Excerpts: Denmark 'rewards' maritime piracy.Palestinian Poll. 24 August 2007

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 24 Aug.'07:"Editorial: Rewarding Piracy"
QUOTE:"This is not something
Saudi Arabia can view with disinterest"
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EXCERPTS:
The announcement by the Danish Foreign Ministry that the crew of the Danish
bulk carrier Danica White seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia in June
has been released following the payment of a ransom is good news for those
involved, but nonetheless astounding.
There is an international convention that kidnappers are never rewarded,
certainly not publicly. ... Such silence is vital. Otherwise the message
will go out that piracy pays. But for some inexplicable reason, Denmark has
ignored this extremely important convention. It is bound to encourage piracy
and kidnapping. Further, Danish vessels sailing though the word's piracy
hotspots are going to become top targets. The pirates now know the ransoms
will be paid if Danes are taken.
It is certainly not going to make the seas off Somalia, already among the
most dangerous in the world, any safer. On the contrary, piracy, after a
three-year decline, is on the rise again worldwide, and the coast off
Somalia is even more dangerous than ever. ... ..
That is not something Saudi Arabia can view with disinterest. The Somali
coast may be a long way from Denmark where the only maritime danger come
from the weather, but for vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea and Gulf
of Aden to and from Saudi ports in the Red Sea, it is a major issue. They
are at high risk.
It is difficult to see things getting better in the foreseeable future...
Into these murky waters, Danish officialdom has wandered with its eyes
tightly shut, making matters infinitely worse with the announcement of
ransoms paid.

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 24 Aug.'07:"Palestinians Prefer Pro-West Govt",Mohammed
Mar'i & Agencies
:QUOTE:"majority of the Palestinian public
generally believes that the situation worsened following Hamas takeover"
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EXCERPTS:
RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, 24 August 2007 : Palestinians prefer the Western-backed
government of Salam Fayyad to the sacked Cabinet of Hamas Premier Ismail
Haniyeh, according to an opinion poll published yesterday.
The poll published by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC)
following Hamas' control over the Gaza Strip found that a majority of the
Palestinian public, 46.7 percent, generally believes that the situation in
the Gaza Strip worsened following Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip,
compared with 27.1 percent who think that the situation has improved.
The poll also found that respondents blamed Hamas for the deadly internal
fighting that preceded the takeover, and support early elections, as called
for by President Mahmoud Abbas . . ..
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA