DCM HOSTS SMALL GROUP OF YEMENI JOURNALISTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002820

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015
TAGS: OIIP KMDR PHUM PTER KISL YM DOMESTIC POLITICS
SUBJECT: DCM HOSTS SMALL GROUP OF YEMENI JOURNALISTS TO
DISCUSS RECENT VIOLENT INCIDENTS INVOLVING MEMBERS OF THE
PRESS CORPS,

Classified By: AMB Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador met on September 20 with seven
journalists, the DCM, two emboffs, and representatives of
three European donor states at the home of the DCM to listen
to members of the Yemeni press corps give voice to concerns
in the wake of the recent incidents involving kidnapping,
beating, and harassment of Yemeni journalists. The open
discussion centered on journalists' perception that, where
once they might find themselves in courts or prison for
articles about corruption or criticism of the government, now
their limits are less clear. They feel increasingly
susceptible to an unpredictable fate at the hands of groups
and individuals whose allegiance is unclear. The media
representatives present invited donor states to increase
pressure on the ROYG to safeguard press freedom and regretted
that too often governments stress cooperation on
counterterrorism over democratization and freedom of
expression.


2. (C) Ambassador expressed his concern about recent
incidents involving journalists and opened an off-the-record
discussion by saying he was there to listen. Said Thabet,
first deputy chairman of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate
summarized concerns saying that the increase in violence
against the press corps comes from both state-funded
organizations and the government. Khaled al Hamadi,
correspondent for the vitriolic London-based Al Quds Al Arabi
and himself a recent victim of a serious thrashing at the
hands of at-large thugs, said that the latter demanded to
know how much he was being paid to write and accused him of
being an agent. (Note: This incident followed closely on
the heels of his article about a military helicopter crash
which charted a history of inadequate maintenance of Yemeni
military equipment. End note) Mohamed Al Ghubari, who writes
for several papers, noted that the current version of Yemen's
draft press law is simply a rewrite, with minor revisions, of
a 1990 law, which, all agreed, was so vague as to leave the
door open to any interpretation. Al Ghubari speculated that
a parliamentary review of the current draft offers the only
chance for improvement in the bill and the Majlis Al Shurra
seems capable only of outdated views of senior officials
focused on the past.


3. (C) Jamal Amer, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly
Al Wasat, who was also victimized recently after a critical
article about corruption, invited donor states to increase
pressure on the ROYG. Amer also asked for outside help on
the draft press law and on investigation of violations of
journalists' rights. He further urged the USG to raise these
issues during President Saleh's planned November visit to
Washington. Ambassador remarked that this concern is among
the top three on an agenda which includes counterterrorism,
economic reform, and democratic reform including press
freedom. Nabil Al Sofi, editor-in-chief of the News Yemen
website, felt that ROYG attention to media was excessive and
out of proportion with the media's effectiveness. The DCM
noted that professionalism among the press corps is uneven
and needs overall improvement.


4. (C) Mohamed Jasser, editor-in-chief of the Ra'ay website
recalled "a recent outage of forty-five websites for 6 to 10
hours" and noted that no reason had been offered for this
interruption other than that it could be attributed to
technical difficulties with a provider's site; however,
several noted that the outages appeared to target only
particular news websites. The British press officer Philip
Boyle and the German cultural officer Henrick Selle added
words of support; the presence of Dutch representative
Stephania Bork highlighted the long-standing efforts of the
Dutch to improve the caliber of Yememi reporting.


5. (SBU) Comment: The frank discussion closed with media
representatives calling upon donor states to actively support
freedom of the press in Yemen and to offer more training to
the local press corps.
Krajeski