US embassy cable - 05PARIS3316

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA; 
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA 
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR 
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA; 
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - UZBEKISTAN - UPRISING AND 
REPRISAL - U.S. ROLE EUROPEAN ISSUES - LAMY TO WTO 
PARIS - MONDAY, MAY 16, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
UZBEKISTAN - UPRISING AND REPRISAL - U.S. ROLE 
EUROPEAN ISSUES - LAMY TO WTO 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
ALTHOUGH MOST FRONT PAGES ARE DEVOTED TO SOCIAL ISSUES 
CONNECTED TO CONTROVERSY OVER THE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO 
DESIGNATE WHIT MONDAY A WORKDAY, TRIGGERING SOCIAL 
DEMONSTRATIONS AND STRIKES, UZBEK VIOLENCE IS ONE OF TODAY'S 
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL STORIES. A REPORT IN LIBERATION TITLED 
"REPRESSION IN THE NAME OF `ISLAMIC THREAT'" ADDS: "TASHKENT 
IS COMBATING THE REBELLION WITH THE HELP OF MOSCOW AND 
WASHINGTON." BUT AN OP-ED IN LE FIGARO CONTENDS THAT THE UZBEK 
UPRISING MAY BE CAUSED BY A NEW US POLICY IN THE REGION OF 
FOMENTING MANAGED CONFLICT TO WEAKEN AND DESTABILIZE POWERS 
SUCH AS RUSSIA AND CHINA. (SEE PART C) 
 
THE DEMONSTRATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN OVER ACCUSATIONS OF U.S. 
INTERROGATORS DEFILING THE KORAN IN GUANTANAMO ARE REPORTED IN 
AN ARTICLE IN LE FIGARO TITLED: "KARZAI WANTS TO QUIET ANTI- 
AMERICAN ANGER." MARIE FRANCE CALLE WRITES: "AFGHANISTAN HAS 
JUST EXPERIENCED ITS MOST VIOLENT ANTI-AMERICAN DEMONSTRATIONS 
SINCE THE FALL OF THE TALIBAN REGIME. AND KARZAI, WHO HAS 
NEVER HIDDEN THE FACT THAT HE WAS AMERICA'S INDEFECTIBLE ALLY, 
ALSO RAISES THE QUESTION OF `WHO BENEFITS FROM THE CRIME' . 
ADDING: `IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN, SURPRISINGLY, THERE HAVE BEEN 
NO SUCH DEMONSTRATIONS." AND CALLE CONCLUDES: "CLEARLY THE 
AFGHAN PRESIDENT IS AS EVER VERY DISTRUSTFUL OF HIS NEIGHBORS, 
PAKISTAN AND IRAN." 
 
SECRETARY RICE'S VISIT TO NORTHERN IRAQ AND BAGHDAD IS BRIEFLY 
 
SIPDIS 
NOTED, WITH LE FIGARO REPORTING: "SHE CONFIRMED THAT THE U.S. 
AND THE EU SUPPORTED THE IDEA OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 
IN JUNE TO DETERMINE THE TYPE OF MATERIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL 
AID TO BRING TO IRAQ" IN AN ARTICLE TITLED: "SURPRISE VISIT BY 
RICE TO KURDISTAN AND BAGHDAD." 
 
THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION AND THE REFERENDUM CONTINUE TO BE 
PROMINENTLY REPORTED. THE LATEST POLL BY IFOP SHOWS THE `YES' 
DROPPING BACK TO 46 PERCENT, WITH THE `NO' UP TO 54 PERCENT. 
COMPARED TO THE LAST IFOP POLL, THE `NO' IS THUS GAINING 4 
POINTS. LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION HEADLINES "A CONTAGIOUS `NO' 
IN EUROPE." ECONOMIC LES ECHOS DEVOTES A MAJOR REPORT TO 
FRANCE'S WEIGHT IN EUROPE, DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE 
VOTE. ONE REPORT IS TITLED "FOR EUROPEANS, FRANCE IS 
`ARROGANT' BUT `INDISPENSABLE" WHILE IN AN INTERVIEW ON 
FRANCE'S DECLINE ELIE COHEN OF CNRS SAYS: "SEEN FROM LONDON, 
NEW YORK AND BRUSSELS (THIS DECLINE) IS OBVIOUS. FRANCE'S 
OPPOSITION TO THE U.S. OVER IRAQ WAS PERCEIVED DIFFERENTLY BY 
PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL LEADERS. THE FORMER APPRECIATED 
FRANCE'S `OPPOSITION,' WHILE POLITICAL LEADERS REGRETTED THE 
FACT THAT NOTHING CONCRETE WAS OFFERED IN TERMS OF COUNTER 
PROPOSALS." 
 
A REPORT ANNOUNCED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF LE FIGARO "HOW FRANCE 
IS STRENGTHENING ITS LOBBYING EFFORTS IN BRUSSELS" IS ANALYZED 
IN THE ECONOMIC PAGES CONCLUDING THAT THESE EFFORTS HAVE BEEN 
INSTRUMENTAL IN FOUR AREAS: THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, ACCOUNTING 
STANDARDS, CINEMATOGRAPHY AND THE STEEL INDUSTRY. 
 
SEVERAL REPORTS NOTE THAT PASCAL LAMY WILL BE HEADING THE WTO. 
LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE TITLES ITS REPORT: "THE FRENCHMAN, 
PASCAL LAMY, WITH THE SUPPORT OF WASHINGTON, TO HEAD THE WTO." 
THE EDITORIAL IN LES ECHOS IS TITLED: "THE WTO, OR THE RACE 
BETWEEN THE SHERIFF AND THE THIEF." (SEE PART C) 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
UZBEKISTAN - UPRISING AND REPRISAL - U.S. ROLE 
 
"WHAT IS BEHIND THE ATTACKS IN ANDIJAN?" 
SEMIH VANER OF CERI (CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH 
STUDIES) IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (05/16): "WHAT IS 
CERTAIN IS ISLAM KARIMOV'S ALL-REPRESSION APPROACH, AND NGOS 
ARE BRINGING THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
COMMUNITY. HIS OPPONENTS EXPLAIN THAT THE ABSENCE OF DEMOCRACY 
OPENS THE WAY TO PROTEST MOVEMENTS OF A STRICTLY ISLAMIC 
NATURE. OF ALL THE REGIONAL POWERS, THE ONE WEIGHING IN THE 
MOST IN UZBEKISTAN IS RUSSIA. THE U.S., WHICH CONSIDERS THAT 
KARIMOV'S REGIME IS THE FIRST TO HAVE BENEFITED ECONOMICALLY 
AND POLITICALLY FROM THE FALL OF THE TALIBAN REGIME, IS 
CONCERNED OVER THE ALARMING LACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN UZBEKISTAN 
AND IS THREATENING TO CURTAIL ITS MILITARY AND ECONOMIC AID. 
THERE IS A DEBATE OVER THE NEW U.S. POLITICAL APPROACH IN THE 
REGION, COMING FROM RUSSIA FOR THE MOST PART, AND IMPLYING 
THAT `MANAGED CONFLICTS' IS A POLICY THAT AIMS TO WEAKEN 
POTENTIAL ENEMIES, IN THIS INSTANCE RUSSIA AND CHINA AND THAT 
U.S. INTELLIGENCE, BUT ALSO EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE, ARE 
INVOLVED IN THIS NEW REGIONAL `GREAT GAME.'" 
 
"REPRESSION IN THE NAME OF `ISLAMIC THREAT'" 
LORRAINE MILLOT IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (05/16): "IT IS 
PERHAPS TIME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE USE OF BRUTE FORCE IS 
ONLY TRIGGERING THE BIRTH OF NEW CLANDESTINE ISLAMIC CELLS. 
THE U.S., WHICH IS INCREASINGLY PRESENT IN THE REGION, AND 
WHICH HAS CERTAINLY UNDERSTOOD THIS PHENOMENON, HAS RECENTLY 
ENCOURAGED A `DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION' IN NEIGHBORING 
KIRGHIZSTAN. THESE RECENT INTERVENTIONS, IN KIRGHIZSTAN AND 
AFGHANISTAN, ARE FORCING THE U.S. TODAY TO PROVE THAT 
`PROMOTING DEMOCRACY' IN FORMER SOVIET UNION COUNTRIES CAN 
HELP TO RESOLVE SERIOUS CRISES." 
 
EUROPEAN ISSUES - LAMY TO WTO 
 
"THE WTO, OR THE RACE BETWEEN THE SHERIFF AND THE THIEF" 
FRANCOIS CROUIGNEAU IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LES ECHOS (05/16): 
"BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CHINA, WAR IS NOT DECLARED, YET. BUT 
WASHINGTON HAS SET THE TONE. WHILE THE EUROPEANS WOULD LIKE 
BRUSSELS TO FOLLOW AMERICA'S EXAMPLE OVER TEXTILE QUOTAS, 
CHINA'S RESPONSE IS SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS 
AT THE WTO. THIS ORGANIZATION IS BOTH FEARED AND DENIGRATED. 
IT IS FEARED BECAUSE IT HAS NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM CONDEMNING 
THE POWERFUL. AND IT IS DENIGRATED FOR REASONS WHICH ARE AS 
NUMEROUS AS THEY ARE CONTRADICTORY. THE GAME OF PUNCHING BALL 
PLAYED BY THE NORTH, THE SOUTH, THE LIBERAL AND THE NOT SO 
LIBERAL IS A GAME WHOSE MANY DANGERS PASCAL LAMY KNOWS VERY 
WELL. HE HAS CALLED THE ORGANIZATION `MEDIEVAL' AND HIS 
GREATEST CHALLENGE WILL BE THE FUTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION 
ITSELF. THE WTO HAS OFTEN BEEN CALLED THE SHERIFF OF 
INTERNATIONAL TRADE. IN THE GAME OF SHERIFF AGAINST THIEF, 
LAMY WILL NEED MUCH POLITICAL AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE MORE POWER 
IN ORDER TO REFORM AN ORGANIZATION LACKING IN CREDIBILITY." 
WOLFF