Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MANAMA534
2007-06-11 14:39:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:
PRO-GOVERNMENT COMMENTATORS CRY FOUL OVER CNN
how-toVZCZCXRO1549 OO RUEHDE RUEHDIR DE RUEHMK #0534/01 1621439 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 111439Z JUN 07 FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6911 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000534
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON KPAO BA POL
SUBJECT: PRO-GOVERNMENT COMMENTATORS CRY FOUL OVER CNN
REPORT ON POVERTY IN BAHRAIN
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
-------
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000534
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON KPAO BA POL
SUBJECT: PRO-GOVERNMENT COMMENTATORS CRY FOUL OVER CNN
REPORT ON POVERTY IN BAHRAIN
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (C) A June 1 report by CNN reporter Hala Gorani on
poverty in Bahrain caused an uproar among Bahraini pundits,
who accuse the program of stoking sectarian tensions. Gorani
said on the air that while the piece was supposed to cover
poverty, "it almost immediately became obvious that this was
a story about long-standing tensions between majority Shia
and the Sunni ruling class." Columnists in pro-government
papers condemned the program, saying CNN was unprofessional
and biased. A writer for daily Akhbar Al Khaleej claimed CNN
ran the report to blackmail Bahrain, although he could not
explain why Bahrain was chosen as the target.
Parliamentarians and a prominent Sunni preacher complained
about the program's sectarian bent. There is an underlying
assumption in many of the commentaries that CNN ran this
story with the approval or connivance of the USG (in fact,
Gorani did not touch base with the Embassy while in Bahrain).
The Ambassador will look for opportunities to discuss the
role of a free press during local newspaper interviews he
will do over the next several weeks. End Summary.
--------------
CNN Focus on Shia Poverty
--------------
2. (U) In a June 1 report for her CNN series "Inside the
Middle East," Hala Gorani says that while she had planned to
do a piece on poverty in Bahrain, "it almost immediately
became obvious that this was a story about long-standing
tensions between majority Shia and the Sunni ruling class."
She mentions "decrepit housing and run-down and dirty streets
in mainly Shia villages" that have not benefited from
Bahrain's economic boom. A young man accuses Prime Minister
Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa of being unaware of the
plight of poor Shia in the country. President of the
now-closed Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab says
the Al Khalifa family fears Shias could take over the
government. Gorani also interviews Minister of Housing and
Public Works Fahmy Al Jowder, who explains the government's
past and current public housing construction projects.
Minister of Social Development Fatima Al Baloushi says that
jobs are available for Bahrainis but many do not want to work
except in an office.
--------------
Pro-Government Press Erupts
--------------
3. (U) Pro-government newspapers Akhbar Al Khaleej (AAK) and
Al Watan ran editorials June 3 condemning the program. AAK
editor-in-chief Anwar Abdul Rahman wrote a signed editorial
asking why CNN distorted Bahrain's image. He says CNN is
"unprofessional and biased" and suggests that the network
should do a story on the poor and homeless in America. The
Al Watan article says, "It is a shame that CNN plays the role
of the instigator....just to incite sectarianism in our
society and other Arab societies. It is clear that the
televised fabricated report is an explicit attempt to deepen
sectarianism."
4. (U) AAK columnist Abdul Menem Ibrahim June 4 writes about
a group of poor women he met when he visited the United
States in the 1990s (Note: On an IV program). He complains
that the CNN program did not acknowledge the assistance the
Bahraini government provides for poor people in the country.
He says, "If CNN had met with Bahraini professionals,
bankers, women activists, academics, and businessmen, the
program would have been fair. But what CNN did has harmed
its credibility." Haidar Mohammed of Al Wasat writes June 10
that Bahraini government anger over the program is justified
because the government "spends millions of dollars to improve
the image of Bahrain abroad." These efforts "have been
ruined not by any country, but by a country that is a close
and major ally of Bahrain."
--------------
America's Hidden Agenda?
--------------
5. (U) In a two-page screed June 9, AAK columnist Sayed
Zahra asks, "Why do they deliberately offend Bahrain and
distort its image?" The answer, he says, is to blackmail the
country, "but why Bahrain, I don't know." He claims that the
United States is angry that Bahrain achieved reforms that are
genuinely national, proving that countries can reform without
MANAMA 00000534 002 OF 002
America's help. He also gripes that the Bahraini government
does not do a good enough job getting its message out
internationally, and that opposition groups outside the
country exaggerate facts to harm the country's reputation.
6. (U) In an interview in Al Watan, four parliamentary
deputies denounced the program, saying it was not realistic
or factual. They accused "political movements," including
the hardline Shia Haq Movement, of politicizing and
exaggerating the issue of poverty. In his June 9 Friday
prayer sermon, Sunni Shaikh Salah Al Jowder criticized the
CNN program, particularly the assertion that poverty was a
sectarian issue. He pointed out that there are many poor
Sunni families in Muharraq, Riffa, and Budaiya. He asked why
a channel like CNN was seeking to instigate sectarianism at
this time.
--------------
Comment
--------------
7. (C) Sunni and pro-government opinion leaders have howled
the loudest about the CNN program, with Shia commentators
remaining mostly silent. The underlying assumption is that
the program could not have been produced without the
knowledge or even connivance of the U.S. Government, which
leads to talk of some kind of hidden American agenda aimed at
Bahrain. Sayed Zahra even dragged in NDI, suggesting that
the U.S. definitely has a specific goal in offending Bahrain
this way, and perhaps that goal is to "impose on it the
activities of a suspicious institute with a dark history like
NDI." The Ambassador will look for opportunities in the
coming weeks during planned interviews with local newspapers
to discuss the role and independence of a free press.
********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
MONROE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON KPAO BA POL
SUBJECT: PRO-GOVERNMENT COMMENTATORS CRY FOUL OVER CNN
REPORT ON POVERTY IN BAHRAIN
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (C) A June 1 report by CNN reporter Hala Gorani on
poverty in Bahrain caused an uproar among Bahraini pundits,
who accuse the program of stoking sectarian tensions. Gorani
said on the air that while the piece was supposed to cover
poverty, "it almost immediately became obvious that this was
a story about long-standing tensions between majority Shia
and the Sunni ruling class." Columnists in pro-government
papers condemned the program, saying CNN was unprofessional
and biased. A writer for daily Akhbar Al Khaleej claimed CNN
ran the report to blackmail Bahrain, although he could not
explain why Bahrain was chosen as the target.
Parliamentarians and a prominent Sunni preacher complained
about the program's sectarian bent. There is an underlying
assumption in many of the commentaries that CNN ran this
story with the approval or connivance of the USG (in fact,
Gorani did not touch base with the Embassy while in Bahrain).
The Ambassador will look for opportunities to discuss the
role of a free press during local newspaper interviews he
will do over the next several weeks. End Summary.
--------------
CNN Focus on Shia Poverty
--------------
2. (U) In a June 1 report for her CNN series "Inside the
Middle East," Hala Gorani says that while she had planned to
do a piece on poverty in Bahrain, "it almost immediately
became obvious that this was a story about long-standing
tensions between majority Shia and the Sunni ruling class."
She mentions "decrepit housing and run-down and dirty streets
in mainly Shia villages" that have not benefited from
Bahrain's economic boom. A young man accuses Prime Minister
Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa of being unaware of the
plight of poor Shia in the country. President of the
now-closed Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab says
the Al Khalifa family fears Shias could take over the
government. Gorani also interviews Minister of Housing and
Public Works Fahmy Al Jowder, who explains the government's
past and current public housing construction projects.
Minister of Social Development Fatima Al Baloushi says that
jobs are available for Bahrainis but many do not want to work
except in an office.
--------------
Pro-Government Press Erupts
--------------
3. (U) Pro-government newspapers Akhbar Al Khaleej (AAK) and
Al Watan ran editorials June 3 condemning the program. AAK
editor-in-chief Anwar Abdul Rahman wrote a signed editorial
asking why CNN distorted Bahrain's image. He says CNN is
"unprofessional and biased" and suggests that the network
should do a story on the poor and homeless in America. The
Al Watan article says, "It is a shame that CNN plays the role
of the instigator....just to incite sectarianism in our
society and other Arab societies. It is clear that the
televised fabricated report is an explicit attempt to deepen
sectarianism."
4. (U) AAK columnist Abdul Menem Ibrahim June 4 writes about
a group of poor women he met when he visited the United
States in the 1990s (Note: On an IV program). He complains
that the CNN program did not acknowledge the assistance the
Bahraini government provides for poor people in the country.
He says, "If CNN had met with Bahraini professionals,
bankers, women activists, academics, and businessmen, the
program would have been fair. But what CNN did has harmed
its credibility." Haidar Mohammed of Al Wasat writes June 10
that Bahraini government anger over the program is justified
because the government "spends millions of dollars to improve
the image of Bahrain abroad." These efforts "have been
ruined not by any country, but by a country that is a close
and major ally of Bahrain."
--------------
America's Hidden Agenda?
--------------
5. (U) In a two-page screed June 9, AAK columnist Sayed
Zahra asks, "Why do they deliberately offend Bahrain and
distort its image?" The answer, he says, is to blackmail the
country, "but why Bahrain, I don't know." He claims that the
United States is angry that Bahrain achieved reforms that are
genuinely national, proving that countries can reform without
MANAMA 00000534 002 OF 002
America's help. He also gripes that the Bahraini government
does not do a good enough job getting its message out
internationally, and that opposition groups outside the
country exaggerate facts to harm the country's reputation.
6. (U) In an interview in Al Watan, four parliamentary
deputies denounced the program, saying it was not realistic
or factual. They accused "political movements," including
the hardline Shia Haq Movement, of politicizing and
exaggerating the issue of poverty. In his June 9 Friday
prayer sermon, Sunni Shaikh Salah Al Jowder criticized the
CNN program, particularly the assertion that poverty was a
sectarian issue. He pointed out that there are many poor
Sunni families in Muharraq, Riffa, and Budaiya. He asked why
a channel like CNN was seeking to instigate sectarianism at
this time.
--------------
Comment
--------------
7. (C) Sunni and pro-government opinion leaders have howled
the loudest about the CNN program, with Shia commentators
remaining mostly silent. The underlying assumption is that
the program could not have been produced without the
knowledge or even connivance of the U.S. Government, which
leads to talk of some kind of hidden American agenda aimed at
Bahrain. Sayed Zahra even dragged in NDI, suggesting that
the U.S. definitely has a specific goal in offending Bahrain
this way, and perhaps that goal is to "impose on it the
activities of a suspicious institute with a dark history like
NDI." The Ambassador will look for opportunities in the
coming weeks during planned interviews with local newspapers
to discuss the role and independence of a free press.
********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
MONROE