ARAB WOMEN JOURNALISTS STRENGTHEN TIES, QUESTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 005695

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD (DBENZE, JDAVIES),IIP/G/NEA
(RWINCHESTER, TSCOTT, LKUYUMCU),IIP/T/GIC (JBOCHNER)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KWMN KPAL ALNEA
SUBJECT: ARAB WOMEN JOURNALISTS STRENGTHEN TIES, QUESTION
PRIORITIES AND PLEDGE TO REACH OUT TO THE USA


This is a joint cable from Embassy Amman and ConGen
Jerusalem.


1. Summary: The third annual conference of the Arab Women's
Media Center (AWMC),a Jordanian NGO, brought together 60
women from 12 Arab countries, the Palestinian Authority and
Israel in late June. USG sponsorship made it possible for
these women to gather in Amman; over 80 percent of the
funding for the conference was provided by PAS Amman,
NEA/PPD, MEPI and PAS Jerusalem. Despite the divides of
history and politics, Arab Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians,
Kuwaitis, Iraqis and others all interacted as colleagues and
formed a close network. Debate over the "liberation" vs.
"occupation" of Iraq impinged on the conference but other,
more germane issues dominated: the perceived conflict of
national interests with journalistic professionalism and
integrity, and the need for Arab media to communicate Arab
values, culture, society, and religion to an American
audience. U.S. speaker and Newsweek journalist Lorraine
Ali, herself an Arab-American, stressed the importance of
such outreach. Official Jordanian participants strongly
defended the G-8 reform initiative. End summary.


2. Sixty Arab women gathered in Amman, Jordan June 26-29
for the third annual AWMC conference. Fifteen of them were
nominated to participate by U.S. missions in their
countries. They represented 12 Arab nations -- Algeria,
Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait -- plus the Palestinian
Authority and Israel, and in many cases were meeting and
interacting for the first time. Iraqi and Saudi
participants remarked that this was the first such
international conference they had taken part in; an Israeli
Arab said it was the first time she felt included as an Arab
rather than ostracized for her Israeli passport. The
conference received significant USG financial support, with
over 80 percent of the funds coming from PAS Amman, NEA/PPD,
MEPI and PAS Jerusalem.

--------------
"Women Are Coming"
--------------


3. The conference adopted "Women Are Coming" as its motto,
and the papers presented reflected the progress women have
made in the Arab world in recent years. They also made
clear that the status of women journalists varies widely
across the region and that common challenges persist. Among
these challenges are wage disparity, lack of legislative
protection (with the exception of Tunisia),perceptions of
inferiority, the difficulty of balancing family and career,
and negative stereotypes and "objectification" of women in
media (e.g., the use of beautiful women to report the
weather). The Jordanian Minister of State for Media, Ms.
Asma Khader, cited the dual obstacles of quantity and
quality and said that while Arab women journalists are
making headway against the former, they need more training
opportunities to address the latter. A common question was
how to exploit newly acquired freedoms -- specifically in
Iraq, Algeria, Yemen and Oman.

--------------
Truth or Consequences
--------------


4. The issue of "national interests" taking precedence over
freedom of expression and journalistic professionalism
dominated nearly every session of the conference. A number
of women asked soul-searching questions about the purpose of
Arab media: to support the "Arab cause" or to report the
truth. As Jifara Al-Bideri, a Palestinian who works for Al-
Jazeera, put it, "Am I Palestinian or am I a journalist?"
The participants reached no consensus on this dilemma. The
older generation argued for the precedence of journalistic
integrity and freedom of expression, while the more junior
women appeared devoted to the concept of journalism serving
the greater national cause, however defined.


5. More questions arose about the definition of "national
interests" vis--vis Arab interests. Calls for greater pan-
Arab unity and coordination among women journalists
notwithstanding, it was clear that the divergence of views
and interests within individual Arab countries is
increasing. Some participants worried about the function of
Arab media if widespread self-censorship prevented accurate
reporting on what was happening in their own countries,
making foreign media the only reliable source of news.
American media reporting on the Abu Ghraib prison abuse was
cited as an instance where journalistic responsibility won
out over short-term national interests -- and in the end
served to strengthen the democratic ideals at the core of
American society.

-------------- --------------
Arab-American Makes Plea for Greater Communication
-------------- --------------


6. Lorraine Ali, a contributing writer for Newsweek who
since 9/11 has been covering Arab and Arab-American culture
and society, attended the conference as a U.S.G.-funded
speaker. She brought an important Arab-American voice and
viewpoint to the conference debates. Talking about her
multiple identities as an Arab, an American, a woman and a
journalist, she advised that professional dedication to
freedom of speech and the truth should always come first.
Ali highlighted the dearth of knowledge about Arab society
and culture, especially the role of women, in America. She
encouraged Arab media to speak to the West, in English, and
in multiple contexts: politics, arts, music, and social
issues.


7. Other conference participants cited the tendency for
Arab media to address only other Arabs. Lebanese journalist
Guitta Kiameh challenged the Arab world, and women in
particular, to become producers, not just consumers, of
media. The flow of information between the United States
and the Arab world, she said, should not be solely directed
at the Arab audience, but rather should aim for a true
exchange of ideas and information.

--------------
Iraq: Two Viewpoints
--------------


8. Three Iraq women journalists attended the AWMC
conference. The first to speak, Sallamah Abdel Hassan from
New Iraq Radio, defended her characterization of American
actions as "liberation" as opposed to "occupation." She
spoke about the rebirth of journalism in post-Saddam Iraq,
although she admitted there were no regulations limiting the
proliferation of sub-standard publications, and about
opportunities for women there. She concluded by saying, "We
would rather be ruled by 1,000 Americans than one man from
Tikrit."


9. Nada Omran, Iraqi correspondent for Egyptian daily Al-
Ahram, spoke forcefully about the censorship practiced by
the American "occupation" and criticized media in Iraq for
characterizing Iraqis as the "enemy." Unlike those of her
colleague Abdel Hassan, Omran's remarks were favorably
received by the conference participants as a whole.

--------------
GOJ Minister Urges/Defends Reform
--------------


10. The issue of reform arose in a session in which
Mohammed Daoudiyeh, Jordanian Minister for Political
Development, urged the adoption of reform agendas in the
Arab world, noting a crisis of citizenship" in the region,
which he attributed to low internet usage and a lack of
women in positions of leadership. The participants objected
vigorously to any attempt to impose reform from outside the
region. "Who is leading this reform?," they asked. In
their view, the United States cannot credibly lead such an
effort due to its biased support for Israel; furthermore,
they questioned the divorce of reform from the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. Participants also doubted the
willingness of Arab leaders to tolerate women's political
participation. Daoudiyeh countered that reform could not be
held hostage to the dual challenges of terrorism and
occupation, and to oppose reform is, in effect, to support
dictatorship. Further, he defended the G-8's Broader Middle
East and North Africa Initiative as both fair and necessary;
he urged the participants to look beyond a "made in the USA"
label. Overall, conference participants expressed agreement
about the necessity for reform to bring equality to women
and democracy to Arab citizens across the region, and noted
positively BMENA's focus on women's empowerment.

--------------
Recognition of USG Support
--------------


11. Months into the organization of this program, AWMC head
Mahasen Al-Emam said she feared physical and verbal attacks
on the AWMC and the conference if its materials featured the
U.S. logo and/or prominent acknowledgement were made of USG
funding. Her concern reflected a broader controversy in
Jordan, where local NGOs fear rebuke from conservative and
Islamist elements for receiving foreign (especially USG)
funds -- ironically, given that the GOJ receives millions of
dollars in annual foreign assistance. Al-Emam ultimately
agreed to acknowledge verbally official U.S. support during
the conference, and did so by welcoming and thanking USG
representatives in attendance at the opening session. In
the end the U.S. role did not become an issue for the
participants, AM d58bjbj "T_W_W54l

l

the conference or its final recommendations.

--------------
Final Recommendations
--------------


12. After a vigorous debate over whether to endorse a set
of recommendations put forward by conference participants or
another that the AWMC preferred, the conference adopted the
following ten recommendations:
"1- Calling on the President of the Council of Arab
Information Ministers to involve Arab media women in the
Council's regular meetings for the purpose of including
women in the media-related decision-making process.
2- Constructing new media centers similar to the AWMC in
Arab countries that participated in the conference and to
ensure that the AWMC conference is held regularly in each
country.
3- Constructing an Arabic media library that collects
releases and publications of Arab media women from different
fields of media.
4- Declaring March 12 a day for Arab Media Women in all Arab
countries; such an observance was initiated by AWMC five
years ago.
5- Holding training courses for Arab media women, especially
Iraqi and Saudi women, according to needs in each country.
6- Working to create pressure groups on the subject of wages
and salaries for Arab media women in countries where gender
discrimination exists.
7- The Recommendations Formulation Committee must carry out
monthly follow-up of the work of the Follow-up Committee in
coordination with AWMC.
8- Considering the media code of ethics as recommended by
conference participants as the Arab code of ethics to which
Arab Media Women are committed, each in their respective
countries. (Note: the drafting of a "code of
conduct/ethics" was a conference exercise, but no consensus
was reached among participants as to the core tenets of such
a code. End Note.)
9- Establishing an Arab media network via the Internet to
maintain communication among Arab media women, strengthen
consultation among them, present Arab media-related issues
as they arise, adopt issues related to Arab media women, and
put them forth to decision-makers.
10- Strengthening dialogue between Arab media women on one
hand and NGOs and international organizations on the other
in order to enhance Arab media women's access to decision-
making positions.
Everyone agreed that all Arab media women shall work in
their own countries and within the Arab region to support
the AWMC's efforts and programs, being the first non-
governmental media organization for Arab media women."
--------------
Comment
--------------


13. PAS Amman and PAS Jerusalem are very pleased with the
outcome of the conference. The connections made by the
women who participated, the vital issues discussed, and the
pledge to follow up on conference recommendations will serve
to strengthen Arab media, and the role played by women, in
each of the countries represented and across the region.
Both posts will follow up with women locally and with the
AWMC to explore support for training opportunities and to
enhance continued communication among the participants. The
venue was also a great opportunity to interact with contacts
-- particularly for PDOffs from Jerusalem who are restricted
from travel in the West Bank and thus from face-to-face
contact with many women journalists who live and work
outside of Jerusalem. We thank IIP and MEPI for their
support, especially in recruiting Lorraine Ali as a
conference participant and speaker.

GNEHM