European press review
The German press debates the recent turnaround in
relations with Libya, as well as compensation claims brought by the Herero
people of Namibia against Germany.
Russian newspapers express their concern over the
dangers of soaring oil prices, as well as joining French and Swiss newspapers in
their anticipation of the Athens Olympics.
'Omen'
Libya's decision to compensate some of the
victims of the 1986 nightclub bombing in Berlin continues to provoke comment in
the German press.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung welcomes a
German government statement saying Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will visit Libya
soon in response to the deal.
Such a trip, the paper says, would "come at just
the right time to convey to the Libyan leadership that... closer economic ties
alone cannot be enough."
Der Tagesspiegel, however, sees the "lightning
speed" of the chancellor's announcement - which also included an invitation to
the Libyan leader to visit Germany - as evidence of the "concrete material
interests" behind Germany's recent rapprochement with Libya.
While arguing that there is nothing wrong with
German business showing an interest in North Africa, the paper accuses Mr
Schroeder of having a track record of promoting economic interests over human
rights.
"And this is really not a good omen for a meeting
with Gaddafi," it warns.
Meanwhile, the Berliner Zeitung says Libya itself
is justified in demanding compensation from the US for the bombings of Tripoli
and Benghazi which came in the wake of the Berlin attacks.
'Genocide'
Another compensation issue preoccupies Der
Tagesspiegel as a German minister for the first time attends ceremonies
commemorating the massacre of Namibia's Herero people by German colonial troops
in 1904.
Describing the killings as "deliberate mass
murder" and "genocide", the paper says demands for $4bn in compensation by the
victims' descendants are "morally legitimate".
It adds that the events of 100 years ago should
also be taught in German schools, along with other dark periods in German
history.
"Not this as well?", the paper can imagine some
Germans asking, and answers: "Yes, this as well, for what is at stake is the
historical truth."
Oil woes
Russian dailies are preoccupied by the domestic
economy, particularly in connection with rising oil prices.
Moskovsky Komsomolets says that, as a country
depending on oil exports for income, Russia should in theory be delighted with
predictions that the oil price could hit $100 per barrel in the
future.
However, such rises may not be all good news for
Russia, the paper thinks.
"Our economy is at risk of choking on all the
petrodollars being piled into it, because we have still not learned to digest
them or metabolise them into something useful for the body," it
warns.
"Just as gluttony will kill a man," the paper
adds, "so super-high oil prices will destabilise first industry, then the
financial system, then the pockets of ordinary citizens."
Trud has similar fears, arguing that Russia is
still far too dependent on oil exports for its own good.
"There is clear underinvestment in the hi-tech
sectors of the economy that can make good Russia's financial losses after the
world oil price boom collapses," the paper explains.
Olympic anticipation
The Olympics do not seem to be going right for
Russia either, according to some papers, despite the fact that they have not yet
begun.
Aside from the woes of the Russian shooting team
members who, as reported in Novyye Izvestia, have been forced to survive on "dry
rations", it is the women's basketball team who have got off to the worst
possible start.
Greece is showing that it is something more than a theme park of ancient history
Greece is showing that it is something more than a theme park of ancient history
Liberation
The Rossiskaya Gazeta reports that the team will
not be attending the opening ceremony on Friday. Why? The paper
explains:
"There weren't enough uniforms for them. The
Bosco Sport company which provided clothing for our Olympians could not find
suits for the team because of their extremely unusual
measurements."
In France, on the other hand, the daily
Liberation is upbeat, and looks forward to what it suggests could be a
"triumphant" games in Athens.
Greece, it says, has "spectacularly given the
lie" to any doubts that it could stage an event as large as the
Games.
"Greece is showing that it is something more than
a theme park of ancient history."
Swiss newspaper Le Temps is less concerned with
the efforts of Greece than with its own country's contribution to the Olympics
off the track.
The paper points out that partly Swiss-made
airships will carry the television cameras which film the events, Swiss trains
and travelators will transport competitors around the Olympic village, and Swiss
firm Swatch is the official timekeeper of the Games.
To top it all off, however, the paper adds that
athletes' urine samples will be collected in containers proudly stamped with the
logo "Made in Switzerland".
The European press review is compiled by BBC
Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early
printed editions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/2/hi/europe/3557426.stm
German-Libyan relations, oil prices and the Olympics figure prominently in today's European papers
