R 120820Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6988
INFO AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000223 
 
 
STATE FOR AF/C, AF/PD - ANYASO AND TITUS 
LONDON FOR POL -- LORD 
PARIS FOR POL -- KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA FOR AU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPAO OIIP CD
SUBJECT:  OBAMA'S SPEECH IN CAIRO RECEIVES WARM WELCOME IN CHAD 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (U) The U.S. Embassy in Ndjamena held rebroadcasts June 9 and 10 
of President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech.  The rebroadcasts were in 
French and Arabic, respectively, in this barely-majority Muslim 
country.  Reaction was almost uniformly positive, with participants 
stressing that they hoped to see the President's words turned soon 
into deeds.  Local media coverage was also largely positive, drawing 
on citations from the President to call for action by Chadians 
locally.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) Embassy Ndjamena held June 9 and 10 events rebroadcasting 
President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech to French- and Arabic-speaking 
audiences in this barely majority Muslim country, followed on both 
days by one-hour discussion and commentary sessions.  Members of 
human rights and civil society organizations, government, diplomats, 
private institution reps, journalists and scholars attended the 
events. 
 
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POSITIVE REACTION 
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¶3.  (U) The President's speech was uniformly well received by our 
Chadian invitees, who expressed  surprise at the President's depth 
of understanding of Islam.  Participants told us that they believed 
the speech marked the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign policy 
and that they approved of the President's comments on the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially his tough stance on Israeli 
settlements.  CDA pointed out that the two-state approach had long 
been part of our policy, whereas public criticism of settlements was 
somewhat newer.  Our interlocutors also welcomed President Obama's 
balanced approach on "sensitive issues" such as women's rights, 
democracy and the question of Iranian nuclear energy.  They 
responded positively to the President's acknowledgement of the role 
that economic problems are playing in undermining trust on the part 
of Muslims toward the West.  All said they hoped that the 
President's positive, stirring words would result in strong, 
practical actions. 
 
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SOME HEALTHY SKEPTICISM 
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¶4.  (U) Participants also shared with us their critiques of the 
President's speech, wondering if it were overly ambitious.  Some 
expressed concern that the President's plans could be held up by an 
uncooperative U.S. Congress.  They emphasized that Muslims in 
general should not be held responsible for the actions of Osama Bin 
Laden, "a creation of the United states."  Finally they found 
contradictory the President's advocacy of democracy, on the one 
hand, and the U.S.'s refusal to treat Hamas as a government.  CDA 
pointed out that the U.S. position toward Hamas would change as the 
organization itself changed, including if it were to become the 
elected representative of a nation state. 
 
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LOCAL MEDIA WEIGH IN 
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¶5.  (U) Following President Obama's call to fight Islamic clichs, 
NDJAMENA BI-HEBDO, a private and opposition-leaning Chadian 
newspaper, wrote that Chadians should wage war against national 
clichs of Muslims and Christians, which had damaged local relations 
between the two groups.  It noted that justice would prevail when 
tolerance and mutual respect became cherished values among 
Chadians. 
 
¶6.  (U) LE PROGRES, a pro-governmental daily, noted the difference 
between U.S. and French policy on headscarves in schools, stating 
that the U.S. wanted to protect individual rights while France 
wanted young girls to safeguard the division between church and 
state.  The daily concluded that France's President should take a 
lesson from President Obama.  The paper's headline quoted from the 
Obama speech:  our faiths should unite us. 
 
¶7.  (U) NOTRE TEMPS, a private and opposition-leaning publication, 
published excerpts of key points from the President's speech on 
themes such as the difference between Muslims and extremists, the 
right of Palestinians to have their own state, freedom and human 
rights, and women's rights. 
 
¶8. Radio Al-Koran Al-Karim, a private station belonging to the High 
Council for Islamic Affairs in Chad, rebroadcast the Cairo speech 
twice, followed by a two-and-a-half hour debate. Speakers praised 
the President's speech and expressed the hope that its aspirations 
would become reality.  They also criticized what they perceived to 
be continued bias toward Israel on the part of the United States. 
 
¶9. N'djamena Al-Djadida, the most widely-read Arabic-language news 
paper in the country, published excerpts from the speech and urged 
its readership to comment. 
 
BREMNER