REO BASRAH SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE MEDIA IN THE RUN-UP TO THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000155

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KDEM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: REO BASRAH SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE MEDIA IN THE RUN-UP TO THE
DECEMBER 15 ELECTION


1. Summary. REO Basrah programmed $145,000 in public diplomacy
grant funds to media organizations for coverage of key election
issues in the run-up to the December 15 national election.
Al-Samawah, Al-Manarah, Shatt Al-Arab, Al-Haqeeqa and Basrah
Politics newspapers and Radio Shinasheel each received between
$10,000 to $15,000 grants, resulting in hundreds of hours of
extra radio programming and over 190,000 supplemental editions
being published and distributed in nine southern provinces.
Between the five newspapers and the one radio station, thousands
of voters scattered among all the southern provinces were
reached. End Summary.


2. REO Basrah programmed $145,000 in Embassy Baghdad Public
Diplomacy grant funds to local and regional media organizations
to highlight important issues preceding the December 15
election. The goals of the program were to assist local and
regional newspapers to highlight key issues and profile
candidates and political lists for the overarching aim of
providing voters with a better understanding of the electoral
process.


3. Al-Haqeeqa, Shatt Al-Arab, Al-Samawah and Basrah Politics
newspapers used grant funds to support the publishing of
eight-page special editions twice a week in advance of the
elections, for a total of six extra editions. The editors of
these papers made special efforts to provide balanced coverage
of both Unified Iraqi Coalition (List 555) candidates and their
opponents, placing specific emphasis on women's rights and the
role of women in the election. Al-Samawah newspaper from
Muthanna province, in particular, devoted equal space for
conservative and moderate candidates, including several
two-page, fold out sections that profiled one candidate on the
left page and another on the right.


4. Al-Manarah, the only regularly published newspaper in the
south (twice weekly),provided three separate products. First,
it developed and inserted an eight-page election supplement into
its regularly published biweekly newspaper and distributed it to
10,000 Iraqis throughout the south. This supplement was
designed to provide readers with an overview of candidates and
their platforms, as well as general election issues in the
south. Second, Al-Manarah published two special provincial
editions in each of the nine southern provinces, one before and
another after the election. These provincial editions focused
on issues and candidates in their respective provinces.
Al-Manarah distributed 3,000 copies of each edition in each
province. Finally, two days before the election, Al-Manarah
published and distributed a special election primer edition,
with 3,000 copies distributed in eight southern provinces and
10,000 distributed in Basrah province. This special edition was
designed to be an election day tool for voters, identifying all
of the candidates on each list and describing each list's basic
platform.

--------------
Media Reaction
--------------


5. Vignettes from special election editions and supplements:

Al Haqeeqa (Basrah),Communist, summary of front-page editorial
by Abbas Al-Jourani on December 7, titled, "Terrorism and the
Electoral Campaigns."

"Any participant in the electoral process can not deny the
important steps that the Iraqi people have taken to remove the
remnants of Saddam's regime. Unfortunately, during the legal
campaigns, we have observed the tearing of posters and pictures
of candidates, a result of the lack of democratic education of
the people. This is a blemish on the political process and I
call on all parties to condemn this action."
-------------- --------------
-------------- --------------
Shatt Al-Arab (Basrah),Independent, summary of front-page
editorial by Bakr Al-Nimrawee on December 3, titled, "Let's make
the election the beginning of the end of the occupation."

"In order to build a new independent, democratic Iraq and free
ourselves from occupation, we must adopt the following national
goals and principles:

-- Be loyal to an Iraqi identity first, rather than a doctrine,
or ethnic/sectarian affiliation.
-- Cast away religious and political extremism.
-- Embrace the democratic process
-- Invite all elements of Iraqi society to be involved in
electoral process, regardless of affiliation.
-- Maintain the unity of Iraq by ensuring that all parties
receive a fair share of the nation's natural resources.

We know that by adhering to the principles spelled out above, we
can ensure that our democracy grows strong and results in the
withdrawal of coalition forces."
-------------- --------------
-------------- --------------

Al-Samawah (Muthanna),Independent, summary of third page
unattributed editorial on November 26, titled, "People Chatting
Before the Parliamentary Elections."

"The Iraqi people have a proud and storied civilization and
culture and we will soon return to that place we occupied long
ago. They have started to build a new Iraq step by step and now
they will choose their candidates to write down the permanent
constitution and apply it as well. Here show some of the
opinions of the people and what the election means to them:

--Waleed Mazher - Researcher
The parliamentary election is coming soon and the people hope
for lots of change for the coming government because it's the
first time an elected government will lead the country for four
years.
--Ali Adnan - Student
The Election is the foundation to build a new Iraq and every one
should express his own opinion and show what he can do for Iraq.

--Maysoon Al-Shaik:
The most importing thing is increasing the participation of
women in government.
I think the women will have a strong showing in the coming
election.

--Maraim Al-Halfy:
The Election is the right step on the way to a new strong Iraq
to survive this critical period and achieve a stable Iraq that
provides for the aspirations of the candidates and the people."


6. Summary: Communicating election issues to the widespread
population in the southern provinces is a challenge for the
small, poorly-funded private media organizations in the south.
The $145,000 in grant funds enabled private media to spread
information about the December 15 national elections at a
critical time in Iraq's history. End Summary.
GROSS