US embassy cable - 03HARARE1651

UNCLAS HARARE 001651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS 
IRAQ PD FOR SMITH, PINESS AND ROOKARD 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION TRUCK BLAST AT U. N.'S IRAQ HQ; 
HARARE 
 
  1.   The August 19 truck bomb attack on United Nations 
      headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, has received extensive 
      coverage in both the local print and electronic media.  The 
      blast made the lead story in the August 20 edition of the 
      government-controlled daily "The Herald."  The paper 
      carried a wire article by Agence France-Presse (AFP) under 
      headline "U. N. envoy, 14 others killed in Iraq blast." 
      The story included a color photograph by AFP of cars 
      burning outside the U. N. headquarters at the Canal Hotel 
      and an insert of the late U. N. special representative for 
      Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello who was killed in the truck 
      bomb attack.  Today's edition of the independent daily "The 
      Daily News" (08/20) carried another wire article by Reuters 
      news agency on page two, under headline "U. N. special 
      envoy killed in Baghdad suicide bombing."  All four state- 
      run radio stations, including the national state-run 
      television station ZTV, included Tuesday's truck bomb 
      attack in all the news programs broadcast immediately after 
      the blast in English and the two major vernacular languages 
      - Shona and Ndebele.  This morning, the state-run radio and 
      television stations continued to include the attack on the 
      U. N. headquarters in all the breakfast news programs. 
 
  2.   So far, no editorials regarding the truck bomb 
      attack have appeared in the local press.  However, 
      Post will continue to monitor coverage in the local 
      mainstream print and electronic media and will 
      feedback accordingly. 
 
SULLIVAN