by Gloria R. Lalumia
World
Media Watch
by Gloria R. Lalumia
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//TurkishPress.com,
USA--GROSSMAN AND WOLFOWITZ IN ANKARA (The U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz and Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman arrived in Ankara
on Tuesday to hold contacts...Speaking at Esenboga Airport, Wolfowitz
said that they would first of all discuss the Iraqi issue with the best
ally of the U.S., Turkey. Wolfowitz said that they would discuss the method
of implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1441 by peaceful
ways, adding that the U.S. prefers peaceful solution of the Iraqi problem
and that they ask help from their partners and allies to this end.)
2//The News International, Pakistan--US, PAKISTAN FACING NUCLEAR RIDDLE
(Pakistan's senior foreign policy and security officials expect to begin
an important dialogue with the Bush administration over safety issues
surrounding the country's nuclear and missile programmes, when Stephen
Hadley, the US Deputy National Security Adviser, visits Islamabad this
week, senior officials said on Monday... The controversy surrounding the
Pak-North Korean connection, for the first time since Pakistan became
a close US ally after last September's terrorist attacks, has prompted
officials to draw comparisons with the pattern similar to the 1980s. Then
too, while the regime of late General Mohammad Ziaul Haq was closely allied
with the Reagan administration, periodic leaks to mainstream US newspapers,
relying in part on US government sources, drew attention to Islamabad's
nuclear programme.)
3//The Independent, UK--BLAIR ATTACKED FOR HIS 'TERRIFYING' DOSSIER ON SADDAM'S BRUTALITY (Alice Mahon, the Labour MP, said: "Why is this being published now? We know all of this is part of a softening-up exercise." Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for Linlithgow, said: "I think that this highly unusual, indeed, unprecedented publication is cranking up for war.")
4//Yemen
Times, Yemen--WILL 'WAR ON TERROR' BE LOST? (Iryani, a key figure in coordination
between Yemen and the United States, said his government drew a clear
line however between the "war on terror" and war with Iraq.
He said that war on Iraq would create instability throughout the Arab
world and that he doubted the United States would find it easy to install
a stable government. "Who in the world will have the genius ability
to rule Iraq when the regime is removed by force? I can't imagine how
it will be. I fear there will be many civil wars," he said.)
5//TheNewsmexico.com, Mexico--GENERAL STRIKE INCREASES PRESSURE ON VENEZUELA
PRESIDENT (Chavez has said the latest strike is a new attempted coup.
The labor minister insisted however that much of the country was working
normally. "The sectors which produce 81 percent of gross domestic
product are working normally," Iglesias said. The steel, aluminum
and oil industries were still running, the government said. Venezuela
is one of the world's principal suppliers of crude oil... Luis Vicente
Leon, director of the Datanalsis institute, highlighted the increasingly
difficult situation faced by the president. Opinion polls give him a public
approval rating of 32 percent. Chavez's term in office ends in 2006. The
Constitution provides that during the second half of the term, citizens
may, by petition, demand a recall vote.)
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1//TurkishPress.com
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=8036
GROSSMAN
AND WOLFOWITZ IN ANKARA
Anadolu Agency
ANKARA - The U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to hold contacts.
Grossman and Wolfowitz will be received by Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and meet with Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis within the framework of their contacts.
National Defense Ministry and General Staff are also included in the program of Grossman and Wolfowitz who will participate in interdelegational meetings. The Turkish delegation will be led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal.
Grossman will proceed to Cyprus on Wednesday, and Wolfowitz is expected to return to the United States.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said that they will mainly take up the issue of Iraq and Turkey-EU relations in their contacts in Ankara.
Speaking at Esenboga Airport, Wolfowitz said that they would first of all discuss the Iraqi issue with the best ally of the U.S., Turkey.
Wolfowitz said that they would discuss the method of implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1441 by peaceful ways, adding that the U.S. prefers peaceful solution of the Iraqi problem and that they ask help from their partners and allies to this end.
(MORE)
2//The News International Tuesday December 03, 2002-- Ramadan 27,
1423 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
US,
PAKISTAN FACING NUCLEAR RIDDLE
By Farhan Bokhari
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's senior foreign policy and security officials expect to begin an important dialogue with the Bush administration over safety issues surrounding the country's nuclear and missile programmes, when Stephen Hadley, the US Deputy National Security Adviser, visits Islamabad this week, senior officials said on Monday.
Though Mr Hadley is expected to spend hardly a day in Islamabad, his visit has assumed larger interest for Pakistani officials, many of whom have been stung by a spate of recent stories in US newspapers, accusing Pakistan of exchanging nuclear know-how with North Korea in return for medium-to-long-range missiles.
The issue of Pakistan's relationship to Pyongyang has emerged at a critical time for the country's relations with the United States, when the government of General Pervez Musharraf is continuing its support to the US war on terror even at the cost of deepening domestic hostility. Ahead of Mr Hadley's visit, senior Pakistani officials said, the opportunity may have arrived for accusations against Pakistan to be tackled at senior level with the Bush administration.
"The Hadley visit was arranged well before these reports, but there's now an opportunity to put across our point of view" said a senior official, claiming that the visit was arranged well before the Pak-North Korea controversy emerged. "The question we have is simply that such serious matters can not be discussed through the press. We want to know if there's evidence. If not, where are these leaks coming from" added the official.
The controversy surrounding the Pak-North Korean connection, for the first time since Pakistan became a close US ally after last September's terrorist attacks, has prompted officials to draw comparisons with the pattern similar to the 1980s. Then too, while the regime of late General Mohammad Ziaul Haq was closely allied with the Reagan administration, periodic leaks to mainstream US newspapers, relying in part on US government sources, drew attention to Islamabad's nuclear programme.
(SNIP)
"Is there a pattern which may be repeated here", asked a former senior official, closely associated with the Zia government. "Even if there are no punitive measures which are immediately introduced, should we now prepare for the inevitable punishing measures in future" he added.
Pakistani officials insisted that the allegations seen so far had little relevance to reality as they knew it, prompting some to speculate that the charges against Pakistan are being drummed up by lobbies lined up against Islamabad, seeking to undermine General Musharraf's relationship with the Bush administration.
"If we're talking about know-how, why should fingers only be pointed towards Pakistan. Do people forget there's a large range of sources including some web sites where people can search around for bits of relevant information on nuclear programmes", said a senior government official.
"Isn't it just a very strange coincidence that just when the US and other western countries are so unnerved about weapons of mass destruction, this sort of information should come out and that too without evidence" he added.
3//The Independent 3 December 2002 20:33 GMT
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=358007
BLAIR
ATTACKED FOR HIS 'TERRIFYING' DOSSIER ON SADDAM'S BRUTALITY
By Ben Russell Political Correspondent
Tony Blair launched an onslaught against Saddam Hussein's human rights record yesterday in an attempt to sway public opinion in favour of military action against Iraq.
The Foreign Office released a graphic 23-page dossier giving details of the Iraqi regime. But the publication sparked accusations of political opportunism from human rights groups, while left-wing Labour MPs claimed the Government was "softening up" the public for war.
(SNIP)
The report said: "Iraq is a terrifying place to live ... these grave violations of human rights are not the work of a number of over-zealous individuals but the deliberate policy of the regime. Fear is Saddam's chosen method for staying in power."
(SNIP)
Amnesty International accused the Government of failing to speak out about human rights abuses in a string of states allied to the West. A spokesman said: "We are concerned about the timing and whether that introduces a measure of political opportunism."
Hania Mufti, of the international pressure group Human Rights Watch, said: "The timing would not be so much of an issue if it came against a background of previous actions by the Government to expose human rights violations."
Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman, warned: "This dossier, no matter how horrific its terms, would not provide cover for action against Iraq unless it were accompanied by a mandate from the UN."
Alice Mahon, the Labour MP, said: "Why is this being published now? We know all of this is part of a softening-up exercise." Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for Linlithgow, said: "I think that this highly unusual, indeed, unprecedented publication is cranking up for war."
4//Yemen Times 49 - December 2 thru December 8, 2002, Vol XII
http://www.yementimes.com/02/iss49/front.htm#3
If
US goes into Iraq ...
WILL 'WAR ON TERROR' BE LOST?
Arab governments would curtail their cooperation with the American "war on terrorism" if the United States attacks Iraq, a senior Yemeni official said this week.
"I can't imagine that war in Iraq will allow any country to go about the war against terrorism as business as usual," said Abdul-Karim Al Iryani, a former Yemeni prime minister and senior adviser to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "It will negatively affect the cooperation of almost every Arab country, at least during the war. After the war, maybe people will come back," Iryani told reporters.
He also told the CNN network that he doubted that the US would install a stable government in Baghdad.
"Iraq will go into a civil war swamp and there will not be anyone who could rule Iraq if the Saddam Hussein regime was overthrown," he said.
He said only with democracy, free education, and economic development, one could eradicate extremism in the Islamic word.
The
Yemeni government has been one of the most cooperative in the Arab world
in the U.S. campaign to track down members of the Al Qaida group, blamed
for the September 2001 suicide attacks in New York and Washington.
(SNIP)
Iryani, a key figure in coordination between Yemen and the United States, said his government drew a clear line however between the "war on terror" and war with Iraq.
He said that war on Iraq would create instability throughout the Arab world and that he doubted the United States would find it easy to install a stable government.
"Who in the world will have the genius ability to rule Iraq when the regime is removed by force? I can't imagine how it will be. I fear there will be many civil wars," he said.
(MORE)
5//TheNewsmexico.com Tuesday, December 3, 2002
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=41203
GENERAL STRIKE INCREASES PRESSURE ON VENEZUELA PRESIDENT
AFP - CARACAS - The Venezuelan opposition launched on Monday the fourth general strike in a year aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez to stand down.
Unions said the action was a success and the stoppage would go on, while the government insisted the oil industry and other key sectors remained open.
"In many work places, the strike has failed. Moreover, it never even started," Labor Minister Maria Cristina Iglesias said on state-run television.
In Caracas, public transport ran normally though there were fewer passengers than normal.
Unions said however that 80 percent of workers nationwide had joined the stoppage.
"We can take for granted that the strike will go on," Carlos Ortega, head of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), told reporters.
(SNIP)
Pressure is building again on the Venezuelan leader, who was briefly deposed
by a coup in April, over renewed opposition demands that he stand down
or call a referendum to decide his future.
Chavez has said the latest strike is a new attempted coup.
The labor minister insisted however that much of the country was working normally.
"The sectors which produce 81 percent of gross domestic product are working normally," Iglesias said.
The steel, aluminum and oil industries were still running, the government said. Venezuela is one of the world's principal suppliers of crude oil.
Opposition leaders called the strike last week after the Supreme Court blocked the National Electoral Council from allowing a referendum that would have effectively been a vote of confidence in Chavez's presidency.
Organization of American States secretary general Cesar Gaviria has been trying to negotiate a settlement between the government and opposition for several months. But he said last week they had ground to a halt.
(SNIP)
Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalsis institute, highlighted the increasingly difficult situation faced by the president. Opinion polls give him a public approval rating of 32 percent.
Chavez's term in office ends in 2006. The Constitution provides that during the second half of the term, citizens may, by petition, demand a recall vote.
(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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