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WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2004
1//The Independent, UK--OPTIMISM IN LONDON, CARNAGE IN IRAQ (The second Iraq war, between coalition forces and insurgents, is now under way in what has become the "crucible" of the global war on terrorism, Tony Blair declared yesterday after talks with Iraq's interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, at 10 Downing Street. The two leaders presented a determinedly upbeat picture of everyday life in Iraq. They insisted that despite the recent upsurge in violence elections scheduled for January would go ahead…Responding to Mr Blair's attempt to move the issue away from the "first" Iraq war, the Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, demanded that the Prime Minister publicly apologise for the "illegal" war in Iraq. Mr Kennedy accused Mr Blair of "a litany of betrayal" and of stretching the truth over the basis for going to war, including the assertion that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.)
2//Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK--PATCHWORK OF INSURGENT GROUPS RUNS FALLUJAH (Five months after United States Marines called off their attack on Fallujah, citizens of the town live under the often capricious rule of different groups of mujahideen, or holy warriors – ranging from Islamists and ultra-Islamists to Baathists and outright bandits. The few police still on the streets of the town are entirely at the insurgents’ beck and call… residents say the groups are united on the battlefield and would fight side by side if US or Iraqi government troops were to launch a new push into Fallujah – a move that some believe likely because of the recent round of air and artillery strikes…Iraqi government forces are absent from the equation of power in the town. The police play little role, there is no National Guard, and even the Fallujah Protection Brigade, established last April to keep order in the town, was dissolved a month ago when its members were seen fighting alongside the insurgents.)
3//IslamOnline, Qatar--MEGAWATI TO LOSE VOTE FOR FLAWED POLICIES: ANALYSTS (As the final round of Indonesia’s presidential elections are to start Monday, September 20 , chances for Megawati Sukarnoputri to remain office appear slim due to her flawed policies on terrorism and failure to make political alliances, analysts said on Sunday, September 19 . Opinion polls show the battle in the country's first direct presidential ballot would be won by frontrunner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after three years of Megawati’s rule…But analysts say the fact that the vote comes 10 days after the Australian embassy in Jakarta was bombed and left nine people killed has delivered a harsh decisive blow to Megawati’s ambitions for a second term.)
4//The Moscow Times, Russia--YELTSIN GENTLY RAPS PUTIN OVER HIS POLITICAL PLANS (In his most explicit public comments about his successor's policies, former President Boris Yeltsin issued a soft warning that President Vladimir Putin's plans to put more power in his hands could roll back democratic freedoms…"A stifling of freedoms and a rollback of democratic rights would mean, among other things, a victory for the terrorists," he said. "Only a democratic country can successfully resist terrorism and count on standing shoulder to shoulder with all of the world's civilized countries."…Yeltsin has to be cautious in criticizing the Kremlin because he has lost all the political connections he once had, said Andrei Ryabov of the Carnegie Moscow Center."I'm afraid that the current balance of power is not in Yeltsin's favor. He does not enjoy the influence that he used to. This is why he has to soften his words," Ryabov said.)
5//The Daily Star, Lebanon--BEIRUT MEET SEEKS STRATEGIES TO COUNTER U.S. POLICIES(Civil society is more than making its presence felt and "it is no longer a question of whether Washington will eventually be defeated by the Iraqi resistance, the question is how long it will hang on to an impossible situation," according to Walden Bello, speaking at the "Where Next for the Anti-War and Anti-Globalization Movements?" three-day conference being held in Beirut. The conference has gathered over 300 attendees in search of an international strategy - "or global plan of action" - to counter the spreading initiative of war and imperialistic, "U.S.-led globalization" and a reply to the continuous U.S. occupation of Iraq and its endorsement of aggressive projects in the Middle East region.)
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