VZCZCXYZ0006
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0046 0201730
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201730Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7175
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TUNIS 000046 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR R, NEA/PPD, AND NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO KDEM OIIP HA TU
SUBJECT: TFHA01:  TUNISIAN MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS 
IN HAITI IS LIMITED, MODERATE 
 
Refs:  (A) STATE 5277 
   (B) TUNIS 25 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Tunisian coverage of the Haitian earthquake and 
ensuing humanitarian crisis has been limited and essentially 
moderate in tone, with some coverage of international criticism of 
the U.S. government's response to the ongoing situation in Haiti. 
The Ambassador paid a call on the well-respected Dar As-Sabah 
newspaper group to reinforce the U.S. government's message about 
Haiti and our response to the crisis, and received uniformly 
positive feedback from the editorial board about our government's 
efforts to help the Haitian people.  The Embassy continues to 
feature prominently on its public website and Facebook site stories 
and articles about American relief efforts in Haiti.  End summary. 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) There has been light coverage of the earthquake in Haiti 
and its fallout over the past week in the Tunisian press; all 
stories so far have been taken from wire services.  Although 
coverage has been straightforward, two Arabic-language dailies, 
As-Sarih and Ash-Shourouk, carried wire service articles on January 
19 reporting Hugo Chavez's remark that U.S. forces are using the 
disaster as an excuse to occupy the country.  Both articles were on 
the first page of their respective paper and featured prominently a 
close-up, contemplative photograph of the Venezuelan leader, and the 
headline "Chavez says U.S. occupying Haiti in the name of aid." 
Today's papers covered another international wire service story 
about a French government official complaining that the U.S. was 
calling the shots in Haiti because his plane was not allowed to land 
in Port-Au-Prince when he wanted to arrive.  President Sarkozy's 
remark lowering the stridency of the official's comment was also 
noted.  A January 19 editorial in the government-owned 
French-language daily La Presse supported U.S. involvement in relief 
efforts in Haiti, opining: "Two countries should assume the biggest 
responsibility in this tragic phase of Haiti's history, given their 
relationships with this country:  America and France." 
 
¶3. (SBU) To heighten awareness of America's relief efforts and to 
forestall possible re-publication of negative comments by other 
world figures, the Ambassador and Embassy public affairs staff paid 
a call on the editors of As-Sabah Arabic-language newspaper and its 
sister French-language paper Le Temps on January 20 to share talking 
points and press guidance supplied by Washington.  The Ambassador 
also asked the editors to confirm any stories they may be 
contemplating publishing on American relief efforts to the Public 
Affairs Section and the editors agreed.  Reassuringly, both editors 
had only positive and supportive things to say about the role of the 
U.S. in relief efforts in Haiti. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Embassy Tunis continues to actively publicize efforts by 
the U.S. government to help the Haitian people through financial and 
military assistance.  The public trilingual website features 
prominent coverage of the U.S. response to the unfolding 
humanitarian crisis including video and audio links of President 
Obama's speech about Haiti, links to America.gov articles about our 
humanitarian relief efforts, links to the Red Cross site for 
donations, and live Washington-originated feeds about Haiti. 
Embassy Tunis's posts to Facebook about the American effort in Haiti 
have received nine positive responses.  One sympathetic individual 
wrote about Haiti, "They really need help from the whole world!" 
 
GRAY