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