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R 251029Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5274
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000619 
 
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SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI PREL KCOR KPAO KDEM NG
SUBJECT: POSITIVE AND EXTENSIVE MEDIA REACTION TO U.S. PRESS 
STATEMENTS ON NIGER REFERENDUM 
 
Ref:  a) Niamey 567    b) Niamey 515 
 
NIAMEY 00000619  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  Coverage of the August 13 and August 17 press releases, 
respectively outlining the USG positions on the referendum in Niger 
and calling for the release of a leading opposition leader and a 
journalist, has been widespread and favorable in the independent 
print and broadcast media.   (Note: A few contacts who learned about 
the statements from media reports contacted the Embassy to report 
inability to find them on the Department of State's main website. 
End note.)  One strongly positive editorial last week connected the 
embassy's response with President Obama's speech in Ghana, 
commending the U.S. for its consistent support of the noble 
principle of democracy.  The press releases may have provided a way 
for the independent media to more boldly voice their editorial 
position in a way that sheltered them from suspension by the 
government media regulatory authority, and may succor the 
beleaguered defenders of democracy in Niger.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Post distributed to local media outlets and posted on the 
embassy web site the August 13, 2009 statement which declared that 
the August 4 referendum to extend and expand the mandate of 
President Tandja is a setback for democracy, and the August 17 
statement calling for the release of civil society activist Marou 
Amadou and journalist Abdoulaye Tiemogo (ref A), both accused of 
speaking out against the government. Coverage of these statements by 
the independent print, television, and radio media has been 
far-reaching and well-received.  The controlled state-owned media 
has not responded publicly to the statement. 
 
INDEPENDENT RADIO AND TELEVISION 
-------------------------------- 
¶3.  The embassy statements made a big splash on domestic independent 
TV and radio.  Dounia TV and Radio Group, a leading independent 
media voice, began airing the statements in full on Monday, August 
¶17.  Bonferey TV, an influential, mainly Islamic-oriented channel, 
whose director had just returned from an ECA-sponsored International 
Visitors Leadership Program, also broadcast the statements without 
additional commentary during the week of August 17.  Anfani Radio 
featured the statements with supportive commentary, and nearly every 
major independent radio station joined in airing the complete 
statements, reaching a combined national audience estimated to be 
well over two million listeners. 
 
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  Several major independent weekly newspapers featured the press 
statements in their issues of last week.  Le Canard 
Dechaine(circulation of about 1,000), a newspaper owned by the 
imprisoned journalist Abdoulaye Tiemogo, whose release was called 
for in the August 17 press release, printed the full August 17 press 
release with the embassy seal and letterhead on its front page, 
below the fold.  Above the fold was a political cartoon in which 
figures representing the U.S., EU, and Demark were telling President 
Tandja, "No money without democracy." The complete text of the 
August 13 press release was printed without commentary on the back 
page of the same issue. 
 
¶5.  The credible and well-respected independent news weekly 
L'Evenement prominently featured the U.S. reaction in last week's 
issue.  Ambassador Allen was given "thumbs up" in its weekly 
political barometer for the press statement against the referendum 
and her immediate dismissal of rumors that opposition leaders sought 
refuge at the embassy, which the latter said restored their honor by 
showing that they did not run and hide during the referendum.  On 
page three, a bold headline read "The U.S. Says No" above an 
editorial that began by praising the U.S. reaction to the referendum 
for being the most muscular in the international community and 
closed with a quote from President Obama's speech in Ghana that 
"Africa does not need strong leaders, but needs strong 
institutions."  The editorial commented on how the reaction of the 
U.S. had quieted the doubts of those who, until recently, questioned 
the ability of the international community to influence the 
situation.  This contrasts with an article on the same page which 
criticized the irresolute official post-referendum French response, 
which has effectively "poured cold water on the opposition." 
 
¶6.  La Griffe (independent weekly, circulation of about 1,000) 
quoted from the August 13 press release in an article on page three 
on the heating up of international reaction to the referendum.  Le 
Democrate (circulation of around 2,000) also printed the August 13 
press release on page five last week in an issue which led with a 
headline article criticizing the reluctance of France, the African 
 
NIAMEY 00000619  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Union, and ECOWAS to make unambiguous statements about the 
referendum. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶7.  Given the wide independent media coverage given to the press 
statements, the U.S. will be remembered by the population for its 
clear and constant defense of democracy and freedom of the press in 
Niger.  The press releases may have provided a way for some 
independent media to speak out without incurring suspension in a 
media environment where the newly-autonomous media regulator (CSC) 
can shut down media outlets without warning for any reports deemed 
"threatening" to the state (ref B).  The CSC would likely hesitate 
to sanction broadcasts of official USG press statements made 
available to all media outlets, both state-owned and private.  As 
several of the more forthright editorials mentioned last week, the 
U.S. rejection of the referendum as undemocratic and the declaration 
of the consequences of the President's actions could encourage and 
empower the multitude who aspire to a peaceful restoration of 
democracy in Niger.  End Comment. 
 
¶8. Minimize considered. 
 
ALLEN