MEDIA REACTION: MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS; NEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 003059 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: MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS; 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." -------------- MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS -------------- ¶1. "LET PAKISTAN BE DECLARED A TERRORIST STATE," editorial in the November 29 Leftist Agartala (Tripura) Bengali daily, TRIPURA DARPAN. "Pakistan should immediately be declared a terrorist state. All sorts of relations should be snapped with this country. Merely pointing fingers toward Pakistan will not do. Pakistan has now become the homeland for Jaish-e-Muhammed, Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Taliban, and al-Quaida. It is common knowledge that the Pakistani Army and ISI are directly and indirectly supporting all these organizations. Our nation is now facing a grave danger. Setting aside individual ideologies, all political parties should stand united and eliminate terrorism at all costs." ¶2. "COST OF COMPLACENCE," editorial in the November 28 centrist Agartala (Tripura) Bengali daily, SYANDAN PATRIKA. "The police and intelligence agencies must remain more alert about attempts of the Pakistan-harbored terrorists and their local agents. The Mumbai killings have made it clear that either they are stronger than us or we are careless about our internal security. The country will suffer more losses if the situation is not dealt with firmness." ¶3. "CRYING IS NOT THE LAST WORD," editorial in the November 29 centrist Agartala (Tripura) Bengali daily, DAINIK SAMBAD. "No doubt, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai were perpetrated by Pakistan. The terrorists were desperate and the conspiracy well-planned. Still, shedding tears for the Mumbai victims cannot be the last resort. A handful of terrorists will never succeed in stalling the march of civilization. A united and patriotic nation will dig the grave for the terrorists." ¶4. "DON'T EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM PAK," editorial in the December 04 left-of-center English daily DECCAN CHRONICLE (circulation: 1 million). "The irony cannot be more pronounced. By the time America's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had spelt out at her press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon that Pakistan must be transparent and cooperate with India over last week's horrific terror strike in Mumbai, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari had just finished announcing that the attackers were not from his country. Clearly, then, there is not much more to say as far as Pakistan is concerned. Islamabad has washed its hands off completely from the whole affair. India will no doubt thank the United States for rushing its high-profile foreign minister to express her country's solidarity with it in the aftermath of the terror attack, but clearly there are limits to what US NEW DELHI 00003059 002 OF 005 intervention can do. Islamabad can afford to be brazen because it is only too aware that the US would counsel India restraint. America, it is well known, does not favor a muscular Indian response since that would make the Pakistanis move their forces from the Afghan front - where they are meant to fight the Taliban who cross the border and attack American troops in Afghanistan - to the Indian border. Nevertheless, Islamabad may be expected to make the appropriate noises in fighting terrorism together with India through mechanisms such as intelligence-sharing and joint investigation." ¶5. "INVOKE 9/11 WITH CAUTION, IT LED TO DISASTROUS BUSH," Op-Ed by Amitav Ghosh in the December 04 left-of-center English daily DECCAN CHRONICLE (circulation:1 million). "Since the terrorist assaults began in Mumbai last week, the metaphor of the World Trade Center attacks has been repeatedly invoked. When commentators repeat the metaphor of 9/11 they are in effect pushing the Indian government to mount a comparable response. If India takes a hard line modeled on the actions of the Bush administration, the consequences are sure to be equally disastrous. If 9/11 is a metaphor for one kind of reaction to terrorism, then 11-M (as it is known in Spanish) should serve as shorthand for a different kind of response: one that emphasizes vigilance, patience and careful police work in coordination with neighboring countries. This is exactly the kind of response India needs now, and fortunately this seems to be the course that the government, led by the Congress Party, has decided to follow." ¶6. "ZARDARI'S ATTITUDE WON'T HELP INDIA DEAL WITH THE SITUATION," editorial in the December 04 left-of-center English daily DECCAN HERALD (circulation:350,000). "Pakistan's elected President Asif Ali Zardari has disappointed a concerned India and an anxious international community. His outright denial of any Pakistani hand in the last week's terror attacks in Mumbai has far-reaching consequences. By questioning the veracity of the captured terrorist, he has shut the door for any cooperation between the two countries in unraveling the conspiracy behind the unprecedented acts of terror. Zardari did not merely cast doubts on the nationality and other details of the captured Pakistani terrorist as provided to Islamabad by New Delhi, he went to the ridiculous extent of saying that those involved in the Mumbai attacks, could be a gang of 'stateless' people. The familiar 'denial mode' of Pakistan that Zardari too chose to adopt doesn't leave India with much option to deal with the situation that has arisen in the aftermath of the latest terror attacks on Mumbai." ¶7. "TILT TOWARDS INDIA," editorial in the December 04 independent English daily THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS (circulation:300,000). "Not since the days of direct conflict between India and Pakistan have bilateral relations been so low as at present. The fact that there is no clarity on the next move on the diplomatic front has made matters worse. The recourse to punitive action has been mentioned as well as denied. While no one seriously believes that there will be any dramatic NEW DELHI 00003059 003 OF 005 deterioration in the situation, the present tense stand- off also cannot continue for long. The problem, as before, stems from the sense of mistrust in India of Pakistan's intentions. It is this wariness which seems to stand in the way of a joint probe, which Pakistan has been suggesting. In any event, few believed that the Pakistan army was exerting its full pressure on the Taliban and al Qaeda in the northwest a lapse which the US tried to make up with its own incursions. Much of the way forward now depends, therefore, on the international pressure on both countries. While India is likely to be dissuaded from taking or even talking of any drastic action, Pakistan may be asked to do its best to assuage Indian anger and frustration. Islamabad will know in this context that the world community is not very well disposed towards it, as the description of the country as an 'international migraine' by Madeleine Albright has shown. Unlike the days of Nixon and Kissinger, the tilt is now unmistakably towards India." ¶8. "WILL AMERICA PRESSURE PAKISTAN?" editorial in the December 03 Mumbai-based Gujarati afternoon daily JANMABHOOMI. "America has issued astern message to Pakistan to fully cooperate with India in bringing the guilty of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice. President Bush has also sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reinforce America's solidarity with India in this hour of grief and also amidst the fears that rising tempers between India and Pakistan might spill over into a conflict. President-elect Barack Obama has already stated that America stands with India as it deals with this grave menace.... Despite all this, it would be naove to believe that Pakistan will take any concrete measures against homegrown radicals and extremists.... Considering that even the U.S. government is under transition phase, it might not be possible for India to count on its active support if India considers any stringent action against Pakistan. Hence, it would be appropriate at this point of time for India to pressure America in order to compel Pakistan to act against terrorists organizations in Pakistan." ¶9. A similar editorial appeared in the December 04 Mumbai-based right-of-center Gujarati daily 'Mumbai Samachar.'"HAVE WE UNDERSTOOD THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS?" editorial in the December 4, 2008, Mumbai edition of left-of-center Marathi daily LOKSATTA. "Many in India have not yet gotten the scale and the rationale behind the Mumbai terror attacks. People are too angry and passionate to see the larger global conspiracy. This terrorist conspiracy is beyond the usual India-Pakistan dynamics. India, in the real sense, is now on the world terror map and the solution does not lie in bombing off Pakistan. Little will be achieved by zeroing in on the terror training camps in Pakistan because such camps exist and are scattered worldwide. On the contrary any drastic action may aggravate the situation. India has to be extra-alert now to judge whether these attacks are the beginning of an identifiable series. They are not the first of their kind but, unfortunately, they are certainly not the last of NEW DELHI 00003059 004 OF 005 their kind. The mastermind behind the attacks has achieved the primary target of creating a nationwide scare. Now it is in our hands not to let the instigator further vitiate the atmosphere with communal tension... That's precisely why we have to discard the rhetoric of military action against Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan are nuclear-empowered nations and Pakistan might use nuclear weapons against India if it fears defeat in the traditional warfare. India will then have to strike back in retaliation, resulting in a nuclear war. That war again will serve the terrorists' agenda... More than India, the U.S. seems to have grasped these intricacies. Secretary Condoleeza Rice's India visit is a telling comment on how well the U.S., which includes both Democrats and Republicans, understands the larger global design in the latest attacks..." ¶10. "WAS IT ONLY MUMBAI'S TAJ THAT WAS ATTACKED?" editorial in the December 04 CPI (M) Organ GANASHAKTI Bengali daily, Kolkata. "Mumbai has become freed. The commando operation has been successful. Yet the media war has not ended. Competition of 'exclusive' and 'breaking news' is still raging especially in television channels. But what sort of news is being telecast? What is the focus of that news and how does it impact viewers? Will not the television viewers and newspaper readers be misled at the cost of so many lives? Why did the television anchors remain busy projecting horrific devastations at Taj or Oberoi only? We cannot ignore the damages done to these hotels or to Leopold restaurant. But could we afford to ignore the terrorist strike on CST, one of the heritage railway stations in the country? Will the television barons be concerned only about the aristocrats? Does it mean that the media have now become more sensitive to people, who go to luxury hotels, restaurant, and spa? Interestingly, BBC has shown its double-standard by choosing not to use the word, 'terrorist'. Instead, it used 'gunmen' or 'militant'. When London had been attacked it did not hesitate to use the word, 'terrorist' but why did they choose a different word while reporting on Mumbai? Because of the editorial policies, common men's tragedy failed to get proper media attention." ¶11. "WHO WILL ADVISE, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN THE EVENT OF A CRISIS?" editorial-page article in the December 04 independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA. "The Maharashtra administration has seriously ignored the issue of mass communication. A number of spokesperson spoke differently at the hour of crisis. People lose their common sense in the noise of different versions and that generates rumor. Sometimes these rumors manage to find its place in the media too. But common people want to know about their own role during a crisis situation. People want to know whether anyone can volunteer to assist the wounded or whether all the terrorists have been neutralized. Has any terrorist fled away? Can people help the police and in which manner in nabbing those terrorists? Senior officials did not care to answer any of these questions. Ordinary people in Mumbai are aggrieved. They feel: enough is enough! Lack of effective NEW DELHI 00003059 005 OF 005 mass communication is one of the reasons behind people's annoyance." ¶12. "ACROMONIOUS INDO-PAK RELATIONS", editorial in the December 03 right-of-center Urdu daily "HAMARA SAMAJ", New Delhi: "There are apprehensions that hasty initiatives of the ministry of foreign affairs and Pranab Mukherjee's statement may adversely affect Indo-Pak relations. Pranab Mukherjee has said that strings of Mumbai terror attacks seem to be connected with Pakistan. He should not have given such irresponsible statement at such a crucial juncture. Zardari has already said that terrorist elements are hell bent on to pitch both the countries against each other by sabotaging their bilateral relations. Indian media should also be diligent in this regard. It should not publish or telecast anything, which may make the mutual relations acrimonious. Pakistani Prime Minister, Syed Yusuf Raza Geelani is making efforts to establish better relations, but only future can decide the success of his endeavors." ¶13. "WAIT FOR HARSH STEPS", editorial in the December 03 right-of-center Urdu daily "URDU TIMES", Mumbai: "Yesterday, Indian government asked Pakistan to hand over 20 extremely wanted terrorists, who are supposed to be present in Pakistan. Pranab Mukherjee said that the world community including the President-elect, Barack Obama is with us. In fact, a war between India and Pakistan will be entirely against the interests of both the countries. Both will be at loss. Some elements in both the countries do not like friendly relations. In the present perspective, Pakistani leaders should act responsibly so that bilateral trade, which will be ultimately beneficial for the people of both the countries, could not be affected. These initiatives will bring prosperity too. Moreover, mentality of anti-India people will change." MULFORD