MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S 100

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000891

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: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S 100
DAYS, PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN, TERRORISM REPORT, NEPAL; 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.

--------------
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S 100 DAYS
--------------


1. "OBAMA'S CONFIDENT BEGINNING," op-ed article by
columnist Rashmi Bhure in May 5 centrist Marathi daily
SAKAAL: "It is commendable that despite being surrounded
by multiple domestic challenges, President Obama has
given precedence to foreign policy issues. He wants to
regain America's lost supremacy in global affairs. He
believes in dialogue - dialogue with allies as well as
with countries like Iran and North Korea. His tour of
Europe was therefore a crucial component of his foreign
policy, as was the interface with G-20 countries. The
beginning is good and the future holds promise."

--------------
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN
--------------


2. "PAKISTAN ON THE RIGHT TRACK," editorial page article
in May 4 right-of-center DAINIK JAGRAN Hindi daily by
Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, defense and strategic affairs
expert: "The Obama Administration is following the
strategy of President Bush's Administration -- putting
its money on the Pakistan Army. But the Obama
Administration deserves credit for conveying to Pakistan
in very clear terms that its real enemy is not India, but
militants within Pakistan. This U.S. advice to Pakistan
is absolutely correct and in India's favor. If Pakistan
is now going hammer and tongs after the Taliban, then it
is on the right track."


3. "HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE PAK GOVERNMENT?" editorial in
May 4 right-of-center Urdu daily SIASAT: "Pakistan's
government seems to be losing ground steadily to the
Taliban. It is a very worrisome situation, Pakistan being
a nuclear state. If Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falls in
the wrong hands, the whole of South Asia could face
unimaginable catastrophe. If Pakistan's government does
not wake up, the country's very existence will be
endangered."

--------------
TERRORISM REPORT
--------------


4. "MOST AFFECTED," editorial in May 4 RASHTRIYA SAHARA
Hindi daily: "India is one of the countries worst hit by
terror, but the Indian government's counterterrorism
efforts remain hampered by its outdated and overburdened
law enforcement and legal systems, a U.S. State
Department report has said. This report should be an eye-
opener for us. We should accept that our security and
judicial systems are flawed. There is a need for radical

NEW DELHI 00000891 002 OF 002


changes in the police training system; more people should
be recruited, and it is necessary to ensure better
coordination among security agencies."

--------------
NEPAL
--------------


5. "ANARCHIC NEPAL," editorial in May 5 independent
Bengali daily ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA: "If Prime Minister
Prachanda and his Maoist associates do not relent, Nepal
may fall into grave political uncertainty. It would not
be surprising if the Nepalese prefered a military coup to
a Maoist dictatorship."


6. "VIOLENCE IN 'SECULAR' NEPAL," editorial in May 5
right-of-center Gujarati daily MUMBAI SAMACHAR: "Nepal is
witnessing yet another round of political tumult due to
the military-government standoff. The Maoist-backed
Prachanda government has failed to deliver on the
economic front, and hence is trying to deflect the
people's attention from the core issues plaguing the
economy. While it was easy to dislodge the monarchy,
there is a total lack of vision among the leaders to take
the Himalayan kingdom forward on the path of progress and
development."


7. "NEPAL: YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA," editorial
in May 5 centrist Gujarati daily DIVYA BHASKAR: "Instead
of endangering the budding democracy in Nepal, Prime
Minister Prachanda opted to resign. There were fears,
subsequently doused by this move, that Pranchada might
adopt a confrontational attitude... but Prachanda's
Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) won't remain mute
spectators if they have to sit in the opposition. India
should not forget that Prachanda has the backing of
China. Hence, India's effective and timely role in
ensuring stability in Nepal will leverage the balance of
power in India's favor in the subcontinent."


8. "ANOTHER RESTLESS NEIGHBOR," editorial in the May 5
centrist Marathi daily LOKMAT. "The fall of Prachanda's
infant government is bad news for India. With a political
crisis brewing in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,
India could have done without an additional worry in
another border region. Nepal's political crisis has an
obvious effect on the peace in Asia..."
BURLEIGH