EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, April 10-17.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002332

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KMDR OPRC EG
SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, April 10-17.


1. Summary: Several stories received extensive coverage
and commentary in the Egyptian media this week. President
Mubaraks provocative comments in his Al-Arabiya TV
interview of April 8 provided a source of debate for
pundits to assess the situation in Iraq. Similarly,
commentators used the recent New Yorker article regarding
U.S. consideration of a military strike on Iran as a
springboard for critiquing U.S. policy on Irans nuclear
ambitions. Finally, there was extensive commentary
following the Coptic church attacks and sectarian clashes
in Alexandria over the weekend. End summary.


2. Mubarak Speaks: The Egyptian Presidents remarks to
Al-Arabiya about near-civil war in Iraq and Irans control
rol
over Iraqi Shiites, and the subsequent Iraqi decision to
boycott an Arab ministerial meeting in protest,
reverberated in the media for several days following the
interview. Opinions ranged from critical in the
independent press to defensive in the pro-government press.
A columnist for the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom
(circulation: 80,000) wished that the Presidential
councilors had advised Mubarak to speak in more diplomatic
terms, since his image reflects on the country (April 12).
The pro-government daily Al-Akhbar (circulation: 350,000),
however, defended Mubaraks comments, publishing letters
from readers supportive of the remarks and writing that the
President had expressed the same concern that we feel and
dread with the continuity of the horrible civil war in
Iraq (April 11).


3. Some independent commentators were also critical of the
local content of Mubaraks interview. A commentator in Al-
Masry Al-Yom remarked that the Presidents comment that he
t e
is very comfortable with the state of the Egyptian street
suggests that there must be something wrong, since the
nicest way to describe the current street is as
extremely worrying (April 12). An editorialist in the
opposition Al-Wafd paper (circulation: 50,000) criticized
the President for saying that there is no need to have a
Vice-President and wrote that Mubaraks comments on the
state of the country left us more worried about the
future (April 13).


4. Iran: The recent New Yorker article claiming that the
U.S. is considering a military strike on Irans nuclear
infrastructure received wide play in the Egyptian media.
Most pro-government and independent papers argued that
there was not in fact a great deal of enthusiasm in the
U.S. military establishment for a military option, and all
commentators reflected the oft-repeated Egyptian stance
calling for universal regional nuclear disarmament. A
commentator in the pro-government Al-Akhbar wrote that
wrote that
there may be plans to launch an American-British attack on
Iran, noting sarcastically that if they should in the end
be proven wrong about Irans nuclear program, they could
just say that they had made a mistake, as with Iraq
(April 11). The editor-in-chief of Nahdet Misr
(independent daily, circulation: 13,500) wrote that
nuclear chaos will be the outcome of the U.S. policy of
double standards on nuclear issues and called for the UN
to stop both Israel and Iran from developing a nuclear
weapon (April 13). An unsigned editorial in pro-government
Al-Ahram (circulation: 350,000) warned that allowing Iran
to acquire a nuclear weapon could lead to a regional
nuclear arms race (April 16). A columnist in pro-
government Al-Ahram even worried that an Israeli-Iranian
nuclear axis could one day develop and be used to threaten
the Arab Gulf states (April 17).


5. Sectarian Clashes: There was universal condemnation in
all media of the attack on three Coptic churches in
hes in
Alexandria on April 14 and the ensuing clashes between
Muslims and Copts, with all commentators calling for
national unity and more efforts to confront extremism.
Both pro-government and independent media were critical of
the official response, particularly the Ministry of
Interiors description of the church attacker as a
deranged lunatic. A commentator in pro-government Al-
Ahram wrote that the Ministrys statement was an insult to
peoples intelligence (April 17). Pro-government Rose El-
Youssef (circulation: 15,000) wrote that the Ministry
should find a more appropriate word to describe the
attacker and should not make descriptive announcements
until the investigation has concluded (April 16). A
columnist for independent Al-Masry Al-Yom also criticized
the Governor of Alexandria who said that a 78-year old
Coptic man had died of old age, rather than from the
grievous knife wounds he had sustained during the church
attack (April 17).

Ricciardone