US embassy cable - 05CAIRO4304

UNCLAS CAIRO 004304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, EG, Media Themes 
SUBJECT:  CRITICS ACCUSE NDP OF USING "THUGS" AND 
"MERCENARIES" AGAINST OPPOSITION:  EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, 
MAY 31 TO JUNE 5 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary:  While the pro-government press was 
praising the May 25 referendum, independent and opposition 
commentators criticized what they considered poor media 
coverage and accused ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) 
members of acting like "thugs" and "mercenaries."  One 
commentator likened the government-owned media's referendum 
coverage to that of the "Nasser era."  A female journalist, 
who was assaulted during referendum day violence, 
confronted an NDP member in a heated exchange on live TV. 
In other news, two well-known opposition papers reported on 
June 5 that Embassy Cairo was recruiting spies through a 
job listing published in Al Ahram to fill a vacancy in the 
Economic political section.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  May 25 referendum aftermath - coverage:  The June 
3 front page of pro-government Al Ahram (circulation: 
750,000) highlighted a statement by President Mubarak that 
Egyptian presidential elections later this year will be 
"honest and free" and that there would be "an investigation 
of the violent events on referendum day."  The same day, Al 
Ahram claimed that democracy would be "Mubarak's heritage 
to the world," and reported on President Bush's phone call 
to Mubarak, during which President Bush allegedly said that 
Egypt's democracy would be a "model to the Middle East." 
All newspapers reported on June 1 that the Press Syndicate 
forwarded to the Public Prosecutor a complaint about 
violent acts committed against journalists covering 
demonstrations on May 25. 
 
3.  (U)  May 25 referendum aftermath - commentary:  While 
pro-government commentary on the violence was virtually 
non-existent - one commentator in pro-government Al Akhbar 
(circulation: 800,000) did claim on May 31 that the 
violence was "regrettable" - the opposition and independent 
press had much to say.  Opposition Al Wafd (circulation: 
180,000) focused its criticism on the Egyptian state- 
controlled media.  "The May 25 referendum propaganda 
campaign was like that of the Nasser era media!" railed Al 
Wafd Editor-in-chief Abbas Tarabeely on June 4.  A 
commentator in independent Al Masry Al Youm (circulation: 
20,000) on May 31 accused the NDP of using "thugs" and 
"mercenaries" against its opponents.  Another commentator 
in independent Nahdet Masr (circulation: 20,000) on May 31 
condemned "the harassment of women" and "violence by NDP 
members" during the referendum.  On June 5 the Editor-in- 
chief of popular independent weekly Sawt Al Umma 
(circulation: 50,000) lamented, "The Egyptian security 
apparatus has hijacked our country.  Egyptians do not want 
to live under the shoes of the Ministry of Interior and 
thugs!"  Meanwhile, Egyptian satellite TV channel "Orbit" 
hosted live on June 1 a heated debate between a female 
journalist, Nawal Aly, who was beaten while covering the 
referendum, and NDP member and journalist Dr. Magdi Alam. 
Aly accused Alam of inciting violence, while Alam claimed 
that Aly had allowed herself to be "used" by members of the 
Kifaya ("Enough") movement. 
 
4.  (SBU)  U.S. Embassy Cairo recruiting spies through the 
press?:  On June 2, Al Masry Al Youm published a short 
article on its front page claiming that unnamed "political 
observers" believed that an Embassy Cairo job advertisement 
for a new political section specialist, published in Al 
Ahram on May 29, was, in fact, "a call for Egyptians to 
gather information on their country and spy against it." 
(Note:  Half the article was devoted to a PA officer's on- 
the-record denial of the allegation.  End note.)  On June 
5, two more articles appeared - a front-page story in 
opposition Nasserite Al Araby (circulation: 20,000) and a 
Page 2 story in Nasserite, anti-American Al-Osboa' 
(circulation: 70,000) - both repeating Al Masry Al Youm's 
claim, without quoting a source of the accusation or the 
Embassy's denial. 
 
GRAY 
 
#4304