Al-Ahram Weekly | International

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 December 2000 Issue No.513
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Indian giver
THREE years ago, when the Austrian province of Carinthia offered to provide the Vatican's Christmas tree for the year 2000, the ultra-controversial far-right Freedom Par-y figurehead Jörg Haider wasn't governor and his name wasn't syn-nymous with Hitleresque anti-Semitism and xenophobia. So when Haider, a Roman Catholic, led a del-gation to Rome for a tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday, the Vatican found itself at the centre of a mael-trom of anger and widespread pro-ests, particularly over the Pope's de-ision to give Haider an audience.
Already incensed about the cost of guarding both their unwelcome guest and his tree, the Italian government was further enraged when Haider last week criticised Italy's stance on immigration as "overly generous." All this cat-fighting set the backdrop for Haider's contentious audience on Saturday, but before the notorious politician could get a word in, the Pope brusquely issued him a copy of the Holy See's annual New Year message -- conveniently, a stern word against racial hatred and blind nationalism -- and the meeting was over in a reported three minutes. In the end, Haider took away far more holiday cheer than a tree could offer.
Yule-tide blues
KEEPING with the theme of damp-ned Christmas spirit, Russian Pres-dent Vladimir Putin and Cuban leader Fidel Castro seemed to be competing for the title of Scrooge this weekend during Putin's historic visit to Havana -- the first by a Rus-ian leader since the breakup of the Soviet Union. On Friday, the Cuban government cut off all direct calls between Cuba and the United States -- a long-threatened punishment for recalcitrance by US phone com-anies to heed a 10 per cent tax lev-ed in October in protest of a US measure to tap into frozen Cuban funds.
The move came as Putin wrapped up his lacklustre but symbolic visit. Though the pomp and circumstance surrounding the visit was sold as a reunion between the two Cold War allies, Putin left Castro virtually empty-handed, offering little more than promises of a revival of the countries' once-close relationship. Though he did join Castro in a condemnation of the US embargo and flaunted the Russian spy-station located in Lourdes, Putin still bent over backwards to make clear that his visit did not signify a partnership against the US. Evoking his "good-ill gesture" of pardoning the American businessman Edmond Pope, Pu-in indicated that he had no intention of biting the hand that feeds for a mere brush with ideological nostalgia. Instead, Putin stuck his host with the bill, refusing to write off massive Soviet-era debts and merely offering some small change in loans.
A drop in the bucket
IN A vote widely branded as the lesser of two evils, former post-Communist President Ion Iliescu surged to victory with a reported 70 per cent of the vote in Romania's run-off presidential election on Sunday. Iliescu's Party for Social Democracy (PDSR) gained the parliamentary majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago, but Iliescu failed to clinch victory due to the surprise success of his main rival, the ultra-nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor of the Greater Romania Party (PRM).
Pledging a full-speed-ahead agenda for European Union accession, Iliescu is at best the devil Romania knows, at worst a throw-back to a stagnant economic era full of cronyism. But choosing Tudor, who gained popularity with his tough-on-crime, Romania-first platform, proved too risky a variable. Known for his anti-Semitic propaganda and xenophobic war cries, Tudor was once a lackey in the administration of the dethroned and unceremoniously dispatched Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Though he toned down his extremism, Tudor was ultimately overshadowed by overwhelming support for Iliescu. A sinking sense of déjà vu, however, is difficult to overcome.
Rumble in Karachi
ONE WEEK after the unexpected pardon of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it seems that his release has not gone down very smoothly back home. Jamaat Al-Islami (Party of Islam) supporters defied a ban on public demonstra-ions on Sunday in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to protest a deal made by military leader General Pervez Musharraf's that saw the de-osed and disgraced former prime minister released from prison and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia. Islamic leaders called for Musharraf to step down, but fearing a popular uprising, military government forces have been soft on such rebellion by religious factions and the protests passed without incident.
But on Monday, former Jamaat Al-Islami leader and prominent Islamic figure Athar Quereshi was killed while on his way to a mosque to pray. The gunman, accompanied by two other men, escaped and no one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Party leaders de-ounced the killing as terrorism and accused the government of failing to protect "law-abiding citizens." Hundreds of people have died in recent years in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, as a result of ethnic and re-igious strife.
Compiled byNyier Abdou

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