SARG CONTINUES TO CENSOR AND INTIMIDATE SYRIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000563

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD
PARIS FOR NOBLES
LONDON FOR LORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2019
TAGS: PROP PGOV PINS PHUM SOCI SY
SUBJECT: SARG CONTINUES TO CENSOR AND INTIMIDATE SYRIAN
MEDIA

Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Despite 2001 amendments to Syria's archaic
press law that precipitated the creation of a private media
industry, the SARG still relies on censorship and
intimidation to ensure the expanded number of publications
does not threaten its control over information inside the
country. Recent examples of censorship include the blockage
of Syria Today's June edition, the firing of the producer at
a privately-owned television station, the closure of
privately owned al-Mashraq TV and the blockage of the latest
edition of Shabablek. An expected update to the publications
law, designed to assert greater authority over on-line media,
may face considerable delays. End Summary.

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Background
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2. (C) In 2001, the SARG allowed private investors to
purchase licenses to operate private media in the specific
fields of culture, economics and business -- political media
is, and remains, explicitly off limits. The change in media
laws sparked a proliferation of private publications and
generated wide-spread public dialogue on key economic and
cultural issues. Signaling this policy remains in effect, a
Ministry of Information (MOI) employee recently said
applications for "politically-based media will not be
favorably reviewed."


3. (C) Syrian journalists lament that, despite the
proliferation of media outlets, government prohibitions ("red
lines" are constantly shifting and represent a continuing
occupational hazard). Local Dar al-Hayat correspondent
Ibrahim Hamidi (strictly protect) said red lines were clearer
under former President Hafez al-Asad, and journalists
understood and respected them. While journalists today avoid
obviously taboo subjects (the President, his father, national
security issues and the military),there are myriad other,
more nuanced issues that can endanger journalists or a news
organization. Below are three specific examples that
illustrate how the SARG seeks to influence media coverage and
how three distinct news outlets handled it.

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Syria Today: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
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4. (C) Syria Today, an English-language economic and business
magazine that was originally created by the First Lady's
Syria Trust organization, has traditionally pushed the
envelope, albeit under intense government scrutiny.
Throughout its short history, Syria Today has proved able to
tackle taboo subjects like the political opposition, economic
reforms, media censorship, resource mismanagement,
corruption, and the agricultural crisis with minimal
blow-back from the government, principally because it is an
English-language publication. John Dagge (strictly protect),
Syria Today's editor-in-chief, said the Syrian government, in
general, gives Syria Today a wider berth than Arabic-language
media because it makes the government "look good" to have a
magazine like Syria Today writing about controversial issues.
But, Dagge said, every six to twelve months, the censors come
down hard on the magazine. In one famous example, MOI blocked
distribution of the June 2008 edition of the magazine because
it featured a photo of democracy activist Riad Seif. The
article questioned whether Syria's fractured political
opposition merited the title of "opposition," but in the MOI
view, it gave legitimacy to the opposition movement in Syria.
(Note: Seif was jailed months before the issue hit magazine
stands.)


5. (C) The MOI rejected the June 2009 edition for similar
reasons. A picture of President Bashar al-Asad, which
appeared underneath a quote by the King of Jordan, irked the
censors. As a result, senior writer Dalia Haider (strictly
protect) had to dissect the entire issue, word for word, with
MOI officials. She eventually succeeded in getting the issue
approved after the magazine agreed to reposition the
President's photo to a more flattering location. Syria Today
emerged from the harrowing experience chastened and more

carefully self-censoring, although still operational.

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Satellite Channels: Under the SARG's Watchful Eye
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6. (C) The SARG, which has complete control over the
non-satellite TV airwaves, has sought to dominate
Syria-specific satellite channels. In the case of the private
al-Dounia satellite channel, Station Director Fuoad Shurbaji
was fired, reportedly a victim of rapprochement between Syria
and Saudi Arabia. Post and al-Dounia had an excellent working
relationship; their journalists filmed the concert of
American Jazz Ambassador Ericka Ovette, interviewed U.S.
speakers, and participated in Embassy round-tables. But
during the December-January Gaza crisis, al-Dounia's news
broadcasts took an openly anti-Saudi and anti-Egyptian line.
In the aftermath of Asad's March reconciliation visit to
Riyadh, al-Dounia announced Shurbanji's termination and
station employees told us that station was charting a new
course and would now be modeled on entertainment focused
Lebanese channels. (Note: The antipathy felt by the Egyptian
and Saudi governments over the Syrian media's treatment
during the Gaza crisis lingers. Egyptian diplomats refuse to
speak to Syrian journalists, and the Saudis did not allow any
Syrian media to cover Asad's visit to Riyadh.) Shurbaji, a
seasoned journalist highly regarded by his colleagues, was
out of a job in a symbolic gesture to prove to the Saudis the
SARG was taking steps to rehabilitate private media.


7. (C) Local security services shuttered Syrian-owned
al-Mashraq TV on July 30, putting a decisive end to the
station inside Syria. Owned by wealthy Syrian businessman
Ghassan Aboud, al-Mashraq operated out of the UAE. The
station was secular and liberal, and its programming tackled
Syria-specific stories other stations would not. A recent
report on liquor laws was cutting-edge by Syrian standards,
particularly for its criticism that the government routed
alcohol into predominantly Christian neighborhoods. In the
first sign of trouble, the director of the station was fired
by Aboud for "editorial differences," and the local staff
responded by going on strike. The following day, security
services prevented al-Mashraq film crews from shooting in the
al-Sahliya market. When the employees tried to return to work
after the one day strike, they were told the station was
closed and they should report to the security services. The
stated reason was the channel had insulted "influential
Syrians," but rumors persist that the owner rejected an offer
to merge with a new station, reportedly financed by Rami
Makhlouf, President Asad's entrepreneurial cousin.

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Controlling Internet Media
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8. (C) For several years, the SARG, at the behest of the
President, has been studying additional reforms to the press
law to assert greater control over on-line media. According
to the Center for Media and Freedom of Expression,
responsibility for monitoring on-line media does not rest
with the Ministry of Information, but rather with the
Ministry of Interior. Reporting from websites buttresses this
theory since the content on certain sites could only come
from close relationships with the Syrian security services. A
small group, including al-Watan Editor-in-Chief Waddah Abd
Rabo and Bilal Turkmani, the son of the former defense
minister and the owner of the monthly Abiyad wa Aswad, has
been reviewing various drafts of the publications law. When
asked about it recently, Abd Rabo said the latest draft has
the Ministry of Commerce monitoring websites because of the
advertising revenue, but he believed it was more likely the
President will "forget" about the order and no additional
action will be taken. Al-Watan is upgrading its website and
hopes to capture revenue in on-line advertising.

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Facebook: Less is More
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9. (C) Facebook demonstrates the convergence of censorship on
on-line and print media. The MOI blocked the most recent

issue of Shabablek youth magazine was because it featured an
article criticizing the SARG's ban of Facebook. The article
stated several prominent Syrian government officials,
including the Minister of Culture, have Facebook profiles.
Author Rafaa Hazaa (strictly protect) said the government
feels increasingly threatened by Facebook as Syrians become
active in organizing Facebook groups about controversial
issues.


10. (C) Comment: New media sources in Syria chart a difficult
course. Constantly aware they can be closed down by the SARG
at any moment, they must sidestep incompetence at the MOI and
SARG efforts to control the story line inside Syria. In this
restrictive environment, savvy outlets find ways to placate
the censors and stay in business, guaranteeing they will be
around to cover the next big story.
HUNTER