GOT SPINS FM ABDALLAH'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON IN THE

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