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PP RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEH
DE RUEHNE #0891/01 1251319
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P 051319Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
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RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

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