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Viewing cable 08NOUAKCHOTT135, MAURITANIAN MEDIA REACTION (MARCH 1-10), GAZA CRISIS: RICE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08NOUAKCHOTT135 2008-03-11 17:55 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Nouakchott
VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNK #0135 0711755
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111755Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7147
INFO RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 6980
UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000135 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS BBG 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/W, AF/PAPD, NEA, NEA/IPD, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL KMDR KWBG KPAO IS
SUBJECT:  MAURITANIAN MEDIA REACTION (MARCH 1-10), GAZA CRISIS: RICE 
VISIT 
 
1. SUMMARY:  Throughout the past two weeks the Mauritanian media has 
been closely following events in Gaza and Israel. Almost all 
coverage has followed mid east wires and other sources from the 
region with a generally condemnatory tone towards Israel.  Comment 
has been limited.  However, a number of papers, both Arabic and 
French, have carried the statements and calls for demonstrations of 
the left leaning Islamic opposition party, national movement for 
reform and development (PMRD/Tawassoul).  Tawassoul issued a number 
of strong denunciations of the Israeli "massacre" and generated 
limited local protests against Israel, calling for an end of 
Mauritanian/Israeli diplomatic relations. Of more gravity, is a 
similar editorial in the March 2, Nouakchott Info, an influential 
paper strongly identified with the Prime Minister and the business 
community.  This editorial appeared in both the French and Arabic 
editions of the paper and is outlined below. End Summary 
 
2.  The Info editorial leads with, Quote: The massacre perpetrated 
by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the Gaza has largely 
targeted the most vulnerable sectors of the Palestinian people, 
women, children, and the elderly. The raids made by the Israeli Air 
Force continue under cover of the silence of the international 
community. End quote. 
 
3. The editorial continues to condemn "the cruel silence" of the 
international community and the United Nations toward the genocide 
and the disproportionate collective punishment carried out by the 
Israeli forces against "harmless civilians," located in "the biggest 
prison and the largest ghetto in the world." The article condemned 
"the passive attitude" adopted by the government of Arab and Muslim 
countries facing this "brutal aggression" against the inhabitants of 
the Gaza. 
 
4. All papers carried without comment the Mauritanian Foreign 
Ministry statement of March 2nd asking Israel to end the air strikes 
and codemning the use of force and violence on both sides.  The 
statement reaffirmed Mauritania's choice for peace as a strategy on 
the one hand and on the other hand its solidarity with the 
Palestinian people, calling the international community to intervene 
in order to stop the conttinuing bloodbath and find a solution to 
the Israeli-Arab conflict so that the Palestinian people could 
recover its rights through an independent state with Jerusalem as 
capital. 
 
5. However, both Nouakchott Info and its Arabic mirror, Akbar 
Nouachott, (also reflective of elements close to PM and business 
community) reminded their readers that all political forces in 
Mauritania from both opposition and majority have asked for the an 
end to relations with Israel, stating that it is time to realize 
that "the Mauritania-Israel relations supposed to assist some in 
Mauritania only results in isolation and instability." The editorial 
underscored that Mauritanians are waiting for President Abdallahi to 
honor the commitment he made during the presidential campaign to 
present the Israeli-Mauritanian relations question before 
Mauritanian parliamentarians and let them to decide. The papers 
noted that all parliamentarians from the opposition and the majority 
are in favor of the cutting of these relations. 
 
6.  The Israeli relations question continued to simmer in the media 
into this week. The Secretary General of the Presidency, Ould Ahmed 
El Waghef, had been quoted in the Qatari paper, Arraya, last week as 
stating that parliamentarians of the majority party, PNDD, as well 
as the opposition parties would vote to nullify relations with 
Israel if the question came before parliament.  In a talk show 
discussion on Mauritanian TV, March 8, the party stepped back from 
the quote and denied that it had been made. 
 
7.  Arabic language papers on March 9 and 10 have mentioned the 
retraction noting that the initial statement by the Secretary 
General would show that only the President continues to support full 
relations with Israel. 
 
 
BOULWARE