US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA727

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PDA(MBUCKLEY), IIP/G/WHA (DDIPASQUALE), 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, HO, IZ, PA OIIP 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ 3/21 
 
1. For the second day all four dailies had full front page 
coverage and special reports of almost six interior pages 
with a variety of photos of the war. 
 
2. Liberal Party Tegucigalpa-based daily La Tribuna: 
"Inferno in Iraq;" moderate daily El Heraldo: "War, Total 
Offensive;" San Pedro liberal daily Tiempo: "Land offensive 
started in the south--without resistance" and San Pedro Sula- 
based liberal daily La Prensa: "No price increase on fuel 
because of War: President Maduro."  Beginning last night, 
radio and all TV stations and print media have been devoting 
an impressive amount of coverage to the conflict, using as 
sources CNN in Spanish and other international news 
sources." 
 
3. The morning news programs repeated the international 
reports several times. Radio and TV stations are running 
spots telling their audiences to stay tuned for complete 
coverage of the war.  Newspaper "El Heraldo" has special 
radio spots announcements inviting readers to buy the 
newspaper to keep up on developments in the war". 
 
4. "Telenoticias" showed some Desert Storm footage last 
night to explain events during the first war and featured 
interviews with several Ambassadors to Honduras. 
 
5. Italian Ambassador Stefano Cachaquero: "We have said very 
clearly since the beginning that we support the United 
States in its efforts. The Italian government is providing 
support to the airfields that are open to U.S. military 
troops, and Italy will contribute Italian peace forces to 
the reconstruction of Iraq. 
 
6. Ambassador of Mexico Walter Astie: - "Obviously we are in 
favor of Iraq disarming and the elimination of a threat to 
other countries.  We are against terrorism but we still 
continue to believe that the best solution for this problem 
is through negotiations through the United Nations. 
 
7. Ambassador of France Michell Avignon: "To begin military 
operations is going to be the unilateral decision of 
President Bush who, he remembers perfectly, said that the 
United Nations had failed to carry out its responsibilities, 
but that he would carry out his.  I am sorry to say, but 
that is called `prepotency and the U.S. is the first nation 
of the world, the first force of the world, so in place of 
the force of right, it is the force of might, this is what 
we are going to experience." 
 
Palmer