US embassy cable - 05CAIRO5743

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 005743 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAO, OPRC, EG 
SUBJECT: CHARGE DISCUSSES RADIO SAWA AND FOREIGN 
CORRESPONDENTS' ACCESS WITH INFORMATION MINISTER EL FEKKI 
 
REF: CAIRO 5514 
 
Classified by Charge Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Charge and PAC met with Information Minister Anas Al 
Fekki on July 26 to urge that GOE allow Radio Sawa to create 
a broadcast facility in Egypt and to relay the complaint from 
foreign correspondents stationed here that they lack 
on-the-record access to GOE officials.  The Minister agreed 
to meet with Broadcasting Board of Governors' (BBG) 
representatives to explain his plan for revising the law that 
prohibits non-government ownership of broadcasting and thus 
to enable Sawa to broadcast within Egypt.  But he firmly 
rejected linking Sawa with aid to Egypt, saying that the GOE 
would rather forfeit the aid than look like it was 
leapfrogging the law in response to U.S. pressure.  Such an 
approach, he said, would badly damage the public image of the 
U.S.-Egyptian partnership and destroy any chance of getting a 
broadcast facility for Sawa.  Portraying himself as a liberal 
reformer who favors a free media climate, the Minister 
pointed to sweeping changes in the Information Ministry, 
which controls the pervasive state TV and radio.  He 
highlighted the real-time and unfettered coverage by Egyptian 
TV of the Sharm el Sheikh bombings and his own efforts to 
ensure free and balanced access by all Presidential 
candidates to the broadcast media.  End Summary. 
 
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Radio Sawa:  Changing the Law is the Best Approach 
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2.  (C) During his introductory call, the Charge raised the 
need for Sawa to broadcast from a transmitter within Egypt in 
order to reach the desired audience, noting that the two 
governments have been working on this through their envoys 
for years.  Charge emphasized that the U.S. Congress takes 
this issue very seriously -- to the extent that 227 million 
dollars in aid may be linked to a resolution of the issue. 
Minister El Fekky said he rejected this linkage on principle, 
stating that he has nothing against Sawa and fully realizes 
the negative impact of Law 13 of 1979, but that the right 
approach is to overhaul the law and open up the airwaves to 
non-GOE broadcasters across the board.   He cited his own 
efforts and those of other GOE officials over the years, 
including EGIS Director Soliman, to find a loophole for the 
proposed Sawa FM station )- but to no avail.  Tying Sawa to 
economic assistance would ruin the chances for a Sawa 
transmitter in Egypt.  The GOE, he stated, would rather walk 
away from the hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid 
than be seen as submitting to pressure.  This would damage 
what he described as a comprehensive media campaign to 
highlight the strategic benefits of the U.S.-Egyptian 
relationship to the ordinary Egyptian. 
 
3.  (C) The Charge expressed his appreciation for the 
Minister's efforts to find a way to accommodate Sawa, but 
reiterated the seriousness of the situation.  He proposed 
that Minister El Fekki meet with representatives from the BBG 
who were prepared to come to Egypt.  The Minister immediately 
agreed to a meeting, but strongly urged that the plan to 
build a Sawa transmitter not be publicized in the media.  The 
Charge handed the Minister the BBG letter of July 22 
outlining the proposal to establish an FM transmitting 
facility.  PAC will follow up with the Minister's Office and 
the BBG regarding the BBG visit. 
 
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Better Access to GOE for Foreign Correspondents 
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4.  (C) Charge relayed the complaint from foreign 
correspondents -) which they conveyed to Deputy Secretary 
Zoellick during his recent visit here -- that they face 
difficulties in getting GOE officials to discuss political 
reform and the elections on the record.  By comparison, 
according to the journalists, the opposition spokesmen were 
very ready to make quotable statements, resulting in an 
imbalance.  The Minister pointed to numerous media tours and 
other activities aimed at the foreign media, including some 
highly critical Western journalists, but admitted that the 
GOE officials were not as accessible as opposition figures 
like Ayman Nour.  "We're also busy working," he said. 
However, he promised to promote a more forward-leaning 
approach for senior officials, saying that he would have the 
new head of an outreach effort to foreign journalists hold a 
meeting with the resident foreign correspondents next week. 
(Note: Charge plans to host a lunch next week with locally 
based foreign reporters to hear first-hand about their access 
to GOE officials.  End note.) 
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Free and Balanced TV Access for Election Candidates 
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5.  (U) Reminded of Secretary Rice's remarks in Cairo urging 
media access for opposition politicians in the upcoming 
presidential election, the Minister said that he is committed 
to allowing all candidates balanced access to GOE-controlled 
TV.  He had rejected a study submitted to the Board of 
Governors of the Egyptian Radio-TV Union (ERTU), he said, 
because it had included only 60 minutes per day of airtime 
for the candidates.  The candidates, he stated, should be 
able to be on the air three times a day and TV should cover 
their platform statements liberally.  Nor should state TV 
favor the incumbent by airing old documentary footage.  "The 
Egyptian taxpayer -- whether Ayman Nour or anyone else -- 
pays for our TV," he stated.  He cited a recent taped debate 
between two opposition figures in which they strongly 
criticized the government.  During the debate one candidate 
said "I'm sure you,ll edit out that comment," but the 
Minister said he had the program aired in its entirety 
including this remark. 
 
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Sharm Explosions and Egyptian TV ) Almost in Real Time 
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6.  (C) The Minister also boasted that Egyptian TV was first 
on hand to cover the bombings in Sharm el Sheikh.  An 
Egyptian TV reporter had been staying in the Ghazaleh hotel 
when it was bombed and had immediately phoned headquarters. 
He was told to start shooting the scenes of mayhem 
immediately, and indeed Egyptian TV was the mainstay of CNN 
and other international coverage throughout the night.  El 
Fekki contrasted this real-time proactive approach with the 
recent Taba and Khan al Khalili bombings, when -) against 
his better judgment -- he had waited for the green light from 
the Interior Ministry and been scooped by foreign 
broadcasters.  "This time I didn't ask anyone, I told them to 
go ahead and shoot."  President Mubarak later told him:  "You 
did the right thing." 
 
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Comment: A New Style at the Information Ministry 
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7.  (SBU) Charge and PAC found Minister El-Fekki to be 
refreshingly open and candid about his plans for the 
formidable Egyptian broadcast establishment.  We believe that 
he intends to do everything in his power to open the 
state-controlled media, and has already taken some positive 
steps.  Time will tell to what extent opposition candidates 
get airtime and balanced coverage and whether the unfettered 
approach to fast-breaking crises like the Sharm attacks 
persists.  Regarding Sawa transmission, we will continue to 
emphasize the need to make Sawa broadcasts accessible to a 
wide Egyptian audience as one of the benchmarks of the 
Minister's stated goal of a more liberal broadcast 
environment.  Post urges that the BBG act on the Minister's 
opening by visiting Cairo at the earliest opportunity.  End 
comment. 
 
 
 
 
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JONES