MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN-TERRORISM; NEW DELHI.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000436

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN-TERRORISM; NEW DELHI.

NEW DELHI 00000436 001.2 OF 002


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.

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PAKISTAN/TERRORISM
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1. "TROUBLED SOUTH ASIA", op-ed in March 5 DAINIK JAGRAN
Hindi daily by foreign affairs columnist Vinay Kaura:
"When Hasina won the elections, India celebrated. Today
with the army crisis in Bangladesh, India grieves. Barely
a year has passed and Pakistan democracy is already being
questioned, particularly after the cricket attack
incident.
These incidents showcase the fact that India is
surrounded by unstable neighbors. The Taliban could be
all set to annex Lahore. President Obama and CIA director
Robert Gates fully know the dangers in Pakistan, but
America continues to finance Islamabad. Pakistan's peace
deal in Swat rings alarm bells not only in Pakistan but
entire South Asia. And of course there is Nepal where an
unfriendly Maoist government plots against India. South
Asian peace seems a distant dream."


2. "IRRESPONSIBLE ATTITUDE," editorial in March 5
RASHTRIYA SAHARA Hindi daily: "Pakistan accusing India
over the incident of the shooting at Lankan cricketers is
unfortunate. On the one hand, President Zardari says the
fight against terror is his personal commitment, on the
other hand, his ministers go about making such unhelpful
remarks against India. India's Home Minister Chidambaram
has called Pakistan's remarks irresponsible and has
chosen to ignore them, as any responsible power should.
Till such devious people populate the Pakistani
administration, it cannot win the war on terror."


3. "WHEN THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRY CONTINUOUSLY DIGS ITS
OWN GRAVE," editorial-page article in the March 5
independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA by
former IV and Professor in Political Science at
Rabindrabharati University, Dr. Sabyasachi
Basuroychowdhury: "Terrorists' relations with the army
and the ISI are getting even more complex day by day in
Pakistan. Overall, who, at this moment, holds the reins
of administration in Pakistan is hard to say. Possibly,
it would be rational to say that neither the army nor the
democratically elected government commands complete
control over the entire country. The unprecedented attack
on cricket should be seen in the light of the country's
political-economic bankruptcy and its race towards
anarchy. The terrorist attack on the cricket team is not
a cause of deep concern merely for the cricketing world,
but the neighbor's centripetal movement while digging its
own grave extremely worries India too in view of its
upcoming elections."


4. "BAGHDAD, KABUL AND..." editorial in the March 5
independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA.
"The new U.S. President Barack Obama's Iraq policy starts
from a total alteration of Bush's policy from its roots

NEW DELHI 00000436 002 OF 002


... The greatest contribution of the Obama Administration
lies in the reiteration of the essential fact that
problems can also be resolved through sincere diplomatic
efforts instead of relying on war and armed conflicts
alone. Let us pin our hopes on President Obama that the
meeting with Pak-Afghan representatives that started last
week will not end prematurely and rather would gradually
become more organized and effective ... Under this
circumstance, the President and his Secretary of State's
success depends on their personality as well as on their
diplomatic acumen ... They remain the only hope."


5. "PAKISTAN'S TALIBANIZATION," op-ed article by guest
columnist in the March 6, 2009, Mumbai edition of
centrist Marathi daily SAKAAL. "Even with so much water
under the bridge, Pakistan is not ready to oppose the
Taliban upfront. On the contrary, Pakistan elaborates on
a differentiation between 'good' and 'bad' Taliban.
Pakistan wants the world to believe that terrorist
attacks are being engineered and sponsored only by the
'bad' Taliban. But the international community knows what
that means. It only denotes how much Pakistan fears the
Taliban. And that fear manifested itself in Pakistan's
recent surrender in Swat..."

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BANGLADESH
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6. "CONSPIRACY IN BANGLADESH," editorial in the March 6,
2009 multi-edition right-of-center Gujarati daily GUJARAT
SAMCHAR. "History is replete with examples that great
empires have fallen due to military mutinies. In
Bangladesh when the country's paramilitary force, the
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR),mutinied against its own force
resulting in the killing of several of its high-ranking
officers. This is a conspiracy and it is believed that
an insider is involved. This incident is a shocker for
Bangladesh as it comes weeks after a democratically
elected government took office there... One should also
not forget that dreaded terrorist organizations like the
Al Qaeda are waiting in the wings to take advantage of
such an adverse situation and make deeper inroads into
Bangladesh... It is a welcome development that the Sheikh
Hasina government acted promptly and has also sought the
FBI's assistance in investigations to nab the real
culprits."
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