WEEKLY MEDIA WRAP-UP: PINOCHET'S DEATH; IRAN AND THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007813

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SUBJECT: WEEKLY MEDIA WRAP-UP: PINOCHET'S DEATH; IRAN AND THE
HOLOCAUST; ISRAEL AND THE NUCLEAR CRISIS. DECEMBER 15, 2006.


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) French Media coverage of ex-Chilean President Augusto
Pinochet's death was unanimous in lamenting his "escape from
justice" but noted that Chile had "turned a page" with the election
of Michele Bachelet. A few commentators argued that overall, Latin
America was on the road to democracy. Many roundly criticized Iran
for its "pseudo-scientific" conference on the Holocaust. Israel's
"admission" about nuclear weapons, in the context of Iran's threats,
was also widely reported. End Summary.

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AUGUSTO PINOCHET'S ESCAPE FROM JUSTICE
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2. (SBU) Pierre Taribo, in regional L'Est Republicain, declared that
"a remorseless dictator has just died without paying his dues."
Left-wing Liberation regretted that "the man who, for more than four
decades, had been the incarnation of a bastard died without
expressing remorse or having been tried." In the regional La
Republique des Pyrenees, Jean-Marcel Bouguereau argued that Pinochet
"had come close to being judged in London; and, even if he died
without expressing remorse, no dictator today could live in
impunity: in the end, like Milosevic, Pinochet contributed to the
implementation of international justice."


3. (SBU) Jean-Christophe Ploquin, in Catholic La Croix,
editorialized on "justice in the making" and claimed that "Pinochet
might be dead, but the fight against impunity continues." Ploquin
concluded that Pinochet, "despite himself," had contributed to
"eradicating the notion that heads of state might be untouchable,"
and to the creation of the International Court of Justice.
"Democracies," argued Ploquin, "have enriched their institutions
with legislation allowing them to try former tyrants" based on the
principle of "universal competency" derived from the Pinochet case.


4. (SBU) Left-of-center Le Monde concluded that "many Latin American
countries had traveled the road to democracy," and that their
governments were the results of democratic elections. In regional
Ouest France, Alain Musset mused that "even the old 'guerilleros,'
like Nicaragua's Ortega, had evolved." Pierre Haski, in left-wing
Liberation, proclaimed that Chile's new President, "Michele
Bachelet, a woman, a socialist and the daughter of one of Pinochet's
victims, stood as an optimistic symbol and the ultimate revenge on
the dictator."

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IRAN AND THE HOLOCAUST - ISRAEL AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
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5. (SBU) Left-wing Liberation, which headlined "Iran Exploits
Holocaust Issue," asked why "a nation with such a brilliant past as
Iran is so willing to provoke western opinion?" Pierre Haski, in
left-wing Liberation, argued that Ahmadinejad was "taking advantage"
of a Middle East "exacerbated by the war in Iraq" and of "the
Palestinians' hellish situation in Gaza" to present himself as a
"leader" for the Arab-Muslim world. Haski noted that Iran's
President was "surfing on the crest of anti-western feelings
prevalent in the Arab world."


6. (SBU) In Catholic La Croix, editorialist Dominique Quinio
commented that "Ahmadinejad had no qualms about tarnishing his image
in Western opinion." Quinio lamented that "the complications the
Americans were facing in Iraq" would not "bring Ahmadinejad to
reason." Quinio concluded that because Iran was a "necessary
interlocutor" in settling the region's conflicts, "Ahmadinejad could
afford to be arrogant." In right-of-center Le Parisien, Bruno
Fanucchi argued that Ahmadinejad was "deliberately seeking the
support of all Muslim countries who are the declared enemies of
Israel."


7. (SBU) FM Douste-Blazy told right-of-center Le Figaro that "if the
aim of the conference were to disseminate revisionism, France would
be obligated to condemn the conference with determination." French
professor Robert Faurisson, who has been barred from teaching at the
University of Lyon for promoting revisionism, participated in the
conference. Left-wing Liberation reported FM Douste-Blazy's remarks
at the National Assembly that he would be studying "every possible
legal avenue" to prosecute Faurrison for his remarks. Left-wing
Liberation commented that, "according to French law, the fact that
[Faurrison's] revisionist remarks were made public in France,
although pronounced abroad, was enough to elicit a legal procedure."


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8. (SBU) Right-of-center Le Parisien commented on Israel's
"admission" that it possessed the bomb, "when no one was asking."
Left-of-center Le Monde criticized PM Olmert for a "Freudian slip"
that came at the "worst possible moment." In right-of-center Le
Parisien, Bruno Fanucchi contended that the "slip" was a "godsend"
for the Iranian regime. Left-of-center Le Monde argued that it
"added fuel to the fire" and fed resentment over "double standards."
Right-of-center Le Figaro hinted that Olmert's "slip" might have
been a "barely veiled warning to Tehran."


9. (SBU) In right-of-center Le Figaro, Patrick Saint-Paul contended
that "in the wake of Iran's revisionist conference, Olmert could not
help showing his claws." Right-of-center France Soir doubted that
"Olmert's revelations might really have the effect of a bomb" when
Israel's "nuclear question" was a "long-running story in which
France had played a prominent role." Charles Enderlin, the
correspondent for FR2 television in Jerusalem, argued in an
interview in right-of-center France Soir that "despite the
controversy that had surrounded the arrest of Mordechai Vanunu, no
formal proof existed to support the notion that Israel was in
possession of nuclear capabilities." Enderlin argued that "Israel's
policy of ambivalence had prevailed, in apparent agreement with
France and the U.S."
STAPLETON