[Kabar-indonesia] Yudhoyono: Western media biased in reporting Muslim deaths [+Australia; NYT]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: Australian PM says Muslim integration calls not discrimination;
and NYT: Iraqi Casualties Are Up Sharply, Study Finds 

Yudhoyono says Western media often 
shows bias in reporting Muslim deaths 

JAKARTA, Sept. 2 (AP): President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accused 
Western media of bias in covering global conflicts Saturday, saying Muslim 
deaths in Iraq and Palestine often sparked less outrage than the killings of 
non-Muslims.

"Rightly or wrongly" the perception created is often "that a Muslim life is 
less precious," Yudhoyono told a media gathering on the resort island of Bali 
that 
brought together some 80 foreign journalists.

"When non-Muslims are killed in the line of fire ... Western media outlets 
display much more outrage than when Muslims are killed routinely in Palestine, 
Iraq and 
now Lebanon," said Yudhoyono, whose country has more Muslims than any other, 
some190 million.

At the same time, the Indonesian leader praised the American press for not 
publishing the Prophet Muhammad cartoons this year and last that sparked a 
wave of outrage among Muslims worldwide, leaving scores dead.

The series of 12 cartoons, first published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten 
daily, 
were reprinted by dozens of newspapers and Web sites in Europe and elsewhere, 
most often in the name of press freedom.

Yudhoyono said no "major American newspaper published the cartoons," 
showing that "sensitivity" can prevail in the press. 

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Agence France-Presse
September 2, 2006

Australian PM says Muslim integration calls not discrimination

Prime Minister John Howard denied his calls for Australia's Muslims to fully 
integrate into society amounted to discrimination in remarks published, 
saying 
it was "commonsense".

Howard repeatedly demanded this week that Australia's Muslims learn English 
and accept women's equality, prompting Muslim leaders and political opponents 
to accuse him of inflaming tensions in a country rocked by racial rioting in 
Sydney last December.

Writing in Sydney's Daily Telegraph tabloid, Howard said it was a fact that 
some sections of the Islamic community were resisting integration and urging 
change should not be labelled discriminatory.

"It is not. It is commonsense and, importantly, it is also a powerful symbol 
of a 
new migrant's willingness and enthusiasm about becoming an Australian," the 
conservative leader wrote in the newspaper.

Howard said migrants needed English language skills to perform basic tasks 
such as getting a job and women's equality was an Australian value that 
should 
be embraced.

"We are an egalitarian nation that prides itself on the concept of a fair go, 
our equal treatment of men and women, our parliamentary democracy and free 
speech," he said.

"Embracing these values and other Australian ideals is vital for new arrivals 
... There are small sections of some communities, including the Islamic 
community, that are resistant to integration."

Senator Bob Brown, the lead of the left-leaning Greens Party, accused Howard 
of singling out Australia's 300,000-strong Muslim community for "xenophobic" 
criticism.

"We are in a different era in which the leader of this country, for the first 
time in much more than half a century, is promoting a xenophobia which 
divides the country and which harms citizens in this country who have no right to be 
picked out by a leader for special criticism in the way that John Howard 
has," he told public radio.

Ameer Ali, the head of the government's Muslim advisory committee, said 
Friday that Howard risked inflaming tensions that led to rioting between white 
youths and Arab-Australians in the Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla last 
December.

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The New York Times
September 2, 2006

Security

Iraqi Casualties Are Up Sharply, Study Finds 

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

photo: A girl checked her parrots Friday in her Baghdad home, which was 
damaged by rocket attacks. Attacks on civilians have risen sharply. Wathiq 
Khuzaie/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 -- Iraqi casualties soared by more than 50 percent in 
recent months, the product of spiraling sectarian clashes and a Sunni-based 
insurgency that remains “potent and viable,” the Pentagon said in its latest 
comprehensive assessment of security in Iraq.

During the period from the establishment of the new Iraqi government on May 
20 until Aug. 11, the average number of weekly attacks jumped to almost 800. 
That was a substantial increase from earlier this year and almost double the 
number of the first part of 2004.

As a consequence, Iraqi casualties increased 51 percent over the last 
reporting period. The document notes that, based on initial reports, Iraqi casualties 
among civilians and security forces reached nearly 120 a day, up from about 
80 a day in the pervious reporting period from mid-February to mid-May. About 
two years ago they were running about 30 a day.

“Although the overall number of attacks increased in all categories, the 
proportion of those attacks directed against civilians increased substantially,” 
the Pentagon noted. “Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually 
reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife, with Sunni and Shia extremists each 
portraying themselves as the defenders of their respective sectarian groups.”

The Pentagon report, titled “Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq,” is 
mandated by Congress and issued quarterly. It covers a broad range of subjects, 
including the economy, public attitudes, and security.

This time, the study is the focus of special interest because of increasing 
fears that Iraq is sliding into civil war and because it is being published at 
a time when President Bush and members of his cabinet have been trying to 
present a strong case in support of the war, in the face of vehement criticism 
from Democrats.

The report does not take account of the latest efforts to bring order to 
Baghdad, operations that involved 12,000 additional soldiers, including some 7,000 
additional American troops. Col. Thomas Vail, the commander of a brigade of 
the 101st Airborne Division, told reporters on Friday that his troops had made 
progress in recent days in tamping down the violence in the capital. The last 
several days have been particularly bloody, with about 250 Iraqis killed and 
scores wounded since Sunday. The Pentagon acknowledged that the grim data on 
attacks, casualties and executions was distressing. “It’s a pretty sober report 
this time,” said Peter Rodman, a senior Pentagon official, who met with 
reporters to discuss it. “The last quarter, it’s been rough. Sectarian violence 
has been particularly acute and disturbing.”

Democratic lawmakers portrayed the report as evidence that the 
administration’s strategy was failing. “They have not provided the real resources, in terms 
of both military and civilian advisers, nor real dollars to reconstruct and 
help Iraq emerge from this period of instability,” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode 
Island said.

The report chronicles dangers on an array of fronts. Although the Sunni-based 
insurgency has received less news media attention since the surge of 
sectarian violence, the report cautions that it is resilient and strong. The number of 
attacks in Anbar Province, a vast Sunni-dominated region in western Iraq, 
averages more than 30 a day.

Regarding Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia’s operations in Iraq, the report says the 
network’s “cellular nature” has enabled it to continue attacks despite the 
death of its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

But sectarian strife has emerged as the biggest worry. In recent months, the 
Pentagon noted, “The core conflict in Iraq changed into a struggle between 
Sunni and Shia extremists seeking to control key areas in Baghdad, create or 
protect sectarian enclaves, divert economic resources, and impose their own 
respective political and religious agendas.” Echoing recent statements by senior 
American military commanders, the report says that “conditions that could lead to 
civil war exist in Iraq, especially in and around Baghdad, and concern about 
civil war within the Iraqi population has increased in recent months.”

The report notes that sectarian violence is gradually expanding north to 
Kirkuk and Diyala Province. Further, the confidence of Iraqis in the future has 
diminished, according to public opinion surveys cited in the Pentagon report.

Still, the study says the fighting in Iraq does not meet the “stringent 
international legal standards for civil war,” without further explanation. Even so, 
the sectarian fighting has been bloodier than ever.

In discussing daily casualty rates, the report did not distinguish between 
the number of dead and wounded. But it noted that execution-type killings, in 
particular, reached a new high in July. “The Baghdad Coroner’s Office reported 
1,600 bodies arrived in June and more than 1,800 bodies in July, 90 percent of 
which were assessed to be the result of executions,” the report states.

The report says that progress has been made in fielding Iraqi Army units and 
police that can take over the main responsibility for security. It says 5 
Iraqi Army divisions, 25 brigades and 85 battalions have the lead for security in 
their areas. It notes that a lack of noncommissioned officers and absenteeism 
are obstacles to fielding an effective Iraqi force. Though the 63-page report 
does not discuss military operations in Baghdad in detail, it has become clear 
in recent months that Iraq could not be effectively secured without the 
active involvement of the Americans. When the Americans cut back patrols in 
Baghdad, violence rose and American commanders decided to send additional troops to 
the capital from elsewhere in the country.

The report notes that Iraq’s Interior Ministry does not have a system to 
determine how many of the forces trained by police advisers are still on the job. 
Advisers from the American-led forces estimate that the attrition rate is 
about 20 percent a year.

Citing polling data from the International Republican Institute, the report 
states that almost 80 percent of Iraqis thought in April 2006 that the general 
situation would be better in a year. By June, it was less than 50 percent. “In 
general, Iraqis have had an optimistic outlook,” the report stated. 
“However, as time has passed, their optimism has eroded.”

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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