MEDIA REACTION: GUANTANAMO UYGHURS, NORTH KOREA, IRAN

UNCLAS BEIJING 001621 DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH PREL ECON SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GUANTANAMO UYGHURS, NORTH KOREA, IRAN -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. GUANTANAMO UYGHURS "Eastern Turkistan prisoners want to open a restaurant in Bermuda" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(06/16): "Recently Western media organizations have reported on every move of the four East Turkistan Prisoners sent to Bermuda. It is reported that they want to open a restaurant in Bermuda. Chinese experts have said that they are not persuaded by their claim that these men are not terrorists. Only through interrogation and evidence collection can their identities be cleared. Guantanamo prison itself has been a political topic that arouses great attention. Plus some western personnel worried that these prisoners' human rights will be violated if they were sent back to China. Therefore the western media has paid a special attention to the issue. Other analysts also indicate that if they are not terrorists, there is no reason for them to refuse to come back to China. They have strenuously tried to conceal their crimes and provoke the conflicts of the west and China just because they intend to gain the west's sympathy and force the west not to give up on the issue." ¶2. NORTH KOREA "Washington must go through Beijing to get to Pyongyang" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(06/16): "Currently the key to the issue is in the hands of the U.S. The core conflict of the North Korean issue is its relationship with the U.S. Based on this situation, on the one hand North Korea has a legitimate moral reason to obtain nuclear strength and technology to ensure their nation's security. However, on the other hand, North Korea is using the attention of the international community on nuclear proliferation to obtain diplomatic and other strategic goals. Against the backdrop of current U.S.-North Korea relations, the role of North Korea in the global strategic system is not important enough for the Obama administration to change its North Korea policy. The U.S. aims at promoting denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. To fulfill it, the U.S. still needs to stick to the peaceful means and the Six Party Talks. The Obama administration has lowered its position on many issues recently, including the Iran issue, however it has no olive branches for the North Korea issue. The U.S. believes that North Korea is not a trustworthy negotiator, thus refuses to conduct one-on-one agreement with North Korea under bilateral framework, but under a multilateral framework with the help of the Six-Party Talks. Therefore, Beijing is still the inevitable road for Washington to get to Pyongyang." ¶3. IRAN "How does the western media influence the situation in Iran?" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(06/16): "After the election in Iran, the former Iranian Premier publically announced a victory and criticized the current President as being a fraud. One of the most important reasons this situation happened is that the west media has catalyzed it. Using the press to influence the Middle East happens frequently. Iran's former Premier Moussaoui is not really pro-west. Picking him as a choice for the west is mostly due to a relatively open leader will be easier for the west to influence Iran. The western media's compliments towards Moussaoui have greatly influenced Iranian young people's votes. In fact, only the support of a large amount of residents living in impoverished regions in Iran can make the candidate win the election. Western media has a rich experience in building up a politician's image. During an election, the press is the only means by which a candidate can influence the public. Middle class Iranians can be influenced by the western media through the internet. However, Iranian voters living in interior mountain regions only get information through radio and TV, which made Armadinejad's reelection successful." PICCUTA