World Media Watch

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 OCTOBER 4, 2004

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--'IRAQ REBEL ENCLAVES TO BE RETAKEN BY DECEMBER' (US troops in Iraq will push on with air strikes and ground offensives against rebel enclaves over the next three months to give the Iraqi government the best chance of restoring control ahead of elections in January, a senior official said. Iraq's fledgling security forces will play a bigger part in these operations with the number of army battalions set to increase five-fold by January, Brigadier General Erv Lessel told AFP. But a leading Sunni Muslim religious group criticised the logic of using brute force, such as a massive combined assault on the Sunni insurgent-held city of Samarra that left some 150 people dead, to achieve democratic goals...Asked about warnings by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld among others that elections might be impossible to organise on time in all parts of Iraq, Lessel acknowledged that the remaining insurgent enclaves posed a problem.)

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK--HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DEMAND INDEPENDENCE (Hundreds of thousands of Kurds marched Saturday in the cities of Arbil, Kerkuk, Suleimani, Dohuk and Khaneqin revindicating their right of self determination. The demonstration was organized by the Referendum Movement, considered the widest civic organization in southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan. This demonstration was planned after the collection of two million signatures from the 5 million habitants of the region including 250,000 from the Kurdish Diaspora.)

3//The Independent, UK--AERIAL SHOW OF FORCE FAILS TO REASSURE NERVOUS AFGHAN VOTERS (The security is more about the fear of Taliban attacks than of voting irregularities. As Saturday's poll nears, fear has gripped Kabul. The streets are emptier than usual, taxis refuse to go to the more crowded areas, and many foreign NGO workers have fled. Beside the posters for the candidates, rival messages from the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar have appeared, telling Afghans to stay away from polling stations. The international forces warn of as many as 2,000 militants crossing from Pakistan to mount attacks on the election... The problem is greatest in rural areas. Many Afghans have been complaining that warlords are threatening them, and trying to direct their votes.

4//The Daily Times, Pakistan--SLOW REGISTRATION MAY DELAY AFGHAN ELECTIONS (The upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan are likely to be postponed because of the sluggish response by 800,000 potential voters living as refugees in Pakistan during the first two days of the three-day registration period. Preliminary figures released by the International Organisation for Migration, which is overseeing the registration process, indicated that only 140,000 refugees registered on the first day (Friday). Official sources told Daily Times that a decision on whether to postpone the elections or not would be taken on either Sunday (today) or Monday... However, the low turnout could be attributed to the fact that few Afghan communities were willing to allow women to participate in the voting, said an IOM press release. The number of registered female voters is low, making up only 22 percent of the 140,000 who registered on Friday, IOM spokesman Greg Bearup said.

5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--GREENS SURGE AS COALITION HOLDS LEAD (The Coalition has consolidated its strong position ahead of Labor in the final week of the election campaign, with support for the Greens surging to new heights in the Senate, the latest Herald Poll shows. It paints a picture of a polarised electorate persistently supporting the Coalition but favouring the Greens in the Senate to put a brake on the Government...In an uncharacteristic admission, the Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday reversed his claim to be the underdog in this campaign, telling the Sunday program: "I think we'll make it, but it'll be very close." The Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, appeared to assume the role of underdog as Labor went into the final week of the campaign. The Coalition had "all the benefits of incumbency, that's the reality of our campaigning", he said.)

* * *

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan Monday, October 4, 2004
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/news/news6.htm

'IRAQ REBEL ENCLAVES TO BE RETAKEN BY DECEMBER'

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US troops in Iraq will push on with air strikes and ground offensives against rebel enclaves over the next three months to give the Iraqi government the best chance of restoring control ahead of elections in January, a senior official said.

Iraq's fledgling security forces will play a bigger part in these operations with the number of army battalions set to increase five-fold by January, Brigadier General Erv Lessel told AFP.

But a leading Sunni Muslim religious group criticised the logic of using brute force, such as a massive combined assault on the Sunni insurgent-held city of Samarra that left some 150 people dead, to achieve democratic goals.

"It is desirable to achieve political ends without the use of military force, but recent operations have proven that force is usually required to remove terrorists and criminal elements from the cities of Iraq," insisted Lessel, chief spokesman for the US-led military in Iraq.

When militants refused to disarm and take part in the political process, "there is no option other than the use of sufficient military force," he told AFP in an interview late Saturday.

The Committee of Muslim Scholars, the leading religious organisation for Iraq's ousted Sunni Arab elite, had asked how the government and its US allies could expect to prepare credible elections through the use of such overwhelming force.

"Resorting to iron and fire to prepare for elections is a flawed method," the clerics said in a statement Saturday.

(SNIP)

Some 3,000 US troops and 2,000 Iraqi auxiliaries stormed Samarra at dawn Friday, sparking fierce fighting in the city of some 250,000people.

(SNIP)

Asked about warnings by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld among others that elections might be impossible to organise on time in all parts of Iraq, Lessel acknowledged that the remaining insurgent enclaves posed a problem.

But he insisted that as Iraq's own military strength grew, the government and its foreign allies ought to be able to flush out the rebels in time.

"Our strategy is to strive for local control of cities throughout Iraq by the end of December, so that free and fair elections can be carried out in January," he said.

"To achieve that we will have an increased number of trained and equipped Iraqi security forces available to conduct security operations."

At present, the Iraqi army has six fully trained and equipped battalions but Lessel said he expected that number to rise to 27 by January.

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK 03/10/2004
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=5537

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DEMAND INDEPENDENCE

Suleimani, South Kurdistan (KurdishMedia.com) 3 October 2004: Hundreds of thousands of Kurds marched Saturday in the cities of Arbil, Kerkuk, Suleimani, Dohuk and Khaneqin revindicating their right of self determination.

The demonstration was organized by the Referendum Movement, considered the widest civic organization in southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan.

This demonstration was planned after the collection of two million signatures from the 5 million habitants of the region including 250,000 from the Kurdish Diaspora.

(SNIP)

The open letter was directed to the secretary general of UN, Kofi Anan, Permanent members of the UN security council, European Union, President George W. Bush, PM Tony Blair among other international entities and personalities.

The participants demanded from the above to organize a referendum in Kurdistan so as to reflect the popular will of practicing their inalienable right of self determination and correcting the unjust annexation of southern Kurdistan (Mosul Wilayet) to the newly created state of Iraq in 1925.

Although this peaceful movement is not supported officially by the two major parties, PUK and KDP, it is however useful to them as a means of pressuring Baghdad government in accepting a federal solution as the least acceptable arrangement, since it is obvious that the great majority demand out right independence from Iraqi control.

(MORE)

3//The Independent, UK 04 October 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=568508

AERIAL SHOW OF FORCE FAILS TO REASSURE NERVOUS AFGHAN VOTERS
By Justin Huggler in Kabul

The Kabul air show went on all day. First, about 7am, came the fighter jets. Then, at lunchtime, helicopters flew low, tight figures of eight, rattling windows.

"It is a demonstration," said one Afghan. He was right. With less than a week to go until Afghanistan's first democratic elections, the US and its allies are making great show of their air power.

Journalists were invited to the airport yesterday to look over some fighter jets. The British have been broadcasting the presence of their Harriers, here to provide protection for the poll.

But as some of Kabul's more sceptical observers note, nobody has explained how a jet provides election security. If someone is stuffing ballot boxes, the Harriers can hardly respond by rocketing the polling station.

The security is more about the fear of Taliban attacks than of voting irregularities. As Saturday's poll nears, fear has gripped Kabul. The streets are emptier than usual, taxis refuse to go to the more crowded areas, and many foreign NGO workers have fled. Beside the posters for the candidates, rival messages from the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar have appeared, telling Afghans to stay away from polling stations. The international forces warn of as many as 2,000 militants crossing from Pakistan to mount attacks on the election.

(SNIP)

The problem is greatest in rural areas. Many Afghans have been complaining that warlords are threatening them, and trying to direct their votes.

Security in some rural areas will be handed over to the forces commanded by the same warlords. Harriers will not be able to do anything to reassure voters there.

4//The Daily Times, Pakistan Monday, October 4, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-10-2004_pg1_5

SLOW REGISTRATION MAY DELAY AFGHAN ELECTIONS

ISLAMABAD: The upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan are likely to be postponed because of the sluggish response by 800,000 potential voters living as refugees in Pakistan during the first two days of the three-day registration period. Preliminary figures released by the International Organisation for Migration, which is overseeing the registration process, indicated that only 140,000 refugees registered on the first day (Friday). Official sources told Daily Times that a decision on whether to postpone the elections or not would be taken on either Sunday (today) or Monday. The elections are scheduled for October 9. Some of the presidential candidates have demanded that the participation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan must be ensured. Sources said authorities would wait until the last day of the registration process to ascertain an accurate voter pool figure. Refugee voters in Pakistan along with an anticipated 600,000 refugee voters in Iran were expected to constitute 10 percent of the total vote if they register. Some 10.5 million voters are already registered inside Afghanistan.

However, the low turnout could be attributed to the fact that few Afghan communities were willing to allow women to participate in the voting, said an IOM press release. The number of registered female voters is low, making up only 22 percent of the 140,000 who registered on Friday, IOM spokesman Greg Bearup said.

(MORE)

5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia October 4, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/03/1096741903079.html

GREENS SURGE AS COALITION HOLDS LEAD
By Louise Dodson, Chief Political Correspondent

The Coalition has consolidated its strong position ahead of Labor in the final week of the election campaign, with support for the Greens surging to new heights in the Senate, the latest Herald Poll shows.

It paints a picture of a polarised electorate persistently supporting the Coalition but favouring the Greens in the Senate to put a brake on the Government.

Conducted by ACNielsen, the poll found the Coalition led Labor by 52 per cent to 48 per cent in two-party terms and that the Greens had emerged as the third force in Australian politics.

The pollster, John Stirton, said that if the Coalition's margin was repeated on Saturday, the Government would win, with its majority of eight seats roughly intact.

In an uncharacteristic admission, the Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday reversed his claim to be the underdog in this campaign, telling the Sunday program: "I think we'll make it, but it'll be very close."

The Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, appeared to assume the role of underdog as Labor went into the final week of the campaign. The Coalition had "all the benefits of incumbency, that's the reality of our campaigning", he said.

At the start of the campaign, a Herald Poll found the parties were exactly evenly poised on 50:50 in two-party votes. Since then, the poll has shown a consistent trend towards the Coalition. At the last election, the Coalition won 51 per cent to Labor's 49 per cent.

(MORE)