MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN-TERRORISM; NEW DELHI.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000436 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-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. -------------- PAKISTAN/TERRORISM -------------- ¶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..." -------------- BANGLADESH -------------- ¶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." WHITE