ARGENTINA: CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001539 SIPDIS FOR S/ES NATALIE CHAGNON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPDC PREL OVIP AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA FROM PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER REF: STATE 118192 (U) On November 6, post obtained from the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs a copy of a letter from President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to President-elect Barack Obama. Post does not have the official copy of the letter. According to the MFA, the letter was transmitted to the Argentine Embassy in Washington for direct delivery to President-elect Obama's office. The Office of the Presidency released the text to the press, and it was published in the November 6 edition of the English-language daily, "The Buenos Aires Herald." Leading dailies "Clarin", "La Nacion", and other press carried excerpts of the letter in their November 6 editions. Below is the full text of the letter in the English translation as provided by the MFA: -------------- BEGIN TEXT -------------- Buenos Aires, November 2008 Mr. President-elect: Many will congratulate you for successfully interpreting the dreams and hopes of the American people. I wish to join in those well-deserved expressions of admiration. However, the era ushered today in your country is, above all, a major milestone in one of the most fascinating epics in history: the fight against discrimination and for equal opportunity. All minorities around the world watch with much hope as the American people again walks next to them, just like the world marched, despite the geographical distances, alongside Martin Luther King during the epic march on Washington. I am sure that on November 4 many veterans of those days will have recalled the words of Reverend King: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". That day has come. It is no doubt a time of great joy and yet we must remember those men and women who made the greatest sacrifice in the fight for a society of equals, by giving their own lives. When I read the account of the lynching of three students in Mississippi I recognized the feeling of community with the youths that were starting to rebel in our own country. The same ages, the same generosity, the same tragedy. Just as we pay homage to our companions fallen in that epic, I pay heartfelt tribute to those who paved the way for hope in your country. Such a communion of sacrifice and rebelliousness, of solidarity and respect for justice, is what you will find between my administration and your people, with the determination to advance relentlessly towards a fair and free world. We have achieved a lot in Latin America. We too have fought, and continue to fight, the big battle for social equality. Democracy, won after decades of dictatorship and persecution, has taken deep roots in our land. Still, every day presents us with great and numerous challenges. The current global economic crisis, unleashed with the destructive speed of the epidemics of times past, calls for bold and innovative measures, but also for joint action. Therefore, just as those who faced the challenge of World War understood the importance of multilateralism, we must also act with the same nobility and intelligence and step up the urgent and necessary changes for multilateralism to address our complex realities. We have a great opportunity to eradicate poverty, discrimination and inequality in our societies. As you pointed out during your campaign, this requires more education, more health and more opportunities, and certainly more dialogue between the peoples and their leaders. I am sure that we can count on you and please be assured of my sincere friendship. Christina Fernandez de Kirchner -------------- END TEXT -------------- KELLY