US embassy cable - 05TUNIS2353

C O N F I D E N T I A L  TUNIS 002353 
 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO (GRAY), NEA/MAG (LAWRENCE), NEA/PPD 
(FERNANDEZ, SMITH, AGNEW), NEA/PI (MULENEX, KIRBY), NEA/PA, 
NEA/IPA, I/GNA, DRL, CWG-PD, EB/CIP (SHIPMAN) 
NSC FOR POUNDS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, KPAO, EAID, PHUM, KMPI, TS 
SUBJECT: GOT SPINS FM ABDALLAH'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON IN THE 
PRESS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William J. Hudson; reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
1.(C) Summary. On October 19, 2005, all Tunisian papers 
prominently covered FM Abdallah's visit to Washington, with 
headlines above the fold proclaiming "Bush expresses his 
friendship and profound esteem for Ben Ali."  All papers 
placed the text of a Tunisian Press Agency (TAP) report on 
Abdallah's visit to Washington, which covered the words 
exchanged with President Bush and Abdallah's meetings with 
Senators Stevens and Lugar.  On October 21, all but one daily 
ran headlines such as "Tunisian Role in the Region and on the 
International Scene Highly Appreciated by Washington" and 
"Mutual Willingness to Reinforce Bilateral Relations."  These 
headlines were accompanied by the text of another TAP article 
listing the people (SecState, A/S Welch, Ambassador Gross, 
and Congressmen Ackerman and Taylor) with whom FM Abdallah 
met and summarizing all of his meetings in a positive light. 
These articles are clearly a GOT attempt to convince the 
Tunisian public that it has strong backing from the USG at a 
time when it feels increasing pressure to undertake human 
rights reform in the run-up to the WSIS. End Summary. 
 
2.(U) On October 19, 2005 all Tunisian papers provided 
prominent coverage of FM Abdallah's visit to Washington with 
all headlines stating "Tunisia-USA: Bush Expresses his 
Friendship and his Profound Esteem for Ben Ali." 
Sub-headlines in most papers continued "The Minister of 
Foreign Affairs Takes Part in the White House Iftar Offered 
by the American President in Honor of the Muslim Diplomatic 
Corps" and "Admiration of American Senators for Tunisia, its 
Leadership and its Accomplishments."  These headlines were 
accompanied by the text of one article generated by the 
government-controlled news agency TAP.  Translation of the 
article in para 5. 
 
3.(U) On October 21, 2005, all but one private French 
language paper ran headlines stating "Tunisia-USA: Mutual 
Willingness to Reinforce Bilateral Relations" and 
"Tunisia-USA Meeting Between the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
and the American Secretary of State: Tunisian Role in the 
Region and on the International Scene Highly Appreciated by 
Washington."  These headlines were accompanied again by the 
same TAP article reporting on Abdallah's meetings with the 
Secretary, A/S Welch, Ambassador Gross, and Congressmen 
Ackerman and Taylor.  The coverage of the SecState meeting 
focused on the "excellent relationship of friendship and 
cooperation that exists between the US and Tunisia, as well 
as their (the USG) satisfaction with the partnership in a 
variety of areas, particularly concerning current 
international events."  The coverage of the meeting with A/S 
Welch echoed these same sentiments, while the reporting on 
the meeting with Ambassador Gross focused on US hopes that 
"Tunisia assures the conditions for success" of the WSIS 
meeting. Translation of the article in para 6. 
 
4.(C) Comment. This news coverage on US-American relations is 
clearly a GOT attempt to highlight USG support during a time 
when the GOT is increasingly under scrutiny and pressure from 
many quarters, including the USG, to undertake human rights 
reform (particularly in the area of a free press and free 
assembly) in the run-up to the WSIS.  The fact that the 
coverage (identical headlines and articles) was exactly the 
same in both the government and private newspapers only 
further demonstrates the extent of GOT control over the 
media. End Comment. 
 
5.(U) Translation of September 19 TAP article: 
 
"Mr. Abdelwaheb Abdallah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
undertook a working visit to the United States on Monday in 
the context of friendly relations and cooperation between the 
two countries. 
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs was invited by President 
George W. Bush to an Iftar dinner that he offered at the 
White House to members of the Muslim diplomatic corps 
accredited to Washington and to leaders of the Muslim 
community in the U.S.  On this occasion, Mr. Abdelwaheb 
Abdallah transmitted to the American President the regards of 
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his best wishes for 
progress and continued prosperity for the friendly American 
people. 
 
For his part, President George Bush asked the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs to transmit to President Ben Ali his 
expression of friendship and profound esteem , recalling in 
this regard the fruitful meeting that he had with President 
Ben Ali during his visit to Washington in February 2004. 
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs additionally met Monday with 
Senator Ted Stevens (Republican-Alaska), Chairman of the 
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and member 
of the Budget Committee and the Internal Security Committee, 
as well as with the Republican Senator from Indiana Richard 
Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 
 
These meetings were the occasion for an exchange of views on 
the state of bilateral relations and the principal 
international and regional questions of common concern. 
 
Senator Stevens expressed his admiration for Tunisia, for its 
leadership and for the accomplishments it had realized in 
diverse domains.  He paid homage to the constructive role 
that Tunisia had played in the regional and international 
scene and asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to transmit 
his highest regards for President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 
whom he had the pleasure of meeting during his last visit to 
Tunisia. 
 
For his part, Senator Richard Lugar indicated that he was 
following with interest the political, economic and social 
reform underway in Tunisia, as well as the achievements in 
these areas, promising to continue to work to reinforce the 
relations between the two friendly countries." 
 
6.(U) Translation of September 21 TAP article: 
 
"Pursuant to his visit to Washington, Mr. Abdelwaheb 
Abdallah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, met Tuesday with the 
American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.  This meeting 
permitted the two officials to highlight the excellent 
friendly and cooperative relations that exist between the US 
and Tunisia, as well as their satisfaction with the 
partnership established between the two countries in a 
variety of areas and notably in that which concerns the 
current international issues. 
 
The American Secretary of State expressed, on this occasion, 
the appreciation of the US for the role played by Tunisia in 
the region and on the international scene, highlighting the 
importance of an exchange of visits between officials of both 
countries in order to reinforce bilateral relations. 
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also met with Mr. David 
Welch, Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and North 
Africa.  He reviewed with the American official the state and 
the future of Tunisian-American relations, as well as the 
principal bilateral issues and current international issues. 
 
In his meeting with Mr. David Gross, US Coordinator for the 
Policy of International Communications and Information, Mr. 
Abdelwaheb Abdallah spoke of the preparations underway in 
Tunisia as host of the second phase of the World Summit on 
the Information Society, highlighting the hope of Tunisia to 
assure the conditions for success for this international 
conference.  On his part, Mr. Gross underlined the importance 
of the summit in Tunis, expressing his hope that it will be a 
success. 
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also met with Congressman 
Gary Ackerman, Democrat from the state of New York and member 
of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the House of 
Representatives, and with Congressman Charles Taylor, 
Republican from the state of North Carolina and member of the 
Budget Committee.  These meetings permitted a review of the 
state of cooperative and friendly relations between Tunisia 
and the United States, as well as ways to reinforce them." 
 
 
HUDSON