US embassy cable - 04AMMAN5695

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 005695 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD (DBENZE, JDAVIES), IIP/G/NEA 
(RWINCHESTER, TSCOTT, LKUYUMCU), IIP/T/GIC (JBOCHNER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, KWMN, KPAL, ALNEA 
SUBJECT: ARAB WOMEN JOURNALISTS STRENGTHEN TIES, QUESTION 
PRIORITIES AND PLEDGE TO REACH OUT TO THE USA 
 
 
This is a joint cable from Embassy Amman and ConGen 
Jerusalem. 
 
1.  Summary: The third annual conference of the Arab Women's 
Media Center (AWMC), a Jordanian NGO, brought together 60 
women from 12 Arab countries, the Palestinian Authority and 
Israel in late June.  USG sponsorship made it possible for 
these women to gather in Amman; over 80 percent of the 
funding for the conference was provided by PAS Amman, 
NEA/PPD, MEPI and PAS Jerusalem.  Despite the divides of 
history and politics, Arab Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, 
Kuwaitis, Iraqis and others all interacted as colleagues and 
formed a close network.  Debate over the "liberation" vs. 
"occupation" of Iraq impinged on the conference but other, 
more germane issues dominated: the perceived conflict of 
national interests with journalistic professionalism and 
integrity, and the need for Arab media to communicate Arab 
values, culture, society, and religion to an American 
audience.  U.S. speaker and Newsweek journalist Lorraine 
Ali, herself an Arab-American, stressed the importance of 
such outreach.  Official Jordanian participants strongly 
defended the G-8 reform initiative.  End summary. 
 
2.  Sixty Arab women gathered in Amman, Jordan June 26-29 
for the third annual AWMC conference.  Fifteen of them were 
nominated to participate by U.S. missions in their 
countries.  They represented 12 Arab nations -- Algeria, 
Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, 
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait -- plus the Palestinian 
Authority and Israel, and in many cases were meeting and 
interacting for the first time.  Iraqi and Saudi 
participants remarked that this was the first such 
international conference they had taken part in; an Israeli 
Arab said it was the first time she felt included as an Arab 
rather than ostracized for her Israeli passport.  The 
conference received significant USG financial support, with 
over 80 percent of the funds coming from PAS Amman, NEA/PPD, 
MEPI and PAS Jerusalem. 
 
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"Women Are Coming" 
------------------ 
 
3.  The conference adopted "Women Are Coming" as its motto, 
and the papers presented reflected the progress women have 
made in the Arab world in recent years.  They also made 
clear that the status of women journalists varies widely 
across the region and that common challenges persist.  Among 
these challenges are wage disparity, lack of legislative 
protection (with the exception of Tunisia), perceptions of 
inferiority, the difficulty of balancing family and career, 
and negative stereotypes and "objectification" of women in 
media (e.g., the use of beautiful women to report the 
weather).  The Jordanian Minister of State for Media, Ms. 
Asma Khader, cited the dual obstacles of quantity and 
quality and said that while Arab women journalists are 
making headway against the former, they need more training 
opportunities to address the latter.  A common question was 
how to exploit newly acquired freedoms -- specifically in 
Iraq, Algeria, Yemen and Oman. 
 
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Truth or Consequences 
--------------------- 
 
4.  The issue of "national interests" taking precedence over 
freedom of expression and journalistic professionalism 
dominated nearly every session of the conference.  A number 
of women asked soul-searching questions about the purpose of 
Arab media: to support the "Arab cause" or to report the 
truth.  As Jifara Al-Bideri, a Palestinian who works for Al- 
Jazeera, put it, "Am I Palestinian or am I a journalist?" 
The participants reached no consensus on this dilemma.  The 
older generation argued for the precedence of journalistic 
integrity and freedom of expression, while the more junior 
women appeared devoted to the concept of journalism serving 
the greater national cause, however defined. 
 
5.  More questions arose about the definition of "national 
interests" vis--vis Arab interests.  Calls for greater pan- 
Arab unity and coordination among women journalists 
notwithstanding, it was clear that the divergence of views 
and interests within individual Arab countries is 
increasing.  Some participants worried about the function of 
Arab media if widespread self-censorship prevented accurate 
reporting on what was happening in their own countries, 
making foreign media the only reliable source of news. 
American media reporting on the Abu Ghraib prison abuse was 
cited as an instance where journalistic responsibility won 
out over short-term national interests -- and in the end 
served to strengthen the democratic ideals at the core of 
American society. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Arab-American Makes Plea for Greater Communication 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
6.  Lorraine Ali, a contributing writer for Newsweek who 
since 9/11 has been covering Arab and Arab-American culture 
and society, attended the conference as a U.S.G.-funded 
speaker.  She brought an important Arab-American voice and 
viewpoint to the conference debates.  Talking about her 
multiple identities as an Arab, an American, a woman and a 
journalist, she advised that professional dedication to 
freedom of speech and the truth should always come first. 
Ali highlighted the dearth of knowledge about Arab society 
and culture, especially the role of women, in America.  She 
encouraged Arab media to speak to the West, in English, and 
in multiple contexts: politics, arts, music, and social 
issues. 
 
7.  Other conference participants cited the tendency for 
Arab media to address only other Arabs.  Lebanese journalist 
Guitta Kiameh challenged the Arab world, and women in 
particular, to become producers, not just consumers, of 
media.  The flow of information between the United States 
and the Arab world, she said, should not be solely directed 
at the Arab audience, but rather should aim for a true 
exchange of ideas and information. 
 
-------------------- 
Iraq: Two Viewpoints 
-------------------- 
 
8.  Three Iraq women journalists attended the AWMC 
conference.  The first to speak, Sallamah Abdel Hassan from 
New Iraq Radio, defended her characterization of American 
actions as "liberation" as opposed to "occupation."  She 
spoke about the rebirth of journalism in post-Saddam Iraq, 
although she admitted there were no regulations limiting the 
proliferation of sub-standard publications, and about 
opportunities for women there.  She concluded by saying, "We 
would rather be ruled by 1,000 Americans than one man from 
Tikrit." 
 
9.  Nada Omran, Iraqi correspondent for Egyptian daily Al- 
Ahram, spoke forcefully about the censorship practiced by 
the American "occupation" and criticized media in Iraq for 
characterizing Iraqis as the "enemy."  Unlike those of her 
colleague Abdel Hassan, Omran's remarks were favorably 
received by the conference participants as a whole. 
 
--------------------------------- 
GOJ Minister Urges/Defends Reform 
--------------------------------- 
 
10.  The issue of reform arose in a session in which 
Mohammed Daoudiyeh, Jordanian Minister for Political 
Development, urged the adoption of reform agendas in the 
Arab world, noting a crisis of citizenship" in the region, 
which he attributed to low internet usage and a lack of 
women in positions of leadership.  The participants objected 
vigorously to any attempt to impose reform from outside the 
region.  "Who is leading this reform?," they asked.  In 
their view, the United States cannot credibly lead such an 
effort due to its biased support for Israel; furthermore, 
they questioned the divorce of reform from the Israeli- 
Palestinian conflict.  Participants also doubted the 
willingness of Arab leaders to tolerate women's political 
participation.  Daoudiyeh countered that reform could not be 
held hostage to the dual challenges of terrorism and 
occupation, and to oppose reform is, in effect, to support 
dictatorship.  Further, he defended the G-8's Broader Middle 
East and North Africa Initiative as both fair and necessary; 
he urged the participants to look beyond a "made in the USA" 
label.  Overall, conference participants expressed agreement 
about the necessity for reform to bring equality to women 
and democracy to Arab citizens across the region, and noted 
positively BMENA's focus on women's empowerment. 
 
-------------------------- 
Recognition of USG Support 
-------------------------- 
 
11.  Months into the organization of this program, AWMC head 
Mahasen Al-Emam said she feared physical and verbal attacks 
on the AWMC and the conference if its materials featured the 
U.S. logo and/or prominent acknowledgement were made of USG 
funding.  Her concern reflected a broader controversy in 
Jordan, where local NGOs fear rebuke from conservative and 
Islamist elements for receiving foreign (especially USG) 
funds -- ironically, given that the GOJ receives millions of 
dollars in annual foreign assistance.  Al-Emam ultimately 
agreed to acknowledge verbally official U.S. support during 
the conference, and did so by welcoming and thanking USG 
representatives in attendance at the opening session.  In 
the end the U.S. role did not become an issue for the 
participants, AM  d58bjbj     "T_W_W54l 
 
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the conference or its final recommendations. 
 
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Final Recommendations 
--------------------- 
 
12.  After a vigorous debate over whether to endorse a set 
of recommendations put forward by conference participants or 
another that the AWMC preferred, the conference adopted the 
following ten recommendations: 
"1- Calling on the President of the Council of Arab 
Information Ministers to involve Arab media women in the 
Council's regular meetings for the purpose of including 
women in the media-related decision-making process. 
2- Constructing new media centers similar to the AWMC in 
Arab countries that participated in the conference and to 
ensure that the AWMC conference is held regularly in each 
country. 
3- Constructing an Arabic media library that collects 
releases and publications of Arab media women from different 
fields of media. 
4- Declaring March 12 a day for Arab Media Women in all Arab 
countries; such an observance was initiated by AWMC five 
years ago. 
5- Holding training courses for Arab media women, especially 
Iraqi and Saudi women, according to needs in each country. 
6- Working to create pressure groups on the subject of wages 
and salaries for Arab media women in countries where gender 
discrimination exists. 
7- The Recommendations Formulation Committee must carry out 
monthly follow-up of the work of the Follow-up Committee in 
coordination with AWMC. 
8- Considering the media code of ethics as recommended by 
conference participants as the Arab code of ethics to which 
Arab Media Women are committed, each in their respective 
countries.  (Note: the drafting of a "code of 
conduct/ethics" was a conference exercise, but no consensus 
was reached among participants as to the core tenets of such 
a code.  End Note.) 
9- Establishing an Arab media network via the Internet to 
maintain communication among Arab media women, strengthen 
consultation among them, present Arab media-related issues 
as they arise, adopt issues related to Arab media women, and 
put them forth to decision-makers. 
10- Strengthening dialogue between Arab media women on one 
hand and NGOs and international organizations on the other 
in order to enhance Arab media women's access to decision- 
making positions. 
Everyone agreed that all Arab media women shall work in 
their own countries and within the Arab region to support 
the AWMC's efforts and programs, being the first non- 
governmental media organization for Arab media women." 
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Comment 
------- 
 
13.  PAS Amman and PAS Jerusalem are very pleased with the 
outcome of the conference.  The connections made by the 
women who participated, the vital issues discussed, and the 
pledge to follow up on conference recommendations will serve 
to strengthen Arab media, and the role played by women, in 
each of the countries represented and across the region. 
Both posts will follow up with women locally and with the 
AWMC to explore support for training opportunities and to 
enhance continued communication among the participants.  The 
venue was also a great opportunity to interact with contacts 
-- particularly for PDOffs from Jerusalem who are restricted 
from travel in the West Bank and thus from face-to-face 
contact with many women journalists who live and work 
outside of Jerusalem.  We thank IIP and MEPI for their 
support, especially in recruiting Lorraine Ali as a 
conference participant and speaker. 
 
GNEHM