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Koller, Frédéric
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
North Korea ninth nuclear power
The daily Le Temps writes that North Korea has become a new nuclear power: "Test successful. For those who still had doubts, North Korea has now indeed become the ninth nuclear power. … Some experts had described a first test carried out in October 2006 as a 'wet banger'. The US refused to see the regime of Kim Jong-il as a nuclear state. But doubts can no longer be admitted. … This second test fulfils two requirements. As regards internal politics, the dying Kim Jong-il is intent on reaffirming his rule - and this at a time when the succession in a particularly impenetrable regime remains a tense issue. On the international stage the tactic of this last remnant of Stalinism remains the same: exploiting its own potential for destruction to obtain food and energy aid and thus force the US into negotiations on an equal footing."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Asia
Tensions over the Dalai Lama
Despite harsh criticism from China, the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy came together for a meeting in the Polish city of Gdańsk. The daily Le Temps comments: "For years Paris has pursued a policy of maintaining good relations with the Chinese dictatorship. ... Sarkozy's lack of a clear stance towards China and his manoeuvrings have provoked China into putting him under pressure. The meeting in Gdańsk explains China's irritation. The Chinese authorities know the power of symbols. The Solidarność scenario has been made the subject of profound study at the school of the Chinese Communist Party in an attempt to prevent the fall of the regime. The harsher tone from Beijing could [moreover] turn into a new political battle within the party's highest authorities in the face of the looming crisis."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » France, » Asia, » China
Algeria the next Iraq?
Frédéric Koller looks into the reasons for the rise of terrorism in Algeria in the wake of a series of bomb attacks. "A deadly climate has taken over Algeria in the form of a wave of terror attacks, social tension and an information war within the state apparatus. .. What is going on there? The Algerian newspaper El Watan speaks of 'a psychosis fed by rumours of bomb attacks in various parts of the capital'. In fact the number of terrorist attacks has risen drastically in recent days, as several events opened to attract foreign investors and tourists. ... According to Western intelligence sources, the Al Qaida terrorist network has been able to gain a strong foothold throughout North Africa. ... Here it is not the chaos of a war or the deployment of foreign troops which favour the spread of terrorism. Rather it is the powerlessness of the state to redistribute oil proceeds, heal the wounds of the past and offer perspectives for the future."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » North Africa
Abdullah Gül elected Turkish president
Frédéric Koller feels that "The AKP has won its bet. It is about to become a big centre-right party, respectful of institutions, a Muslim equivalent of Europe's Christian-democrat parties. Turkey can thus hope to become a model for the entire Muslim world. In Morocco, currently preparing for elections, a former Islamist party is already claiming the legacy of the AKP. It is the scenario -optimistic- that the West no longer dared believe in, stuck with the simplistic cultural notion that associates Islam with terror. The truth is of course more complex. And the success of Gül goes well beyond the secular/religious divide, carried as he is by an excellent economic conjuncture. It however remains to be seen whether we can brush aside the hypothesis that one day the AKP might fall back on Islamist values - as the secularists suspect- to cement its electorate in times of crisis."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Global, » Turkey
What is Erdogan's mission now ?
Frédéric Koller believes that the risk of crisis in Turkey is far from over. "We would like to believe, with the majority of Turks, that their country is more mature today, more democratic, set on the path to economic progress and ready to pursue an open dialogue with Europe. ... But we can also think that the populist Tayyip Erdogan has yet to prove that he is a democrat with no hidden agenda and that the AKP is the equivalent of a Christian-democrat party in Europe, as some suggest. His first mandate remains associated with the insidious Islamisation of Turkish society and the AKP, because of its arrogance and mistakes, is responsible for the political crisis of these past few months. The first test will be whether or not he manages to present a candidate of compromise for the presidency. He promised that he would. He owes it to the Turkish voters, at the risk of another crisis."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Domestic Policy, » Europe, » Turkey
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