VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #1080/01 2711824
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281824Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4405
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001080
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC,
WHA/EPSC
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ARGENTINA AT THE G20 SUMMIT; US-ARGENTINE
TIES; IRANIAN REACTION TO ARGENTINE DEMAND ON THE AMIA ATTACK;
BRAZIL'S LEADING ROLE IN THE HONDURAN CRISIS; 09/28/09; BUENOS
AIRES
1. SUMMARY STATEMENT
Weekend international opinion pieces are mostly related to
Argentina's bid to position itself for a return to international
capital markets; the status of the US-Argentine bilateral
relationship; Iranian President Ahmadinejad's blunt rejection of
Argentine President Kirchner's demand to extradite those Iranian
citizens involved in the criminal assault against the AMIA; and
Brazil's leading role in the Honduran crisis.
2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS
- "Argentina signs G20 statement and agrees to IMF controls"
Leading "Clarin's" columnist Walter Curia, on special assignment in
Pittsburg, writes (09/26), "In an unexpected turn, Argentina
committed yesterday to letting the IMF regularly assess the status
of its economy so that it is in line with the commitments undertaken
at the G20 Summit...
"According to the statement, the Finance Ministers of the Group will
make progress on a 'mutual consultation' procedure to evaluate the
'collective impact' of their economic policies on world economy.
"The Government has opposed any kind of IMF audit ever since it
cancelled the country's debt to the multilateral lending agency in
2005. The rejection of a regular audit of its economy as per IMF
Article Four is against Argentina's financial needs and hinders the
country's negotiations to pay back its debt to the Paris Club and
holdouts (bondholders who refused to participate in the 2005
restructuring of the defaulted debt).
"A high-ranking source in the Argentine Government who was consulted
by 'Clarin' admitted that Argentina agreed to the IMF review... but
'this will not change the direction of our economic policy.'
"However, the commitment could have an unexpected implication for
Argentina, whose statistics are truly vulnerable.
"In two recent IMF reports on world economic prospects, the IMF
accepted the (Argentine) Government's inflation rate, although it
included a paragraph with a warning that it differs from private
estimates.
"During the President's tour, the Government warned once again that
Argentina will not accept conditions on its foreign financial
front."
- "A country that sways between rage and error"
Daily-of-record "La Nacion's" political analyst Joaquin Morales Sola
opines (09/27), "The Argentine diplomacy's efforts to underline the
protocol meetings between Obama and Cristina (Kirchner) in the
context of multilateral meetings only underscore the importance of a
missing event. The Argentine President is the only Latin American
president who is a G20 member who has never held a private meeting
with Obama. The other three presidents (those of Canada, Brazil and
Mexico) were received during their official visits in Washington,
interested as Americans are in reaching a common hemispheric
position.
"A high-ranking member of Obama's staff, who is crucial in Latin
American affairs, said, 'You believe that you acted against a US
president but we believe you acted against the US.' He was talking
about what the Kirchners did during the Mar del Plata Summit in
front of Bush...
"The same USG officer asked Argentina not to repeat the Mar del
Plata experience during the Trinidad and Tobago Summit, the first
one in the Obama era... Anyway, Cristina Kirchner lectured for 45
minutes at the Trinidad and Tobago Summit about the alleged virtues
of the Mar del Plata Summit in front of Obama. It was music to
Chavez' ears, who was there, as well as disappointing to Obama, who
was also there.
"Why, then, Cristina is desperate to have a good relationship with
Obama if she is not willing to undo what her husband did? She would
not even need to make an automatic alliance with the US. Obama's
Washington does not want her to do so. As a matter of fact, Lula
calls Obama once a month at least, and the Brazilian president is
not obedient with Washington or its interests, but he is reliable in
whatever really matters."
- "Iran does not cede to the Argentine demand"
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" front-pages an opinion piece by its New
York-based correspondent, Alberto Armendariz, who writes (09/26),
"Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad bluntly rejected Argentine
President Cristina Kirchner's request to submit to the Argentine
justice the Iranian citizens suspected of being involved in the
criminal attack against the AMIA Jewish community center in 1994: 'I
would recommend that the Argentine Government think of the interests
of the whole Argentine people rather than pursuing the interests of
a Zionist minority in Argentina.'
"... His blunt attitude was in obvious contrast to his own remarks
during a brief meeting with Hispanic mass media in this city just a
few hours before, during which he assured he wants to strengthen
Tehran's ties to the region...
"... Ahmadinejad also clarified that he does not intend to have
military cooperation with Venezuela and took the occasion to
criticize the planned US military presence in Colombia: 'Some
imperialistic behaviors are against the change they say they want.
The development of military bases does not help the peoples.
Militarism does not benefit humanity. What it badly needs is greater
cooperation to eradicate poverty in Latin America and other places
of the world.'
"Questioned about his controversial enriched uranium program, for
which he was imposed sanctions by the UN Security Council (which
fears it could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons), Ahmadinejad
reiterated it only has peaceful and civil purposes.
"... After the controversy sparked by his past comments putting in
doubt the Jewish Holocaust, this time Ahmadinejad avoided referring
to the topic and he deviated his response to Israel's killings of
Palestinian civilians - 'We are against any killings of any kind of
people.'"
- "Brazil's leading role in Honduras"
Leading "Clarin" carries an op-ed piece by political analyst Jorge
Castro, who opines (09/27), "Brazil's decision to offer its embassy
in Tegucigalpa to ousted President Manuel Zelaya to use on his
return is obviously a major event (as important as the return of the
Honduran president), which changes one of Itamaraty's fundamental
policies of the last 100 years.
"... Itamaraty's foreign policy priority is to regain international
importance and, therefore, it deploys a strategy of indirect
rapprochement to the world power system (the US/G7)... The premise
on which such foreign policy was based was that there was a
substantial fracture between Northern and Southern Latin America.
This is why it promoted the creation of UNASUR.
"Now, Brazil has become a crucial player in the main crisis of
Northern Latin America, which takes place in Honduras. It does not
act in a shared or multilateral way but individually as a major
power.
"This is an historic piece of news. Today, Brazil represents the
international community in a crisis that gets more serious and
polarized and that is escalating."
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our
classified website at:
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires
MARTINEZ