CULTURE CLASH AT MEDIA FREEDOM CENTER SPARKS RARE

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000287 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2019 TAGS: PREL KPAO PHUM QA SUBJECT: CULTURE CLASH AT MEDIA FREEDOM CENTER SPARKS RARE PUBLIC DEBATE Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH LEBARON, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). -------------- (C) KEY POINTS -------------- -- The Doha Center for Media Freedom, an initiative launched by Shayka Mozah and headed by French activist Robert Menard, has become the subject of a public debate, based on Menard's criticism of Qatar and his unwillingness to hire Qataris he deems unqualified -- two sensitive areas that are normally not discussed publicly in Qatar. -- An editorial in a local paper entitled "Menard's Obscenity" accuses him of being "infatuated by the media spotlight," of "trying his best to alienate national cadres," maligning Qatar, and doing nothing to protect journalists in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Palestinian territories. -- Menard has responded by writing his own editorial in response, and granting interviews to Al Arab (another local paper),as well as the BBC. Menard defends the center's record, citing the 250 journalists to whom aid has been provided, and accusing the editorialist of proclaiming solidarity with journalists without leaving his office. -- Menard believes that these public attacks are part of a larger struggle between Shaykha Mozah on one hand and Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani on the other. Menard claims to have Shaykha Mozah's full support, despite the "difficulties" she says that he is causing her. -------------- (C) COMMENTS -------------- -- In agreeing to open the center in 2008, Shaykha Mozah moved beyond her traditional realm of educational and cultural development into the realm of foreign policy, so it is not unreasonable to believe that the Prime Minister/Foreign Minister is not pleased with this "poaching" on his territory. That said, Post has no direct evidence of such a linkage. -- Pressures to "Qatarize" the work force and to avoid direct criticism of Qatar and its leaders are certainly not unique to the Media Freedom Center. Virtually every organization operating in Qatar -- including the Al Jazeera network -- faces these pressures. -- What is unique to this situation is Menard's willingness to debate these issues publicly, and Qatar's willingness at the very highest levels to allow this debate to take place, despite how uncomfortable it is to many Qataris. In that sense, the center's experience in Qatar has helped expand the parameters of media freedom in this country. END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS ¶1. (C) In early 2008, Robert Menard, formerly the head of Reporters Without Borders, approached Shaykha Mozah, Consort of the Amir and Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation, with a proposal to open a media freedom center that would protect threatened journalists and their families throughout the world both financially and physically. According to Menard, the Shaykha approved the proposal within 48 hours, and several months later, Menard was in Doha to begin operations. "She agreed that I would have full power to hire and fire people as I saw fit," he told PAO, "but the reality has been much more difficult." ¶2. (C) Faced with Qataris that he said "were foisted upon me," Menard simply refused to work with them, and instead hired his own team. "They just don't do anything and have no experience in human rights or in journalism," he complained. In an unusual move for Qatar, Menard then posted a statement to his website, noting that Maryam al-Khater, a Qatari who also sits on the board of Al Jazeera, was no longer his deputy. ¶3. (C) Al-Khater, meanwhile, told a Pol/Econ FSN that Menard had no power over her, as she had been appointed directly by Shaykha Mozah. Menard, she claimed, was insensitive to Qatari culture, and did not know how to work with Qataris. At the same time, Shaykh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the center's Chairman of the Board (and also the Chairman of Al Jazeera),called in Menard to present him with a list of Qataris to whom he would henceforth report. According to Menard, he "ripped up the list in front of him and threw it on the table, telling him that I answer to no one except the Board of Directors." Menard told PAO that he will no longer meet with Hamad bin Thamer unless it is in the context of a regular Board meeting. ¶4. (C) Menard said that subsequently, he has faced a number of administrative obstacles put in place by Hamad bin Thamer, including the cancellation of exit permits for staff members of the center, and several refusals to allow in persecuted journalists under the center's protection. Menard has responded to each incident by posting a note of protest on the center's website. ¶5. (C) Unable to secure a meeting with Shaykha Mozah to discuss these problems in February, Menard published an "open letter" to her, citing her commitment to support the center and calling on her to remove the obstacles being placed on its operation. According to a Qatari Editor-in-Chief of a local newspaper, he and other editors were called by the Prime Minister's office and told not to print the open letter, an order with which they complied. ¶6. (C) On April 19, the Editor-in-Chief of Arabic-language daily Al Sharq, published an editorial entitled, "Menard's Obscenity," accusing Menard of being "infatuated by the media spotlight," of "not seeking the assistance of any cadre in Qatar," and of "trying to alienate the honorable Maryam al-Khater." The editorial continues by saying that Menard has "maligned the State of Qatar" by such actions as criticizing Dubai for wanting to block pornographic websites, for criticizing Qatar for hosting the Sudanese President at the Arab League summit, and for not condemning Israel or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ¶7. (C) In his response, Menard refuses to be drawn into a discussion about Maryam al-Khater, but notes that a Qatari affiliated with Al Sharq works at the center. He goes on to list all of the assistance that the center has offered more than 250 journalists around the world, including in Iraq, Gaza and Pakistan. Menard notes that he attended the trial of an Al Jazeera journalist in Madrid and visited another held in Guantanamo, but did not see the editorialist at either location, whom he accuses of being "in solidarity with journalists without leaving his office." ¶8. (C) Menard concludes his response to the editorial by arguing that the center actually contributes to improving Qatar's international image, because the center's independence -- including from the authorities -- is something no other Arab country would dare support. Qatar has "gambled on freedom, and it should be thanked for that," he concludes. ¶9. (C) Menard told PAO on April 20 that "even though people are trying to give me a lot of trouble," the public debate surrounding the center is very healthy for press freedom in Qatar. He said he was not concerned, because "first of all, I don't need this job, and everyone knows that. If they throw me out, I'll just do something else." ¶10. (C) He described his meeting with Shaykha Mozah at the beginning of April as "a clear sign that she is still behind me." Mozah, who laughed at the controversy, according to Menard, reassured him that he should "keep up his work," but that he should realize that she is receiving a great deal of pressure from Qataris who do not agree with what he is doing. "She is a visionary woman," Menard said, "but I have no idea how long she's willing to withstand all the criticism that comes with keeping me here." LeBaron