 Volume 1 | Number 1 | March 6th, 2010
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Sudan and SomaliaA Darfur truce was announced ahead of Sudan’s elections ( Aljazeera.net) and there are hopes that the new political landscape will help Darfur, but skepticism remains (New York Times). The Economist reported that Somalia’s civil war Jihadists [are] on the march. Rebel groups have ordered the UN food agency to leave Somalia (Reuters). A perspective on the nature of Africa’s Forever Wars is presented in Foreign Policy. United Arab EmiratesAssasination in DubaiThis assassination story received much Canadian news, if not op-ed, coverage (Radio-Canada , Montreal Gazette , Cyberpresse , Toronto Star , Ottawa Citizen , Globe and Mail ). Internationally, there were many analyses and views published on this story. A few are:
Canada-UAE RelationsEmirates Airlines is seeking more access to Canada – Montreal Gazette. Talks on this issue have been linked to Canada’s Mideast base – Ottawa Citizen. Palestine and IsraelCanadian Policies, Practices and PositionsCuts to funding of various NGOs, such as KAIROS continues to receive coverage in Canadian media (Cyberpresse, DigitalJournal, Embassy). A Toronto Star opinion concluded that “silence [is] the only safe policy for advocacy groups” while another one predicted a budget that would reflect alignment with the Conservative government’s positions when it comes to the defunding and funding of organizations. The government’s position on Israel was covered in several opinion pieces. An opinion in The Globe and Mail was entitled Conservatives follow recipe for foreign-policy decay. James Traves of the Toronto Star writes in New face of Canada isn’t pretty “the confluence of domestic politics, Christian fundamentalism and foreign policy is now so strong that Israel’s tail is wagging Canada’s dog.” Dan Garner in What the think-thinkers don’t get (Ottawa Citizen) provides a perspective on what he calls the “gut-thinking” of the government’s position on Israel. Harry Sterling asks “Is criticism of Israeli government policies a taboo subject, akin to covert anti-Semitism?” in Is Israel above criticism? (Embassy). The statement by Peter Kent, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Americas and MP for Thornhill, that an ‘An attack on Israel would be considered an attack on Canada’ – Macleans.ca ( CBC.ca and Globe and Mail) led to an Ottawa Citizen opinion piece entitled Peter Kent goes to war and another one by Rick Salutin in the Globe and Mail entitled And this is our foreign policy. Rights and DemocracyLa Presse summarized the crisis in this article: Droits et Démocratie dans la tourmente, as did Paul Wells in his Macleans column. The story continued to receive much coverage during the Feb. 13-28 period. According to a secret document obtained by Radio-Canada,”les membres du conseil d’administration, nommés par le gouvernement fédéral, militaient pour un changement de cap de l’organisme, afin qu’il soit plus favorable à Israël.” Moreover, the board wanted to protect ministers, according to Le Devoir: “il n’a pas aimé que l’on contredise les propos du gouvernement Harper concernant une loi afghane sexiste.” Additional controversy came from a secret decision by the board to close its Geneva office office, according to the Toronto Star. Then Jacques Gauthier, Interim President, announced the organization would get a forensic audit to ensure “transparency” since “financial reviews have uncovered transactions that require the attention of forensic auditors” (CBC.ca). However, the insistence by several board members that this was all about “accountability and tranparency” and “not about the Middle East” was challenged by Paul Wells (Macleans). He also covered the concerns and questions that staff have in relation to the forensic audit they are expected to cooperate with. The staff’s union president issued a statement on Feb. 22nd stating that employees are “enduring a witch hunt.” The Opposition demanded intervention into the ‘train wreck’ agency. Although some opinion pieces were asking if Rights and Democracy should be scrapped, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon indicated he would support it. However, his nomination of Gérard Latulippe as the new President brought several opinion pieces and editorials criticizing his choice (Toronto Star editorial, John Baglow in National Post, Paul Wells in Macleans); the Liberals and NDP also rejected his nomination (also covered in Le Devoir, Globe and Mail). Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff took “another shot at Harper’s ‘ideology’ according to the Globe and Mail. Heritage SitesIsrael’s inclusion of West Bank shrines in an Israeli heritage plan (National Post) led to riots (BBC, Cyberpresse ). Abbas and the US slammed Israel over designating heritage sites (Ha’aretz) with the UN confirming that Israel ‘heritage sites’ are on Palestinian land (Ha’aretz). Some Israeli points of view were expressed in these pieces: Adopt Abraham’s vision – Ynetnews , Not combat heritage – Ha’aretz , Netanyahu’s weakness for Jewish heritage costs lives – Haaretz . Israel’s ImageThe Globe and Mail covered Israel’s PR initiatives to improve its image in using Israeli travellers as ambassadors and Israel’s PR campaign Getting the big picture on a not-so-small country (as did The Guardian). Reuters reported that Israel’s PR ministry takes [a] swipe at foreign media . Many opinion pieces commented on whether these such efforts are likely to succeed, a few of which are:
Human Rights / Humanitarian / Economic Situation for PalestiniansTwo reports were published that were not covered by Canadian mainstream media:
Diplomacy / Relations / Policy / Armed Conflict: A Few Points of ViewArab Media:
Israeli Media:
British Media:
US Media:
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Feb. 13- Feb. 28, 2010 period
Human Interest StoriesEgypt’s Tut probe shows power of technology – Middle East Online Facets of Qatari heritage – Gulf Times More poetesses close to Million’s Poet title – Middle East Online About MediascapeNCCAR’s Mediascape surveys and rounds up key Canadian and International media coverage on the Middle East and the Arab World in order to inform parliamentarians, foreign affairs experts, media editors, organizations and its own members. Mediascape is one component of NCCAR’s media scanning, monitoring and analysis services.For daily Canadian and World media coverage across all regions of the Middle East and Arab World, visit NCCAR’s Daily Media Scan. Disclaimer: NCCAR does not necessarily endorse or share the views expressed in articles highlighted in Mediascape. Mediascape is provided as an information service on media coverage related to the Middle East and the Arab World. Let Us Know! Your comments are most welcome at nccar@nccar.ca. |
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