MEDIA REACTION: GLOBAL WARMING / ENVIRONMENT, G-20

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 002941 SIPDIS STATE FOR NP, AC, PM STATE FOR INR/MR STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU STATE FOR AID/APRE-A USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GLOBAL WARMING / ENVIRONMENT, G-20 MEET IN WASHINGTON, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: OBAMA'S VICTORY, AFGHANISTAN, GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS; NEW DELHI. This cable reports on relevant media reaction from India's large non-English press. Embassy New Delhi reports on English-language media via email in the daily "Early Edition." USG customers please write to Geeta Krishali (KrishaliG@state.gov) to subscribe to the "Early Edition." -------------- GLOBAL WARMING / ENVIRONMENT -------------- ¶1. "CLOUDS OF DANGER," editorial in November 17 right-of- center DAINIK JAGRAN Hindi daily: "With the winters' starting in the Asian countries the air turns into a thick layer of pollution. This atmospheric brown cloud hanging over major Asian cities is a serious threat to the environment. These countries cannot get away with their responsibility saying that it is a local and seasonal process because it is increasing risks to human health and food production. India should take strict measures to rectify the reasons of environmental pollution... It is a result of burning of fossil fuels and biomass. There is no doubt that the Western countries are refusing to complete their responsibilities to reduce the risk of global warming. But India also needs to own up its responsibility." -------------- G-20 MEET IN WASHINGTON -------------- ¶2. "MANMOHAN IN G-20," editorial in November 17 right-of- center AMAR UJALA Hindi daily: "The world leaders have agreed on some of the major points raised by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the G-20 summit. The major countries should come forward with financial packages to tackle the current economic crisis. Since the IMF and World Bank are also running out of resources, firstly, these financial institutions need to be supported. Protectionist tendencies should be avoided. Developing countries are paying a heavy price in this ongoing global crisis, triggered by the developed nations. Thus, the growth prospects of the developing countries should not be hampered. The solution of this problem lies in the developed nations' helping the developing countries by strengthening their own economies." �0A; ¶3. "INDIA EFFECTIVE IN THE G-20 SUMMIT: TAKES U.S. TO TASK" editorial in the November 18, 2008, Mumbai edition of centrist Marathi daily LOKMAT. ".... Not only did the balance of power shift in favor of emerging economies in the recently-concluded G-20 Summit, but the summit was an opportunity for India to consolidate its position. At the very beginning of the summit, India dared to tell the U.S. some known but bitter truths about the current global economic crisis. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations issued a joint statement demanding a bigger role in shaping the new global financial architecture. They sought the urgent expansion of the NEW DELHI 00002941 002 OF 004 Financial Stability Forum (FSF) to give it a broader membership. India, China and Brazil will now join the FSF board, the global economic policy powerhouse, which to date has been the bastion of the G-8... One cannot conclude that all proposals aimed at restoring global growth and preventing future financial upheaval will be immediately put into practice, but one can see the foundation of a new world order..." Similar editorials appeared in the November 18, 2008, Mumbai edition of Marathi daily LOKSATTA and AAPLA MAHANAGAR. ¶4. "ECONOMIC DISTURBANCE AND RECESSION" editorial in the November 18, 2008 Mumbai-based right-of-center Gujarati daily MUMBAI SAMACHAR. "Nothing concrete emerged from the just concluded G-20 meeting of the world's most powerful nation states. Whatever suggestions that were made seemed superficial without any collective tangible solution to overcome the global recession. The need of the hour for the big and affluent nations is to shed protectionist approach and embrace liberalization in true sense. The reason that affluent nations are more affected by global recession is because these nations have accumulated all the affluence over the years. The less affluent nations will be least affected as their wealth accumulation is limited.... There can't be a single solution to this crisis. There is a difference between wealthy, and poor and weak nations. Comparing them in the light of global recession is inappropriate.... As far as the question of recession is concerned, it will wane automatically once the exploited wealth is released...." -------------- U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: OBAMA'S VICTORY -------------- ¶5. "BARACK OBAMA: A DEMOCRATIC FAIRY TALE," editorial- page article in November 18 independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA by Professor Maitreesh Ghatak, London School of Economics (LSE). "The first noticeable thing is that Obama did not get majority White votes. Then has he won the election with the votes of the young generation as well as of people belonging to the socially and economically backward sections? The simple answer is: Yes. But these classes have traditionally been supporters of the Democrats. The good news is that some Republican supporters, either getting mesmerized by Obama's personality or becoming frustrated with the current national situation voted for Obama. They were larger in numbers. Obama also managed to get huge votes from the moderates as well as from the conservatives. So, the support for Obama did not come merely from the youth and the minority community. The White votes also contributed significantly toward his victory. However, that is lesser in comparison to that of new voters, the youth, and the non-Whites. It was not only the Blacks but Obama inspired people belonging to all minority communities to come forward and cast their votes." NEW DELHI 00002941 003 OF 004 ¶6. "OBAMA REGIME AND INDO-U.S. RELATIONS" op-ed article by columnist Hasan Kamal in right-of-center Urdu daily HAMARA SAMAJ, New Delhi: "Barack Obama's stand on Kashmir is causing concern for India. George W. Bush always kept the Kashmir issue off, and never intervened into the matter except saying that the issue should be resolved through bilateral negotiations between India and Pakistan. India has always considered Kashmir a bilateral issue of the two countries with a crystal clear stand that any third party intervention would never be acceptable to it. Although Obama's top most priority, now, would be to pull his nation out of severe financial crisis but this is not sure that he will forget Kashmir. However we have to cautiously see what comes ahead." -------------- AFGHANISTAN -------------- ¶7. "DOMESTIC PROBLEM," editorial in November 18 independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA. "Let us hope that the next U.S. President-elect does not see foreign policy merely as war and air strikes and that he will have faith in diplomacy too. Time has not come to say that nothing can be achieved by increasing international awareness as well as by enhancing pressure through the UN, and by formulating a resistance policy with the help of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The world, especially the Middle East and South Asia hold high expectations that along with addressing the U.S.- sparked global melt down, Obama will try to multilaterally tackle the Afghan problem from the very beginning." -------------- GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS -------------- ¶8. "MANMOHAN SINGH'S PERPLEXITY," editorial in the November 18, 2008 CPI(M) Organ GANASHAKTI Bengali daily, Kolkata. "Following resistance by the Leftists, the Manmohan Singh government failed to adopt necessary steps toward privatization of the Banking and the insurance sectors as well as the pension scheme and releasing provident fund money to the stock market. The arguments put forwarded by the Prime Minister and by the Finance Minister in favor of India's relatively comfortable position even in the midst of the current global meltdown owed its success to the Leftists. Succinctly, the Leftists can claim success for the comparative reprieve that India got in this critical situation. Had the UPA government carried out economic reforms according to its own whims, India would now have met with the same fate as that of the U.S. But Manmohan Singh cannot acknowledge the Leftists' success as that that will amount to conceding his own failures and also that will politically bankrupt the Congress Party. Since parliamentary election is round the corner Singh is now desperately trying to save himself and his party. So, most irresponsibly he still continues to argue in favor of economic NEW DELHI 00002941 004 OF 004 liberalization. The Congress Party will certainly lose its ground if the masses realize the genuineness of the Leftist stand on the economic issues." WHITE