AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: August 16, 2007

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: August 16, 2007


Berger Supports Sex Offender Database


1. Minister for Justice Maria Berger of the SPOe has spoken out in
support of Interior Minister Guenther Platter's (OeVP) proposal to
set up a database listing known sex offenders in Austria. According
to Austrian media, the database is to be launched in 2008. It is not
clear at this point, however, whether offenders will also be listed
in the Austrian central registration office's files, as Platter has
suggested.
Like all major Austrian media, independent provincial daily
Salzburger Nachrichten says that on the issue of a database listing
sex offenders, the "coalition is in agreement." Justice Minister
Maria Berger from the SPOe, supporting a proposal to that effect by
her OeVP colleague, Interior Minister Guenther platter, suggested
that sex offenders who have been released from custody will thus
have remain under observation.
Meanwhile, in an interview with liberal daily Der Standard, the
Justice Minister suggested introducing a "marriage-like contract"
for same sex partnerships. She has a "pragmatic approach" to the
question of why homosexuals are unlikely to obtain the right to
marry in the near future in Austria: "There is no way this could be
pushed through. That is why I believe that -- rather than ending up
at a dead end with your initial idea -- it is better to try a
somewhat different approach, i.e. creating the opportunity for a
marriage-like union for same sex partnerships."


European Forum Alpbach


2. The European Forum Alpbach, which has been held in the Tyrolean
village of Alpbach every year since 1945, begins today. For almost
three weeks, speakers and participants from all over the world,
including experts and students in the sciences, economics and
politics, will discuss current issues and formulate
interdisciplinary solutions. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer will open
this year's Forum, which is to focus on the topic of "Emergence and
Innovation."
Reporting on this year's European forum Alpbach, which will be
opened by Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in Tyrol province
today, ORF online news notes that the "almost 500 speakers and 2,800
attendees will once again turn the village of Alpbach into a center
for political, economic and scientific discussion." Among the
prominent guests at the forum are Czech President Vaclav Klaus and
his Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg, the President of the
European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering and EU Energy Commissioner
Andris Piebalgs, as well a several Austrian cabinet ministers. The
so-called reform talks will focus on "emerging markets and emerging
partners," and political discussions will look into the "power
factor resources."


Interview with Erhard Busek


3. A leading Austrian daily publishes an interview with Erhard
Busek, the President of the European Forum Alpbach, and chairman of
the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM),as
well as special coordinator of the European Union's Stability Pact
for Southeastern Europe on the issues expected to top the agenda at
this year's meetings in Alpbach.
The significance of this year's topic, "Emergence and Innovation,"
at the European Forum Alpbach is that in "every discipline from
science and technology to politics, there are new developments and I
think we have to create the instruments to cope with them. We have
to be aware of what is new because there is a certain tendency to
refuse what is new, so there's a certain need for a reality check,"
Erhard Busek said in an interview with semi-official daily Wiener
Zeitung on the sidelines of the Alpbach Forum. The European Forum
will also consider "developments occurring without the deliberate
assistance of man," including climate change: "Even if there are
reasons for why humankind is responsible for climate change, I think
we were certainly were not prepared for it," according to Busek.
There will be a number of meetings on climate change, "because it's
of overall concern. On the other hand, we are also looking forward
to discussing sustainability which I think is connected with this
question, because for the moment we are not really able to manage
these problems." Politically, talks will focus on the "new power
centers:" Traditionally, "we considered the East and the West as the
centers of power. The United States was the center of power for a
while, with the European Union as one, too. But the reality is that
really China and India, and maybe Brazil, are the emerging powers,
and emerging markets. They are becoming the new wave of power, so I
think that it is quite necessary to engage with them."

Deadly Attack in Iraq


4. All Austrian media report that at least 250 people died in
Tuesday's bombings in the north of Iraq - the deadliest attack on a
single area since 2003. Quoting estimates from local Iraqi officials
who expect the number of victims to rise sharply, Austrian media say
the actual death toll might be closer to 500. Four bombs devastated
two villages of the Yazidi, a Kurdish religious sect, near the city
of Mosul, and left at least 350 people injured. The US military is
blaming al-Qaeda for the bombs, and acknowledged that tackling
insurgent attacks was a difficult task. One Austrian daily warns
that ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, caught up in the power
struggle between radical nationalists and extremist Islamists, are
threatened to be destroyed completely.
Reporting like all Austrian media on the most recent attacks in
Iraq, liberal daily Der Standard publishes an analysis of current
development in the country by foreign editor and Middle East expert
Gudrun Harrer. The expert argues that the very existence of
minorities in Iraq is threatened: The smaller ethnic and religious
groups in Iraq are being persecuted by the extremists, and are in
danger of being crushed in the fighting between Arab and Kurdish
nationalist forces. A referendum will be held this year to decide on
an Iraqi region's Kurdish or Arab affiliation, but traditionally
this is the area where most of the small ethnic and religious groups
have lived for generations, primarily in rather isolated and
well-defined settlements. It is in these areas, where the tensions
and the violence are mounting continuously, Harrer says. Meanwhile,
in centrist daily die Presse, foreign affairs writer Thomas Seifert,
pointing to the attack on the Yazidi minority, which may have left
up to 500 people dead, asks whether the US troops surge has been
ineffective. According to Seifert, Wahabite al-Qaeda extremists in
particular consider the members of religious and ethnic minorities
in Iraq as "devil worshippers." The troop surge, Seifert quotes
political analyst Joost Hiltermann from the International Crisis
Group, "may have made Baghdad more secure. But is has failed to
banish terrorism from Iraq." The terrorist have merely "redirected
their attacks to hit the less protected provincial areas and
peripheral regions," he argues.


US to Blacklist Iran's Revolutionary Guard


5. The US is preparing to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards
force as a foreign terrorist unit -- a classification that would
allow the US to target the Force's finances. If confirmed, this will
be the first time official armed units of a sovereign state are
included on the list of banned terrorist groups. Washington has
repeatedly accused Iran of destabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan,
blaming the Revolutionary Guards for supplying and training
insurgents. Meanwhile, in the conflict over Tehran's nuclear
ambitions, a spokesperson for President George Bush said that the US
is not considering military action against Iran, but continues to

bank on a UN Security Council solution, reported ORF TV's prime time
news Zeit im Bild I on Wednesday.

Chavez Outlines Planned Changes


6. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has announced plans to change
the country's constitution to allow him to stand for office
indefinitely. Current rules limiting presidential terms mean
President Chavez would have to step down when his term ends in 2012.
The measures would also increase presidential control over
Venezuela's municipalities and states. He presented his plans in a
speech to the National Assembly, which is expected to approve them
within several months. According to ORF radio early morning news
Morgenjournal.
Kilner