Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MANAMA137
2005-01-31 11:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

BAHRAIN'S MEDIA ON IRAQ ELECTIONS: DEMOCRACY

Tags:  PREL PGOV OIIP KDEM KMDR KPAO BA IZ 
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UNCLAS MANAMA 000137 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, IIP/G/NEA, R

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV OIIP KDEM KMDR KPAO BA IZ
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN'S MEDIA ON IRAQ ELECTIONS: DEMOCRACY
WINS AND BOYCOTTERS LOSE

UNCLAS MANAMA 000137

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, IIP/G/NEA, R

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV OIIP KDEM KMDR KPAO BA IZ
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN'S MEDIA ON IRAQ ELECTIONS: DEMOCRACY
WINS AND BOYCOTTERS LOSE


1. Summary: Bahrain's media overwhelmingly welcomed the
success of Iraq's elections with front-page coverage,
banner headlines, and positive editorials on January 31.
The Embassy's outreach efforts on Iraq elections paid off
with a four-page elections insert on January 30 in "Al
Wasat," drawing heavily from the Department's Iraq Fact
Sheet. The paper carried an exclusive interview with
Embassy Baghdad-based military spokesman General Lessel,
arranged by PAS, which headlined, "Iraqi Elections Are
Historical." Several columnists who had previously
condemned holding elections under an "American
occupation" were curiously silent today. End summary.


2. Pro-government newspaper "Al Ayam" carried a strongly
worded lead editorial on January 31 stating, "History
will determine that Iraq entered the twenty-first century
on solid grounds of democracy and freedom. Iraqis defied
death, casting their votes despite threats from the
enemies of freedom and democracy, and saying no to
violence and terrorism. They proved that those who
support violence and boycotts were a small and un-
influential group. They want to be part of the political
process to make change for a better future."


3. Most of Bahrain's leading opinion writers were
generally optimistic about the elections and Iraq's
future. Popular "Al Wasat" columnist Sayed Dhiya Al-
Mousawi wrote that Arabs are contradicting themselves
when they support Palestinian elections under the Israeli
occupation but condemn them under the Americans in Iraq.
He added, "Some Arabs say that peaceful approaches will
not end occupation. If that is the case, how do you
explain Ghandi's peaceful approach in ending the British
colonization in India? I am happy for the Iraqi
elections, because Iraqi television is `singing' for Iraq
and not for a dictator."


4. On January 30, "Al Ayam columnist Esmat Al Moussawi
wrote, ". the percentage of participation should not be
the criteria by which we judge the elections because many
Iraqis won't show up at the polling centers for security
reasons, not for political reasons. Even those who won't
show up, deep in their hearts believe that elections are
the only way out, unlike others who think that killing
the innocent and targeting specific sects or
nationalities will lead to the departure of the
occupation. Despite all the discrepancies in the
elections, they are a positive step towards democracy."


5. The Embassy's intensive outreach efforts on Iraq
elections paid off. "Al Wasat" newspaper published a
colorful four-page elections insert on January 30,
drawing heavily from the Department's Iraq Fact Sheet and
other information provided by the Embassy. The Public
Affairs Section also arranged for an exclusive interview
for "Al Wasat" with military spokesman General Lessel,
which was headlined, "Iraqi Elections Are Historical."


6. One Bahraini daily newspaper, "Akhbar Al Khaleej,"
often critical of U.S. policies in Iraq, tried to
downplay the importance of the elections by headlining
that 25 Iraqi cities had boycotted them and that only the
Shia and Kurdish had voted. The paper included one small
photo on the bottom of the front page showing an elderly
Kurdish woman voting, a positive development that even
Akhbar Al Khaleej could not ignore.


7. Comment: Several columnists who have been
continuously condemning the holding of elections under an
"American occupation" or writing non-stop about the
dangerous security environment surrounding them,
curiously chose not to write today; and one wrote about
domestic issues. Were these naysayers home nursing their
wounds? Only their future columns will tell. Several
leading Bahraini journalists told the PAO yesterday that
the elections were definitely a milestone and that the
fact that there was not widespread violence was very
hopeful for Iraq and the region.

MONROE