The Times warns of the dangers for the secular and pluralist Indian state: "If the virus of fanaticism has taken root in India's Muslim minority, the future for a country built on tolerance, secularism and multi-ethnic balance looks grim. With about 150 million Muslims, India is home to one of Islam's largest communities. Until recently, this minority appeared to have escaped the religious fundamentalism that has driven groups of Muslims elsewhere towards political extremism. But tensions have been rising. ... If al-Qaeda, whose focus has been the destruction of Western power and the global dictatorship of a puritanical Islam, is now able to harness the communal resentments of millions in India, it will have won an ominous strategic victory." (28/11/2008)

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India, the emerging economic power with more than a billion inhabitants, has become a new stage for anti-Western terrorism, writes Der Standard newspaper: "Al-Qaeda, the network of Osama Bin Laden, no longer exports its sick ideas and practices. It fuses with new Islamist groups, involves itself in national conflicts like that between Hindus and Muslims in India, and changes the structure and methods of terror on the subcontinent. ... The planned mass murder in Mumbai, the contempt for the victims, the calculated use of symbols and the media have now been directed at a new target, Americans, British and Jewish believers. ... For the international community India's terror is an additional problem on what is now a long list. A crisis belt is emerging in South Asia which stretches from Afghanistan through Pakistan to India. Mumbai is also a reminder to the incoming US government: 9/11 continues." (27/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Asia, » U.S.
All available articles from » Markus Bernath

The daily Dziennik comments on the attack in India: "After 9/11 America became an impregnable fortress for terrorists. And following the attacks in Madrid and London Europe has eliminated its weak points. The murderers have yet to discover a gap in the walls. But in the weak states they are operating successfully. In Mumbai - as in Islamabad in Pakistan - they attacked places where citizens from Western states were staying. ... The terrorists have shown that they are well organised and in a position to carefully select their targets. This was not the first attack and it certainly won't be the last. Pakistan is sucking India into the Afghanistan region where violence and instability reign supreme. Such a scale [of violence] is only possible in a country where the internal situation is so far from stable. ... This country [India] is entering a dark phase." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Andrzej Talaga

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica writes that the massacre in Mumbai will intensify old rivalries between India and Pakistan: "And if the suspicions between these two nuclear superpowers turn into an acute mental crisis, the situation will get really dangerous. ... From the tangle of terrorist groups, each with their own motivations and plans, the following idea is crystallising: independent movements are spreading the Islamist gangrene throughout the Asian subcontinent. It's easy to believe that the source of this disease lies in Afghanistan, with its formidable and cavernous hinterland Pakistan. With its frequently violent mosaic of religions, India is like a great promised land. Al-Qaida is more an inspiration than an organisation. If the already strained relations between these two nuclear powers are further poisoned, what today seems like a nightmare scenario may become reality." (28/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Asia
All available articles from » Bernardo Valli

The Irish Times writes that India must now avoid tensions with Pakistan: "Indian leaders suspect the young men involved are associated with Islamist groups based in Pakistan, which have carried out similar acts elsewhere. These atrocities therefore raise troubling questions about India's internal affairs ahead of general elections next year, in addition to relations with its largest neighbour at a time when Pakistan is anything but stable. Leaders of both countries and of India's major political parties must now do their best to calm inflamed attitudes." (28/11/2008)

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China has cancelled its December 1 summit with the European Union because of a planned meeting between the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "China has gone too far", writes Le Figaro. "Nicolas Sarkozy is no advocate of Tibetan independence. Who can complain when he exchanges a word or two with a man of the Dalai Lama's stature? ... This time it seems that very superfluous precautionary measures have been taken. The meeting will not take place in the Elysée Palace, nor even on French soil ... whereas in London, Berlin and Washington the Dalai Lama is welcomed with the red carpet. ... Does the paranoia of the Chinese Communist Party leaders stem from their fear that new demonstrations or other troubles will spring up in Tibet or elsewhere in their country?" (27/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Asia, » Europe
All available articles from » Pierre Rousselin

Prompted by the latest neo-Nazi attacks against Roma, German guest author Silja Schultheis recalls in the Czech weekly Respekt a wave of xenophobic initiatives in the early 1990s in Germany and calls for action: "It seems to me that the time has come in the Czech Republic for its people to nail their colours to the mast as regards what kind of a society they really want: A closed one like the neo-Nazis and intolerants want, or an open, diverse, multicultural society. So far it has been above all the right-wing extremists who have adopted a clear stance, not the general public. But the country's future development depends on its doing so, and not just on political formulas. ... The Roma are an integral part of society, its largest minority. This is a reality we cannot ignore. Our message to the Roma should be: Coexisting with you is not easy, but you are part of our society and together we will seek a way to get along better with each other." (28/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Silja Schultheis

The Italian author Roberto Saviano, who received death threats following the publishing of his anti-mafia bestseller "Gomorrha", recently visited Stockholm. "Roberto Saviano is a hero," writes Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. "But we should bear in mind that he is in good and plentiful company. Others are fighting with equal valour and commitment for the freedom of the word - regardless of whether those who want to restrict [that freedom] are criminal organisations or repressive states. ... About a year ago prosecutor Barbro Jönsson was the target of a bomb attack, but this has not deterred her in her fight against organised crime in Sweden. ... She, too, is a hero on the stage of democracy. Perhaps the best life insurance for Saviano and Jönsson is their ... glorification. The more ... they are admired ... the more risky it becomes to kill them." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Hanne Kjöller

In an article on Slovenia's foreign policy in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Ernest Petrič, a Slovenian Constitutional Court judge and long-time diplomat, writes that the West Balkans are of vital economic and political importance for Slovenia. "In 1997, after the Dayton Agreement, a situation arose that allowed us to turn our backs on our previous policy regarding the Balkans. Before that we had cogent reasons to act as though we had nothing to do with this region. Here at home we had peace, our country was suitable for investment and cooperation. The war was taking place to the south, we reasoned. Then we came to the realisation that our vital economic and political interests lie to the south, and that we need an active policy with regard to the Balkans. ... This is the only region in the world where Slovenia - because of our common history and the advantages we have there - can play an important role. Stability and prosperity in the region are extremely important for Slovenia. ... We must not be an object of the interests of others, but a subject, and by that I mean a partner for others." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Uroš Esih

In his column for the daily Turun Sanomat Ville Niinistö, deputy party leader for the Greens in the Finnish parliament, commends the bill on adoption rights for same-sex couples in Finland and calls for all marriages, regardless of whether they are heterosexual or same-sex, to be endowed with the same rights and obligations. "Unisex laws ultimately provide better protection for the equal rights of minorities with respect to majorities. ... I believe that the status of heterosexual families, fathers and mothers, is strong enough to withstand other forms of family being given the same treatment. In fact I want all parents to be encouraged to assume responsibility for their children, regardless of the form a family takes. Our society needs more people who are conscious of their responsibilities, not fewer." (28/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Demographics, » Finland

The prominent Romanian writer Norman Manea reflects in the daily Romania Libera about writers who have collaborated in the past with totalitarian regimes: "The case of Kundera is by no means unique. In 2006 the German writer and Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass revealed that he had served in the Waffen-SS. Several years ago the world was shocked when it discovered that the famous Italian author Ignazio Silone had collaborated with the Fascists in his youth. ... I do not agree with those who say the dark episodes in the lives of major writers are of no interest to us. Why? The past should interest us, not as a sort of criminal prosecution but as a means to attain profound knowledge about the world's bloody, demagogic and tyrannic utopias - and about human weakness and vunerability. Such an interest can also be seen as an homage to the abilitiy of an artist to leave the mistakes of the past behind and continue writing works of priceless value. ... To forgive we must know what we are forgiving. ... In Eastern Europe both the young and the old are waiting to learn from this lesson of the past." (28/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » History, » Weltanschauung, » Eastern Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Norman Manea

Giancarlo Dillena, chief editor of the Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino, warns of the pitfalls of succumbing to certain ideologies in the ongoing economic crisis. "By its very nature the liberal vision ... cannot be explained by some rigorous, all-encompassing body of doctrine. On the contrary, it is characterised by the continual struggle to avoid any impediment to the free development of economic and social dynamism. ... But ideological interpretation is the weapon of choice for inveterate opponents of the liberal vision, one they have repeatedly employed. To fall into this trap is not only to support their interpretation but above all to move away from the balanced and level-headed attitude towards the crisis that is a prerequisite for overcoming it and achieving a new balance. We must maintain an open attitude and be willing to make the necessary corrections. But we must also be careful to avoid any kind of inflexibility or new dogma - no matter which side they come from." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Giancarlo Dillena

In the Spanish daily El País, Miguel Boyer Salvador, former Spanish minister of economy and finance, advises against the sale of shares in the Spanish oil company Repsol to Russian oil giant Lukoil: "It would be very bad for Spanish industry if any foreign company were allowed to purchase a large stake in Repsol, but if that company is Russia's Lukoil it would verge on the preposterous. ... Contrary to what Lukoil claims whenever convenient, the North American company Conoco is not the majority shareholder in Lukoil with its 20-percent stake. The majority shareholder with a 20.4 percent stake is Lukoil president, Vagit Alekperov, and together with vice president Leonid Fedun, who owns 9 percent, he controls 29.4 percent of the shares." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Miguel Boyer Salvador

The business newspaper Les Echos criticises the German rejection of the EU rescue package: "Germany has shirked its burden since the beginning of the crisis. ... In doing so it has exposed the significant disagreements amongst the states of the Union and engendered scepticism in the markets. ... Germany's egoism has been widely criticised abroad, to the extent that Chancelor Angela Merkel felt she had to justify her actions before the Bundestag on Wednesday. ... The drop in domestic demand is forcing states to take up the slack. If no economic plan is passed, the recession could quickly become a depression. ... In the Bundestag Angela Merkel ... failed to say what everyone is thinking: as opposed to the other member states (above all France) we Germans have sought to tighten our budget. Is their laxity now to be rewarded? Instead of pretending he agrees with Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy should come to the following agreement with her: you work to reflate the economy, and I will commit myself to drastically reducing my deficit as soon as the recovery comes. That would be the ideal European plan." (28/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » France
All available articles from » Eric Le Boucher

The management of the Portuguese news agency Lusa has reportedly banned its business journalists from using the word "stagnation". The daily Jornal de Negócios comments: "I perfectly agree with Lusa boss Miguel Viana. Although 'stagnation' accurately describes the country's situation - in all areas - it is an insult to the government and Prime Minister [José Sócrates], who are doing everything in their power to make the Portuguese happy. The director would be well advised to compile a list of banned words for Lusa. Perhaps this could also be adopted by news programmes on public television and radio. Above all the word 'recession' should be banned. 'Crisis' should also go out of print, particularly in connection with 'politics' and the 'economy'. ... Perhaps the words 'protest' and 'strike' should also be forbidden, and if possible 'opposition', too. All for the good of the nation." (27/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Paulo Pinto Mascarenhas

Friday, has been pronounced an email-free day by a private initiative in Belgium. In the opinion of the commentator for the daily De Standaard this is not a good idea: "Email-free Fridays will only cause extra stress on Saturdays. We can't simply stop communicating; we must learn to do it more cleverly. ... But there is more to life than emails. If we want a response on the same day why don't we just drop in on our colleagues? ... The same goes for cases when a colleague can't be physically contacted immediately. We just call him or her up if we urgently need information. It seems to me that email-free Fridays just evade the problem rather than addressing it. Let's rename November 28 'Smart Friday'. The day on which we try to win back the five extra hours per week we would have if we made proper use of our means of communication." (28/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Phillip Vandervoort