MEDIA REACTION TRUCK BLAST AT U. N.'S IRAQ HQ;

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