REACTION IN THE UAE TO KIDNAPPING OF EMIRATI

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 002074 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NEA/ARP, NEA/I, S/ES-O E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016 TAGS: PREL PINS PTER MARR SUBJECT: REACTION IN THE UAE TO KIDNAPPING OF EMIRATI DIPLOMAT IN BAGHDAD REF: A. ABU DHABI 2042 ¶B. ABU DHABI 1838 Classified By: DCM Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Al Arabiya TV is leading its hourly newscasts with the story of the kidnapping of the UAE diplomat, identified as Naji Rashid al-Naimi (or Naji al-Naimi Abu Rashid),from the emirate of Fujeirah and Yemeni descent. He is reported to be 28 years old and single. Al Arabiya cites Iraqi police sources in Baghdad saying that the police have been able to pinpoint the area where the diplomat was taken and hope to be able to free him. The police are reported to have blocked all roads leading in and out of Baghdad. Al-Naimi's mother, identified as "Sheikha Ali," spoke to Al Arabiya TV from her home in Sharjah and pleaded for his release, saying that he has always been supportive of Iraqi causes and spared no effort to help Iraqis. The 4 p.m. Al Arabiya TV news described Iraqi security forces as "waging a fierce campaign" to capture the kidnappers of al-Naimi. ¶2. (S) A contact at Al-Ittihad Arabic daily expressed the view that the UAE diplomat was kidnapped by a group hoping for ransom, rather than by terrorists. Another media contact volunteered that the UAE Foreign Ministry is making no comment since the UAEG does not want to escalate tensions in order to maintain a dialogue with the captors and eventually free the diplomat. ¶3. (C) Al Arabiya TV website has attracted more than 150 comments from the public, most calling for the diplomat's immediate release. Posted comments also tend to emphasize the UAE Government's humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people. A few comments suggest that the kidnappers are Iranian militia members whose actions are based on political disputes between Iran and the UAE over islands in the Gulf. Approximately one third of the comments lay blame on the "American occupation for creating chaos in Iraq." ¶4. (C) Popular "UAE Forever" web forum has thus far received only two very brief comments on the incident, both expressing prayers for the diplomat's release. ¶5. (C) During the course of the Consul General's three farewell calls in Dubai this morning, none of the interlocutors mentioned the incident, possibly indicating fatigue or a kind of numbness to violence in Iraq -- or the fact that Emiratis tend to get their news almost exclusively from evening TV broadcasts. ¶6. (S) It is worth noting that during a recent MFA call, the director of the America desk, Ambassador Al Zarouni gave security as the primary reason why the UAEG had not yet dispatched an ambassador to Baghdad, citing the recent deaths of two local employees. (Ref B.) SISON