The liberal daily Mladá Fronta Dnes voices its disapproval at the release of Lockerbie attacker Abdelbaset al-Megrahi with a comparison: "Imagine if Osama Bin Laden were captured, condemned and put away behind bars for all eternity. Then after a few years he gets out because he's suffereing from cancer of the kidneys and only has a few months to live. Reason enough for pity. After all, we're only human. Absurd? Not at all, as of yesterday it's true to life. A Scottish court releases a terrorist who although not as famous as Osama still has a lot of blood on his hands. ... Yes, we must be able to forgive. People make mistakes and commit crimes. But at Lockerbie it was cold-blooded mass murder for which different standards must apply. There can be no pity for an act of terror, because it would belittle the death of the victims. ... The passengers of the airliner brought down over Lockerbie had no chance. It is only fair that the attacker should have none either." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » History, » United Kingdom, » Libya
All available articles from » Milan Vodička

Commenting on the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi from his Scottish prison the conservative daily Die Welt writes: "The circumstances of the act of mercy give rise to doubts because it smacks of a deal. Is it merely a coincidence that high-ranking British representatives have been travelling to Libya in recent weeks to win a contract for the mining of huge deposits of oil and gas off the coast of the North African country? Is this noble act of compassion just a footnote of a business transaction? This question will probably remain open - like so many things connected with the investigation into one of the most spectacular cases of terrorism of the 20th century. For despite his sentencing there were always doubts about whether the evidence presented against Megrahi in the course of his trial really justified a guilty verdict. Respected figures spoke of a 'miscarriage of justice' at the time. Therefore it would have been better if the Scottish judiciary had considered reopening the trial at an earlier point in time. Now it's too late." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » United Kingdom, » Libya
All available articles from » Thorsten Jungholt

The US has denounced the release of Libyan Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. For its part the daily Trouw believes the decision to release him was right, albeit painful for the families of the victims: "Why let him die with his family when their family members on board the [PanAm] Boeing [aircraft in the 1988 bombing] were denied this? This speaks of a desire for revenge which is so much stronger in American legal culture than in the European. It is also manifest in the use of the death penalty there. Scottish Justice Secretary [Kenny MacAskill] was right to stand firm: beyond revenge there is no point in the Libyan remaining in the Scottish cell. … These are dramatic decisions that are painful for many. To allow a convict like this to die at home is a sign of strength. It's a decision that shows that in the end the civilisation which the convicted wanted to undermine is stronger than them." (21/08/2009)

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The liberal daily The Irish Examiner puts mercy over revenge in the case of the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi: "Virtually every chapter of history shows that inhuman treatment of prisoners does little to defeat an enemy. Rather, it deepens divisions and hatreds and makes conflict resolution all the more difficult. [The prisons of] Guantánamo, Long Kesh [in Northern Ireland] and [the South African] Robben Island all had, as far as their administrators were concerned, very necessary functions but that does not mean they did not contribute to deepening the resolve of at least some of those imprisoned. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted of the most terrible crime and were he not terminally ill there would be no possible argument for his release. He ... has blood on his hands but it is difficult to understand what is to be gained - other than revenge - by keeping a dying man behind bars. Equally, it would be unwise for anyone, American or Libyan, to confuse mercy with weakness. Surely mercy will do more to build bridges than revenge." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Libya

Nato is still far from attaining its goals in Afghanistan yet Thursday's elections were nonetheless a success, writes the conservative daily ABC: "The Taliban terrorists were unable to prevent the first elections organised and carried out entirely by the Afghan authorities from taking place yesterday. This is in itself a considerable achievement when we look at the state the country is in. And yet it is the result of eight years of Western military presence. The spirit in which the great majority of Afghans went to the polls yesterday is shaped by the hope of achieving a peaceful society in which economic reconstruction is possible. At first glance this seems like a modest goal in comparison with the perhaps too high expectations with which Nato began its mission, but in reality it is a goal the country is still far from reaching." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Elections, » Europe, » U.S., » Afghanistan

According to statements by the Turkish Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, Turkey intends to intensify efforts to resolve the conflict with its Kurdish minority. For his part Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in prison for ten years, has also shown increased interest in lasting peace. The left-wing daily To Ethnos is confident that the Kurdish problem is moving towards a solution: "There is no doubt that [Turkish Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is genuinely interested in finding a solution to the Kurdish problem. After all, a Turkish victory over the rebels has proved impossible. But the Kurds too are now aware that the current balance of power in Turkey and internationally holds no hope for a victory to their armed struggle - a fight they can only wage with difficulty. Consequently they are willing to make very radical compromises. That is clearly visible in the statements on the end of the armed struggle ... which Abdullah Öcalan professedly favours." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » Turkey
All available articles from » Giorgos Delastik

In the context of the debate about the introduction of the so-called "morning after pill" in Italy cancer researcher and senator for the centre-left Democratic Party Umberto Veronesi calls for a new brand of feminism in the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "We must be aware of the many strong points of women in our society today. The first is their ability to harmonise the need to work with reproduction: the combining of the social role with the role of mother, which although it has not yet found its balance [still] remains one of women's most important achievements. … Women are messengers of peace, and peace is a prerequisite for the development of civilian society. … I propose the creation of a new 'revised' feminist movement that takes into account both the weaknesses and the strengths that characterise women's image today. I believe it is important to keep the debate about 'the female issue' alive. And I think that global culture should deal with this subject more intensively to keep the balance and accelerate the development of prosperity, to which the female intellect can make an excellent contribution." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Gender equality, » Global
All available articles from » Umberto Veronesi

On 23 August 1989 roughly two million people formed a chain from Estonia across Latvia to Lithuania to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, which put an end to the independence of the three Baltic states. Rein Taagepera points out in the daily Eesti Päevaleht that as early as 1979 forty-five people made use of the period of thaw and penned the "Baltic Appeal": "Ten years after the Appeal we stood hand in hand from Tallinn to Vilnius. But what would the human chain have been without the Appeal? Of course you can say of almost every event that failing it history would still have run its course, and perhaps we would even have recovered our independence without the Baltic Chain. But taken as a whole the sequence started with people speaking out in the seventies. Then when the chance finally came communism was done away with once and for all. Favourable circumstances are not always taken advantage of before meeting resistance, but the Baltic Appeal was one such time of common action - and its 30th anniversary, like the 20th anniversary of the Baltic Chain, are today both cause for commemoration." (21/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Rein Taagepera

The Finnish-Swedish pulp and paper company Stora Enso announced on Wednesday the closure of at least three production facilities in Finland. The daily Lapin Kansa writes on the prospects for the Finnish forest industry: "Wood has always been Finland's green gold. If the [negative] trend keeps up its shine will quickly start to fade. ... The aid packages already approved by the government are more than imperative in this situation. We need first aid, but long-lasting solutions are also called for. The subsidies should serve to create jobs that can guarantee people's existence in the long term. The recession is facing us with major challenges. In any case clearly many people working in the forest industry will have to shift to other sectors, and many of them will have to be re-trained. Just ten years ago it was unimaginable that the forest industry could ever be hit by a crisis like this." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Finland

The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) has experienced a serious drop in membership in the wake of structural changes. The left-liberal daily Dagens Nyheter comments: "A low level of trade union activity isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well educated workers and experts can often fend for themselves without the help of trade unions. But in the case of unorganised freelancers and contract workers it would be good for them and for society if they joined unions. In the past the LO has been good at organising industrial workers with large companies. But now it needs to rethink its strategy and focus on jobs [at smaller businesses] with varying working conditions. To use the traditional trade union instruments of power is counterproductive - as the recent blockade at a salad bar in Göteborg proved. Here what we need is a new way of thinking and a [certain] flexibility." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade unions, » Sweden

According to the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita Poland and Russia have not yet reached an agreement for the continued supply of gas for the current year. Łukasz Ruciński attributes this to the dominant position of the world's largest natural gas company Gazprom: "Only a few months ago it looked as if Gazprom's hold on power had been shattered: the approaching crisis and dropping demand for the raw material led to dwindling profits for the Russian company. Today Gazprom's [market] capitalisation is about 100 billion dollars - that's approximately 60 percent less than what it was at the end of 2007. It also looked like the politicians who thrived on corruption and fraud with natural gas were facing their demise. Now we can see clearly that this was just a pious hope. The crisis has not weakened Gazprom's will to dominate the gas market." (21/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Łukasz Ruciński

Because it is allegedly racist, the comic book Tintin in the Congo may only be borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library in New York by adults, while a new politically correct version of the book is due to come out shortly in the US. Mia Doornaert comments in the daily De Standaard that the Belgian comic was written around 80 years ago, and views the widespread racisim of the time as a historical relict: "If literature has to be politically correct then we can close down every single library. Almost everyone in past days was racist and/or sexist and/or imperialist, from Socrates to the leader of the French Popular Front Léon Blum, who believed in our need to civilise 'les races inférieures' (like Tintin), to Brazilian President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva], who this year blamed the financial crisis on 'people with blond hair and blue eyes' (Arians?). There is one way to introduce children and young people to real literature. That is to teach them to read critically and to help them interpret what they read." (21/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Mia Doornaert

The Slovenian city of Maribor is to be European Capital of Culture 2012. The daily Delo criticises the conduct of its mayor Franc Kangler, who it says is taking the wrong approach to the project. It points out that so far there is no evidence that Maribor deserves the title of culture capital: "It is … high time the mayor withdrew completely from the project to leave the work to competent people. But first a team that fulfils that requirement must be put together. A year ago there were already complaints that Maribor had too little time to prepare for the status of European Capital of Culture. In the meantime nothing has happened. … If things go on like this it could well be that Maribor not only ends up organising the Universiade [the World Student Games 2013] without the cooperation of the University [which has distanced itself from the project] but also becomes a European Capital of Culture without the involvement of the cultural sector." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Exhibitions / Museums, » Music, » Cultural Policy, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Peter Rak

Bulgaria does not have enough donor organs. The new Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is now part of an advertising campaign promoting more transplants. The daily Sega comments: "Bulgarians aren't going to donate their organs because they don't trust the state or its health system. That's not going to change, regardless of whether Boyko and his ministers carry around 'I'm an organ donor' certificates in their wallets. And even if they did people still wouldn't want to donate their organs. ... Who would do such a thing in a state with more than 2,000 dialysis patients who are rightly convinced that kidney transplants receive less public support because transplant patients bring the state less money than dialysis patients? Because dialysis secures more public contracts and commissions for corrupt officials." (21/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Ianina Sdravkova

Hot on the heals of his victory in the 100-meter race Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 200-metre final at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin yesterday (Thursday), setting yet another world record. Ferreira Fernandes concludes in the daily Diário de Notícias that Bolt is not human: "In Berlin the doubts are rife. One day people are asking whether [South African middle-distance runner] Caster Semenya is a man, not a woman. The next they're wondering whether Usain Bolt is actually human at all. To answer the first question I need … a doctor from the field of endocrinology [hormone medicine] and the results of the tests and then I can give you an answer in say one or two weeks. For the second I need just 19.19 seconds. The answer is obviously no. Usain Bolt is not human. On 16 August 2008 I sat on my sofa and watched him set his world record in the 100 metres. On August 16th of this year I saw him set a new world record. On 20 August 2008 I sat on my sofa and watched him smash the world record over 200 metres. And on 20 August this year it happened again. It's not difficult to guess where I'll be on August 16th and 20th next year." (21/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Ferreira Fernandes