US embassy cable - 05PARIS3682

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 003682 
 
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 - MIDDLE EAST - ABBAS IN 
WASHINGTON CENTRAL ASIA: UZBEKISTAN DARFUR AND NATO 
PARIS - FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2005 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
1. MIDDLE EAST - ABBAS IN WASHINGTON 
2. CENTRAL ASIA: UZBEKISTAN 
3. DARFUR AND NATO 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
IN THE WANING DAYS BEFORE THE VOTE ON MAY 29 TO RATIFY THE 
EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION, PRESIDENT CHIRAC GAVE HIS ALL IN A 
TELEVISED ADDRESS LAST EVENING WARNING THE FRENCH AGAINST 
"MISTAKING WHICH QUESTION WAS AT ISSUE." EXPLAINING THAT THE 
VOTE WAS NOT A VOTE "FOR OR AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT," HE 
REMINDED VOTERS THEY HAD A "HISTORIC RESPONSIBILITY." THE LAST 
POLL BEFORE THE VOTE INDICATES THAT THE "NO" IS CONSOLIDATING 
ITS LEAD WITH 55 PERCENT. EVEN BEFORE THIS FINAL POLL, 
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON'S LE MONDE HEADLINED: "POLITICAL LEADERS 
ANTICIPATE A VICTORY FOR THE `NO'." TODAY'S HEADLINES RUN THE 
GAMUT FROM "PANIC AT THE ELYSEE PALACE" (POPULAR LE PARISIEN), 
TO "EUROPE AND FRANCE HOLDING THEIR BREATH" (LES ECHOS) AND 
"THE LAST DITCH FOR THE `YES'" (LIBERATION). LE FIGARO QUOTES 
THE PRESIDENT IN ITS HEADLINE: "DO NOT MISTAKE THE QUESTION AT 
ISSUE." 
 
EDITORIAL COMMENTARY IS ALSO VARIED. LE FIGARO COMMENTS: 
"CHIRAC WAS CLEAR: IF THE `NO' WINS HE WILL NOT LEAVE OFFICE." 
BUT LE FIGARO ALSO ADDS: "THE EUROPEAN VERTIGO GRIPPING FRANCE 
IS NOT A FRENCH EXCEPTION. IT HAS GRIPPED OTHER EUROPEAN 
COUNTRIES, NAMELY THE NETHERLANDS." BUT YVES THREARD ENDS ON A 
LESS THAN OPTIMISTIC NOTE: "THE PRESIDENT'S WARNING SOUNDED 
VERY MUCH LIKE WISHFUL THINKING. ON SUNDAY, MANY WILL BE 
THINKING ABOUT NATIONAL ISSUES, LIKE UNEMPLOYMENT, SCHOOLS AND 
THEIR BUYING POWER. EVEN IF A `NO' VOTE WILL NOT ALLEVIATE 
THEIR CONCERNS." 
 
IN LIBERATION, JEAN-MICHEL THENARD WRITES: "CHIRAC WAS 
SOMEWHAT PATHETIC AS HE USED HIS LAST ARGUMENTS TO SAVE THE 
`YES.' HE WAITED TOO LONG TO ADDRESS NATIONAL CONCERNS. AND SO 
ON SUNDAY, HE RUNS THE RISK OF BEING LABELED AS THE POLITICIAN 
WHO PROMOTED THE IDEA THAT EUROPE MEANS LIBERALISM, WHEN IN 
FACT EUROPE IS THE MOST SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC OF ALL CONTINENTS. 
AND THE BEST RAMPART AGAINST AMERICAN HEGEMONY." 
 
FOR LA TRIBUNE, "ONLY REGRETS WILL REMAIN AFTER SUNDAY'S `NO' 
VOTE AND AFTER A STRANGE ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN, SEVERELY 
CRITICIZED BY OUR EUROPEAN NEIGHBORS." 
 
CATHOLIC LA CROIX CONCLUDES IN ITS COMMENTARY: "SUNDAY'S 
VERDICT WILL BE TERRIBLE FOR HALF OF THE VOTERS. AND IF THE 
`NO' WINS, IT WILL BE TERRIBLE FOR MANY MORE EUROPEANS, 
BECAUSE THE ISSUES AT STAKE GO BEYOND FRANCE." FM BARNIER IS 
INTERVIEWED: "I BELIEVE THERE ARE TWO VISIONS OF EUROPE. ONE, 
FRANCO-GERMAN, THE OTHER ANGLO-SAXON, WHICH IS PUSHING FOR A 
SUPERMARKET-TYPE EUROPE WITH A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF REGULATIONS 
AND A MAXIMUM OF COMPETITION. A `NO' VICTORY WILL OPEN THE 
DOOR TO A FREE TRADE EUROPE, ANGLO SAXON-STYLE." 
 
IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS THE MIDDLE EAST AND MAHMUD ABBAS'S TRIP 
TO WASHINGTON ARE FRONT-PAGED IN LE FIGARO: "BUSH CONFIRMS HIS 
SUPPORT FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE." INSIDE, JERUSALEM 
CORRESPONDENT PATRICK SAINT-PAUL DRAWS A PORTRAIT OF ABBAS, 
"THE GOOD STUDENT OF DEMOCRATIZATION." (SEE PART C) IN AN 
INTERVIEW AVI PAZNER, THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT'S SPOKESMAN 
EXPLAINS: "SINCE THE ARRIVAL OF ABBAS, THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE 
HAS CHANGED. AND THE REAL CHANGE IS THAT NOW THERE IS A 
DIALOGUE." LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE DEVOTES ITS EDITORIAL TO 
THE "UZBEK TRAGEDY" IN WHICH IT CRITICIZES PRESIDENT BUSH FOR 
HIS "LIGHT CONDEMNATION" AGAINST KARIMOV'S REGIME. (SEE PART 
C) LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION AND RIGHT-OF-CENTER FRANCE SOIR 
DEVOTE WIDE COVERAGE TO DARFUR AND NATO'S INVOLVEMENT. THE 
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE U.S. THAT IT WILL CONTRIBUTE 50 MILLION 
DOLLARS TO DARFUR RELIEF IS NOTED. (SEE PART C) FRANCE SOIR 
INTERVIEWS THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, JEAN- 
JACQUES GRAISSE: "FRANCE IS RANKED 14TH AMONG THE DONORS. FAR 
BEHIND THE U.S., THE UK, GERMANY AND JAPAN. BUT EU 
CONTRIBUTIONS ARE IMPORTANT AND FINANCED IN PART BY FRANCE." 
 
A NUMBER OF REPORTS IN ALL OUTLETS SPECULATE ABOUT THE FATE OF 
ZARQAWI. FRANCE SOIR ASKS "HAS ZARQAWI LEFT IRAQ?" BUT STATES 
IN ITS ARTICLE THAT "WITH OR WITHOUT HIM, THE AL-QAEDA NETWORK 
WILL CONTINUE." IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION TERRORISM EXPERT 
ANNE GIUDICELLI IS INTERVIEWED: "THE GROUND IS BEING LAID TO 
ANNOUNCE HIS DEATH. FOR WEEKS NOW AMERICAN AND IRAQI OFFICIALS 
HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT HE WAS WOUNDED NEAR RAMADI. BUT I DO NOT 
BELIEVE THIS HYPOTHESIS IS A U.S.-LED MANIPULATION." 
 
IN ECONOMIC NEWS, THE ARRIVAL OF PASCAL LAMY AS THE HEAD OF 
THE WTO IS FRONT-PAGE NEWS FOR LA TRIBUNE, WHICH ALSO TITLES: 
"AIRBUS UNDER GROWING PRESSURE FROM BOEING." REPORTING ON THE 
NOMINATION OF A GERMAN, GUSTAV HUMBER, TO HEAD AIRBUS, LA 
TRIBUNE COMMENTS: "HE WILL BE UNDER PRESSURE NOT ONLY BECAUSE 
THIS IS A FIRST, BUT ALSO BECAUSE BOEING, THE RIVAL, IS MAKING 
AN IMPRESSIVE COMEBACK WITH A SERIES OF NEW ORDERS." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
MIDDLE EAST - ABBAS IN WASHINGTON 
 
"BUSH PROMISES AN INDEPENDENT STATE FOR THE PALESTINIANS" 
PHILIPPE GELIE IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (05/26): 
"YESTERDAY PRESIDENT BUSH GAVE ABBAS WHAT HE HAD COME TO 
WASHINGTON FOR: HUMANITARIAN AID, STRONG POLITICAL SUPPORT AND 
THE PROMISE OF DIPLOMATIC INTERVENTION. WITHOUT GREATLY 
ALTERING HIS STANCE, PRESIDENT BUSH SHOWED THAT HE UNDERSTANDS 
THE PLIGHT OF THE PALESTINIANS, PUTTING THEM ALMOST ON PAR 
WITH THE ISRAELIS. BUSH'S DEMANDS ON SHARON PROVE THAT HE IS 
NOT BLIND TO SHARON'S GAME. BUT ALTHOUGH ABBAS IS THE FIRST 
PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT TO HAVE SET FOOT IN THE OVAL OFFICE IN 
FIVE YEARS, THE WHITE HOUSE DOES NOT WANT TO DANCE FASTER THAN 
THE MUSIC." 
 
"ABBAS, THE GOOD STUDENT OF DEMOCRATIZATION" 
PATRICK SAINT-PAUL IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (05/27): "IN 
MATTERS OF DEMOCRATIZATION, ONE OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S 
CORE STRATEGIES FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, MAHMUD ABBAS STANDS AMONG 
THE GOOD STUDENTS. PRESIDENT BUSH CONGRATULATED ALL 
PALESTINIAN PARTICIPANTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, INCLUDING 
HAMAS, WHICH IS ON THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S BLACK LIST OF 
TERRORIST MOVEMENTS. BUSH'S 50 MILLION DOLLARS IN DIRECT AID 
IS A STRONG SYMBOLIC GESTURE AND A SIGN OF CONFIDENCE IN ABBAS 
AND HIS EFFORTS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION." 
 
CENTRAL ASIA: UZBEKISTAN 
 
"TRAGEDY IN UZBEKISTAN" 
LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE IN ITS EDITORIAL (05/27): "PRESIDENT 
GEORGE W. BUSH, WHO IS OTHERWISE SO PROMPT TO GO TO WAR 
AGAINST TYRANNIES, LIMITED HIS REACTION TO THE INCIDENTS IN 
ANDIJAN TO A LIGHT CONDEMNATION. IT IS TRUE THAT UZBEKISTAN IS 
THE CORNERSTONE OF U.S. STRATEGY IN CENTRAL ASIA. AFTER 9/11, 
KARIMOV WAS THE FIRST LEADER IN THE REGION TO OFFER HELP TO 
THE U.S. FEARING THE SPREAD OF CIVIL WARS WHICH DEVELOPED IN 
AFGHANISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN, KARIMOV WAS AMENABLE TO THE 
AMERICANS OPENING MILITARY BASES IN TERRITORIES WHICH WERE 
ORIGINALLY RUSSIAN HUNTING GROUNDS. THE AMERICANS THANKED HIM 
BY HANDING OVER TERRORISTS OR ALLEGED TERRORISTS, KNOWING THAT 
THEY WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO TORTURE IN THE UZBEK JAILS. BUT 
THIS POLICY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT A 
U.S. PREROGATIVE AND IS NOT RESERVED EXCLUSIVELY TO RELATIONS 
WITH UZBEKISTAN, CANNOT TAKE AWAY FROM EFFORTS ACCOMPLISHED 
ELSEWHERE TO PROMOTE, IF NOT DEMOCRACY, AT LEAST `DECENT' 
REGIMES. THE PEOPLE OF UZBEK, LIKE OTHERS, DESERVE BETTER THAN 
AN AUTHORITARIAN AND CORRUPT POLITICAL SYSTEM. IF THEY ARE 
ABANDONED TO THEMSELVES, IN THE NAME OF REALPOLITIK, ONE CAN 
PREDICT THAT THE DEAD OF ANDIJAN MAY NOT BE THE LAST." 
 
DARFUR AND NATO 
"MILITARY RIVALRY IN DARFUR BETWEEN NATO AND THE EU" 
JEAN-DOMINIQUE MERCHET IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (05/27): 
"NATO, BY PARTICIPATING IN THE DONORS' CONFERENCE FOR DARFUR 
IN ADDIS ABABA IMPOSED ITSELF AS A MAJOR PLAYER. THIS IS 
INDEED A FIRST. WITH THIS INITIATIVE, NATO IS WIDENING ITS 
RANGE OF ACTION WELL BEYOND EUROPE. THE AFRICAN UNION HAS 
CLEVERLY ORCHESTRATED THE SCENARIO, PUTTING NATO AND THE EU IN 
COMPETITION. THE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT WILL BE COORDINATED BY 
NATO, AND IN BRUSSELS THERE IS A FEELING OF ACHIEVEMENT, IN 
LIGHT OF THIS `FIRST AFRICAN OPERATION, EVEN IF IT REMAINS 
MODEST.' THIS NATO INVOLVEMENT IS SERIOUSLY ANNOYING FRANCE, 
WHICH SWEARS BY THE EU AND NOTHING BUT THE EU. IT IS HARD FOR 
FRANCE TO STAND UNDER THE NATO BANNER JUST PRIOR TO RATIFYING 
THE EUROPEAN TREATY, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO LAY THE GROUND FOR 
EUROPE'S DEFENSE AND SECURITY INITIATIVE. BUT OFFICIALLY AT 
LEAST, WHEN IT COMES TO DARFUR, THERE IS NO CONTROVERSY. ON 
MONDAY, DEFENSE MINISTER ALLIOT-MARIE REITERATED THERE WAS `NO 
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE EU AND NATO' AND YESTERDAY THE FOREIGN 
MINISTRY SPOKE OF `COMPLEMENTARITY.' STILL, WHILE FRANCE HAS 
DETAILED THE SUPPORT IT IS PUTTING AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE EU, 
ITS CONTRIBUTION TO NATO IS NIL. EVEN IF FOR YEARS IT HAS 
PARTICIPATED IN MAJOR NATO OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO AND ELSEWHERE. 
NATO'S COMMITMENT IN DARFUR IS THE RESULT OF A DIRECT REQUEST 
FROM THE AMERICANS FURTHER TO KONARE'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 
`AND WHO SUGGESTED THE IDEA TO KONARE?' ASK THE FRENCH WITH A 
DOSE OF SARCASM." WOLFF