US embassy cable - 05CAIRO6508

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006508 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, KPAO, KMDR, OPRC, UK, AL, AG, EG, Media Themes 
SUBJECT:  ELECTIONS IN EGYPT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, 
AUGUST 15 TO 21 
 
 
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Summary 
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1.  Commentaries this past week indicate that many 
educated Egyptians think that the presidential 
elections next month, even if the results are a 
foregone conclusion, will be a rehearsal for the 
parliamentary ones next November and a healthy 
experience for the body politic.  The Ghad Party's 
supposed overture to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the 
statements of support for Mubarak issued by the Coptic 
Pope and the Sheikh of Al Azhar also prompted 
commentary last week.  The complaint that the United 
States intends to monitor the upcoming elections 
continued to be a source of concern, most articles 
taking the position that Egyptians could handle an 
election by themselves without outside interference. 
All Egyptian media followed the withdrawal of settlers 
from Gaza with rapt attention but commentaries on the 
significance of the events were few and muted.  End 
summary. 
 
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Presidential elections are a rehearsal for the 
parliamentary ones and are good for the body politic 
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2.  Dream TV, on August 21, hosted Noman Gomaa, the 
Wafd Party chairman, who noted that although it would 
be very difficult for him to win in the presidential 
elections, his party would concentrate its real 
efforts on victories in the parliamentary ones.  On 
Egyptian TV's popular "Al Bayt Betak" (Make Yourself 
at Home) talk show of August 21, a university 
professor praised the elections as being a "good 
experience" for the Egyptian people.  On August 16, 
The vice editor of pro-government Al Musawwar magazine 
(circulation; 50,000) said on TV Channel Two's talk 
show Milaffat Maftouha (Open Files) that talk about 
reform is no longer confined to intellectual or elite 
circles but is now widespread among all people.  On 
August 15, a columnist in opposition Al Wafd newspaper 
(circulation: 180,000) said that the opposition 
parties, even if they think the election results might 
be a forgone conclusion, should view the elections as 
an opportunity to win their base among ordinary 
people.  In pro-government Al Akhbar newspaper 
(circulation: 780,000), on August 21, former editor- 
in-chief Galal Doweidar asserted that the empowerment 
of the people is the main benefit of the presidential 
elections.  Echoing the same sentiment, an unsigned 
editorial in pro-government Al Gomhouriya 
(circulation: 200,000), August 19, argued that the 
upcoming "free" elections would enable the political 
parties to gauge their weight on the street and work 
on increasing their share of the votes in future 
elections. 
 
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Religion should stay out of it 
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3.  Al Gomhouriya newspaper, on August 15, reported 
that Ghad Party Chairman Ayman Nour had visited Muslim 
Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef to solicit 
support in the upcoming elections.  In an obvious 
reference to this visit, moderate independent paper 
Nahdet Misr (circulation: 20,000), on August 15, 
criticized presidential candidates (i.e., Ayman Nour) 
who "deceived" the public when they claimed to be 
"liberals" who rejected playing the religion card in 
politics, but who went to kiss the hand of the Supreme 
Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, all the while 
declaring that they wanted to establish an American- 
style system of government.  Al Gomhouriya, on August 
19, noted that the Supreme Mufti of Al-Azhar had 
praised Egypt's style of democracy and had remarked 
that anyone who does not vote would be considered a 
"sinner."  On the TV talk show El Haqiqa (The Truth), 
August 21, a prominent Coptic intellectual said that 
any involvement in politics by religious officials was 
wrong, including Coptic Pope Shenouda's announcement 
of support for Mubarak. 
 
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No need for foreign election monitoring; we can do it 
ourselves 
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4.  On Egyptian TV Channel One's Malaff Khass (Special 
File) talk show, August 15, well-known writer Salah 
Montasser said Egypt's elections would be a model for 
the whole region, and that international supervision 
is unnecessary as there are many TV channels that have 
trained their reporters to cover such events, not to 
mention international TV coverage, press, and "secret 
elements" that surely would be present.  Al 
Gomhouriya, on August 15, quoted the spokesman of the 
Presidential Election Commission saying that every 
candidate has the right to appoint a deputy in every 
polling station.  On August 20, pro-government 
newspaper Al Akhbar (circulation: 780,000) and Al Wafd 
newspaper reported that the Judges' Club had sent a 
memorandum to the Presidential Election Commission 
stressing the need to assign a judge for every ballot 
box in all polling stations.  The Club also said it is 
the right of civil society groups to monitor the 
electoral process.   In the same article, Al Akhbar 
and Al Wafd also reported that the head of the Judges' 
Club had refused to meet with a U.S. Congressional 
delegation and had also condemned American attempts to 
"check up" on democracy in Egypt and "teach it" to 
Egyptians.  (Note:  No such meeting had been 
requested.  End note.) Al Akhbar, on August 20, 
proclaimed that all Egyptian presidential candidates, 
including President Mubarak, had rejected 
international monitoring of elections and that they 
were all confident that the elections would be fair 
without any foreign supervision.  Pan-Arab newspaper 
Al Sharq Al Awsat (estimated circulation in Egypt: 
5,000) reported on August 19 that some civil society 
groups had decided to file a lawsuit with the 
Administrative Court against the head of the 
Presidential Election Commission for turning down 
their request to monitor the elections. 
 
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Gaza withdrawal; not such a big deal 
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5.  Although media coverage was extensive, 
commentaries on the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza were 
relatively few and muted.  On August 15, Nile TV's 
talk show "Open to Question" focused on events in 
Gaza.  The prime guest, Ambassador Fathi El-Shazli, 
said that the withdrawal was "significant" but was not 
of  "historical" significance.  He opined that even 
though Gaza was tantamount to a "prison" for the 
Palestinians, it would nevertheless provide them with 
scope to improve their situation.  In Al Wafd 
newspaper (circulation: 180,000), on August 20, anti- 
U.S. and anti-Israel columnist Sanaa Al-Said made 
light of the Gaza withdrawal.  She said that Israel 
would not withdraw from any of the other occupied 
territories and that an unsupportable burden would be 
put on the shoulders of the Palestinians that would 
frustrate their efforts to oblige Israel to withdraw 
from the rest of the territories. 
 
Jones