"APRIL 6 MOVEMENT" RAISES ITS PROFILE TO ATTRACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001819 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/NESCA NSC FOR KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2029 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG SUBJECT: "APRIL 6 MOVEMENT" RAISES ITS PROFILE TO ATTRACT NEW MEMBERS REF: A. CAIRO 1464 ¶B. CAIRO 695 ¶C. CAIRO 591 ¶D. CAIRO 468 ¶E. 08 CAIRO 1581 ¶F. 08 CAIRO 697 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Stephen P. O'Dowd for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. KEY POINTS -- (C) On September 15, "April 6 Movement" leader Ahmed Saleh told us that the group is working to attract new members through a campaign of helping citizens "stand up for their rights" and receive government services. -- (C) As part of this effort, he said "April 6" has successfully lobbied local councils in Cairo to collect accumulated trash, and is working to help torture victims in the Delta. -- (C) Saleh said "April 6" succeeded in discreetly distributing leaflets to attract new members during a recent impromptu sing-along in Cairo, which the police allowed to proceed. -- (C) "April 6" plans to join in domestic monitoring of the 2010 parliamentary elections, and Saleh regularly meets with Ayman Nour to discuss strategy for the 2010 elections and the 2011 presidential contest. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶2. (C) "April 6's" lobbying for services and aiding torture victims is a departure from its previous tactics of strikes and slogans. We assess that following the failed April 6, 2009 strike, these activities could be effective in attracting new members and improving the movement's credibility, which has fallen steadily since the successful April 6, 2008 strike. It is noteworthy that the GOE has apparently not arrested "April 6" members for their current higher-profile activities, in a break from its previous policy of arresting members whenever they gathered in public, even to sing patriotic songs (ref E). End comment. -------------- Activities to Attract New Members -------------- ¶3. (C) Ahmed Saleh told visiting NEA/ELA desk officer Aaron Pina and POLOFF that he and secular co-leader Ahmed Maher have strengthened their hold on the group, and have succeeded in preventing Islamist and Nasserist members from playing a role. Saleh said "April 6" is working to attract new members by launching activities to encourage citizens to "stand up for their rights" under the slogan "wasatatak masriyatak (your connection is your citizenship)." In mid-August, he said, "April 6" members led a group of citizens in the middle-class Cairo neighborhood of Ain Shams in successfully lobbying the local council to collect accumulated trash. Saleh said the group threatened a sit-in at the local council before the council agreed to collect the trash. Saleh noted that the group mounted a similarly successful campaign to convince the local council to remove trash in the lower-middle class Cairo neighborhood of Imbaba. Since August, "April 6" has been working in the Delta city of Kafr Al-Sheikh to identify torture victims and put them in touch with legal aid NGOs. ¶4. (C) Saleh said "April 6" staged an informal sing-along of patriotic songs in mid-September in the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar where the group was able to discreetly distribute leaflets and slogans to potential new members without being arrested. He estimated that 10-12 young people joined on the spot. Saleh noted that police initially tried to stop the sing-along by beating some members, but eventually relented. He judged that police were unusually tolerant due to "the spirit of Ramadan," and in an attempt to avoid giving "April 6" publicity by making arrests. He said the group will resume its attempts to recruit new members on university campuses. -------------- Looking Toward the 2010 and 2011 Elections -------------- CAIRO 00001819 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Saleh plans for about 100 "April 6" members to work as monitors for the 2010 parliamentary elections, and he intends to seek training from established NGOs. He noted that several "April 6" members are in the leadership of the grassroots youth movement "Sawti Matlubi (My Vote, My Demand)," which is working to identify particular issues that would stimulate public interest in the 2010 parliamentary elections. Saleh emphasized that "April 6" plans for the 2010 parliamentary and 2011 presidential elections are still preliminary. ¶6. (C) He noted that he now meets with former opposition presidential candidate Ayman Nour weekly to discuss political strategy, and that Nour has been holding impromptu gatherings with Cairo residents to discuss their concerns. Saleh said "April 6" hopes Nour can run against President Mubarak in 2011, despite the legal prohibition on his candidacy. Saleh described Nour's state of mind as "improving," though he judged prison had damaged Nour "as a person." ¶7. (U) NEA/ELA Desk Officer Aaron Pina cleared this message. Scobey