EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, April 2-9.

UNCLAS CAIRO 002186

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KMDR OPRC EG
SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, April 2-9.


1. Summary: The fallout from the bloody clashes between
Wafd party factions at the party headquarters on April 1
took center stage in Egyptian media coverage over the last
week. While some commentators sought merely to assign
blame for the violence, others took a more profound look at
the Wafd crisis and what this portends for the general
welfare of opposition political parties in Egypt. The
Iranian nuclear issue was also subject to further parsing
in the Egyptian media, as was the governments proposed new
press law. End summary.


2. Wafd Clash: Coverage of the Wafd conflict, during
which ousted party chairman Noman Gomaa and his supporters
seized party headquarters and exchanged fire with
opponents, dominated the Egyptian airwaves and print media
for the week. All commentators, not least the party
journal Al-Wafd (circulation: 50,000) now controlled by
Gomaas detractors, roundly condemned the former party
leader for resorting to violence to resolve the party power
struggle. A cartoon in the pro-government Al-Akhbar daily
(circulation: 350,000, April 5) depicted a former Wafd
party leader lamenting to another: An unruly son like
Noman always brings disgrace on his family. The editor-
in-chief of the new pro-government daily Rose el-Yousef
(circulation: 17,500) wrote that Gomaa had defamed
democratic and political life in Egypt and violated the law
(April 2).


3. A Deeper Look: There was also a great deal of media
criticism, particularly in the independent and opposition
press, leveled at the police forces for not intervening
earlier to prevent the violent denouement. Some
commentators even speculated that the state deliberately
allowed the crisis to escalate in order to undermine the
Wafd as an opposition party. A columnist in Nahdet Misr
(independent daily, circulation: 13,500, April 2) argued
that the state is systematically weakening parties for the
sake of the ruling NDP and that political reform in Egypt
will remain stalled unless the ruling party is reformed. A
columnist for independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom
(circulation: 80,000) wrote that it was clear that Gomaa
had colluded with state security, and that this security
decision is part of a general plot to destroy political
parties and divest political life of all content. The pro-
government press kept the criticism at a more general,
atmospheric level. For instance, an independent
editorialist for pro-government daily Al-Gumhouriyya
(circulation: 70,000) suggested revisiting the whole
political party system in Egypt, allowing for a stronger
role for the Central Parties Committee beyond simply
licensing the formation of political parties (April 6). A
conservative commentator also writing for Al-Gumhouriyya
(April 5) challenged those who blamed the government for
the Wafd violence and asserted that there must be a new
system to educate Egyptians politically.


4. Press Law: The media focused some attention on the
progress of the draft press law. While the Ministry of
Justice initially said the draft law would be referred
directly to Parliament for discussion and approval (April
2),the Press Syndicate expressed its concern over the
secrecy shrouding the draft law and insisted on reviewing
it (April 5). All papers covered Prime Minister Nazifs
agreement in principle to allow the Press Syndicate to
review the draft law (April 9).


5. Iran: Iran remained a hot burner issue in the Egyptian
media, and while opinions differed on Irans right to
nuclear technology, commentators were uniformly critical of
U.S. Iran policy. A columnist for Al-Akhbar wrote that
Iran has been developing its weapons for many years and
there is no reason that the U.S. should try and frighten
the world about that country (April 2). A liberal
columnist with leading pro-government Al-Ahram newspaper
(circulation: 400,000) wrote that no one in the Middle East
and the Gulf would benefit from a war between the U.S. and
Iran except Israel, and that in that event the Arab
countries should remain neutral (April 9). Another
editorial in the same paper argued that Iran has no chance
of standing against the U.S., any more than Saddam had, and
is wasting its resources on useless weaponry that will not
improve the lot of the Iranian people (April 9). An
Islamist writer in Al-Ahram bashed the U.S. for double
standards regarding its concern about Iranian, as opposed
to Israeli, nuclear technology (April 4).

Ricciardon