Cablegate: Media Reaction President Bush's Visit to Africal;

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 001478

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION PRESIDENT BUSH'S VISIT TO AFRICAL;
HARARE

1. Under headline "U. S. crop subsidies disadvantage
African farmers" the July 20 edition of the
government-controlled Bulawayo-based weekly "Sunday
News" carried the following article by Mbongeni
Mguni, in which he criticizes President George W.
Bush for dodging the issue of crop subsidies during
his visit to Africa, charging that the current
system of crop subsidies portray "a racist agenda by
the Republican regime to entrench agricultural
hegemony over Africa." Excerpts:

2. "President George W. Bush of the United States, whose
country has stubbornly refused to scrap the trillion-dollar
crop subsidies for U. S. farmers that disadvantage African
farmers, remained mum on the controversial issue during his
just-ended whirlwind tour of the continent. This has
thrown a damper on export farming in Africa. . .With
federal government backing, farmers in America are able to
under-price their crop exports, cutting deeply into export
markets, where African farmers are struggling to gain a
foothold. . .Cotton, coffee, wheat and other cash crop
farmers in southern Africa were hoping that Mr. Bush would
use his African safari to announce a downward review of
subsidies to farmers in America. However, the American
President neatly skirted the issue of crop subsidies,
focusing his energies on persuading African farmers and
governments to import genetically modified crop products
and allow the wide-scale use of biotechnology in
agriculture. . .Other international groups, mostly based in
America, believe the system of crop subsidies is part of a
racist agenda by the Republican regime to entrench
agricultural hegemony over Africa. . . ."

SULLIVAN

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