US embassy cable - 05CAIRO6270

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006270 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, KPAO, KMDR, OPRC, UK, AL, AG, EG, Media Themes 
SUBJECT:  PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COVERAGE LURCHES ALONG: 
EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, AUGUST 9 TO 14 
 
REF:  CAIRO 6133 
 
1.  Summary:  The media devoted most of its leading 
coverage to the presidential nomination process.  One 
independent newspaper continued to offer readers in-depth 
coverage of the candidates, publishing an informal poll on 
August 9 in which many of those interviewed claimed not to 
know the candidates or their platforms.  President Mubarak 
received public backing from several religious 
organizations, while the leading opposition newspaper 
predicted that his government would "rig" the elections. 
The Egyptian-born biochemist Magdy Al-Nasher, a suspect in 
the July 7 London terrorist bombings, was released and 
spoke to the press outside his home on August 9, declaring 
his innocence.  A planned emergency Arab League summit in 
Sharm El Sheikh was postponed, with rumors about why it was 
delayed  Algerian anger toward Egypt, or perhaps the 
Egyptian presidential election?  being explored in the 
pan-Arab and English-language press.  End summary. 
 
2.  Presidential elections:  The media continued to cover 
the issue of which presidential candidates would be allowed 
to run and which would be disqualified.  Government-run 
Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on August 11 that 
the Presidential Elections Committee had decided on the 
final list of candidates, while the pro-government media 
began to describe the presidential election as a "contest" 
or "battle."  Several religious organizations publicly 
declared their support for President Mubarak on August 11, 
among them, Al-Azhar, the Ministry of Awqaf, and the Coptic 
Church.  The Editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Al- 
- 
Wafd (circulation: 50,000) predicted on August 9 that the 
Egyptian government would "rig" the elections, then accused 
the government in an August 11 commentary of "corruption 
and wasting the public's money."  Al-Umma Party's 
presidential candidate, Ahmed Al-Sabahi, appeared on the 
popular Egyptian TV program Al-Bayt Baytak ("Make Yourself 
at Home") on August 13 to declare his campaign platform: 
the return of the tarbush (a.k.a. "fez," a head covering 
for men in style in Egypt during the monarchy) and the 
return of the "Darak" soldiers (a.k.a. "gendarme," police 
who were once stationed every 20 meters on Cairo's streets) 
to prevent terrorism.  Independent daily Nahdet Masr 
(circulation: 20,000) continued to offer readers in-depth 
coverage of the candidates and elections (reftel), 
publishing the results of an informal study of Egyptians 
from all economic and social backgrounds on August 9.  The 
majority of those polled claimed to know little about the 
candidates' platform, let alone who the candidates were. 
One candidate, quoted in the same issue of Nahdet Masr, 
appeared to sum up the spirit of several candidates when he 
declared, "I am running in these elections to win  even if 
victory is impossible." 
 
3.  London bombing suspect released:  The Interior Ministry 
announced August 9 that it had released Egyptian biochemist 
Magdy Al-Nasher, a suspect in the July 7 London terrorist 
bombings.  Al-Nasher held a press conference outside his 
home the same day, acknowledging he knew two of the 
terrorists.  Al-Nasher denied any link to the blasts and 
stated that his expertise and education "have nothing to do 
with explosions."  Several independent dailies published 
news of his release and his photo on April 10, among them 
Nahdet Masr with the above-the-fold headline "Al-Nasher 
Innocent in London Bombings."  Al-Nasher granted an 
exclusive interview to the independent weekly newspaper Al- 
Fagr (circulation: 50,000) on August 11 under the headline 
"Magdy Al-Nasher: I Learned Myself About Accusations in the 
London Bombing from International TV Networks."  In the 
interview Al-Nasher claimed to have been interrogated three 
days straight until he proved his innocence to Egyptian 
authorities.  Al-Nasher also appeared on Al-Bayt Baytak on 
August 13 to say that he planned to return to London and 
hoped that "the British people know I'm innocent and it was 
all a misunderstanding." 
 
4.  Emergency Arab League summit postponed (indefinitely?): 
Most Egyptians had to rely on the pan-Arab or English- 
language press for analysis about why the government 
postponed the emergency Arab League summit to have been 
held Sharm El Sheikh.  The summit had been called for by 
the Egyptian government to discuss terrorism and other 
regional issues, but was delayed in the wake of King Fahd's 
death.  A headline in Saudi-owned Al-Watan on August 11 
read: "Egyptian-Algerian Dispute Behind Postponing Summit." 
Saudi-owned Al-Hayat on August 11 quoted Amr Moussa and 
other government "sources" as claiming that Kind Fahd's 
death and the upcoming presidential elections were the 
reason.  The Al-Hayat article also reported, "Sources also 
said that both the Algerian and Egyptian Presidents did not 
meet in Riyadh during King Fahd's funeral, which means that 
the dispute that occurred between the two countries 
regarding the decision to hold an Emergency Arab Summit 
still exists.  This is why some Arab countries are 
suggesting not holding any emergency summit for the time 
being, as it will cause unneeded Arab divisions."  Pro- 
government Al-Ahram Weekly (circulation: 25,000) reported 
the summit's postponement under the headline "Not Much of 
an Emergency" in its August 11-17 edition, noting that the 
summit's timing was "problematic" for most nations, thus 
its delay. 
 
JONES