VZCZCXYZ0023
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #2639/01 2901345
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171345Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8803
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 002639 
 
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: October 17, 2007 
 
 
More Money for Asylum Cases 
 
¶1. Austria is to significantly improve its handling of asylum cases, 
the government has said. Funds will be released to provide more 
staff to process applications for asylum, according to Finance 
Minister and Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer of the People's Party 
(OeVP). The coalition government has meanwhile set 2010 as the 
deadline for the backlog of cases to be cleared. 
"More German for immigrants," headlines semi-official daily Wiener 
Zeitung, reporting like all Austrian media on the ongoing asylum and 
immigration debate in Austria. Interior Minister Guenther Platter 
from the People's Party has suggested improving immigration by 
doubling to 600 the number of hours immigrants will be required to 
take German classes. Experts are warning, however, that such 
extended German courses would also result in increasing the 
financial burden on immigrants. In contrast, centrist daily Die 
Presse quotes experts as welcoming the Interior Minister's proposal 
as a "very sensible approach" and a "sensible development."  The 
OeVP's coalition partner SPOe has meanwhile signaled cautious 
approval of Platter's plan. Floor leader for the Social Democrats 
Josef Cap said his party "would not say no categorically," but that 
their backing also depended on Minister Platter's concrete 
proposals. 
 
 
Government Agreement on Online Searches 
 
¶2. Following lengthy and tough negotiations, the SPOe-OeVP coalition 
government has reached agreement, which will allow Austrian police 
to conduct online searches on private computers under certain 
conditions. According to Interior Minister Guenther Platter from the 
OeVP, such searches would only be permissible in cases of suspicion 
of terrorist activities or severe crimes. A joint statement on the 
proposal will be presented in today's Council of Ministers. 
Independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten, however, points 
out that Justice Minister Maria Berger from the SPOe has been 
"trying to slow down" efforts at permitting Austrian authorities to 
conduct online searches on private computers. She insists that such 
measures only be applied in the most severe of cases and if there is 
reasonable and probable cause, Berger told the daily. The Minister 
also said she does not understand the urgency with which her 
colleague Interior Minster Platter wants to push through the 
respective law. "The terrorist threat for Austria is not that 
imminent; a few weeks more or less won't matter," she argued. 
 
 
Shakfeh to Step Down 
 
¶3. The President of Austria's Islamic Community, Anas Shakfeh, has 
said he will not seek re-election. At an event on the occasion of 
the end of Ramadan, Shakfeh told Austrian President Heinz Fischer 
that he plans to retire in late 2008, after the end of his current 
term. Shakfeh has been the Islamic Community's President since 
¶1999. 
Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung repots like several Austrian 
media that President of Austria's Islamic Community Anas Shakfeh has 
announced his retirement at the end of 2008. In a speech, Shakfeh 
said he had accomplished much during his term of office. In addition 
to the Islamic-Theological Faculty which is planned to open at the 
University of Vienna, he referred to the establishment of an Islamic 
cemetery, which will open soon. Also, a planned reform of the 
Islamic community envisages voting for representatives at all 
Austrian mosques said Shakfeh. He concluded that he would prefer a 
"younger" representative from the Islamic Community to succeed him. 
 
 
 
Ambassador at Museum Dinner 
 
¶4. US Ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw was among the guests 
attending a sponsors' dinner for the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts 
earlier this month, which was hosted by Museum Director Wilfried 
Seipel. Meanwhile, an Austrian tabloid publishes a portrait of the 
Ambassador, pointing out that Mrs. McCaw is "wrapping up" her 
ambassadorship in Austria. She has decided to return early to the US 
for "personal reasons," mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich wrote 
on October 16. 
 
 
Putin Backs Iran 
 
¶5. Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a visit to Tehran, told the 
United States that Russia would not accept military action against 
Iran. An Austrian daily quotes the Russian leader as stressing: "We 
should not even think about using aggression in this region." Putin 
attended a meeting focusing on economic interests and geopolitical 
issues with other Caspian Sea states, who ruled out any strikes on 
Iran from their region. 
Meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Russian 
President Vladimir Putin underscored he supports Iran's right to a 
peaceful use of nuclear energy. On Monday, Putin also urged for more 
patience in the international dispute over Tehran's atomic program, 
independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten writes. With 
Putin so massively backing Iran, Tehran is basking in the 
implications of the Kremlin bosses' visit. The trip is regarded as a 
"victory of Iranian diplomacy," and as proof that the United States' 
efforts at completely isolating Iran have failed dismally, the daily 
says. In truth, however, Putin's visit only serves to boost Russia's 
profile, both internationally and among states in the region, the 
Salzburger Nachrichten suggests. 
 
 
Turkey Seeking Green Light on Iraq Incursion 
 
¶6. Iraq has warned Turkey of the "grave consequences" of an 
incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there. 
The warning comes as the government in Ankara is seeking 
parliamentary approval today for a cross-border operation to pursue 
PKK members. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
has underscored this does not mean an attack is imminent, but added 
that Ankara's "patience is wearing thin." According to Turkey, the 
PKK is a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of at 
least 50 soldiers earlier this month. 
"Turkey is increasing pressure on Iraq," liberal daily Der Standard 
headlines. According to the daily, the EU and the US have warned 
Ankara against taking action against Kurdish PKK rebels in Iraq, 
though. The Iraqi central government's problem in the matter is that 
it does not have the means to move against the PKK in the 
Kurdish-controlled north. Only the two Iraqi Kurdish leaders, Massud 
Barsani, the head of government of the autonomous region, and Jalal 
Talabani, the Iraqi President representing Kurdish interests in 
Baghdad, could accomplish that, says the Standard. Ankara, however, 
does not want to negotiate with either of them, and both Barsani and 
Talabani have so far ruled out taking action against the PKK. The 
daily believes that only the United States could change that: They 
and the Kurds in northern Iraq need to succeed in "keeping calm" the 
PKK until mid-November, when Turkish Premier Erdogan meets with US 
President Bush in Washington. After that, the approach of winter 
will largely rule out active hostilities anyway, says the daily. 
 
 
US President Meets Dalai Lama 
 
¶7. US President George Bush has met with the exiled Tibetan 
spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, at the White House despite strong 
protests from the Chinese government. China regards the meeting as 
interference in its internal affairs, and has warned US-Chinese 
relations could deteriorate over this. White House spokesperson Dana 
Perino, however, underscored that the US President was not trying to 
provoke China. 
When it comes to the Dalai Lama, China "sees red," mass-circulation 
provincial daily Kleine Zeitung says. That is why the Tibetan 
spiritual leaders' visit with US President George Bush could led to 
serious tensions between the US and China. The fact that the US 
President has labeled the meeting a "private visit," does not help 
much: For the leadership in Beijing, the Dalai Lama remains a 
traitor and a proponent of Tibet's secession from China. 
McCaw