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TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 27, 2007 
 
 
No General Right to Stay 
 
¶1. Austrian Minister of the Interior G|nther Platter wants to avoid 
fixed deadlines that give asylum seekers the right to stay in 
Austria indefinitely and favors instead the current practice 
according to which each case is to be examined individually. This is 
his answer to the discussion about the possibility of granting 
asylum seekers automatically the right to stay on humanitarian 
grounds once after they have been in the country for a certain time. 
Platter's counter-proposal provides for a uniform catalogue of 
criteria which are to be applied by all provinces. [Die Presse, p. 
3] 
Centrist daily "Die Presse" lists the criteria that determine 
whether an asylum seeker is able to remain in Austria on a permanent 
basis. A right to stay will always be granted to victims of human 
trafficking, violence in the family, and also to persons who are 
subject to special personal dangers or plights. In addition, 
paragraph 8 of the European Human Rights Convention, which provides 
for the right to family life, has to be taken into account. However, 
one of these reasons is not sufficient for an automatic right to 
asylum. The duration of a person's stay in the country is 
considered, as is the degree of integration. This is one of the most 
significant changes to the current practice: In the future, mayors 
will be questioned as to how well the respective persons are 
integrated into the community. According to Minister Platter's 
assessment of the situation, there will be no need to grant asylum 
on humanitarian grounds. Once all the pending cases are resolved and 
a separate court for asylum cases has been installed, which will 
happen next year, the procedure will be so short that a permanent 
right to stay on humanitarian grounds will no longer be an issue, 
writes the daily. 
 
Summing Up the Climate Summit 
 
¶2. At the climate summit in New York, Californian Governor Arnold 
Schwarzenegger's proposals for an environmental policy that focuses 
on innovative approaches to climate change have met with the 
approval of many heads of state. On Thursday, US President Bush, who 
did not attend the UN meeting, is starting his own climate summit. 
Austrian Chancellor Gusenbauer has already voiced criticism of 
Bush's unilateral approach.  [Neue Kronenzeitung, p. 2] 
Mass circulation tabloid "Neue Kronenzeitung" lauds the UN climate 
summit on Monday and takes a critical stance on the planned Bush 
"counter-summit." It notes that representatives of the 16 biggest 
environmental sinners, which together make for 80 percent of global 
emissions, were invited to the summit. According to the tabloid, 
Bush's primary goal, in which he is seconded by China, is to prevent 
binding commitments and it quotes Federal Chancellor Gusenbauer, who 
criticizes the US for its go-it-alone stance on climate change: 
"Bush has already lost the battle. There is no other way than via 
the UN. Anything else is only rearguard action." For the Federal 
Chancellor, the general support for Austrian-born Schwarzenegger at 
the UN summit has the positive effect that there is now also a 
heightened interest in Austria's environmental politics. 
Austrian Press Agency (APA) reports on the meeting between US 
President Bush and the Austrian Chancellor in New York on Tuesday 
night, when the latter once again made a case for a joint 
European-American cooperation with regard to the global climate 
crisis. According to APA, Gusenbauer pointed out that the 
international community was now waiting for the US to take the lead 
in the UN on the climate issue. Gusenbauer also met with former 
President Bill Clinton and former Vice-President Al Gore. 
 
Plassnik Sees Chances for Austrian Seat in Security Council 
 
¶3. Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Ursula 
Plassnik sees good chances for Austria's bid for a seat on the UN 
Security Council. In reference to Austria's long-standing tradition 
as a member of the UN and its strong engagement, she does not see 
any problems. Austria is competing with Turkey it its bid for a 
non-permanent seat in the highest UN body.  [ORF online] 
 
Burma's Military Crushes Protests 
 
¶4. Burma's military has chosen escalation - on Wednesday, soldiers 
resorted to violence in their attempt to strike down the protest 
movement. According to various sources, up to eight people were 
killed and about 100 injured. On Thursday, Buddhist monasteries were 
raided and about 200 monks were arrested. Worldwide, governments are 
warning Burma's military regime to show moderation. On the 
initiative of the British government, an urgent meeting of the UN 
Security Council took place on Wednesday, however, due to resistance 
on the part of China, no official condemnation of the bloodshed in 
Burma could be agreed upon. Instead, there was a lukewarm appeal to 
the junta to renounce violence.  [ORF online, Die Presse, p. 1] 
All Austrian media report extensively on the explosive situation in 
Burma, where a dictatorial military regime sees its power threatened 
by a protest movement led by Buddhist monks. International sanctions 
against the brutal regime have been in place since the mid-nineties. 
In 1997, US President Clinton banned weapons deals and investment 
involving Burma, and the EU imposed milder sanctions in 1996 - they 
affect also weapons deals, as well as diplomatic relations, 
technical assistance and business deals on the security sector. As 
centrist daily "Die Presse" points out, these sanctions have had 
little effect; after all, China and India did not join in. The value 
of sanctions is controversial at any rate:   The country is still 
able to export gas and textile goods, particularly to Japan and 
South Korea. Also, there are critics that object to sanctions on the 
grounds that they only serve to heighten the country's isolation and 
give the junta the chance to do whatever it wants, writes 
independent daily "Der Standard." In the meantime, it is unclear 
what role China plays with regard to Burma:  On the one hand, it 
acts as protector of the country, which is economically dependent on 
Beijing, on the other hand, it has every reason to fear chaos in 
Burma and has called upon the regime to proceed with moderation. 
Mass circulation daily "Kurier" also points out that Beijing is 
supposed to have contacts to the Burmese opposition. 
 
Bush Wants More Money for War Effort 
 
¶5. In the coming year, US President George W. Bush intends to spend 
about a third more than currently on the wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. Secretary of 
Defense Robert Gates is going to ask Congress to grant him about 190 
billion dollars for the coming fiscal year. So far, the White House 
estimate amounted to 147 billion dollars - if the Pentagon is 
actually granted the requested funds, 2008 will be the most 
expensive war year since the US went into Iraq. It is expected that 
the Congress, which is dominated by Democrats, will use this 
opportunity to put pressure on the administration with regard to a 
time frame for troop withdrawal from Iraq. [ORF online] 
 
Ways Out of the Dead End 
 
¶6. Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has declared the end of the 
controversy about the Iranian nuclear issue:  "The matter is 
closed." However, the US and Germany in particular, take a different 
view. In Washington, the House of Representative has decided on 
tightening the economic sanctions in case Tehran continues with 
uranium enrichment. In her speech before the UN, German Chancellor 
Angela Merkel demanded once again a joint effort of the 
international community to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions and 
promised that her country would commit to "further, tighter 
sanctions," if Iran refuses to yield in the nuclear quarrel. In the 
meantime, the Vienna-based IAEA has held back with statements 
concerning Ahmadinejad's announcement. IAEA boss ElBaradei had come 
under criticism for his recent go-it-alone initiative to work out a 
plan with Iran separately. According to this plan, all open 
questions concerning Iran's nuclear program are to be clarified 
within the next three months - according to the IAEA, if Iran really 
provides all the necessary information and demonstrates its 
readiness to make its plans transparent, the crisis could be solved. 
 
In an analysis of the deadlocked situation around the Iranian 
nuclear issue, centrist daily "Die Presse" publishes exclusively 
assessments and recommendations of a group of diplomats and experts 
from the US, EU countries, Switzerland, Saudi-Arabia, Israel and 
Iran, who convened under the chairmanship of Austrian Wolfgang 
Danspeckgruber, head of the "Liechtenstein Institute of 
Self-Determination" at Princeton University. The group has 
established that Iran presently has about 3,000 centrifuges for 
uranium enrichment in preparation - one expert estimates that 
between 2010 and 2015, Iran could be in possession of nuclear 
weapons. There are various approaches for resolving the conflict: 
One participant opted for a so-called "cold suspension," allowing 
Iran to run its centrifuges, but banning the use for uranium 
enrichment. Another tempting plan provides for the positive settling 
of the Iranian nuclear issue as a beginning of a complete 
normalization between Iran and the US. This is an ambitious 
enterprise - after all, Iran is also involved in Lebanon, Iraq and 
Afghanistan. Also, once anti-Americanism, which is one of the 
pillars of the Islamic Republic, is replaced by opening and dtente, 
this could be the end of the Iranian theocracy. But perhaps that is 
just what the West is trying to bring about, speculates the daily. 
McCaw