UAE DRAFT PRESS LAW HEADLINES AT FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL

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SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO AE
SUBJECT: UAE DRAFT PRESS LAW HEADLINES AT FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL

REF: A) 08 ABU DHABI 1125, B) 08 ABU DHABI 1068


1. (SBU) Summary: After lengthy delays and multiple appeals from
journalists for the Federal National Council (FNC) to discuss the
draft press law (ref B),the FNC took up the issue January 20 and
forwarded the law for Cabinet consideration (the FNC's role is
consultative, not legislative, so its approval is not mandatory and
further amendments may or may not be referred back to it). While
the law helpfully eliminates prison terms as a punishment for
infractions, it apparently does little to expand public discourse by
nurturing a more mature and responsible press and has left
journalists concerned about the degree of latitude left to the
government to decide what is and is not a transgression of the law.
End summary.

The FNC deliberates media rules
--------------


2. (U) In a January 20 session featuring passage of the draft press
law, the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) hosted five ministers
(Interior, FNC Affairs, Health, Labor, and Water/Environment) in
addition to a number of Emirati journalists and Chairman of the
Journalists Association Mohammad Youssef. (Minister of Labor Saqr
Ghubash also serves as National Media Council Chairman.) The draft
law (text not available) was discussed in some detail and forwarded
to the Cabinet for consideration -- following which it will require
endorsement by the Supreme Council (rulers of the seven Emirates)
and signature by the President.


3. (U) The law, as characterized by FNC Chair of the Committee for
Education, Media, Culture, and Youth Affairs:
-- includes 7 chapters divided into 45 articles (compared to 108
articles in the current law) focusing on basic regulations;
-- stresses article 30 of the constitution which guarantees the
freedom of opinion and expression within the limits of the law,
-- removes "imprisonment" as a penalty for press-related crimes;
and
-- attempts to open the door to a new era of media empowerment and
balance between public and personal freedoms.


4. (U) In lieu of imprisonment, journalists and media officials
will reportedly be subject to fines ranging from AED 500,000 (USD
136,000) to AED 5 million (USD 1,362,000) in cases of defamation of
the President, Vice President, Supreme Council members, crown
princes, or deputy rulers. Media which damages the reputation of
the UAE, its foreign relations or its national identity, or
publishes material that harms the national economy, can be fined
and/or banned (and journalists involved deported) if false
information is "knowingly" printed, with fines ranging from AED
100,000 (USD 27,000) to AED 500,000 (USD 136,000). Licenses may be
revoked for repeat violations. The law apparently requires media
outlets to publish free of charge whatever the government requests
of them in times of calamity or crisis. Reports note that article
39 of the proposed law also gives the National Media Council
jurisdiction to ban certain books and publications (without
mentioning a transparent process for doing so). The draft
reportedly states that owners of all newspapers and their
editors-in-chief must be suitably qualified and experienced Emirati
citizens with no criminal record.


5. (U) Journalists, harboring some skepticism, initially tried to
postpone discussion of the draft law until they could meet with the
National Media Council Chairman; they were reminded that the
Chairman had met with some journalists and that the agenda item must
be addressed by the FNC as planned. During the course of
discussions, FNC members insisted that an article be added (in
response to demands from the Journalists' Association) stipulating
that "no journalist can be forced to give up his sources." Some
also wanted the law to refer specifically to the Prime Minister's
decree that explicitly bans imprisonment for journalists doing their
job. Discussion ensued during the session about censorship, which
is apparently referred to in the context of banning "prior
censorship," which raised questions about censorship after
publication. NMC Chairman Ghubash simply answered that there would
be punishment for violations of law (rather than censorship before
the fact).

Experts comment in the press
--------------


6. (U) Journalists Association Chairman Mohammad Youssef told
Emarat Al Youm (local Arabic daily) on January 22 that the draft law
came as a shock to journalists in the country, was somewhat vague,
and mixed issues of journalism and media licensing regulations. He
said the draft law does not meet minimum demands expressed by
journalists for some years, nor does it match the political rhetoric
of UAEG leaders about empowering a responsible press. He also noted
that 10 out of 45 articles talk about penalties and punishments.


7. (U) According to media professor Aisha Al Nuaimi in a Gulf News

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(English daily) editorial on January 17 ("Media Law Should Reflect
Changing Times"),the new draft aims at achieving the federal
government's strategic plan to use a diverse and active media to
project a positive image of the UAE and its achievements. However,
after a long wait, the new law emerged below expectations, and
represents a step backward for the UAE media. She commented after
the FNC session that "the FNC has failed to protect journalists" by
approving the law. She also wondered why the ban on jail terms for
journalists was not explicitly included in the new law as the Prime
Minister ordered last year.


8. (U) Even semi-official (and Abu Dhabi government owned) English
daily The National has highlighted the issue and expressed concerns.
The January 25 National featured a front page article highlighting
promises from the National Media Council to attempt to address
problems with an appendix spelling out regulations. Editor-in-Chief
Martin Newland was quoted only last week in a Gulf News analysis of
UAE media, expressing concerns that some of the law's more vague
provisions raise liability concerns and worries for journalists and
editors that could chill expression.

Contacts complain of "vagueness" in the law,
which constitutes a setback for journalists
--------------


9. (U) Reaction from journalists themselves has been uniformly
negative and disappointed. Aisha Sultan wrote in her daily column
in Al-Ittihad (government affiliated Arabic daily) on January 24: "I
am shocked that the FNC has ratified this draft law.... We have
been expecting for years a law that lifts the freedom ceiling of our
media, eliminates obstacles to establishing new newspapers and
publications, and, above all, maintains freedom of expression...this
law does not give us this historical opportunity. We are not
against a law as a regulatory mechanism and a reference; but we are
against a draft law that obstructs instead of regulates, tightens
constraints instead of alleviating them, and simultaneously opens
[us] to attacks from international organizations interested in human
rights, especially press rights."


10. (SBU) Muhammad Yousuf, Chairman of the UAE Journalist
Association, described the draft law to Post as "a shock to the UAE
press community; it will never replace the 1980 law simply due to
its lack of clarity and its confusion between press activities and
media licensing regulations." Yousuf reiterated that "the law does
not even meet our minimum demands," but noted that the Association
is "in continuous dialogue with the authorities" and hopes to reach
a breakthrough to satisfy both parties by meeting somewhere in the
middle. He asserted that many controversial points in the law must
be "reconsidered, such as stopping a newspaper for as long as a
year", which would constitute collective punishment of newspaper
owners, staff, contributing journalists, and readers. He concluded
that "we do not oppose being accountable for what we do, nor to be
sued in front of courts; but the punishment must be in line with the
act," and should include less drastic options such as issuing a
correction or apology, or making compensation.


11. (SBU) Abdulhamid Ahmad, Editor-in-chief of the English daily
"Gulf News," notes that omitting mention of the ban on imprisonment
of journalists promulgated by Vice President and Prime Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid makes the new law awkward; it "does not
fit, and in all honesty the old law that regulates media and
publications was far better." He blames the National Media Council
for allowing lawyers from Egypt and Jordan to take charge of
reviewing the proposed amendments made by the Journalist
Association. He openly wondered why the UAE is a leader in so many
areas but not in media regulation.


12. (SBU) Muna Busamra, Secretary-General of the Journalist
Association and Head of Activities at the Dubai Press Club, gave one
of the more blunt assessments of the new draft law: "it really
sucks, and does not give the vibrant media community in the UAE any
gains." She added that "all members of the media community were
expecting significant breakthrough" in the law in light of many
remarks made by the UAE leadership, and that the draft submitted for
FNC discussion was a disappointment that "slapped us in the face."


13. (SBU) Comment: The original impetus to redraft the law
represented an apparent willingness and desire within society and
some parts of the UAE leadership to move cautiously toward nurturing
the modern, responsible press that is vital to creating the vibrant
modern society the UAE seeks to be. The decriminalization of press
law violations (removing reference to imprisonment) is clearly a
step in the right direction. In addition, training programs can
improve technical skills and a robust economy can keep many presses
active, adding to the breadth of a dynamic press environment.
Nonetheless, it appears that not everyone is as forward leaning, and
at least some in the UAEG are not yet ready to allow the level of
journalistic latitude and freedom of expression that motivates the
heart of an inquisitive media corps. End comment.


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OLSON