MEDIA REACTION: IRAN, FALKLANDS, OAS, U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000226 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC, CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR PREL AR IR BR FK SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAN, FALKLANDS, OAS, U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN POLICY; 2/23/10; BUENOS AIRES SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. Regional issues were the dominating theme on 2/23, including Brazil-Iran relations, the Falkland Islands, the OAS, and an introspective look at Latin American politics. One opinion article criticized Brazil for rolling out the "red carpet" for Iran, while another highlighted differences between Britain's current rhetoric regarding the Falkland Islands and its policy in the 1960s regarding Diego Garcia. Reporting from the Grupo Rio summit in Mexico, La Nacion's correspondent quoted U.S. Ambassador Shannon and Assistant Secretary Valenzuela downplaying concerns about replacing the OAS. Additionally, Latin America's resurgence of past politics of coups, disasters, and neo-liberalism was the topic of another opinion article, which also criticized U.S. policies in Honduras and Haiti. End summary. WHY IS BRAZIL COURTING IRAN? -------------- ¶2. Brazil's friendship with the "ever more isolated" Iran "leaves perplexed" the international community, according to an opinion article by Miami Herald's Andres Oppenheimer picked up by second-largest daily La Nacion. Oppenheimer questions Brazil's motives for rolling out "the red carpet" in Brasilia for Iranian President Ahmadinejad and "risking its reputation as a good international citizen." Stating that Brazil has "grandiose dreams and diplomatic fantasies," Oppenheimer comments that Brazil's economic success and its grouping with China and India "has gone to [Brazilian President] Lula's head," and there would be no better performance for Brazil currently other than "performing a role in the greatest international conflict." http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1 236196 BRITISH INCONSISTENCY IN FALKLAND ISLANDS -------------- ¶3. Britain's claim of "self-determination" by the residents of the Falkland Islands is not consistent with British history, opines Lucio Garcia del Solar, former Argentine Ambassador to the UN. His opinion article in La Nacion recounts the British handover to the U.S. of control of Diego Garcia in 1967, along with the American demand that the island be "fully vacated" of its residents. This led to Britain displacing around 400 families and moving them to neighboring countries, where they currently live "uprooted and with scarce resources." Garcia del Solar ponders why Britain "dedicates several million pounds" to defend the Falklands, but yet left Diego Garcia "cleared of its original inhabitants." http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1 236128 U.S. LATIN AMERICAN POLICY -------------- ¶4. La Nacion's Cancun correspondent quoted U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Tom Shannon and Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela commenting on the Grupo Rio's desire to create a new Latin American organization without the U.S. or Canada, and its impact on the current OAS. While Brazilian President Lula created the idea to "equilibrate the weight of the U.S. in the region," the article quotes Shannon believing that the new organization will not be an "OAS B" and instead, "reflect a moment of deepening dialog and integration." Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Valenzuela was quoted saying that this new organization "will not be a problem for the U.S." and he does not believe "many countries wish" to replace the OAS. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1 236285 ¶5. In an opinion article in right-leaning Buenos Aires Economico, Ricardo Forster laments about the lack of political cohesiveness in Latin America, including a political cartoon showing South America reflected in a broken mirror. Forster opined that man-made tragedies, such as coups like the one in Honduras, bring Latin America to "ghosts of the past," that have been "activated with complicity" by the U.S. Additionally, Forster also implicitly criticizes the U.S. actions in Haiti, claiming that events like the 1/12 earthquake bring along "exploitation by the powerful," whose "altruism" acts as a "shameless veil...hiding its responsibilities in the country's destruction." http://www.elargentino.com/nota-79026-El-es -pe-jo-la-ti-noa-me-ri-ca-no.html To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires MARTINEZ