MEDIA REACTION; TERRORISM; GLOBALIZATION AND ARGENTINA;

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001775 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; TERRORISM; GLOBALIZATION AND ARGENTINA; PRESS FREEDOM IN ARGENTINA; 09/06/07; BUENOS AIRES ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Leading international stories today include Europe's expected reaction to the threat posed by terrorism; how Argentina should manage globalization in order to fully "deploy its potential for development;" and the Argentine Supreme Court's verdict on government spending in the media. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS - "A challenge that places Europe at a crossroads" Silvia Pisani, daily-of-record "La Nacisn's" Madrid-based correspondent, writes (09/06) "If there is something everyone knows in Europe it's that the terrorist threat is real. What does not seem to be so clear is whether Europeans are willing to change their lifestyle and enormous respect for privacy in order to improve 'security'... "The series of (terrorist) attacks and attempts is enough proof that Europe is a declared target of this international scourge... "Additionally, there are common points between yesterday's aborted terrorist attacks in Germany and those that occurred the day before yesterday in Denmark. Both have been attributed to Al Qaeda and the lead is in remote Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden, the feared leader of Al Qaeda, is hiding. "Many analysts hinted that terrorists could be organizing a spectacular attack against the US on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. German police pointed out that it had detected more activity than normal among Islamist groups. "... And faced with the question 'Why is Europe a target of terrorism?,' most believe there are two reasons - one, European reticence to sacrifice personal rights, and the other, greater openness of European borders vis-`-vis those of the US... "Experts believe that it still is much easier to enter Europe than the US... "In contrast, there are those who believe that terrorist attacks against Europe are fed by the discontent of ethnic and religious minorities, who feel discriminated against. "The case would be the opposite of the US, traditionally considered the land of opportunity for immigrants. Nevertheless, it is possible that since the September 11 attacks, things are neither very open in the US nor exclusive in Europe. "What is clear is that Europe is a target of terrorism, its people know it and, perhaps, the basic question is what Europe is willing to lose in exchange for better security, if it is willing to lose anything." - "How Argentina should manage globalization" Business-financial "BAE" ("Buenos Aires Econsmico") front-pages an opinion piece by its editor-in-chief, Dr Aldo Ferrer, who writes (09/06) "Neo-liberals believe that an irreversible transfer of power has taken place in the world. Currently, financial markets, multinational corporations and the governments of a small number of powerful industrialized countries (first of all, the US) are reported to be the ones who have the power to decide how to distribute income and allot resources in world economy. "As a consequence, globalization would be made up of a number of trade, investment and finance networks managed by those who hold power. In this framework, 'peripheral' countries are reported to have lost the ability to decide about their own fate - in other words, reportedly, they may not decide how to manage globalization and plan their own development and insertion in the world. "... Argentina was the country that took this approach to the extreme in managing its economic and international policies. It began implementation with the 1976 military coup d'etat and the entire process ended with the decisions made during the '90s... Such a stance culminated in the 2001/2002 economic meltdown... "... Experience reveals that globalization can be managed to (every country's) benefit while broadening ties to the world economy, as demonstrated by Asian emerging economies such as Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia and, in a gigantic dimension, by China and India. "Managing globalization is necessary to meeting Argentina's economic potential and holding a equal, not subordinate, position in international relations. For such a purpose it is indispensable to have the house in order. All countries successfully deploying their potential for development in the world maintain strong fiscal solvency, as well as a surplus in the current account of their balance of payments, a high level of real international reserves (not based on debt),monetary systems based on their national currency, exchange types sustaining profitable export goods... "... However, managing globalization not only calls for keeping the house in order, but also expanding it through investment and sustained accumulation of technology, management capability and creative synergy between the public and private sectors, all of which is based on increasing domestic savings... "In this new stage, (Argentina) should establish, along the lines of successful countries, institutions and regimes that boost savings in order to be able to meet its economic potential... "... Countries should be built from inside and not the other way round, as previous governments attempted here with the consequences everyone has seen." - "Limits are set on (Argentine) Governmental (media) publicity" Daily-of-record "La Nacisn" front-pages an opinion piece by lawyer Adrin Ventura, who writes (09/06) "The (Argentine) Supreme Court of Justice decided that the Government may not eliminate or substantially reduce the publicity it assigns to mass media in an arbitrary or unreasonable way. "The Supreme Court's verdict supported the position of the 'Ro Negro' newspaper in its complaint against Neuqun Governor Jorge Sobisch because in 2003 he decided to reduce official publicity assigned to the paper because it had revealed an alleged corruption case. "The judicial decision goes beyond the provincial case - in recent years, many governments not only increased their publicity budgets but made arbitrary decisions regarding its (press publicity) distribution and used public funds to punish some independent media. "Constitutionalist lawyer Gregorio Badeni, a lawyer from ADEPA (Asociacisn de Entidades Periodsticas Argentinas) (Argentine Association Journalistic Institutions),said that 'the verdict is most important because it changes the Court's case law and forbids the Government to behave in a discretionary manner vis-a-vis the mass media.' "... Regardless of the impact of the case in the province, which will have to submit a plan for the distribution of its publicity budget to the Federal Court within thirty days, the verdict includes general principles of protection for the mass media's freedom of expression vis-`-vis the Government abuse at a time when several provinces as well as the Federal Government are accused of using public funds in a discretionary way." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires WAYNE