AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: February 14, 2007

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: February 14, 2007


Extradited: Elsner Back in Vienna


1. Former Bawag boss Helmut Elsner arrived in Vienna yesterday after
a months-long tug of war between Elsner and his lawyers, who claimed
the ex-Bawag boss had a weak heart and could not be transported from
his French residence to Vienna for trial, and the law enforcement
authorities who doubted the validity of Elsner's claimed illness and
kept pushing for his extradition. His lawyer had only recently
announced that Elsner would have to undergo heart surgery in
February - however, on Tuesday, two doctors examined him and
declared him sufficiently fit for return to Austria.
Upon his return, Elsner was taken to a prison in the 8th district of
Vienna where a decision about his remand period will be made on
Wednesday. Elsner will certainly have to face charges including
forgery of balance sheets and fraud in connection with his
involvement in the Bawag scandal which led to the bank's being sold.
Starting date for the trial of Elsner and the other accused has not
yet been fixed - Elsner could face a prison sentence of up to 10
years. In addition, there is a claim for damages pending from the
Austrian central organization of trade unions, the VGB. Minister of
Justice Maria Berger, in a joint press conference with Bawag
prosecutor Georg Krakow, explained that Elsner's transfer to Austria
was the result of perfect cooperation between Austrian and French
law enforcement authorities, writes independent daily "Der
Standard."

Steyr Weapons in Iraq


2. The export license for 800 Steyr-Mannlicher sniper guns to Iran
was defended by Minister of the Interior G|nther Platter on Tuesday.
He refused to comment on reports according to which a part of this
delivery has meanwhile turned up in Iraq. He stressed that in the
future, export of weapons would be closely monitored. The export
license had been granted under Platter's predecessor Ernst Strasser
in November 2004. ORF online reports that the US Embassy in Vienna
did not yet confirm the discovery of the sniper guns in Iraq.
Embassy spokesman William Wanlund stated that "we will look into
these reports, but we cannot yet confirm their validity, adding
that, if the reports turned out to be true, this would be
"profoundly disturbing."
Steyr-Mannlicher Managing Director Franz Holzschuh has pointed out
the possibility that precision guns can be copied, and is cited by
centrist daily "Die Presse" as complaining that his company is "a
political pawn." However, the daily notes that the Steyr H-50 guns
have been a political irritant between the US and Austria for years.
In December 2005, Steyr-Mannlicher was subjected to a US embargo -
the company was no longer allowed to deliver weapons to the US,
however, the ban has in the meantime been lifted (sic). Austrian
Press Agency "APA" reported on the criticism voiced by Greens
spokesman Peter Pilz of the OeVP government officials who were
responsible for approving the sale of the sniper guns. He criticized
that "attack weapons" had been delivered to the "friends of terror"
in Iran and referred to the fact that former US Ambassador to
Austria Lyons Brown, at his courtesy call to the new Minister of the
Interior Liese Prokop in January 2005, had demanded a stop to the
deliveries. Pilz also renewed his charges against Gert Rene Polli,
head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Fight
Against Terrorism, who is supposed to have played a key role in the
deal.

Media Reaction to the Weapons Deal Controversy


3. Foreign affairs writer for centrist daily "Die Presse" Oliver
Grimm comments on the Austrian weapons deal with Iran, claiming that
"[s]uch news makes your hair stand on end: Iraqi terrorists use
Austrian sniper guns to chase American and British soldiers. Austria
sponsors Islamist terror - even more: it profits from it. A
scandal! - or perhaps not. (...) Whether it is a scandal or simply a
mix-up, one thing is clear: Austria's system of weapons export
needs reform. When in 2004, the Foreign Ministry made no objections
to the planned export to Iran, allies in nearby Iraq were already
engaged in heavy fighting with Shiite militia. That their Iranian
brothers in faith really needed 800 sniper guns simply for chasing
drug smugglers, hopefully not even the most naove member of the
Foreign Ministry believed."

US Is Active Against Climate Change


4. US Ambassador in Brussels Boyden Gray gave an interview to
centrist daily "Die Presse," in which he criticized EU climate
goals.
The US defends itself against charges from Europeans that it does
not act decisively against climate change. In the interview, Amb.
Gray states that the EU may formulate ambitious goals to fight air
pollution, but we follow up with concrete measures," and goes on to
outline some of the measures taken by the Bush administration, such
as his goal of reducing gasoline demand by 20 percent in the next
ten years. The US Ambassador also points out that his country is
planning to step up the development and use of biological fuels. "It
is going to be our technology which will reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions worldwide. The EU plan to reduce CO2 emissions by at least
20 percent until 2020 contained hardly any details of how this goal
was to be achieved," Gray said. He also was skeptical about
Europe's formulation of ambitious goals when the technology for
their realization is still lacking.

More Attacks in Lebanon


5. Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the murder of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and attacks launched Tuesday gave rise
to concerns that violence might once again escalate in Lebanon. At
least three were killed and 20 more injured in two almost
simultaneous attacks on small busses that were on their way to
Beirut. On the actual anniversary, thousands of people are expected
to pay tribute to the memory of Hariri in Beirut.

North Korea Agrees to Turn Off Nuclear Plant


6. It is confirmed that the North Korean regime has agreed to turn
off its Yongbyon nuclear power plant within 60 days in exchange for
urgently required economic assistance and oil supplies. North Korea
also consented to once again admit IAEA inspectors into the country.
It is unclear, however, whether this agreement will last - in the
past, the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang has always found pretexts
for undermining similar agreements. Moreover, some in the US are
skeptical: Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton condemned the
agreement as sending the "wrong signal" to North Korea. It is
unclear whether the US Congress will grant the money for expensive
economic assistance programs.
Semi-official daily "Wiener Zeitung" points out that it's not just
Republican hardliners such as Bolton, but also Democrats who are
beginning to voice criticism, albeit in a more subdued manner,
arguing that the agreement could have been concluded earlier. As
early as 1994, former President Clinton had worked out a similar
agreement. However, the Bush administration sees important
differences: This time, China is behind the agreement as well, thus
making it harder for the North Koreans to break the agreement
without angering its powerful neighbor, analyzes "Wiener Zeitung."
Also new is the fact that working groups will explore ways to reduce
tensions on the Korean peninsula. As yet unresolved is the question
of what will happen to the existing nuclear arsenal in North Korea.
"Wiener Zeitung" refers to estimates that the DPRK has the capacity
to produce six to ten nuclear warheads. The uranium enrichment
program, whose existence the North Koreans have always denied, was
likewise not mentioned. Japan is critical of the deal, refusing to
pitch in with oil deliveries as long as the fate of the Japanese
citizens, who were abducted to North Korea in the seventies, is not
resolved."

Putin For Middle East Conference


7. After meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah on Tuesday, Russian
President Vladimir Putin has proposed a Middle East conference which
would include Syria and Lebanon. During his visit to Amman, the
Russian President also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
After the agreement between Fatah and Hamas for a government of
national unity, Palestinian Prime Minister Haniyeh had called on the
EU and the Middle East quartet, consisting of EU, UN, Russia and the
US, to end the boycott of his government.
McCaw