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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 05, 2007 
 
Renewed Outrage over Strache's Past 
 
Following the outrage last month at pictures showing FPOe boss 
Heinz-Christian Strache among the participants at an event of the 
banned neo-Nazi group Wiking Jugend, "yet another piece has been 
added to the mosaic of Strache's political leanings in the past," 
Austrian media comment. One Austrian daily now reports on a police 
file proving that Strache was arrested and detained for nine hours 
in Germany when he participated in one of the group's activities in 
¶1989. 
All Austrian media report on the criticism from Austrian political 
parties of FPOe boss Heinz-Christian Strache in the wake of reports 
that the Freedom Party leader was arrested and detained on New 
Year's Day 1990 when he participated in an event of a banned 
neo-Nazi group in Germany. Mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich says 
that the Socials Democrats and the Green Party reacted harshly to 
the latest revelations of Strache's political past: While the Greens 
argue that Strache no longer has a place in Austrian politics, and 
the SPOe said the FPOe could not be taken seriously as a party any 
more. The mass-circulation tabloid also suggests, like several 
Austrian media, that Strache will be hard-pressed to explain or 
defend his political past. Liberal daily Der Standard says the FPOe 
has meanwhile dismissed all accusations in connection with its party 
boss, describing the issue as a "witch hunt." 
 
 
Justice Ministry Defends Itself 
 
The Austrian Ministry of Justice has defended itself against 
accusations raised earlier this week by the Simon Wiesenthal Center 
in Jerusalem that Austria has "failed miserably" in bringing Nazi 
criminals to justice. While admitting to "certain omissions and 
failures," these had occurred under previous Justice Ministers, and 
could not be blamed on incumbent Maria Berger, a ministry 
spokesperson said. The Wiesenthal Center had criticized in 
particular the cases of Erna Wallisch and Milivoj Asner, two 
suspected Nazi criminals still living in Austria. 
Like several Austrian media, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung says 
the Justice Ministry's statement came after a report from the Simon 
Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem criticized Austria for not doing 
enough to track down Nazi war criminals. The head of the Center, 
Efraim Zuroff, accused the Austrian government of lacking the 
political will to tackle the problem. According to the Center's 
report, at least two alleged Nazi criminals are known to be living 
in Austria: Milivoj Asner is accused of committing crimes against 
civilians for Croatia's wartime Fascist regime, but officials say he 
is too weak to stand trial today. Meanwhile, Erna Wallisch served as 
a guard at the Majdanek concentration camp, and is thought to be 
living in Vienna. The daily also quotes from the statement put out 
by the Justice Ministry that there had been "missed opportunities" 
under previous governments, but that more has been done on the issue 
since incumbent Maria Berger took office. A ministry official cited 
the recently issued  50,000 reward leading to the capture and 
prosecution of Aribert Heim and Alois Brunner. Heim, who carried out 
executions as a member of the SS at the Mauthausen concentration 
camp, is thought to be in Chile. Brunner is said to have helped 
organize the deportation of Jews and was last known to be living in 
Syria. 
 
 
Gusenbauer in the Middle East 
 
Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer is currently on a visit to the 
Middle East, where he held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud 
Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Earlier, he also paid a brief 
visit to the grave of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 
Ramallah. 
Reporting on the visit to the Middle east of the Austrian 
Chancellor, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung quotes Gusenbauer as 
criticizing the barrier which Israel had put up between the Israeli 
and Palestinian territories. Speaking to journalists in Ramallah, 
Gusenbauer described the barrier as an "economic burden to both 
sides." Nonetheless, mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung 
reports, the Austrian Chancellor spoke of a "light at the end of the 
tunnel in the Mideast conflict" following his meetings with Israeli 
and Palestinian political leaders. Austria "supports the process of 
direct talks between the two Presidents Olmert and Abbas," 
Gusenbauer underscored: There was a "genuine chance of progress 
towards a Mideast solution. There is also the hope that an agreement 
between Israel and Palestine can be presented at the Middle East 
conference in November, on the basis of which a two-state system 
could be created." 
Similarly, in an interview with centrist daily Die Presse, 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he believes Israel is 
"serious about wanting peace." Referring to previous efforts at 
making progress on the peace process, he argued that Hamas had 
"unfortunately destroyed everything." Under his leadership, there 
will be "no negotiations with Hamas, direct or indirect. With their 
putsch in the Gaza Strip, Hamas made a mistake, and they need to 
bear the responsibility and the consequences." 
 
 
11 Goals Not Reached In Iraq 
 
A US Congressional report has found that the Iraqi government is 
"dysfunctional" and has "not been successful in taking political and 
military steps to cut sectarian violence." The Government 
Accountability Office has concluded that Iraq has failed to meet 
eleven of eighteen key benchmarks set by the US Congress in May. The 
report is the first in a series of assessments of Iraq this month. 
In connection with a US Congressional report which has concluded 
that Iraq has failed to meet eleven of eighteen key benchmarks set 
by the US Congress in May, commentator Christian Lininger says on 
ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal: "The violence has not 
abated, the militias have still not been disarmed, there are fewer 
Iraqi security forces on alert than previously, and Parliament has 
failed to pass important laws, which should have paved the way 
towards a rapprochement of the hostile religious and ethnic groups 
in the country. This is the gloomy picture painted by the US 
Government Accountability Office in its most recent report to 
Congress. Out of the 18 goals which Congress demanded be met in 
Iraq, eleven have not been fulfilled. The report is yet another 
heavy blow for the Bush administration, which keeps arguing that the 
deployment of additional US troops has brought about partial 
success, which is why these forces should not be pulled out for the 
time being." ORF radio also quotes the head of the GAO, David 
Walker, as stressing the government has "not eliminated militia 
control of local security, nor eliminated political intervention in 
military operations, nor ensured even-handed enforcement of the law 
or ensured that political authorities made no false accusations 
against security forces." 
 
 
Three Terrorist Suspects Arrested In Germany 
 
In Germany, three people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of 
planning terrorist attacks. A German news network has said the three 
are suspected of planning attacks on the Frankfurt international 
airport and the US military base at Ramstein. Quoting security 
sources in Berlin, German media say that two of the suspects are 
German nationals, while the third has a Pakistani passport. German 
Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung has meanwhile confirmed there was 
an "immediate threat." 
In connection with the arrests in Germany yesterday of three people 
suspected of planning terrorist attacks, semi-official daily Wiener 
Zeitung says that the ministers in charge of security from the 
German-speaking EU countries are planning to step up 
counter-terrorism measures. "We will have to accept that terrorism 
has arrived in Europe," the daily quotes Austrian Minister for the 
Interior Guenther Platter from the OeVP.  At a meeting with his 
counterparts from Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, Platter 
suggested "introducing new measures aimed at restricting the 
terrorists' scope," the daily says. The Minister proposed online 
searches of terrorist suspects' computers as one of the potential 
measures, pointing out that the internet was a forum for the "most 
unbelievable criminal activities." 
McCaw