HERE COME THE CANDIDATES: EGYPTIAN MEDIA

UNCLAS CAIRO 006133 SIPDIS NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER KPAO KMDR OPRC EG SUBJECT: HERE COME THE CANDIDATES: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, AUGUST 1 TO 8 ¶1. Summary: The media reported at length on the candidates who had registered for Egypt's presidential elections. Although the pro-government media continued to devote the majority of their coverage to Mubarak's candidacy, they also gave prominent coverage to the candidacies of two other politicians namely, Noaman Gomaa of Al-Wafd and Ayman Nour of Al-Ghad. Throughout the week, commentaries on the candidates and the electoral process eclipsed all other issues. One TV program discussed the subject of election monitoring, with two guests (both NDP members) claiming it was not necessary. On another subject, the same TV program also featured Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri's uncle and an Egyptian Interior Ministry official who claimed to have once interrogated Al-Zawahiri. Though the guests found little they had little in common, both agreed that Al-Zawahiri was a man of "bitterness" and "revenge." End summary. ¶2. Presidential elections: While President Mubarak continues to garner bold headlines and top-of-the-hour TV coverage in the pro-government media, opposition and independent candidates are receiving exposure (though still limited in comparison). The Chairman of Al-Wafd, Noaman Gomaa, appeared on Channel 2's popular program "Al-Bayt Baytak" ("Make Yourself at Home") on August 3 to discuss his candidacy. The head of the Tagamu' party appeared on the same program to encourage Gomaa's candidacy and criticized the pro-government media for covering Mubarak's speeches "word by word." The headline in leading pro- government daily Al-Ahram (circulation: 750,000) on August 7 read "Mubarak Promises to Increase Income and Job Opportunities," followed by the subheading "Noaman Gomaa: New Constitution, Abolish State Security, and Free all Detainees. Ayman Nour: Abolish Laws Suppressing Freedom and Write New Laws to Take Ministers to Court." Half of the front page article was devoted to Mubarak and the remaining space to Noaman Gomaa and Ayman Nour. Pro- government daily Al-Akhbar (circulation: 800,000) printed small photos and the names of 26 candidates on its August 7 front page. Ardently pro-government Al-Gomhouriya (circulation: 500,000) focused on NDP Chairman Safwat El Sherif's praise of Mubarak's "program for the future." The most extensive coverage of candidates by an independent newspaper appeared in Nahdet Masr (circulation: 20,000), which last week profiled a different candidate, each day, in a half-page spread on the third page. ¶3. Election monitors: "We don't need foreign intervention in our elections. If there was an intention to hold counterfeit elections, why did the President change the Constitution in the first place?" reasoned the Dean of Alexandria University and a NDP member on Dream TV's "10 p.m." program on August 7. Another guest, a professor of International Law (and also an NDP member),claimed that monitors were "not necessary," since existing legal procedures "ensure fair elections." An Al-Wafd party leader also appeared on the program, stating, "International monitors are useless, as the government has its own ways to counterfeit the elections that observers won't notice." Media commentary on the issue of international monitoring largely died down the past week, replaced by discussions of the candidates and the electoral process. ¶4. Terrorism: Dream TV's "10 p.m." program on August 7 also hosted Ayman Al-Zawahiri's uncle and lawyer, Mahfouz Azam. Azam argued that his nephew "is defending Islamic countries from U.S. occupation, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq" and stated that "the way Egyptian security dealt with him created bitterness in him." A former Assistant Interior Minister who claimed that he once interrogated Al- Zawahiri also appeared on the program. After saying that Al-Zawahiri was a man "full of revenge," he attacked Al- Qaeda for killing Muslim civilians. "Why don't they operate against Israel, instead?" he argued. "They're the biggest enemy of Islam." A columnist in opposition Al-Wafd (circulation: 70,000) on August 7 criticized an Al-Jazeera talk show for having hosted an Iraqi guest who supported terrorism in Iraq. The same day, a conservative commentator in Al-Ahram pleaded with religious institutions to "play a more assertive role to take a stand against terrorist ideology." JONES