VZCZCXRO8990
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0883/01 3171353
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121353Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9767
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0458
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000883 
 
PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON) 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY), AF/W (NARKIS), IIP/ 
AF (DOMOWITZ, BERGEN) 
POSTS FOR PAO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRC OIIP KDEM KPAO KISLPINR ML
SUBJECT: US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS CAPTURE MINDS AND HEARTS OF 
MALIAN AUDIENCES 
 
REF: A.) BAMAKO 793  B.) BAMAKO 574  C.) BAMAKO 875 
 
¶1.  Summary: U.S. Embassy Bamako's public outreach on the 2008 
Presidential elections began in May 2008 in the northern city of Gao 
and culminated in a festive election night party attended by several 
hundred Malian notables on November 4.  The election night party 
attracted many of Mali's senior Muslim leadrs, who were clearly 
captivated by the U.S electoal process.  The Embassy continues to 
receive a teady stream of congratulatory letters that praisethe 
American process and people, as well as wishPresident-elect Obama 
every success in his tenure in office.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Malian Interest in U.S. Politics 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. The long US electoral campaign captivated Malian audiences and 
provided important oQortunities for public outreach on American 
history and government, in addition to active debates on race and 
gender relations in America.  PAS Bamako began targeted outreach on 
the electoral process in May 2008 at the American Corner in Gao with 
a lecture on U.S. Presidential Elections and a week-long film 
festival which celebrated American political life.  Over 300 
students, journalists, and professors attended the lecture, while 
close to 100 people attended the films each night.  As part of the 
Embassy's in-house speaker program, the Pol/Cons Officer addressed 
an audience of 100 Malian university students in Bamako on the U.S. 
elections. 
 
¶3. In August 2008, ARS Speaker Steven Ekovich (Ref. A) presented a 
series of lectures to Malian audiences on subjects including the 
U.S. Political System, the electoral process, and the upcoming 
Presidential elections.   In addition to carefully presenting a very 
balanced discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of each 
of the two major parties and its candidates, Dr. Ekovich skillfully 
crafted each of his lectures to address the important roles that 
different sectors of a country's population play in the democratic 
process, further highlighting the shared values between Malians and 
Americans. 
 
¶4. In September 2008, Malian journalist Alassane Soulemaye 
participated in an FPC tour on "The First 2008 U.S. Presidential 
Debate," providing timely, accurate and positive coverage of the 
elections on Malian national radio.  In October 2008, PAS Bamako 
worked with the most popular private radio station, Radio Kledu, to 
provide weekly interviews on the U.S. elections.  Participants in 
the radio programs included Dr. Ekovich (reporting from Paris), the 
DCM, the PAO, and several American Fulbrighters in Mali.  A 
principle journalist from Radio Kledu also participated in the FPC 
Election 2008 Visiting Journalists Program Embed tour, providing 
"live coverage" for Malian audiences.  DCM Leonard additionally 
participated in two separate television interviews on the elections, 
one on regional television AFRICABLE (with an audience of 50 
million) and on Malian national television (which covers 80% of 
Malian territory).  Also in October 2008, PAS provided a small grant 
to help offset the travel of an important Malian television 
personality, Salif Sanogo, who covered the elections from 
Washington. 
 
-------------------------- 
Election Night Festivities 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. On November 4, the Embassy culminated its outreach efforts with a 
festive and interactive Election night party.  Over 200 guests, 
representing a broad cross section of party leaders, religious 
figures, academics, and USG program alumni, shared the US election 
experience through a variety of activities.  In addition to a 
super-sized video screen broadcasting live election coverage, the 
event offered guests the opportunity to browse IIP literature on the 
candidates, ask embassy officers questions about American elections, 
hear mini-lectures on the Electoral College, and view podcasts and 
interactive internet sites covering a variety of election-oriented 
topics.  Many invitees posed for pictures with life-sized figures of 
the candidates and took the opportunity to cast a secret ballot for 
the candidate ticket of their choice. 
 
¶6. The party was the occasion for the newly arrived Ambassador to 
emphasize America's 200 year unbroken tradition of peaceful 
transitions and our allegiance to a process, rather than a 
personality.  Echoing the sentiment of many of our guests, the 
Malian press praised the event in wide media coverage, noting the 
varied participation of notable Malian political, judicial, and 
religious leaders and the festive environment created by the Embassy 
staff. The voting booth that allowed guests to symbolically 
experience the selection process "as if they were themselves 
 
BAMAKO 00000883  002 OF 002 
 
 
American citizens" made a particular impact. 
 
----------------------- 
Local Religious Leaders 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. The election night was particularly well-attended by Mali's 
religious leaders, including senior members of Mali's Christian and 
Muslim communities.  Christian leaders Jean Marie Traore and Timothy 
Diallo, along with senior members of the High Islamic Council 
(HCIM), spent several hours at the event discussing the American 
electoral process.  Although Malian Imams generally shy away from 
questions of national politics, members of the HCIM were clearly 
fascinated by the American presidential race.  Their presence was 
also a strong indicator of the success of the Embassy's outreach 
program and of senior Malian Muslim leaders' comfort level with 
Americans.   The participation of Cherif Ousmane Madani Haidara 
(arguably Mali's most recognizable Muslim leader, frequently 
appearing on television and radio broadcasts participation) was 
particularly noteworthy (Ref. B). 
 
----------------------------- 
Post-Election Congratulations 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. The November 6 editions of Malian newspapers provided euphoric 
coverage of the election of the first African American president. 
Many of the newspapers dedicated numerous pages to the subject and 
featured interviews with a wide variety of Malian notables.  Almost 
all interlocutors praised the wisdom and "maturity" of the American 
people and admired the strength of our political process and social 
progress.  These same sentiments have been expressed widely to 
Embassy employees via countless e-mails, phone calls, text messages, 
and letters from President Amadou Toumani Toure (Ref. C) down to 
regular people on the street.  Perhaps the most touching letter came 
from an unknown businessman who wrote to the Ambassador the 
following message: 
 
Begin (translated) text.  "It is with a heart full of courage and 
joy that I decided to write to you to express my deep happiness for 
this symbolic American victory.  You have once again proven to the 
rest of the world, through these elections, that you are definitely 
the leaders of the world.  You deserve this title because you have 
always been an example.  I would like to salute these model 
candidates who are not focused on either victory or defeat, but 
rather on the best interest of their beloved country.  I hope that 
they will serve as an example for all other democratic leaders.  I 
hope that Barak Obama is the President of change that can best 
respond to the needs of the American people and that he always keeps 
the interests of the American people as his primary focus.  One more 
time - a great Bravo for the American people."  End Text. 
Milovanovic