OBAMA'S SPEECH IN CAIRO RECEIVES WARM WELCOME IN CHAD

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000223


STATE FOR AF/C, AF/PD - ANYASO AND TITUS
LONDON FOR POL -- LORD
PARIS FOR POL -- KANEDA
ADDIS ABABA FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPAO OIIP CD
SUBJECT: OBAMA'S SPEECH IN CAIRO RECEIVES WARM WELCOME IN CHAD

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) The U.S. Embassy in Ndjamena held rebroadcasts June 9 and 10
of President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech. The rebroadcasts were in
French and Arabic, respectively, in this barely-majority Muslim
country. Reaction was almost uniformly positive, with participants
stressing that they hoped to see the President's words turned soon
into deeds. Local media coverage was also largely positive, drawing
on citations from the President to call for action by Chadians
locally. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Embassy Ndjamena held June 9 and 10 events rebroadcasting
President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech to French- and Arabic-speaking
audiences in this barely majority Muslim country, followed on both
days by one-hour discussion and commentary sessions. Members of
human rights and civil society organizations, government, diplomats,
private institution reps, journalists and scholars attended the
events.

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POSITIVE REACTION
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3. (U) The President's speech was uniformly well received by our
Chadian invitees, who expressed surprise at the President's depth
of understanding of Islam. Participants told us that they believed
the speech marked the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign policy
and that they approved of the President's comments on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially his tough stance on Israeli
settlements. CDA pointed out that the two-state approach had long
been part of our policy, whereas public criticism of settlements was
somewhat newer. Our interlocutors also welcomed President Obama's
balanced approach on "sensitive issues" such as women's rights,
democracy and the question of Iranian nuclear energy. They
responded positively to the President's acknowledgement of the role
that economic problems are playing in undermining trust on the part
of Muslims toward the West. All said they hoped that the
President's positive, stirring words would result in strong,
practical actions.

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SOME HEALTHY SKEPTICISM
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4. (U) Participants also shared with us their critiques of the
President's speech, wondering if it were overly ambitious. Some
expressed concern that the President's plans could be held up by an
uncooperative U.S. Congress. They emphasized that Muslims in
general should not be held responsible for the actions of Osama Bin
Laden, "a creation of the United states." Finally they found
contradictory the President's advocacy of democracy, on the one
hand, and the U.S.'s refusal to treat Hamas as a government. CDA
pointed out that the U.S. position toward Hamas would change as the
organization itself changed, including if it were to become the
elected representative of a nation state.

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LOCAL MEDIA WEIGH IN
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5. (U) Following President Obama's call to fight Islamic clichs,
NDJAMENA BI-HEBDO, a private and opposition-leaning Chadian
newspaper, wrote that Chadians should wage war against national
clichs of Muslims and Christians, which had damaged local relations
between the two groups. It noted that justice would prevail when
tolerance and mutual respect became cherished values among
Chadians.


6. (U) LE PROGRES, a pro-governmental daily, noted the difference
between U.S. and French policy on headscarves in schools, stating
that the U.S. wanted to protect individual rights while France
wanted young girls to safeguard the division between church and
state. The daily concluded that France's President should take a
lesson from President Obama. The paper's headline quoted from the
Obama speech: our faiths should unite us.


7. (U) NOTRE TEMPS, a private and opposition-leaning publication,
published excerpts of key points from the President's speech on
themes such as the difference between Muslims and extremists, the
right of Palestinians to have their own state, freedom and human
rights, and women's rights.


8. Radio Al-Koran Al-Karim, a private station belonging to the High
Council for Islamic Affairs in Chad, rebroadcast the Cairo speech
twice, followed by a two-and-a-half hour debate. Speakers praised
the President's speech and expressed the hope that its aspirations
would become reality. They also criticized what they perceived to
be continued bias toward Israel on the part of the United States.


9. N'djamena Al-Djadida, the most widely-read Arabic-language news
paper in the country, published excerpts from the speech and urged
its readership to comment.

BREMNER