ANGOLAN PRESS COVERS OBAMA MIDDLE EAST OUTREACH SPEECH A

UNCLAS LUANDA 000353


DEPT FOR AF/S (MARY JO WILLIS, MAKILA JAMES, MAYA HARRIS)
DEPT FOR AF/PD (CLAUDIA ANYASO, DAN WHITMAN, LYNN ALLISON)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KCOR AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLAN PRESS COVERS OBAMA MIDDLE EAST OUTREACH SPEECH A
NEW BEGINNING'


1. Summary: Angolan media extensively covered President Obama's
June 4, 2009 Cairo speech entitled "A New Beginning." The headlines
generally focused on the reconciliatory tone of his comments and the
sincerity of his desire to reach out to the Middle East and Muslims
around the world. A round up of the coverage from June 4 until June
7 follows. All coverage was in Portuguese. End Summary.


2. Thursday June 4th coverage

ANGOP, (www.portalangop.co.ao) the largest Angolan internet news
outlet widely read by Angolans outside of Angola, covered the speech
extensively. ANGOP quoted White House advisor David Axelrod, who
stated that "rupture between Muslims and US is undeniable" and that
Obama will repair the damage.

Radio Nacional, the government's nationwide radio network with
approximately 14 million regular listeners and the only source of
media that reaches rural areas, covered the speech on its 8:00 p.m.
news program. A recorded segment of the speech was followed by an
interview with David Ja, the leader of the Muslim Community in
Angola, who said "Obama is God's envoy to bring peace to the World."
Ja was positive about Obama saying he will be able to reach out to
Muslims and reconcile with the Muslim world.

On its 9:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m. news program Radio Mais, a small, new
radio station that reaches an urban population centered in the
capital city of Luanda, played a live feed from BBC Africa's
Portuguese Service. Listeners wrote in by cell phone text message to
engage on the following question, "Do you believe Obama's speech
will be able to reconcile the US with Muslims?" An announcer read
about 15 of the responses received from Lusophone Africa including
from Mozambique, "I believe Obama has changed the perception of the
US not only for Muslims but for the whole world." From Cape Verde,
"I believe the Muslim world will work with Obama to fight terrorism
worldwide," and from Angola, "I believe the world will be more
peaceful with Obama and that the Muslim world will have to reconcile
not only with the US but also with the European Union."

Jornal de Angola, the country's only daily newspaper with an
approximate circulation of 27,000, announced the President's Egypt
visit and speech on a sidebar. The state run newspaper ran a story
most likely from an international news service on the visit and
about President Obama's desire to reach out to Muslims.

Angolan State Television (TPA) on their 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
news show announced the speech in Cairo and noted that it signified
a new relationship with Muslim world

RTP Africa and RTP International, which are Portuguese TV news
channels that have Angola feeds, rebroadcasted the speech dubbed in
Portuguese several hours after its conclusion.


3. Friday June 5th coverage

During its 7:00 am news broadcast, Radio Ecclesia, the Catholic
Church's radio network broadcast in Luanda, covered the speech and
emphasized the historic nature of the President's outreach to the
Muslim world.

The ANGOP internet site on Friday ran a six-paragraph article about
the speech, noting that Obama supported Palestinian aspirations for
an independent state. The article said, "Obama mentioned in his
speech the suffering of the Jewish people for centuries and during
the Holocaust. He said that denying the Holocaust is a sign of
ignorance and hatred." ANGOP noted the President's "conciliatory
remarks" regarding the Arab-Palestinian conflict and observes that,
"The US will not turn its back on the legitimate aspirations of
Palestinians for dignity and opportunity in a state of their own."

On Friday, Jornal de Angola ran the headline, "Coexistence of
Palestinian and Israeli states: Obama points out solution for Middle
East" appeared on the front page, below-the fold. An opinion piece
by Omar el Sadr, Egyptian opinion columnist who is syndicated to
Jornal de Angola, followed on page seven. The opinion article was
titled, "Obama opens the door for hope" and it conveyed a positive
tone about the US outreach to Muslims. El Sadr wrote that the
President touched all the subjects that matter to Muslims in his
speech and that, although he left no certainties, he promised to
work to help solve the problems of the Middle East. El Sadr said
the speech was a clear attempt to change the image that Muslims have
of the US. El Sadr also noted that The President considers a small
minority of Extremists largely responsible for the mistrust of the
US in its relations with the Muslim world and the negative way the
US is viewed by Muslims today.

Jornal de Angola also carried a story on page eight, under the
headline, "Obama proposes solution of two states for peace between
Israelis and Palestinians."

Radio LAC, an independent radio station tied to the ruling party
that broadcasts to the capital city, ran, on its 7:00 a.m. news show
an announcement about Obama's speech in Cairo as an effort at
reconciliation. The radio station interviewed Dr. Mario Pinto de
Andrade, the President of a local private university and one of
Angola's US policy experts, who said that Obama is implementing the
agenda that he promised during his campaign. He said that this
approach may not accomplish everything right away, but that Muslims
will see the US differently because of the effort. The interview had
a very positive tone.


4. Saturday, June 6th coverage

Radio Nacional: A three-hour hour morning live panel discussion
with five panelists from government, civil society, and business
including US Ambassador Dan Mozena, focused on US-Angola bilateral
relations. Discussion touched the Cairo speech briefly. Small
segments of the discussion concentrating on the Ambassador's
comments but not related to the Obama speech were rebroadcast during
subsequent news hours throughout the weekend.


5. Monday, June 8th coverage

Jornal de Angola carried an opinion piece by a member of parliament
Joao Melo who spoke favorably of the President's strategy of
engaging with the Middle East and took issue with those who say
President Obama's strategy demonstrates weakness. Melo says the
sentiment of the Cairo speech indicates a step in the right
direction.


6. Comment: Coverage surrounding the speech was positive and
generally praised the President for engaging with the Middle East
and Muslims in a different way. The reporting indicated that
Angolans recognize the importance of this policy change.

HAWKINS