TUNISIAN REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NOBEL

UNCLAS TUNIS 000759 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO TS SUBJECT: TUNISIAN REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Official and unofficial Tunisian reactions to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama reflected in varying levels surprise, satisfaction, and hints of indignation, with some commentary strongly questioning the award as preliminary. A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told the Ambassador on October 13 that the prize was well deserved and "an inspiration for all of us." ¶2. (SBU) An editorial in the government controlled press said the Nobel Committee had rewarded the President for his intentions rather than his deeds. Reactions from the public, posted on the Embassy's Facebook page, were mostly congratulatory but a number also urged the President to "bring peace and justice to Palestine." End summary. -------------- Official and Semi-official Reactions -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The official Tunisian reaction to the decision to award President Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was highly laudatory. President Ben Ali congratulated President Obama in a public message that was prominently covered in the government controlled press. Saida Chtoui, Secretary of State for Asia and the Americas, told the Ambassador on October 13 that the award was well deserved and an inspiration for all Tunisians. The Arabic language As Sabah October 13 editorial's headline read, "Yes You Can, Mr. President." The editorial said the "inscrutable" Nobel Committee had for the first time rewarded a man for his intentions rather than his deeds. But the article went on to praise President Obama for his courage in moving to dismantle Guantanamo, committing to a withdrawal from Iraq, stretching a hand out to Iran, and "resisting the Zionist lobby." Another, more popular, Arabic tabloid paper ran an oversized headline saying, "The Cart before the Horse!!" It was subtitled, "The Committee rewards Obama while there is no peace." There was also broad coverage in Tunisian newspapers of international reactions to the reward. -------------- Private Reactions -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Private reactions were more muted. Several contacts told us that they were pleased President Obama had won but now the onus was on him to deliver results. Public reactions published on the Embassy's Facebook site ranged from enthusiastic, "he deserves the best," and "he has to go ahead and give the world some peace," to the slightly sarcastic, "no one else out there? Oh well, he deserves it." A number of those who posted also hoped the prize would spur the President to "bring justice to Palestine," or variants of this theme. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The general reaction in Tunis is the same as the reaction to the President's Cairo speech: Tunisians are happy for the change President Obama has brought to America's public tone and are glad to cheer him on, but they are still waiting for concrete results. End Comment. GRAY