Asian perspectives on Iraq war

There have been protests in the worlds most populous Muslim country, Indonesia

Asian coverage of the war in Iraq differs greatly from country to country. BBC Monitoring contrasts media coverage of the conflict in Indonesia, whose government is staunchly opposed to the war, with that of Japan, where Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has thrown his support behind the US-led campaign.

The Indonesian media's coverage of the crisis is highly critical of the ongoing military operations in Iraq.

Television stations have shown graphic footage taken from both US and non-US sources. On 24 March for example, the state-run channel broadcast pictures taken from Iraqi TV of the carnage around a destroyed allied armoured personnel carrier.

The footage showed the distressing state of the corpses and body parts, with local children scavenging clothing and whatever else they could at the scene.

Jakarta's privately-owned TV7 channel has been carrying material from the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera station. TV7 says the Al-Jazeera relay "is expected to give more complete, balanced, and accurate information" to local viewers.

Following reports that the government was pressing TV7 to drop Al-Jazeera, President Megawati issued a public denial.

Iraqi suffering

Many newspaper editorials focus on the suffering of the Iraqi people caused by the US-led attacks.

Indonesia's largest daily, Kompas, believes that the war will "give rise only to a humanitarian tragedy" as the Iraqi people "will truly suffer from the onslaught of sophisticated US and British weapons".

Many commentator's contrast the military might of the US and Britain with the "powerlessness" of the Iraqi army. "The shining American and British machines of war are too invincible," says Jakarta's Koran Tempo.

Japan should begin thoroughly to consider its response to post-war reconstruction in Iraq right now, in order not to be accused once again of muddling through the issue

Sankei Shimbun - Japan

Very few column inches have been given over to US statements about efforts to avoid civilian casualties or deliver humanitarian aid.

Several newspapers have also called for Indonesia to form a new "anti-war" alliance with Germany, France, China and Russia. Suara Merdeka daily from the central Java city of Semarang believes that this grouping could provide "a new world power as a balance to the superpower countries".

Wide coverage has also been given to anti-war protests both in Indonesia and abroad.

The national news service Antara reported a demonstration in Medan, North Sumatra at which protesters referred to George Bush as "son of a monkey", Tony Blair as "grandson of a monkey" and John Howard as "friend of the monkeys".

But Indonesian officials have also used the media to call for restraint.

On state-run TV the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said that while the Indonesian government continues to oppose the US invasion of Iraq it will not tolerate any act of violence and destruction against foreign assets in country.

Japan's view

Prime Minister Koizumi has been criticised for his stance on war

In Japan, a far more sanitized image of war is being presented.

The government-affiliated NHK television network has been providing live coverage of speeches by US President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair since operations began.

It has been showing footage from Iraqi TV - but usually to relay speeches by Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials rather than images of destruction.

Television commentators and newscasters are increasingly noting that the main target of the US action is Saddam Hussein, not the people of Iraq or oil.

They also say targets include command, control and communication targets and are stressing that the coalition forces are trying to avoid civilian casualties.

Opposition

But editorials in many of Japan's leading newspapers have voiced strong opposition to the government's pro-war stance. Prime Minister Koizumi comes in for some harsh criticism for failing to outline clearly his reasons for supporting the war.

The Mainichi Shimbun believes that the argument for supporting the war "will not be convincing for the people".

There is optimism in some quarters that the war - although bloody - will be short. Many papers call for the Japanese government to play a major role in the reconstruction of Iraq.

"Japan should begin thoroughly to consider its response to post-war reconstruction in Iraq right now, in order not to be accused once again of muddling through the issue," says the right-wing Sankei Shimbun.

But as time goes on, with no end to the war in sight, several papers are calling for the UN to intervene immediately. The Tokyo Shimbun has no doubt that "in the current crisis, no other framework other than that of the United Nations can help the international community to restore order".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.