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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: May 15, 2007 
 
 
Eurofighter: Darabos Says Talks to Continue 
 
¶1. Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos from the Social 
Democrats said negotiations with EADS, the manufacturer of the 
Eurofighter interceptors, will continue. Speaking in Brussels at a 
joint meeting of foreign and defense ministers, Darabos said talks 
would resume in a few days. A scenario that would permit Austria to 
back out of the deal nevertheless remains a top priority for him, 
the Minister added. 
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced in the Austrian media that EADS, 
the manufacturer of the Eurofighter jets, has been paying soccer 
team Rapid Wien of the Austrian soccer league a million Euros per 
year since 2003. The team's president, former Finance Minister 
Rudolf Edlinger from the SPOe, cited confidentiality requirements 
and declined to comment on the payments made by EADS, centrist daily 
Die Presse wrote. Also, the parliamentary investigative committee 
looking into the Eurofighter purchase by the former OeVP-FPOe/BZOe 
coalition government met again on Monday to discuss why documents 
related to the case have been blacked out and censored by the 
Finance Ministry. Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer and senior 
ministry officials appeared before the inquiry on Monday. 
 
 
Former Austrian Embassy Staff Charged in Sale of Visas 
 
¶2. Seven people have been charged in connection with the sale of 
visas through Austria's embassy in Budapest. The persons in question 
include two former Foreign Ministry employees and five suspected 
accomplices. Charges include abuse of office, human trafficking and 
criminal networking. 
Like all Austrian media reporting on the charges brought against 
former Foreign Ministry employees and their accomplices in 
connection with the sale of visas through Austria's embassy in 
Budapest, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung said that media reports 
indicate companies in Austria supplied false letters of invitation 
to citizens of Serbia and Moldova so visas could be issued more 
easily by the Austrian embassy staff. Budapest is not the only 
Foreign Ministry post under suspicion: Kiev, Ankara, Belgrade and 
Lagos have also been named. Visas were allegedly sold not just for 
Austria, but for the entire Schengen Area, which includes most of 
Western Europe. An investigation into visa practices at the Austrian 
Embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kiev is expected to be completed by 
the end of May. According to the committee investigating the sale of 
visas, which is headed by former Foreign Minister Peter Jankowitsch 
of the SPOe, no evidence has been found suggesting the involvement 
of any criminal network, but a failure in personal management is 
said to be responsible. The Social Democrats and the Greens want a 
parliamentary investigation, according to the daily. 
 
 
Salzburg Conference on Muslims in Europe 
 
¶3. Starting May 15 in Salzburg, the international conference "Muslim 
Youths and Western Women" offers politicians, scientists and Muslim 
representatives a forum to discuss means of reducing tensions and 
supporting successful integration. The conference was organized by 
Mustapha Tlili, the Director of the New York University, under the 
motto: "Dialogue instead of war as answer to September 11." 
Reporting on the international conference "Muslim Youths and Western 
Women" in Salzburg, mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung in its 
weekend issue wrote that Mustapha Tlili, conference organizer and 
Director of the New York University outlined the different 
situations of immigrant Muslims in the US and in Europe:  As a 
nation of immigrants the US has an easier time integrating Muslims 
into society, Tlili argued. The prospective immigrants have to show 
a willingness to become good US citizens, but if they make an effort 
and get a good education, they can quickly move up in American 
society. The problem in the US is not the social status of Muslim 
immigrants, but American foreign policy. In Europe, according to 
Tlili, the situation is reversed:  Foreign policy is not the 
problem, social status is. Unemployment is high and many Muslims in 
Europe remain stuck in the lower social classes. Also, religious 
affiliation is more of a problem for Muslims in secular Europe than 
in the strongly Christian-oriented US. Mustapha Tlili recommended 
that the American integration model be used in Europe as well. In 
more concrete terms, he suggested a so-called "European Citizenship 
Contract" between the states and the immigrants, specifying mutual 
rights and obligations, including learning the language of the host 
country and granting women the right to self-determination. Equality 
of opportunity is likewise important - so far, women wearing a 
headscarf have problems in the job market and a foreign-sounding 
name can create difficulties in getting an apartment. Professor 
Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Islamic Salzburg Conference participant, 
summed up the situation, "Muslims have a right to an identity of 
their own, however, they must commit to the state in which they 
live." 
 
 
Iran Making Progress on Uranium Enrichment 
 
¶4. According to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, 
Iran has made major progress in its uranium enrichment activities. A 
US daily newspaper quoted IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, 
as saying "we believe they by and large have the knowledge about how 
the enrichment process works. From now on, it is merely a question 
of perfecting that knowledge." ElBaradei added that he is "aware 
this is not what people want to hear, but it is a fact." 
In addition, liberal daily Der Standard wrote that Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened the US, stressing Iran would 
"retaliate massively," in case of a military strike against his 
country's nuclear program. Speaking in the United Arab Emirates on 
Monday, Ahmadinejad said the United States would "regret such a 
mistake." Sourcing US daily Washington Post, the Standard reported 
that the US government has meanwhile confirmed plans of talks with 
Iran regarding the security situation in Iraq. US Ambassador to 
Iraq, Ryan Crocker, is to discuss Iraq's security problems with 
Iranian representatives in Baghdad. Meanwhile, according to 
independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten, the neo-cons 
have harshly criticized the planned direct talks between the US and 
Iran. Richard Perle dismissed the concept that Iran is interested in 
stability in Iraq and in a rapprochement with the US. Quite the 
contrary, Perle argued, the regime in Tehran is deliberately 
contributing to the instability. 
 
 
No War against Muslims 
 
¶5. ... emphasized Farah Pandith, US expert on Islam and a State 
Department's Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for 
Europe and Eurasia. It is no more than a myth that the United States 
has a problem with Islam, she explained in an interview with an 
Austrian mass-circulation daily. 
In an interview with mass-circulation daily Kurier, a Senior Advisor 
to the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Farah 
Pandith outlined the US position on Islam. The planned talks between 
the US and Iran on the security situation in Iraq are "a good step." 
Among Pandith's priorities is working on "establishing a better 
dialogue with Muslim societies in the West, because minority rights 
are important." She also emphasized that "it is a myth that the US 
has a problem with Islam, or that America does not approach Islam 
with great respect. We are looking to build more bridges." Regarding 
Europe's position towards Islam and its Muslim communities, she 
suggested that the "ultimate goal must be to find a way for everyone 
to live well, and in a fair and respected way. Austria has a rich 
history in respecting Muslims. But the key question is: How can 
minorities balance out their requirements, and preserve their 
cultural heritage." 
 
 
 
 
Rice, Steinmeier in Moscow for Talks 
 
¶6. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her German counterpart 
Frank Walter Steinmeier will hold separate talks with Russian 
President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. Austrian media, reporting 
on the growing tensions between Moscow and Washington over the 
latter's plans for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, 
believe Rice has a difficult task cut out for her in Russia. A daily 
quoted the Secretary of Sate as underscoring that she does not see 
any parallels suggesting the potential beginning of a new Cold War, 
however. Her German colleague Steinmeier, meanwhile, is also seeking 
to resolve tensions ahead of a Russia-EU summit on Friday. 
Liberal daily Der Standard described US Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice's Moscow trip as "a rhetoric disarmament mission." 
Despite the fact that relations between Washington and Moscow have 
cooled somewhat, there is no need to talk of a new Cold War, she 
stressed. US-Russian relations are not easy, but there are "no 
disastrous issues," the Secretary of State underscored. However, the 
"not so disastrous ones are bad enough," as they have led to 
tensions in a wide range of areas, the Standard commented. 
Similaritly, centrist daily Die Presse commented on the "disrupted 
US-Russian relations." Trust between the two countries has been 
shattered, and Rice's visit is unlikely to change that, the daily 
believes. According to the Presse, it is the million-dollar revenues 
from oil and gas sales that have made the Russian elites arrogant 
and proud, and have given them a feeling of invulnerability." 
Russia, these days sees itself as an "energy superpower. Criticism 
just rolls off the Kremlin; and Putin is banking on confrontation." 
 
 
 
Talabani: Talks with Sunni Factions 
 
¶7. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that British forces have been 
involved in secret talks with Sunni insurgents. In an interview with 
a British newspaper, Talabani explained that he and British military 
officials had been in contact with Iraqi militants not linked to al 
Qaeda. 
Meanwhile, an Austrian commentator suggested that the forceful 
change of regime in Iraq, which has toppled the country and the 
majority of its population into chaos, has had a decisive impact on 
Iraq's neighbors as well: At this point, Iraq without a US presence 
there contains the threat of a disastrous power vacuum for several 
countries in the region, including Iran, according to liberal daily 
Der Standard. 
 
 
Panel Says Wofowitz Violated Rules 
 
¶8. A special panel of the World Bank has found that its president 
Paul Wolfowitz violated rules in his handling of a promotion for his 
girlfriend. Wolfowitz, has rejected the panel's findings, however, 
and is expected to appear before the full 24-member board today. 
There have been repeated calls for Wolfowitz' resignation in the 
past weeks, ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal reported. 
McCaw