VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #1984/01 2071202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261202Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8158
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 001984 
 
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: July 26, 2007 
 
 
Elsner vs. Flttl 
 
¶1. Former BAWAG boss Helmut Elsner and investment banker Wolfgang 
Flttl are increasingly at loggerheads at the current BAWAG trial. 
Helmut Elsner denies that the bank's Caribbean deals were anything 
but credit business. That the deals involved high-risk speculation 
was something Flttl had never told him, Elsner maintains.  He goes 
on to specify that the BAWAG had Flttl's private fortune as 
security. Flttl contradicts Elsner about the risks involved in the 
Caribbean deals, saying that he never tried to conceal anything. 
[Der Standard, p. 1 and 19; Die Presse, p. 9; other Austrian media] 
 
 
 
 
Gusenbauer Hosts Balkan Meeting 
 
¶2. Austria's Federal Chancellor Gusenbauer gave an interview to mass 
circulation daily "Kurier" in which he spoke, among other things, 
about the Balkan conference he is about to host in Salzburg this 
weekend during which experts from southeastern Europe will 
participate. Asked about the future of the Kosovo talks, Gusenbauer 
maintains that negotiations can only take place in the UN Security 
Council on the basis of the report compiled by special envoys Martti 
Athisaari and Albert Rohan, whose proposals he called a "fair 
approach to bringing about a solution in the issue." 
Asked by "Kurier" about the plan of the EU foreign ministers to 
continue the Kosovo talks with participation of a troika consisting 
of EU, Russia and the US, the Chancellor said he would welcome 
anything that was designed to get the negotiation process in the 
Security Council back on track, but stressed that the decision was 
made by the Security Council. Any solution for the Kosovo problem 
could only be successful if it is part of a comprehensive process 
where none of the negotiation partners feel humiliated. A solution 
has to take both sides into consideration. The Austrian Chancellor 
expressly rejected a link between the Kosovo solution and a European 
perspective for Serbia. 
 
Radical Muslims Also in Austria 
 
¶3. The latest report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution, which was released on Wednesday, has established that 
there are tendencies towards radicalization among Muslims in 
Austria, especially among second generation immigrants and converted 
Austrians. Recruiting takes place primarily in the mosques where 
radical messages are preached, among others the armed Jihad. 
According to weekly "News," the latest report of the Federal Office 
for the Protection of the Constitution concludes that "the extremism 
and terrorism that is motivated by Islamism, remains in the short 
and medium run a primary source of danger for security within Europe 
and within Austria." The weekly quotes Minister of the Interior, 
G|nther Platter, as saying that "Austria is not a primary terror 
target, but one can one look at Austria as an isolated place." The 
Minister assured that the "Islamist cells are being monitored 
closely," and went on to stress the importance of prevention:  "[W]e 
rely on prevention and the dialogue of cultures and religions in 
Austria. That is an important preventive measure against 
radicalization." Independent daily "Salzburger Nachrichten" quotes 
Gert-Ren Polli, the head of the Federal Office, as confirming that 
"individual hate preachers are closely monitored," while pointing 
out that "the threat potential are those who are unknown, those who 
are active in the backyards." There is also danger that "the 
internet is turning into a virtual recruiting place for terrorists." 
However, both Platter and Polli are convinced that there is no 
danger for the state. 
 
Terror Cells in Vienna Are a Threat to Bosnia 
 
¶4. Mustafa Ceric, supreme Islamic authority in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 
has warned of terror cells with Islamic background that have 
manifested themselves in the West. According to Ceric, Vienna is 
also affected. Activists are allegedly trying to start activities in 
Bosnia from the Austrian capital. 
Centrist daily "Die Presse" refers to the fact that many fighters 
from Islamist countries had infiltrated Bosnia during the war from 
1992 to 1995, leading to a "clash of cultures" in the country. 
Mustafa Ceric and the Islamic community remained indifferent to the 
activities of the foreign Islamists, of whom there were about 500 - 
after all, Islamic countries had helped Bosnia during the war. It 
was not until the Islamists began to occupy the mosques of the 
Bosnians and spread terror in individual villages that the 
atmosphere began to change. Religious citizens were prevented from 
participating in the Friday prayer in the mosques. Already in 2005, 
Ceric pointed out that such activities did not originate with Saudis 
alone, but that there were more and more people in the West that 
acted the role of agitators. 
 
Troika for Kosovo 
 
¶5. At a meeting at the German Embassy in Vienna on Wednesday, it was 
decided that a troika consisting of EU, US and Russia will continue 
the Kosovo talks. 
Independent daily "Der Standard" reports on the continuation of the 
Kosovo talks in Vienna, describing the atmosphere of the first 
meeting of high-ranking diplomats of the contact group as 
"surprisingly open and constructive." However, a time plan for the 
talks was not fixed - the EU states and the US opt for a duration of 
120 days, whereas Russia prefers open-ended talks. The diplomats 
also conferred on the question of whether the plan set up by UN 
Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari for a monitored independence of the 
province should be taken as the basis for further negotiations. US 
Special Envoy for the Kosovo issue, Frank Wisner said in an 
interview with the Kosovarian daily "Express" that the Artisaari 
plan was "not negotiable." Russian Foreign Minister Lawrow, however, 
made clear that the plan was not to play a role in future Kosovo 
talks. In the meantime, Viennese political scientist Vedran DQihic 
has told "Der Standard" that the Vienna meetings were "mock talks" 
designed to gain time for negotiations between Washington and Moscow 
on the issue. The goal was to pull Russia into the camp and get it 
to agree to a reduced version of the Artisaari plan. 
 
G|l on Confrontation Course 
 
¶6. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah G|l, whose presidential 
ambitions failed two months ago due to resistance from secular and 
military forces, is considering another bid for the highes office. 
He has not made a final decision, but hs indicated that his voters 
expect him to run. Hwever, polls indicate that the success of the 
AK was owing to the voters' expectations that the paty would 
guarantee economic prosperity and stabilty in the country and not 
the presidential electons or the intervention of the military 
forces. Der Standard, p. 3; other Austrian media] 
 
Terro Support Eroding 
 
¶7. A study conducted by the US institute Pew has established that 
there is a growing trend in the Muslim world toward rejection of 
suicide attacks and other forms of violence against civilian 
populations. The institute found that during the past five years, 
supporters of such atrocious deeds have decreased by half. In the 
Palestinian regions, however, 70 percent of the population still 
believes that terror acts are often or at least sometimes 
justified. 
Independent daily "Salzburger Nachrichten" gives details of the 
poll: Whereas in 2002, 74 percent of the interviewees defended the 
suicide attacks as necessary for the defense of Islam, only 34 
percent did so in 2007. In Jordan, 43 percent of the interviewees 
supported violent actions, in the meantime the rate has gone down to 
23 percent. In Pakistan, the approval rate dropped from 33 percent 
to 9 percent; in Bangladesh from 44 percent to 20 percent and in 
Indonesia from 26 percent to 10 percent. Pew concluded from these 
results that there was an overall rejection of extremist actions in 
the Islamic world. At the same time, the US polling institute found 
that support for terror boss Osama bin Laden had eroded, whereas the 
ideas of Hamas and Hezbollah met with approval in most countries of 
the Islamic world. Pew also established that there were growing 
concerns in the Muslim world that the violent conflict between 
Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq could not be restricted to that country 
but would develop into a major problem for the Islamic world. 
Kilner