MEDIA REACTION REPORT - KYRGYZSTAN REVOLUTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002016

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; BRUSSELS/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - KYRGYZSTAN REVOLUTION
WOLFOWITZ TO WORLD BANK THE UN - DARFUR
PARIS - FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2005


(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:


1. KYRGYZSTAN REVOLUTION

2. WOLFOWITZ TO WORLD BANK

3. THE UN - DARFUR

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

THE REVOLUTION IN KYRGYZSTAN IS TODAY'S MAJOR FRONT-PAGE
STORY. FOR RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO IT IS "THE NEW QUIET
REVOLUTION;" FOR LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION "PUTIN IS LOSING
HIS PALS" AND FOR CATHOLIC LA CROIX IT IS "A NEW REVOLUTION ON
RUSSIA'S DOORSTEP." COMMENTATORS APPLAUD THE PEOPLE OF
KYRGYZSTAN FOR THEIR "QUIET DEMONSTRATIONS," NOTE "PUTIN'S
GRADUAL LOSS OF INFLUENCE IN THE REGION" AND EMPHASIZE
WASHINGTON'S ROLE. (SEE PART C)

LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE CARRIES AN OP-ED BY UNIVERSITY
PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN COMELIAU, TITLED: "WOLFOWITZ, SOMETHING
BAD FOR SOMETHING GOOD?" IN ECONOMIC RIGHT-OF-CENTER LES
ECHOS, A COMMENTARY BY PAUL FABRA IS TITLED "HAIL TO
WOLFOWITZ!" (SEE PART C)

ON THE OCCASION OF HIS VISIT TO PARIS YESTERDAY, EGYPTIAN
PRESIDENT MUBARAK IS INTERVIEWED IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO:
"THE QUESTION OF LEBANON'S OCCUPATION BY SYRIA LEADS ME TO
RETORT THAT PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE SAYING THAT OTHER
OCCUPATIONS EXIST: PALESTINE IS OCCUPIED, IRAQ IS OCCUPIED.
BUT THESE ARE EXTREMELY COMPLEX ISSUES. IF I SAID WHAT I
REALLY THOUGHT, MANY PEOPLE WOULD BECOME ANGRY. THE ELECTIONS
IN IRAQ WERE A VERY GOOD THING. BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT
DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN A SUCCESS."

THE UN RESOLUTION ON DARFUR, THE LATEST POINT OF CONTENTION
BETWEEN PARIS AND WASHINGTON, IS REPORTED. (SEE PART C)

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

KYRGYZSTAN REVOLUTION

"A MUCH SOUGHT-OUT LITTLE COUNTRY"
LORRAINE MILLOT IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (03/25): "A
CHOICE MORSEL SHIFTED YESTERDAY ON THE GEO-STRATEGIC
CHESSBOARD. THE U.S. SAW IT COMING. SINCE OPENING ITS MILITARY
BASE THERE IN 2000, THE U.S. HAS INVESTED MASSIVELY TO PROMOTE
DEMOCRACY IN THIS COUNTRY. WITHOUT THE POPULATION'S REBELLION,
NOTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY
SUCCESS OF THE `REVOLUTION OF THE TULIPS' IS ALSO DUE TO THE
LONG DRAWN-OUT PREPARATIONS AND TECHNIQUES WHICH LOOK VERY
MUCH LIKE THOSE USED IN GEORGIA AND UKRAINE. THESE THREE
REVOLUTIONS HAVE IN COMMON THE FACT THAT THE REGIMES WERE TORN
BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND MOSCOW, AND IN EXCHANGE FOR FINANCIAL
OFFSETS, THEY ALLOWED THE U.S. TO INOCULATE THE POPULATION
WITH A TASTE FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY. THE EASE WITH WHICH
THE REVOLUTION CAME ABOUT IS A CLEAR WARNING SIGNAL FOR ALL
NEIGHBORING DICTATORS. IT IS ALSO A NEW WARNING FOR PUTIN, WHO
IS HAUNTED BY THESE POPULAR REBELLIONS IN HIS FORMER EMPIRE."

"INFLUENCE AND OIL IN A MUSLIM LAND"
DOMINIQUE BROMBERGER ON GOVERNMENT-RUN FRANCE INTER (03/25):
"THE U.S. EMBASSY (IN KYRGYZISTAN) SUPPORTS THE REVOLUTION.
THE RUSSIANS CAN'T HELP BUT SHOW THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT.
WASHINGTON AND MOSCOW, WITH BOTH THEIR ARMIES PRESENT, ARE NOW
ENGAGED IN A FEROCIOUS WAR OF INFLUENCE, ON CHINA'S BORDER, IN
A MUSLIM LAND, IN THE MIDST OF OIL FIELDS WHICH LEAVE NO ONE
INDIFFERENT."

WOLFOWITZ TO WORLD BANK

"WOLFOWITZ, SOMETHING BAD FOR SOMETHING GOOD?"
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN COMELIAU IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LE
MONDE (03/25): "SHOULD WE BE WORRIED ABOUT WOLFOWITZ'S
NOMINATION? OF COURSE, CONSIDERING HIS BACKGROUND. THIS IS A
NEW PROVOCATION FROM THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. WHICH UNDOES THE
EFFECTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S TRIP TO EUROPE. ALSO, ONCE AGAIN,
IT PROVES FRANCE AND GERMANY'S LACK OF FIGHTING POWER. STILL,
THE PROTEST ARISING FROM NGOS INDICATE A MISUNDERSTANDING OF
THE INSTITUTION. THE WORLD BANK AND THE IMF HAVE ALWAYS BEEN
FINANCING INSTITUTIONS, BUT ALSO PLACES WHERE IDEAS ON HOW TO
INFLUENCE ECONOMIES HAVE TAKEN SHAPE. IT IS WITH THIS
PERSPECTIVE THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT WOLFOWITZ'S NOMINATION.
HIS PRESIDENCY WILL NOT LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE CHANGES. BUT IT
MAY BE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CLARIFICATION. WOLFOWITZ, WHO IS
BOTH INTELLIGENT AND BRILLIANT, IS NEITHER A DEMAGOGUE NOR
INCLINED TOWARDS COMPLACENCY. HIS CYNICISM AND PRAGMATISM WILL
SOON PREVAIL. AND THE WORLD BANK'S IMAGE WILL LOOK LESS
PATERNALISTIC AND MORE IN TUNE WITH REALITY."

"HAIL TO WOLFOWITZ!"
PAUL FABRA IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LES ECHOS (03/25): "THE CHOICE
OF WOLFOWITZ TO RUN THE WORLD BANK IS REASSURING. WHY SHOULD
THE EUROPEANS GET UPSET? BUSH DID NOT MAKE HIS CHOICE IN ORDER
TO EXPRESS DISDAIN EITHER FOR THE EUROPEANS OR THE WORLD BANK.
HIS DECISION WAS A RATIONAL ONE. IT FITS WITH THE NOTION THAT
WASHINGTON IS EAGER TO GIVE A DIFFERENT IMAGE OF ITSELF. WITH
THIS GESTURE, PRESIDENT BUSH IS SAYING HE IS TAKING THE WORLD
BANK SERIOUSLY. AND SO MUCH HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT HIS
NOMINATION, THAT WOLFOWITZ WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE TAKING
DECISIONS. HIS NOMINATION MAY ALSO INDICATE THAT IT IS THROUGH
THIS NEW CHANNEL THAT WASHINGTON EXPECTS TO SCORE IN AFRICA,
THE MIDDLE EAST AND LATIN AMERICA."

THE UN - DARFUR

"PARIS AND WASHINGTON TRY TO AVOID NEW CONFRONTATION"
JEAN-LOUIS TURLIN IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (03/25): "THE
UNSC HAS MANAGED TO DEFUSE A POTENTIAL DIPLOMATIC BOMB BY
POSTPONING THE VOTE ON THE FRENCH RESOLUTION ON CRIMES AGAINST
HUMANITY IN DARFUR. THE U.S. WILL NOT HAVE TO IMMEDIATELY
CHOOSE BETWEEN A VETO AND ABSTENTION."

"FRANCE AND U.S. OPPOSE EACH OTHER OVER DARFUR"
FABRICE ROUSSELOT IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (03/25): "IN
SPITE OF WEEKS NEGOTIATING, WASHINGTON AND PARIS HAVE NOT
MANAGED TO AGREE ON A COMPROMISE OVER TRYING THOSE RESPONSIBLE
FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN DARFUR. WASHINGTON HAS
REITERATED ITS INTENTION OF OPPOSING THE FRENCH POSITION AND
THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMES COURT, WHICH IS
NOT RECOGNIZED BY WASHINGTON. THE U.S. IS FACING A DILEMMA: TO
ABSTAIN MEANS A DE-FACTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE COURT; TO USE
ITS VETO POWER MEANS OPENING OLD WOUNDS. APPARENTLY, `HIGH
LEVEL DISCUSSIONS' ARE UNDERWAY BETWEEN PARIS AND WASHINGTON."
WOLFF