MEDIA CLIMATE CAUTIOUS AS "UN-ISLAMIC" TV STATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000778 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 TREASURY FOR LMCDONALD, WBALDRIDGE, APARAMESWARAN, ABAUKOL STATE PLEASE PASS USAID USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 TAGS: ECPS PGOV PINR SCUL AF SUBJECT: MEDIA CLIMATE CAUTIOUS AS "UN-ISLAMIC" TV STATION FINED KABUL 00000778 001.4 OF 002 Classified By: DCM RICHARD NORLAND FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Afghan officials continue to fine or warn Afghan media outlets against broadcasting programming which is counter to Afghan culture or law. This month, the government fined Afghan TV $1000 for broadcasting "un-Islamic" material; Governor Joma Khan Hamdard of Jowzjan warned two local TV stations against programming that "seduces society and runs counter to Afghan culture"; and similarly in Farah, the Provincial Religious Council asked security officials to prevent "vulgar or immoral" songs or films. There is speculation that the action against Afghan TV may have been politically motivated due to a personal grudge between its Director and the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism; however, this may also be an indication of a GOA shift against free speech in order to preempt a conservative backlash. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism's (MICT) special media commission fined Afghan TV $1000 in late January for broadcasting "nudity and immoral scenes." The Commission consists of six members representing various parts of the government and is headed by the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism. The MICT has previously met with the heads of public and private TV stations to brief them on Afghanistan's media law banning material counter to Islamic law. The minister also threatened further fines if Afghan TV did not reform its programming. According to news reports, this is the first fine levied against a private station related to content. ¶3. (SBU) Afghan TV's Director, Ahmad Shah Afghanzai, met with Poloff February 2 to discuss the fine. Afghan TV had received no prior written notice of the fine; however, Afghanzai had received phone calls alerting him of the decision. Afghanzai said that the material shown on his station was no worse than that shown on other local TV stations. He viewed the fine as a personal attack, as he and Minister Sancharaki have had poor personal relations in the past. Afghanzai said that he had been changing the composition of his programming since last year to include more roundtables involving Afghan officials. Afghanzai thought roundtables on Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan may have angered some in power, prompting the fine. (COMMENT: As a result of new competitors in the market, Afghan TV has lost market share and has, in the past, requested financial assistance from the embassy. This type of programming may have been an attempt to compete with more popular stations such as Tolo TV and Ariana TV. END COMMENT.) ¶4. (U) On February 2, Governor Joma Khan Hamdard of Jowzjan warned two local TV stations there against programming that seduces society and runs counter to Afghan culture. His action has not been linked to the MICT, but rather seems to be part of local pressure on the media. This has been common over the last year, but growing news coverage of local and national interference with the media appears to have helped protect against significant restrictions. In this case it seemed the Governor was attempting to coerce local TV stations into providing programming more "palatable" to religious conservatives and mullahs. In a separate case, the Provincial Religious Council of Farah also asked officials to intervene to prevent "questionable" material from being broadcast. ¶5. (U) BACKGROUND: Afghanistan's network of 40 radio stations reaches 88 percent of the Afghan masses; television has been steadily rising in popularity. A recent survey claimed that, of a pool of 2,240 Afghans, 35 percent receive their news from television three to seven days a week. International KABUL 00000778 002.4 OF 002 media outlets, such as BBC and VOA, capture the widest audience; Tolo, Ariana, Afghan, Aina, and Afghanistan National Television stations, have been increasing the Afghan share of the market, however. (Although there are over 300 registered newspapers in Afghanistan, these only reach approximately 5-10 percent of the population.) ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Public opinion seems to be divided. There are those who are not comfortable seeing women dancing, bare midriffs, or displaying other suggestive behavior on television. In general, one could characterize the media climate as more "cautious" in recent months when it comes to material that might offend conservative Muslims. This may signal proactive approach to avoid a conservative backlash against increasingly liberal programming. END COMMENT. ¶7. (C) BIOGRAPHIC NOTE: Afghanzai privately approached Embassy staff, offering to act as an intermediary in the sale of Afghan artifacts in order to prevent them from "falling into the wrong hands." He showed us a video of the artifacts. We told him to contact the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism. Afghanzai instead said that he was going to take the tape to the President's spokesman. The tape was eventually viewed by National Geographic representatives who expressed doubt about the items' authenticity. In general, however, Afghanzai has been a good media contact of the Embassy. END NOTE. NEUMANN