World Media Watch for September 16, 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 Gulf-Times, Qatar--US 'RESERVES' 20 AIR CORRIDORS ACROSS ATLANTIC (LISBON: The United States has reserved a total of 20 air corridors across the Atlantic Ocean in the past 24 hours, some of them with access to Portugal's Lajes air base on the Azores islands where an US air force unit is stationed, the Portuguese weekly Expresso reported yesterday.)

2//The Moscow Times, Russia--U.S. SLAPS SANCTIONS ON 3 DEFENSE CONTRACTORS (While of little consequence commercially, the sanctions, which will be reviewed in one year, added fuel to the growing political fire between the two Cold War foes over a range of issues, including Georgia and Iraq... KBP's deputy chief designer, Leonid Roshal, said by telephone Friday that the sanctions were an attempt by Washington to divert the attention of the world community away from its policies on Iraq and Georgia.)

3//The Jordan Times, Jordan--LEBANON WILL NOT BACK DOWN OVER WATER DISPUTE WITH ISRAEL (Lebanese President Emile Lahoud vowed Saturday to thrust ahead with plans to divert water from the country's Hasbani River, despite threats from Israel over the use of the water supply that feeds the Jewish state's own freshwater resources... Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Tuesday that any diversion of water from the Hasbani would constitute a "casus belli," or grounds for war, between the two nations.)

4//The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt--...ABOUT THE MINISTERS WHO WANT TO TURN JOURNALISTS INTO OFFICE-BOUND, OBEDIENT CIVIL SERVANTS (At the end of the day, anyone who deliberately blocks the flow of information to the press has malicious intentions. He is lacking in transparency and generally trying to hide the corruption which has taken root in his ministry.)

5//Stratfor Strategic Forecasting, USA-- NEW REBEL GROUP IN ECUADOR CLAIMS TIES TO FARC (...even if the FARE and FLB prove to be FARC front groups posing as new entities, their emergence would suggest that Colombia's largest rebel army might be developing capabilities to attack U.S. targets outside Colombia and to spread confusion and disinformation meant to destabilize the region even more.)

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1//The Gulf-Times Sunday, September 15, 2002 - Rajab 8 , 1423 AH
http://www.gulf-times.com/

US 'RESERVES' 20 AIR CORRIDORS ACROSS ATLANTIC
AFP

LISBON: The United States has reserved a total of 20 air corridors across the Atlantic Ocean in the past 24 hours, some of them with access to Portugal's Lajes air base on the Azores islands where an US air force unit is stationed, the Portuguese weekly Expresso reported yesterday.

Quoting air controllers in the Azores, Expresso said that the United States normally only has four corridors.

"There can only be one reason for this step, the transport of large quantities of light materiel that can only be transported by plane, as well as military personnel, to the Gulf region," said the weekly citing military experts.

The report came as a top US general said the commander of US forces in the Gulf was likely to move his headquarters to the region from Florida "to be ready for action" over Iraq.

2//The Moscow Times Monday, Sep. 16, 2002. Page 5
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/09/16/041.html

Monday, Sep. 16, 2002. Page 5

U.S. SLAPS SANCTIONS ON 3 DEFENSE CONTRACTORS
By Lyuba Pronina, Staff Writer

The United States has blacklisted three Russian defense contractors it says are "transferring lethal military equipment" to countries supporting terrorism.

The companies, all state owned, are Rostvertol, which manufactures the Mi-24 attack helicopter and the giant Mi-26 transport helicopter; the Tula Design Bureau of Instrument Building, or KBP, which makes anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems; and Bazalt, which makes grenades and other munitions.

(SNIP)

Those "state sponsors of terrorism" are Syria, Sudan and Libya, according to The New York Times, but the official would neither confirm nor deny the report.

While of little consequence commercially, the sanctions, which will be reviewed in one year, added fuel to the growing political fire between the two Cold War foes over a range of issues, including Georgia and Iraq.

Government officials and the enterprises themselves all expressed outrage and astonishment at the move, which was compounded by a statement released by Washington the same day slamming President Vladimir Putin for threatening to carry out attacks on Chechen rebel bases in neighboring Georgia.

(SNIP)

Visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton defended the sanctions, saying they had to be imposed because U.S. laws regarding terrorism had been violated.

KBP's deputy chief designer, Leonid Roshal, said by telephone Friday that the sanctions were an attempt by Washington to divert the attention of the world community away from its policies on Iraq and Georgia.

"U.S. officials have clearly stepped up their confrontation with Russia and decided to squeeze a few Russian enterprises that bear no relation to them," Roshal said, adding that his company's work would not be affected.

"We are not under the command of the U.S. State Department," he said. "Experience shows that Russian weapons, air defense systems and anti-tank systems are better than the Americans', and that makes the U.S. nervous," he said.

(MORE)

3//The Jordan Times Sunday, September 15, 2002
http://www.jordantimes.com/Sun/news/news5.htm

LEBANON WILL NOT BACK DOWN OVER WATER DISPUTE WITH ISRAEL

Beirut, AFP - Lebanese President Emile Lahoud vowed Saturday to thrust ahead with plans to divert water from the country's Hasbani River, despite threats from Israel over the use of the water supply that feeds the Jewish state's own freshwater resources.

Lahoud hailed the decision to channel water from the Hasbani's tributary, the Wazzani, for 20 villages in south Lebanon as "a definitive and irreversible decision."

"The Israeli threats cannot prevent us from applying the international agreements and conventions that govern the rights of states to use water sources on their own territory," he told a delegation of visiting French senators.

Lahoud also said Lebanon was explaining its position to the United Nations and called for Israel to halt its intimidatory tactics about the threat to Lake Tiberias, the Jewish state's main freshwater body, which relies on the Hasbani for 20 to 25 per cent of its water.

Earlier Saturday, a US source in Israel said a US official was to arrive in Israel "within the next few days" to mediate between Israel and Lebanon over the Hasbani water dispute.

"We have been talking to both sides at the highest level - in Washington, in Jerusalem and in Beirut - trying to get both sides to come to a peaceful compromise solution," he said.

(SKIP)

Speaking after a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres described Lebanon's pumping from the Wazzani as an "unnecessary provocation."

But Lebanon insists the project is essential to provide drinking water to a total of 20 villages in the border region, which was occupied by Israel from 1978 to 2000.

The Arab League said Saturday the position of Lebanon, one of its 22 members, "was based on international law" and expressed support for Beirut against Israel's threats.

(MORE)

4//The Egyptian Gazette 16 September 2002
http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/1/5.asp

Tell me more
...ABOUT THE MINISTERS WHO WANT TO TURN JOURNALISTS INTO OFFICE-BOUND, OBEDIENT CIVIL SERVANTS
By M. Ali Ibrahim

When a minister or any other important official has just been appointed, the first thing he does is to make friends with journalists. They are always careful to invite prominent newsmen to their meetings and press conferences, fielding all their queries and even being prepared to accept their late-night phone calls. But this 'honeymoon' between the new ministers and journalists is normally a very short one. After then it's down to the reality of 'married life', with a divorce looming round the corner. When they first take office, ministers seek the help of journalists to polish their image and market them to the readers of Egypt's dailies, acquainting them with what they have achieved so far and what they aim to achieve in future in the interests of the people.

(SNIP)

Newly appointed ministers are therefore very concerned about the media - especially the press, TV, radio and advertising. They insist on being escorted by journalists on all their tours, trips abroad and inspections nationwide. In the early days, journalists are always welcome anytime, without even needing to make a prior appointment.

(SNIP)

Completely forgetting how modest and accommodating he was when he first took office, he then gets on the phone to the editor-in-chief of the offending organ, ordering him to replace the journalist who covers his ministry's activities with one who is more obedient and loyal. The swollen-headed minister sits in his ivory tower, labouring under the misguided impression that journalists work for him and not for their papers or magazines!

Such pompous figures fancy that, as long as they pay for ads in national dailies, these papers' journalists must bow down to them and kiss their feet night and day! It's a crazy argument. Of course, the nation's newspapers rely on the ministries to fill their advertising space, but not to the extent that their livelihood relies on them exclusively.

Ministers should have the maturity and professionalism to realise that advertising and journalism are two separate issues. The role of journalists is to report on defects, faults, failings, errors and the wasting of public funds, not just in ministries, but in any other institution where corruption could occur. At the end of the day, anyone who deliberately blocks the flow of information to the press has malicious intentions. He is lacking in transparency and generally trying to hide the corruption which has taken root in his ministry.

5//Stratfor Strategic Forecasting 13 September 2002
http://www.stratfor.com/fib/topStory_view.php?ID=206183

NEW REBEL GROUP IN ECUADOR CLAIMS TIES TO FARC

Summary

A little-known group calling itself the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Ecuador has taken credit for two bombs that exploded recently in the coastal city of Guayaquil. The FARE could be a front for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or a stand-alone group. Either way, its emergence suggests the Colombian conflict soon will affect U.S. personnel and assets outside Colombia.

Analysis

(SNIP)

Very little is known about the FARE. It is not clear whether the group actually exists or is a FARC cell seeking to frighten Ecuadoreans into rejecting their country's assistance to U.S. forces involved in the war on drugs and rebels in Colombia. However, if the FARE does exist as a separate entity, it could indicate that Colombian rebels are reaching out to like-minded supporters in neighboring countries in an effort to turn the Colombian war into a regional conflict. And if the FARE indeed was responsible for the recent bombings in Guayaquil, it would suggest that the group has sufficient reach to attack political and economic targets in Ecuador's major urban centers, such as the capital city of Quito.

With the first round of Ecuador's presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 20, the government of lame-duck President Gustavo Noboa cannot dismiss the FARE's e-mailed threats as a hoax meant to destabilize the country politically. Several candidates -- including two brothers of former presidents, two coup leaders, an artist and a banana tycoon -- are vying for the presidency. And if any of these candidates is attacked or killed by groups claiming to belong to the FARE, it could influence the outcome of elections in a country where most voters do not support free-market policies, and where deep political divisions exist between the ruling elites in mountainous Quito and coastal Guayaquil.

(SNIP)

Ecuador's coastal region is heavily populated with immigrant Arab merchants. Guayaquil, where customs officials are famously corrupt, is also a major hub for smugglers of dry goods, illegal immigrants, narcotics, precursor chemicals, weapons and explosives. This makes Guayaquil important to Colombian groups like the FARC and National Liberation Army (ELN), both of which likely have ties to the city's criminal underworld.

The FARE shares some interesting characteristics with another shadowy group, the Bolivarian Liberation Front (FLB), that recently surfaced in Venezuela. According to news reports from Venezuela's border states with Colombia, the FLB includes up to 2,000 fighters trained by the FARC and ELN.

(SNIP)

Nevertheless, even if the FARE and FLB prove to be FARC front groups posing as new entities, their emergence would suggest that Colombia's largest rebel army might be developing capabilities to attack U.S. targets outside Colombia and to spread confusion and disinformation meant to destabilize the region even more.

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

Updated listings of Radio for Progressives on the internet at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical

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