bag government contracts clearly indicates that there are more worms in the can. Although Indian company laws consider paying as well as receiving graft illegal, and impose punitive actions for such offenses, most of it is on paper, and there is a simple route to beat it.

A company in India is not supposed to possess unaccounted money - known as "black money" in the country, required for paying graft. So, a smart manager appoints an agent who is paid for fictitious services. The agent then returns the money in cash, after, of course, taking his cut, which is then used to purchase influence in government departments.

"It is not the easiest thing to do, but it is possible," says Sunil Munjal, the vice-chairman of Hero Motors, the largest two-wheeler maker in India. Like Munjal, even as the rest of the business community in India is trying to shrug off the whole Xerox episode as a storm in a tea cup, many nevertheless are worried.

"The Xerox scandal is part of a far deeper problem in Indian society: the problem of corruption," said Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman of Feedback Ventures, a venture management company that assists Indian and international companies to set up new ventures in India.

Quoting Transparency International figures, the global non-governmental organization engaged in the fight against corruption, Chatterjee added that India ranked 66th among 85 nations in its corruption perceptions index. Turned the other way round, India is the 14th most corrupt nation in the world in terms of least transparency. According to both Munjal and Chatterjee, the index "is obviously not a good example of corporate governance in India".

India's corruption index was 2.7 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean). The rating is based on perceptions of business people, academics and risk analysts. The US ranks 17, with a score of 7.6. Finland tops the table with the cleanest record.

(MORE)

6//The Moscow Times Wednesday, Jul. 10, 2002. Page 7
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/07/10/005.html

EDITORIAL: PUTIN HAS ALL THE LAWS HE NEEDS

Vladimir Putin on his trip this week to the Volga Federal District expressed his disappointment at its regions' economic performance and -- without mentioning any names -- spoke of the need for a mechanism for removing governors who lead their regions into economic crisis.

This is clearly an issue close to the president's heart, as one of the first things Putin did following his inauguration in May 2000 was to embark on an ambitious program to strengthen the federal center's control over the regions and rein in governors, many of whom were treating their regions as their own personal fiefdoms.

His approach was two-pronged. He divided the country into seven federal districts, appointing hand-picked plenipotentiaries to head them up. Then he pushed a raft of legislation through the State Duma, the main purpose of which was to make regional authorities more accountable. Among other things, the laws make it possible for the president, under certain circumstances, to suspend governors facing criminal charges.

So why does Putin need any additional powers to remove regional governors? If the current administration wanted to remove a governor, for whatever reason, it would surely not be difficult to arrange for criminal charges to be brought and then invoke the existing removal mechanism.

(Never mind the usual practice in a democracy of unseating a corrupt or undesirable governor at the ballot box.)

And yet, in the two years since its introduction, the law has not been invoked once. Putin's administration has preferred threats and sweetened backroom deals for sending governors packing.

(SNIP)

If true, Butov would be a prime candidate for testing out Putin's legislation, setting an example for some of Butov's colleagues. Surely this kind of behavior is a direct affront to Putin's "dictatorship of law" project. But then maybe Butov figures that bad behavior pays. When the notorious former governor of Primorye, Yevgeny Nazdratenko, became a big enough embarrassment, Putin persuaded him to quit by offering him a job as head of the State Fisheries Committee.

What a great example that was to the rest.

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

"When there was joy..." a bittersweet picture/remembrance of the good times...at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical

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