EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, JANUARY 17-23.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000692 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPAO KMDR OPRC EG XF ZP ZR IS SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES, JANUARY 17-23. ¶1. Summary: Coverage of the Palestinian elections hit a crescendo at the end of the week, with many commentators reacting negatively to President Bushs Jan. 27 statement. While only three percent of commentaries were critical of U.S. policy before the election results were announced, forty percent of commentaries on Jan. 28 were negative. On the domestic front, all papers carried independent daily, Rose Al Youssef's four-part in-depth interview with Gamal Mubarak, which included comments on the NDP, reform and his plans within the party. Internal strife within opposition party, Al Wafd, which, among other things, resulted in the partys leader suspending the publication of Al-Wafd d newspaper, generated much commentary on the state of opposition politics, and the role of the governing NDP in the face of a weakening opposition. End summary. ¶2. Palestinian Elections: Egyptian news television and papers provided extensive coverage on the Palestinian elections. Commentators, for example, welcomed the election results, called the vote a statement against Israel and corruption in Fatah, and stressed the need for Hamas and the Palestinian people to ensure the peace process continues. Some highlights included extensive news coverage of President Mubarak's statement to the Palestinians "to come together and ensure the peace process moves forward to achieve the aspirations of a Palestinian state" (Jan. 27) and the Arab League's "praise" of the "democratic elections" for which it "welcomed the results" (pro-government daily, Al-Ahram, circ. 750,000, Jan. 27). Independent daily, Al-Masry Al-Yom (circ. 5,000), quoted the Supreme Guide of the Islamic movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, congratulating Hamas for "its victory as a public vote in favor of the Islamic method of solving the Palestinian issue." This sentiment was similar to aggressive, pro-government, daily, Al-Gomhouriyyas (circ. 500,000) conservative column claiming that the Hamas victory illustrated "the strong influence of Islamic movements on the people." (Jan. 27) Al-Gomhouriyya's second column on Jan. 27 quoted a former Egyptian ambassador calling on Hamas "to lay down weapons and turn into a political movement" to prevent donor countries from cutting off assistance and jeopardizing "peace negotiations with Israel," a theme similar to Al-Ahram's Islamic columnists who questioned "how Hamas will improve the lives of the 
Palestinians when donors are threatening to cut off their assistance." (Jan. 28) Some columnists predicted how Hamas would face the challenge of leading, such as Al-Ahram's two liberal columnists who concluded that "Hamas will find itself compelled to change its method from armed struggle to politics" and "will ask Fatah and Abu Mazen to be the middle-man in negotiations with Israel." (Jan. 28) ¶3. Reactions to President Bushs Statement on Elections. The U.S. congratulations to the Palestinian people for an election free of violence and Secretary Rices characterization of the vote as free and fair was noted in the press. However, U.S. statements that it had not changed its position on Hamas being a terrorist movement spurred negative reactions and created a spike in anti-U.S. commentaries which rose from three percent to 33 percent in one day. Columnists in pro-government dailies, Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar (circ. 800,000) and Al-Gomhouriyya, characterized the U.S. position on Hamas as "hypocritical", "false advocacy of democracy" and a reflection of "unjust policies for which it must now pay the price." Television programs on January 28 criticized U.S. Mideast policy. A strategic c expert on Egyptian TVs Nile News said he doubts the U.S. really wants democracy in the region and a commentator featured on Al Mehwar satellite TVs evening program, VIP, called the election results the U.S.s fault for achieving no progress in 13 years since Oslo. ¶4. Gamal Mubarak on the NDP: All papers carried the four part interview conducted by independent daily and weekly, Rose al Youssef (daily circ. unconfirmed; weekly circ. 50,000). In the lengthy interview, Mubarak was asked about many NDP-related issues, including his interpretation of Article 76, the new constitutional article that allowed for multi-party elections. In this context, he was asked if Article 76 was passed to serve him personally to run for president. He responded, The main purpose of the amendment is to continue reform. The world is changing around us and we want to move from the stage of personalizing things. On multi-party elections, he said, I do not think that anybody agrees to let one party have party have the right to run in the elections of 2011. On the contrary, the amendment gave exception to the parties in 2005 and reflects hopes that many will participate in the next elections. Many papers picked up on his response to the question whether he will run for president in 2011, I neither have the intention nor the desire to be a candidate; my words are very clear." There were few reactions to the interview, however, senior columnist for Al-Ahram, Ibrahim Nafei, commented on the interview as "paving the way for wide-spread changes and reform in the NDP, especially to overcome the problems in the 2005 parliamentary elections." (Jan. 28) ¶5. Demise of the Traditional Opposition? A judicial decision to allow Al-Wafd's former chairman, No'man Gomaa, to re-enter the party's headquarters and resume his position prompted questions about the opposition's ability to eventually achieve power, as well as the State's perceived role in the case. On Jan. 27, Al l Ahram published a column blaming Gomaa of "leading Egypt's most prominent opposition party into chaos," while Al Masry Al Yom accused the government of exposing the Political Parties Affairs Committees lack of impartiality and intention to destroy true partisan activities." Pro- government daily, Al-Akhbar's conservative chief editor wrote that the Wafd party dispute "is not surprising" because "opposition parties in Egypt have been affected by the atmosphere of reform and transparency sweeping society and can no longer tolerate dictatorial leadership." He concluded by advising "all other parties to learn the lesson." (Jan. 27) Ricciardone