US embassy cable - 05CAIRO4126

UNCLAS CAIRO 004126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, PGOV, KPAO, EG, Media Themes 
SUBJECT:  REFERENDUM CALLED "HISTORIC" BY GOVERNMENT MEDIA; 
SATELLITE TV AND WEBSITES FOCUS ON VIOLENCE:  EGYPTIAN 
MEDIA THEMES, MAY 23 TO 30 
 
 
1.  May 25 referendum on constitutional amendment to change 
presidential election process - TV:  Egyptian TV coverage 
showed enthusiastic voters casting their ballots and 
praising President Mubarak and the referendum throughout 
May 25.  "We now have true democracy in Egypt  and thanks 
to our President!" exclaimed an elderly woman on Channel 1. 
On the flip side, Egyptians saw coverage on CNN and Al 
Arabiya on May 25 and 26 showing pro-government 
demonstrators beating opposition Kifaya ("Enough") 
protesters.  Al Arabiya's May 26 report focused on female 
demonstrators who were publicly beaten by pro-government 
demonstrators.  Al Jazeera showed footage of a ruling 
National Democratic Party (NDP) rally, followed by an on- 
the-street interview with NDP Secretary General Safwat El 
Sherif and a man critical of the referendum, and images of 
empty polling stations.  While Al Jazeera reported on the 
violence against opposition demonstrators, it showed no 
images. 
 
2.  May 25 referendum  print press:  The front pages of 
the pro-government press on May 26 led with headlines 
praising Egypt's "historic referendum" and with photos of 
Mubarak and leading NDP members casting their ballots. 
However, English-language weekly Cairo Magazine published 
on May 26 photos of Kifaya demonstrators beaten by pro- 
government demonstrators, along with reports that "pro- 
Mubarak demonstrators, apparently led by NDP officials, 
were young men and boys from lower income neighborhoods. 
Some admitted to reporters that they had received 
incentives to participate, including LE20, a quarter- 
portion of grilled chicken and a soft drink."  (Note:  LE20 
 20 Egyptian pounds  amounts to $3.50 U.S.  End note.) 
Several Egyptian and western media contacts noted to PA 
officer that the May 25 organized violence against female 
protestors was the first they had seen or heard of in 
Egypt.  "The referendum was one step forward, and another 
step backward," stated one Egyptian reporter, who writes 
for a pro-government newspaper. 
 
3.  May 25 referendum - commentary:  Opposition Al Wafd 
(circulation: 180,000) continued its critical commentary on 
the referendum, calling it "undemocratic" and criticizing 
the NDP for its "bullying of the Egyptian people" in May 29 
commentaries.  Commentary in the pro-government press 
praised the referendum, though pro-government Al Ahram 
(circulation: 750,000) did publish on May 29 a column by 
reformer Salama Ahmed Salama who criticized the government 
for its "rigidity" and the arrest of demonstrators also and 
the pro-government media for failing to have been "neutral 
l 
and impartial."  Meanwhile on the Internet, Egyptian weblog 
writers  bloggers  reported on and were critical of the 
referendum violence.  On May 26 the author of "The Arabist 
Network" blog (found online at arabist.net) posted images 
of Kifaya demonstrators being beaten at the Journalists' 
Syndicate and reported on empty downtown polling stations, 
commenting:  "One thing is for sure  Egypt looked bad." 
 
4.  First Lady Laura Bush visits Egypt:  The First Lady's 
May 23  24 visit to Egypt garnered front page coverage in 
the pro-government press and TV, with her remarks praising 
Mubarak and his government for democratic reforms 
dominating headlines on May 24.  Few commentaries about the 
First Lady's visit were published.  Writing about her visit 
on May 29, a commentator in Al Ahram repeated the oft-heard 
mantra that "the image of the U.S. will not be improved 
unless it changes its policy towards the Palestinians and 
Iraq," while praising the First Lady's statements during 
ing 
her visit to Egypt as "frank and honest." 
 
GRAY