AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: October 15, 2007

UNCLAS VIENNA 002626 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: October 15, 2007 Launch of Integration Platform ¶1. A government platform addressing topics and problems in connection with integration and security will begin its work today. The arrest in Austria in September of three Islamist suspects and the case of Bosnian teenager Arigona Zogaj have added a sense of urgency to the creation of the platform, which is part of the SPOe-OeVP coalition program, Austria media agree. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer and Interior Minister Guenther Platter are expected to attend the "kick-off" ceremony in Vienna. Reporting on the government's kick-off today of its so-called integration platform, liberal daily Der Standard headlines "integration instead of irritation," and says that the focus of the newly-created institution is to promote a better integration of immigrants, particularly Muslims, into Austrian society. A "roundtable" will be held every six months and offer NGOs and representatives of religious groups the opportunity to present to the government their proposals to improve the way the various ethnic groups in Austria are getting along. Interior Minister Guenther Platter will be organizing the platform's work, the Standard explains. The daily adds that for the SPOe and Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer the main focus is on improving education opportunities for immigrants, while the OeVP wants to push a "debate of values" and call for "expert opinions" in order to boost integration. Berger: Work Instead of Jail ¶2. Austrian Justice Minister Maria Berger from the Social Democrats has presented a program which envisages offering youth offenders the option of doing community or social work instead of serving jail time. The SPOe's coalition partner OeVP has welcomed Berger's proposal, but has criticized her push to re-introduce the juvenile court, which was abolished under the OeVP-FPOe/BZOe coalition government, according to ORF TV's Sunday morning program on policy Hohes Haus. One Suspect Released in Rucksack-Bomber Case ¶3. Austrian radio reported that Asim C., the Bosnian who had tried to enter the US mission earlier this month with a backpack filled with two hand grenades, nails and a book on Islam, remains in investigative custody for the time being. A second suspect has in the meantime been released, although he had been incriminated by Asim C., who claimed his alleged accomplice had put him up to the attempted bomb attack in the first place. The Austrian Prosecutors Office, however, argued that findings indicate the second suspect was not involved in the planned attack, says ORF radio in its evening news program Abendjournal on October 12. EU Ministers Meet In Luxembourg ¶4. European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today, aiming to pave the way for the informal EU summit in Lisbon later this year, which is to finalize the EU Reform Treaty. The treaty is scheduled to be signed by the end of the year. The ministers are also expected to agree on tougher sanctions against the military junta in Myanmar, liberal daily Der Standard reports. Iran Increases Pressure on OMV ¶5. A tug-of-war has developed over a "mega deal" agreed between Iran and Austrian energy provider OMV, a leading Austrian daily says: According to Iranian media reports, negotiations with OMV on the billion-Euro natural gas project "Pars" have failed to yield results so far. If needs be, Iran wants to go ahead with the project, which has come under massive fire from the United States, without the Austrians. OMV says it does not want to comment on progress of its negotiations with Iran, but hopes to be able to conclude the deal by year-end. Reporting on faltering negotiations between Iran's National Iranian Oil Company and Austrian energy provider OMV on a controversial planned natural gas "mega deal," leading economics daily Wirtschaftblatt argues the situation is rather dicey for the OMV: This is also due to the fact that the United States has harshly criticized the planned project, and has put considerable pressure on the Austrian corporation to prevent the deal. The results of the negotiations between Tehran and OMV have not yet been presented, although the contract was due to be concluded by late September, the daily quotes the Iranian media. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for OMV boss Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer told the Wirtschaftsblatt that the energy provider would not comment on the status of the project at this point, as "we're still in the middle of negotiations" with Iran, and is hoping to conclude the matter by the end of the year. Iran Reopens Border with Iraqi Kurdistan ¶6. Iraqi Kurdistan officials say Iran has reopened its border crossings, after it had closed all crossings with the semi-autonomous region last month to protest the arrest of an Iranian man by US forces. The US military stated in September it had detained an Iranian it accused of smuggling roadside bombs into Iraq and training foreign fighters. According to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung, Iran has reopened its border crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan after having closed all crossings with the semi-autonomous region last month to protest the arrest of an Iranian man by US forces. The Iranian, who US forces said was a member of the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was arrested in a raid on a hotel in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya. Iranian and Iraqi officials said the man was a member of a trade delegation. Tensions between Washington and Tehran were already high over the arrest by American forces of five Iranians in the Kurdish city of Erbil earlier this year. Iran says they are diplomats, but Washington claims they supported militants operating in Iraq. The United States accuses Iran of training and equipping Shi'ite Muslim militias in Iraq and supplying roadside bombs, which are by far the biggest killers of US soldiers in Iraq. The Wiener Zeitung quotes Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as telling al Jazeera that the border crossings were reopened after lengthy negotiations between Iran and the Kurdish authorities, who succeeded in convincing Tehran "issue is under American control." Barzani also said his government was doing its best to stop Kurdish rebels of the PJAK, which seeks autonomy for Kurdish areas in Iran and shelters in Iraq's northeastern border provinces, from using its territory as a springboard for attacks on the Islamic Republic. Iranian Plot to Assassinate Putin? ¶7. Kremlin officials have confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been warned of a plot to assassinate him during a visit to Iran later this week. Iran's Foreign Ministry has dismissed the reports as "completely baseless." Putin is in Germany today for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Iran's nuclear program is on the agenda, according to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal. Party Congress Begins in China ¶8. The five-yearly congress, which is the Chinese Communist Party's most important political event, is underway in Beijing as of today and will set China's course for the next five years. President Hu Jintao, speaking at the Congress, emphasized that party's survival depended on punishing corrupt officials. He also acknowledged the growing gap between rich and poor, and the high cost to the environment of China's rapid development, reports ORF online news. McCaw