Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT2300
2006-06-15 10:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

KUWAIT MEDIA ELECTION COVERAGE JUNE 8-14: NEWSPAPER JOINS

Tags:  OPRC KMDR KPAO KDEM PGOV KU FREEDOM AGENDA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2300/01 1661004
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151004Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5180
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002300 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/P, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR,
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO KDEM PGOV KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA ELECTION COVERAGE JUNE 8-14: NEWSPAPER JOINS
CHORUS AGAINST CORRUPTION

REF: KUWAIT 2152

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002300

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/P, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR,
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO KDEM PGOV KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA ELECTION COVERAGE JUNE 8-14: NEWSPAPER JOINS
CHORUS AGAINST CORRUPTION

REF: KUWAIT 2152


1. Summary: Corruption and alleged vote-buying held sway in the
media this week as the June 29 elections draw nearer. One
Arabic-language daily joined the fray by launching its own
anti-vote-buying campaign with front-page banners and by setting up
a hotline for the public to report corruption. Reform, corruption
and women continue to be the three leading election themes reported
in all the media. The new liberal satellite channel "We Want It
Alliance" made its debut after being initially blocked. End summary.


Newspaper Launches Anti-corruption Campaign
--------------


2. One of Kuwait's leading Arabic-language dailies, "Al-Watan," this
week joined the growing voices against corruption in the elections
process by launching a campaign to combat vote-buying. The
announcement came in the June 12 edition with a front-page banner
reading, "Let Us Say with One Voice: Kuwait Is Not for Sale,"
followed by the subhead, "Al-Watan Launches Its Campaign for
Combating Vote-Buying." With this initiative the paper took a clear
stance on this key campaign issue. The front page also contained an
un-attributed editorial that was likely written by the
Editor-in-Chief. In it the paper promised to fight bribery and
financial embezzlement during the election noting that "bribes can
come in different kinds of forms, not just money." The paper then
appealed to the readers as patriotic citizens to reject such bribes.
The public was invited to report incidents of vote-buying by
telephoning the paper's hotline dedicated to the anti-corruption
campaign. The next day "Al-Watan" reported on its front page great
success on its first day of the campaign. It said that many calls
had come into the hotline recounting incidents of candidates
offering cash rewards and other benefits in exchange for votes.


3. In addition to corruption and vote-buying, women and elections as
well as the fate of electoral constituency redistricting also

remained hot topics among the candidates and in the media. The
newspapers continued to dedicate large and prominent space to the
role of women voters and candidates in the election and in the new
Parliament. "Fadia Al-Saad Demands 'Quota' for Women: I Am Happy
That Women Candidates in Outlying Areas Have Broken the Barriers,"
"Al-Rai Al-Aam," front page, June 11, and "Women's Vote Is the
Tsunami of Elections," "Al-Qabas," pg. 25, June 11, illustrate the

SIPDIS
continued focus on the topic. The headline "Al-Mislim: Corruption
Has Reached an Alarming Level," pg. 30, "Al-Qabas," June 13,
demonstrates the continued press focus on corruption.

Local Issues Begin to Emerge in Media
--------------


4. Some local issues are beginning to emerge in the media among the
daily clamor on vote-buying, corruption and women. Both sides of the
issue of education, for example, were reported by "Al-Watan" on June

13. In two separate articles, the paper reported the position of
the candidate Jamal Al-Kandari who argued that the national
education system should be reformed in order to defend traditional
Kuwaiti society, which is conservative by nature. On another page,
the paper reported the stance of an unnamed woman candidate who
stated at a seminar that the educational system should be reformed
so that Kuwait could catch up to the rest of the modern world.

Television Increases Coverage of Election Issues
-------------- ---


5. In a departure from its normally lackluster coverage of election
issues, the public TV news station KTV1 on June 12 explored the
topic of women and elections on its weekly program "Fit for
Publication." The show adhered to the public media's policy of not
interviewing candidates. However, it did feature interviews with an
academic, the Undersecretary of Higher Education, and the Minister
of Information. In her comments, the Undersecretary stressed that
regardless of the outcome of the elections, the importance of this
historical event for women, the ability to run and vote, should not
be marginalized. The Minister of Information promised that public
TV would cover election night in a neutral manner and that the
public could expect to see a different kind of election coverage
with easy-to-use graphics and charts. The private TV station Al-Rai
continued daily coverage on its news broadcasts of election issues
and candidate platforms. On its June 13 nightly news it reported
that the top issues being discussed at election headquarters are
corruption, redistricting and women's issues. The Satellite TV
channel "The Parliament Dome" is airing near-continuous daily
programming with a conservative leaning. After being initially

KUWAIT 00002300 002 OF 002


blocked by the Minister of Information (see reftel),the liberal
satellite channel "We Want It Alliance" debuted on another signal.
News of the channel's successful airing filled blog sites, which
posted the satellite frequency.

Polling Gives Flavor of Public Opinion
--------------


6. Two polls, one from the print media and one from broadcast, gave
a flavor of public opinion on two hot election topics - vote-buying
and outside influence on women's voting. "Al-Watan" daily newspaper
reported in its June 14 edition that in answer to the question
"Would you sell your vote," 74 percent said no and 26 percent said
yes. Al-Rai TV conducted a poll on the question "Do men have
influence on a woman's vote?" The percentage responding yes was 76
percent while 24 percent said no.


Internet and Blogs Keep Pace
--------------


7. Blog sites were busy posting comments from the public on
election issues. The hot topics on the Internet mirrored those in
the mainstream media. One blogger, however, criticized the
mainstream media, in this case the daily newspaper "Al-Rai Al-Aam."
He or she sent an email to other bloggers containing a link to a
photograph of a campaign event that appeared in the paper. The
blogger pointed out that on close inspection the audience members
were clearly duplicated in the photo in order to make attendance at
the rally seem larger than it was. The author accused the paper of
"meddling" and "fabricating" things for its own benefit, by making
it seem that the candidate's event was more popular than it really
was. When the satellite channel "We Want It Alliance" finally made
its debut this week, the blog sites were busy posting the satellite
frequency where it could be found. The channel's debut was
announced enthusiastically on many sites, many of which accused the
government of "trying to ban our channel" (see reftel). Finally,
one candidate for the second district launched his own blog site in
order to talk to voters .

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
********************************************* *

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