WORLD MEDIA WATCH

Summaries are excerpted from the source articles; the featured article follows the summary section.

1//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy
IRAN: ENFORCING ISLAMIC DRESS CODE MAY COST VOTES

When the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad uncharacteristically denounced the country's police force for strictly enforcing Islamic dress code (hijab) it was attributed to fears of losing popularity ahead of parliamentary elections in March. In an article published in the ‘Iran' newspaper, the official mouthpiece, government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham criticised the police force and said the president and his cabinet were not to be held responsible for their overzealousness in dealing with hijab violators. ... In his campaign for the presidency in 2005, Ahmadinejad had consistently denied rumours that, if elected, his government would forcibly enforce the obligatory dress code. A few strands of hair sticking out from under women's headscarves or the way young men wore their hair was not his concern, he had said over the state-run television. Banners that read the same thing floated around in the streets of big cities. ... "The government denial of any involvement in the police action against what the religious establishment calls bad hijab and immorality can have no other reason than an attempt to improve the already very troubled image of the government, particularly among the young voters," an observer in Tehran told IPS. "Seventy percent of the country's population is under the age of 30 and they are the ones who are affected the most by the police crackdown. In other places like in universities vigilantes are putting the same kind of pressure on them, not only by controlling the way they dress but also by keeping men and women as separate as they can to safeguard their own kind of morality," he said. "Two and half years since his election to presidency Ahmadinejad's government has clearly failed to improve people's lives the way he promised. Rationing of gasoline that was introduced a few months back and inflation that his government has not been able to control have also spoiled the government's image among many of the voters outside the normal 20 percent of voters loyal to the hardline establishment," he added. ... Parliamentary elections will be held on Mar. 14.

AN EXPANDED EXCERPT OF THIS FEATURED ARTICLE FOLLOWS THE SUMMARIES

2//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey
AMBITIOUS NUKE PLANS REVEALED

As part of Turkey's plans to develop its nuclear potential the Turkish Energy Ministry is moving toward plans to position the country as a regional center for uranium enrichment, sources revealed yesterday. The plans come to light as Turkey prepares to issue its first public tender for construction of a nuclear plant and are prompted by the need to acquire and manage nuclear fuel. Turkey's interest in nuclear energy is drawing scrutiny from the United States and both U.S. and Turkish officials are in broad discussions on Turkey's plans to build nuclear energy power plants. While Turkey has not officially conveyed its plans to become a uranium enrichment center for the Americans, reliable sources told business daily Referans that Turkey's intentions will soon officially be on the U.S.-Turkish agenda. If U.S. authorities offer their support, sources said Turkey, already moving ahead with its plans to build nuclear power plants, might also become one of the most prominent nuclear energy and nuclear technology centers in the world. The issue will be discussed at a nuclear energy meeting that will be held in Istanbul Friday. In addition to Tomihiro Taniguchi, the No. 2 at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), top-level officials from America, Russia, France and the United Kingdom will reportedly be attending the meeting. ... The United States is seeking to become the regulator of the global nuclear fuel market through a mechanism called the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). But, a recent decision by the Vienna-based IAEA in support of the principle that every country has the right to have nuclear energy without being subjected to any discrimination has hampered U.S. plans. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a G8 summit in 2006 that all countries in the world have the right to own nuclear technology, and immediately after that, ordered the launch of uranium enrichment activity at a power plant in the Siberian city of Angarsk. Putin, later announcing that the activity in Angarsk would be carried out under control of the IAEA, has received the necessary support from the agency. While France has moved forward with its own enrichment, it has now also moved to partner with South Africa, using it as a gateway to spread the nuclear bounty to Asia and Africa. Chaos over the future of nuclear regulation is the result. It is assumed that the United States, having noticed these recent developments, will move toward compromise and support the idea that a single authority on uranium enrichment should be formed within the framework of the IAEA. Current circumstances show that a new system of nuclear energy is about to be created in the world, and if Turkey benefits from this situation, it is, without a doubt, a candidate to become a nuclear energy center.

3//The Hindu, India
INDIA, CHINA TO COOPERATE IN CIVIL NUCLEAR ENERGY

Bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy, Chinese support for India's desire to play a greater role in the United Nations Security Council, and the possibility of commencing discussions on a Regional Trade Agreement, all found place in a joint document signed by Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao on Monday evening. The document, titled "A Shared Vision for the 21st Century" did not, however, indicate any breakthrough on the boundary dispute. There was instead a reiteration of the official position of both sides to seek a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution," on the basis of the political parameters and guiding principles announced in 2005. Moving beyond the statement on nuclear cooperation made in the joint declaration issued during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to New Delhi in November 2006, the "Shared Vision" states that "the two sides pledge to promote bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy, consistent with their respective international commitments, which will contribute to energy security and to dealing with risks associated with climate change." ... Responding to a question whether or not China had indicated its willingness to support India on the nuclear issue at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Mr. Menon replied, "If NSG members are ready to cooperate with us for nuclear energy, it will have certain implications for their response to the nuclear issue at the NSG." The joint statement also mentioned for the first time that "The Chinese side understands and supports India's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations, including the Security Council." Mr. Menon called the inclusion of the phrase "including the Security Council" an "incremental" but important development.

4//MercoPress, Uruguay
GUATEMALAN PRESIDENT PROMISES DEMOCRACY WITH "MAYAN FACE"

Guatemala's Alvaro Colom was sworn in as president Monday, vowing to fight violent crime and empower the impoverished indigenous population in a social democracy with a "Mayan face". With a population of 13 million, 45% ethnic Mayan, more than six million Guatemalans live below the poverty line of one US dollar per day. ... Although Colom will be Guatemala's first left leaning leader since Jacobo Arbenz was thrown out of office in 1954 by a CIA-orchestrated coup, Colom said he doesn't want to be identified or aligned with other governments in Latin America arguing that each country must "find its own path". An industrial engineer, who led Guatemala's efforts to coax thousands of war refugees back home, has promised to build schools and medical centers, create jobs, and bring security to a country where gangs behead victims and drug traffickers control much of the police forces. Colom plans to recruit business leaders by having them participate in a so-called "Social Pact" to improve the economy and alleviate poverty. Colom is one of just three non-Mayas to be made a Mayan priest, has told reporters that he plans "to convert Guatemala into a social-democratic country with a Mayan face." ... The new president's center-left proposals have rattled Guatemala's conservative business community. Colom has vowed to end tax breaks for the wealthy, increase the minimum wage, crack down on tax evasion and help strengthen unions. He has also promised to slash poverty levels by 20% over his four year term by creating 700,000 new jobs, building 200,000 houses and achieving economic growth of at least six percent. GDP is currently growing at 5%. ... While outgoing President Oscar Berger had a strong pro-US tilt, Colom has said he will strengthen his ties with leftist Latin American governments while maintaining friendly ties with the United States.

5//The International Herald Tribune, Paris
EU CRITICIZES ITALY OVER TRASH CRISIS IN NAPLES

The European Union's top environmental official chided the Italian government Tuesday for its poor management of a trash crisis that in recent weeks has transformed the Naples area into a sprawling open-air garbage dump. There is so much trash on the streets that tens of thousands of Neapolitan students have still not returned to school after the Christmas break. Shops have begun to close. Newspapers reported this week that production of mozzarella, for which Naples is famous, had drastically dropped amid fears of high dioxin levels. "What we are witnessing these days in Naples is not a crisis coming out of the blue," the official, Stavros Dimas, said at a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. "It is the culmination of a more than 14-year-old process of insufficient implementation of European waste legislation, for which Italy has repeatedly been condemned by the European Court of Justice." Dimas said the European Commission was "ready to pursue its legal proceedings against Italy" should the crisis not be resolved, "using all available measures," including fines. The Naples region was plunged into chaos in late December after overflowing landfill sites were closed to further dumping. Residents have since been submerged by swelling mounds of smelly garbage - Dimas estimated 100,000 tons - raising worries about potential health hazards. Violent round-the-clock protests by exasperated locals have slowed clean-up operations, which began last week when the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi appointed a former national police chief, Gianni De Gennaro, to deal with the mess. The army has been deployed to assist him. The inability to sweep up a problem that has been building for years and has gobbled up a reported €2 billion, or almost $3 billion, has been a major embarrassment to the government, whose political parties also control the region of Campania and its capital, Naples. Since the trash emergency emerged 14 years ago, various proposals to build new dumps and incinerators or find alternative solutions have been scuppered by local protests or political vetoes.

FEATURED ARTICLE

1//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy January 15, 2008

IRAN: ENFORCING ISLAMIC DRESS CODE MAY COST VOTES

By Kimia Sanati

TEHRAN, Jan 15 (IPS) - When the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad uncharacteristically denounced the country's police force for strictly enforcing Islamic dress code (hijab) it was attributed to fears of losing popularity ahead of parliamentary elections in March.

In an article published in the ‘Iran' newspaper, the official mouthpiece, government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham criticised the police force and said the president and his cabinet were not to be held responsible for their overzealousness in dealing with hijab violators.

(SNIP)

In his campaign for the presidency in 2005, Ahmadinejad had consistently denied rumours that, if elected, his government would forcibly enforce the obligatory dress code. A few strands of hair sticking out from under women's headscarves or the way young men wore their hair was not his concern, he had said over the state-run television. Banners that read the same thing floated around in the streets of big cities.

"Twenty nine years from the time of the revolution people still resist the dress code imposed on them or there would no longer be need for the police to interfere so often to correct their behavior," a university student from Tabriz told IPS.

"The number of women wearing the black veil or men with beards is clearly very small, except in places like Qom, a religious capital, where tradition reigns hard. Ahmadinejad is a very clever man and he realised this fact, so in his campaign he stressed he was not going to impose tighter enforcement of the dress code," she said.

Crackdowns on hijab are a regular feature of life in Iran. Annually, as summer sets in there are enforcement drives lasting for few weeks to stop women from revealing more skin and hair during the hot summer season.

This year the police have gone further and the crackdown that started in late April in anticipation of the hot season has lasted well into winter.

Since April almost one in every 70 Iranians has been stopped on the streets by the morality police and thousands arrested. A number of shops and restaurants have also been closed by the police for allowing individuals with ‘bad hijab' to enter. Clothing retailers have also been warned not to sell short and tight dresses or their goods would be confiscated.

(SNIP)

"The government denial of any involvement in the police action against what the religious establishment calls bad hijab and immorality can have no other reason than an attempt to improve the already very troubled image of the government, particularly among the young voters," an observer in Tehran told IPS.

"Seventy percent of the country's population is under the age of 30 and they are the ones who are affected the most by the police crackdown. In other places like in universities vigilantes are putting the same kind of pressure on them, not only by controlling the way they dress but also by keeping men and women as separate as they can to safeguard their own kind of morality," he said.

"Two and half years since his election to presidency Ahmadinejad's government has clearly failed to improve people's lives the way he promised. Rationing of gasoline that was introduced a few months back and inflation that his government has not been able to control have also spoiled the government's image among many of the voters outside the normal 20 percent of voters loyal to the hardline establishment," he added.

"Even inside the hardline establishment many have turned against him because of the man's refusal to let other players participate in his games. Naturally with all these woes the government will not want to have to take the blame for the police's overzealousness in dealing with hijab,'' the observer said.

Parliamentary elections will be held on Mar. 14. The existing parliament has a hardline and conservative majority that basically supports the government. But even they have on several occasions impeded the president by not approving government bills or the president's candidates for ministers.

"Ahmadinejad urgently needs to get his supporters into the parliament. Reformists have been very active recently. Former president Khatami who is not running himself has been travelling around the country on behalf of the reformists and has been warmly welcomed in many places. There seems to be a rather serious possibility that reformists, at least more moderate ones, may make a comeback if candidates' disqualification by the Guardian Council doesn't prevent that," an analyst in Tehran told IPS.

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Copyright 2008, Gloria R. Lalumia

WORLD MEDIA WATCH