MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN, SRI LANKA, U.S.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001123 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: PAKISTAN, SRI LANKA, U.S. ECONOMY; NEW DELHI. This countrywide cable reports on relevant media reaction/opinion from India's large non-English press. The Mission reports on English-language media via email through the daily "Early Edition" summary. -------------- PAKISTAN -------------- ¶1. "PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR INTENTIONS," editorial in June 1 nationalist Hindi daily, RASHTRIYA SAHARA: "The Indian Army Chief has valid concerns about Pakistan's attempts to enhance its nuclear capability. India has to raise this issue at the international diplomatic level, but should also talk to Pakistan directly. Since President Obama is strictly against nuclear weapons, the U.S. should include non-proliferation among other conditions for providing aid to Pakistan." ¶2. "NEED FOR AGGRESSIVE DIPLOMACY," op-ed in June 2 centrist Marathi daily, SAKAAL: "Going by the unstable conditions in Pakistan, the political climate over there is bound to impact India's foreign policy in the coming months. India will have to be alert to the developments in Pakistan. India cannot afford to stop the peace talks. As of now, Mumbai has become a focal point of our foreign policy stance towards Pakistan. But a sharper and more multi-faceted stance is needed to keep Pakistan under control." -------------- SRI LANKA -------------- ¶3. "POST WAR," editorial in June 1 centrist Hindi daily, DAINIK HINDUSTAN: "India should convey to Sri Lanka its unhappiness with the latter's human rights violations, particularly on what Sri Lanka is doing with the Tamils. India needs more active and overt diplomacy with Colombo. President Rajapaksa claims that by finishing the LTTE, his country actually fought the war for India. India should tell him it can fight its own wars without Sri Lanka's help. We were against the LTTE, but we are with the Tamils." -------------- U.S. ECONOMY -------------- ¶4. "BANKRUPTCY OF GENERAL MOTORS OR OF AMERICAN POLICES?" editorial in June 2 centrist Gujarati daily, DIVYA BHASKAR: That the U.S. administration couldn't save the world's biggest car manufacturing company GM, that had survived two world wars and the Great Depression, shows how President Obama's popular election slogan 'Yes we can' seems to be more utopian than practical in nature. In a bid to restructure GM, it was felt that the company was being pushed towards bankruptcy. This was clearly a calculated risk on the part of the Obama administration that should have otherwise devised a concrete and healthy plan to save NEW DELHI 00001123 002 OF 002 the company." BURLEIGH