US embassy cable - 05MANAMA137

UNCLAS MANAMA 000137 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, IIP/G/NEA, R 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, OIIP, KDEM, KMDR, KPAO, BA, IZ 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN'S MEDIA ON IRAQ ELECTIONS: DEMOCRACY 
WINS AND BOYCOTTERS LOSE 
 
1.  Summary:  Bahrain's media overwhelmingly welcomed the 
success of Iraq's elections with front-page coverage, 
banner headlines, and positive editorials on January 31. 
The Embassy's outreach efforts on Iraq elections paid off 
with a four-page elections insert on January 30 in "Al 
Wasat," drawing heavily from the Department's Iraq Fact 
Sheet.  The paper carried an exclusive interview with 
Embassy Baghdad-based military spokesman General Lessel, 
arranged by PAS, which headlined, "Iraqi Elections Are 
Historical."  Several columnists who had previously 
condemned holding elections under an "American 
occupation" were curiously silent today.  End summary. 
 
2.  Pro-government newspaper "Al Ayam" carried a strongly 
worded lead editorial on January 31 stating, "History 
will determine that Iraq entered the twenty-first century 
on solid grounds of democracy and freedom.  Iraqis defied 
death, casting their votes despite threats from the 
enemies of freedom and democracy, and saying no to 
violence and terrorism.  They proved that those who 
support violence and boycotts were a small and un- 
influential group.  They want to be part of the political 
process to make change for a better future." 
 
3.  Most of Bahrain's leading opinion writers were 
generally optimistic about the elections and Iraq's 
future.  Popular "Al Wasat" columnist Sayed Dhiya Al- 
Mousawi wrote that Arabs are contradicting themselves 
when they support Palestinian elections under the Israeli 
occupation but condemn them under the Americans in Iraq. 
He added, "Some Arabs say that peaceful approaches will 
not end occupation.  If that is the case, how do you 
explain Ghandi's peaceful approach in ending the British 
colonization in India?  I am happy for the Iraqi 
elections, because Iraqi television is `singing' for Iraq 
and not for a dictator." 
 
4.  On January 30, "Al Ayam columnist Esmat Al Moussawi 
wrote, ". the percentage of participation should not be 
the criteria by which we judge the elections because many 
Iraqis won't show up at the polling centers for security 
reasons, not for political reasons.  Even those who won't 
show up, deep in their hearts believe that elections are 
the only way out, unlike others who think that killing 
the innocent and targeting specific sects or 
nationalities will lead to the departure of the 
occupation.  Despite all the discrepancies in the 
elections, they are a positive step towards democracy." 
 
5.  The Embassy's intensive outreach efforts on Iraq 
elections paid off.  "Al Wasat" newspaper published a 
colorful four-page elections insert on January 30, 
drawing heavily from the Department's Iraq Fact Sheet and 
other information provided by the Embassy.  The Public 
Affairs Section also arranged for an exclusive interview 
for "Al Wasat" with military spokesman General Lessel, 
which was headlined, "Iraqi Elections Are Historical." 
 
6.  One Bahraini daily newspaper, "Akhbar Al Khaleej," 
often critical of U.S. policies in Iraq, tried to 
downplay the importance of the elections by headlining 
that 25 Iraqi cities had boycotted them and that only the 
Shia and Kurdish had voted.  The paper included one small 
photo on the bottom of the front page showing an elderly 
Kurdish woman voting, a positive development that even 
Akhbar Al Khaleej could not ignore. 
 
7.  Comment:  Several columnists who have been 
continuously condemning the holding of elections under an 
"American occupation" or writing non-stop about the 
dangerous security environment surrounding them, 
curiously chose not to write today; and one wrote about 
domestic issues.  Were these naysayers home nursing their 
wounds?  Only their future columns will tell.  Several 
leading Bahraini journalists told the PAO yesterday that 
the elections were definitely a milestone and that the 
fact that there was not widespread violence was very 
hopeful for Iraq and the region. 
 
MONROE