P 090714Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5527
INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS LUANDA 000353 
 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S (MARY JO WILLIS, MAKILA JAMES, MAYA HARRIS) 
DEPT FOR AF/PD (CLAUDIA ANYASO, DAN WHITMAN, LYNN ALLISON) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KCOR AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLAN PRESS COVERS OBAMA MIDDLE EAST OUTREACH SPEECH A 
NEW BEGINNING' 
 
¶1. Summary: Angolan media extensively covered President Obama's 
June 4, 2009 Cairo speech entitled "A New Beginning."  The headlines 
generally focused on the reconciliatory tone of his comments and the 
sincerity of his desire to reach out to the Middle East and Muslims 
around the world.  A round up of the coverage from June 4 until June 
7 follows.  All coverage was in Portuguese.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Thursday June 4th coverage 
 
ANGOP, (www.portalangop.co.ao) the largest Angolan internet news 
outlet widely read by Angolans outside of Angola, covered the speech 
extensively. ANGOP quoted White House advisor David Axelrod, who 
stated that "rupture between Muslims and US is undeniable" and that 
Obama will repair the damage. 
 
Radio Nacional, the government's nationwide radio network with 
approximately 14 million regular listeners and the only source of 
media that reaches rural areas, covered the speech on its 8:00 p.m. 
news program.  A recorded segment of the speech was followed by an 
interview with David Ja, the leader of the Muslim Community in 
Angola, who said "Obama is God's envoy to bring peace to the World." 
Ja was positive about Obama saying he will be able to reach out to 
Muslims and reconcile with the Muslim world. 
 
On its 9:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m. news program Radio Mais, a small, new 
radio station that reaches an urban population centered in the 
capital city of Luanda, played a live feed from BBC Africa's 
Portuguese Service. Listeners wrote in by cell phone text message to 
engage on the following question, "Do you believe Obama's speech 
will be able to reconcile the US with Muslims?" An announcer read 
about 15 of the responses received from Lusophone Africa including 
from Mozambique, "I believe Obama has changed the perception of the 
US not only for Muslims but for the whole world." From Cape Verde, 
"I believe the Muslim world will work with Obama to fight terrorism 
worldwide," and from Angola,  "I believe the world will be more 
peaceful with Obama and that the Muslim world will have to reconcile 
not only with the US but also with the European Union." 
 
Jornal de Angola, the country's only daily newspaper with an 
approximate circulation of 27,000, announced the President's Egypt 
visit and speech on a sidebar.  The state run newspaper ran a story 
most likely from an international news service on the visit and 
about President Obama's desire to reach out to Muslims. 
 
Angolan State Television (TPA) on their 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. 
news show announced the speech in Cairo and noted that it signified 
a new relationship with Muslim world 
 
RTP Africa and RTP International, which are Portuguese TV news 
channels that have Angola feeds, rebroadcasted the speech dubbed in 
Portuguese several hours after its conclusion. 
 
¶3.  Friday June 5th coverage 
 
During its 7:00 am news broadcast, Radio Ecclesia, the Catholic 
Church's radio network broadcast in Luanda, covered the speech and 
emphasized the historic nature of the President's outreach to the 
Muslim world. 
 
The ANGOP internet site on Friday ran a six-paragraph article about 
the speech, noting that Obama supported Palestinian aspirations for 
an independent state.  The article said, "Obama mentioned in his 
speech the suffering of the Jewish people for centuries and during 
the Holocaust.  He said that denying the Holocaust is a sign of 
ignorance and hatred." ANGOP noted the President's "conciliatory 
remarks" regarding the Arab-Palestinian conflict and observes that, 
"The US will not turn its back on the legitimate aspirations of 
Palestinians for dignity and opportunity in a state of their own." 
 
On Friday, Jornal de Angola ran the headline,  "Coexistence of 
Palestinian and Israeli states: Obama points out solution for Middle 
East" appeared on the front page, below-the fold.  An opinion piece 
by Omar el Sadr, Egyptian opinion columnist who is syndicated to 
Jornal de Angola, followed on page seven. The opinion article was 
titled, "Obama opens the door for hope" and it conveyed a positive 
tone about the US outreach to Muslims.  El Sadr wrote that the 
President touched all the subjects that matter to Muslims in his 
speech and that, although he left no certainties, he promised to 
work to help solve the problems of the Middle East.  El Sadr said 
the speech was a clear attempt to change the image that Muslims have 
of the US.  El Sadr also noted that The President considers a small 
minority of Extremists largely responsible for the mistrust of the 
US in its relations with the Muslim world and the negative way the 
US is viewed by Muslims today. 
 
Jornal de Angola also carried a story on page eight, under the 
headline,  "Obama proposes solution of two states for peace between 
Israelis and Palestinians." 
 
Radio LAC, an independent radio station tied to the ruling party 
that broadcasts to the capital city, ran, on its 7:00 a.m. news show 
an announcement about Obama's speech in Cairo as an effort at 
reconciliation. The radio station interviewed Dr. Mario Pinto de 
Andrade, the President of a local private university and one of 
Angola's US policy experts, who said that Obama is implementing the 
agenda that he promised during his campaign.  He said that this 
approach may not accomplish everything right away, but that Muslims 
will see the US differently because of the effort. The interview had 
a very positive tone. 
 
¶4.  Saturday, June 6th coverage 
 
Radio Nacional:  A three-hour hour morning live panel discussion 
with five panelists from government, civil society, and business 
including US Ambassador Dan Mozena, focused on US-Angola bilateral 
relations.  Discussion touched the Cairo speech briefly. Small 
segments of the discussion concentrating on the Ambassador's 
comments but not related to the Obama speech were rebroadcast during 
subsequent news hours throughout the weekend. 
 
¶5.  Monday, June 8th coverage 
 
Jornal de Angola carried an opinion piece by a member of parliament 
Joao Melo who spoke favorably of the President's strategy of 
engaging with the Middle East and took issue with those who say 
President Obama's strategy demonstrates weakness.  Melo says the 
sentiment of the Cairo speech indicates a step in the right 
direction. 
 
¶6.  Comment:  Coverage surrounding the speech was positive and 
generally praised the President for engaging with the Middle East 
and Muslims in a different way.  The reporting indicated that 
Angolans recognize the importance of this policy change. 
 
HAWKINS