AL JAZEERA TACKLES LABOR CONDITIONS IN QATAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000318

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KTIP KPAO QA
SUBJECT: AL JAZEERA TACKLES LABOR CONDITIONS IN QATAR

Classified By: CDA MICHAEL A. RATNEY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

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(C) KEY POINTS
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-- The Al Jazeera English channel broadcast a three-minute
report on unfair labor conditions in Qatar on April 10, tying
the workers' situation of squalid living conditions, unpaid
status, and heavy indebtedness to the global economic crisis.

-- The journalist who filed the report said that, in
reality, the workers "have no idea the global economy is in
crisis," because "they have been living in these conditions
in Qatar for years." Realizing what a sensitive topic labor
rights are in Qatar, however, he did not want to address
systemic labor problems, and instead decided to limit his
focus to payment problems that may be linked to the global
downturn.

-- A producer at Al Jazeera, whose report on general labor
conditions in Qatar was shelved two years ago, said the April
10 broadcast demonstrates that the "door is now open" on this
subject, which she attributes to the leadership of Al Jazeera
English Director Tony Burman and the "real journalists" that
he has brought on board since joining the station in the
summer of 2008.

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(C) COMMENTS
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-- It has become conventional wisdom that Al Jazeera does
not feature reporting about Qatar, with the official
explanation for this being that "nothing of international
importance happens in Qatar." In reality, Al Jazeera does
occasionally report on happenings in Qatar, including
conferences, major statements by the leadership, and economic
developments.

-- What Al Jazeera has resolutely steered away from,
however, is reporting on anything politically controversial
in Qatar, including labor conditions.

-- Taken together with other actions the Qataris have
initiated over the past several months, the fact that Al
Jazeera is now reporting on this previously taboo subject may
be another sign that the Qatari Government is more serious
about addressing the rights of foreign laborers in Qatar.

END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS


1. (U) Casey Kaufman, an American citizen journalist working
with Al Jazeera English, one of the Al Jazeera Network's
seven stations broadcast worldwide, filed a report on April
10 highlighting the plight of a group of Nepali construction
workers living in poor conditions in Doha who have not been
paid for four months. Kaufman begins the broadcast by
stating that the global economic crisis has "led to a darker
reality" for workers like these, noting that trade unions are
not allowed in Qatar, and that complaining can lead to
deportation. Video shots of the workers show cramped living
conditions, while the voice-over states that 18 men are
living in a two-room apartment.


2. (U) Kaufman interviews the workers' company manager who,
under conditions of anonymity, states that if contractors do
not pay sub-contractors, then workers cannot get paid.
Kaufman notes in his voice-over that it is unclear whether
contractors are truly experiencing liquidity problems, or are
just using the economic crisis as an excuse to withhold
payments.


3. (C) Contacted separately, Kaufman told PAO that he had
visited eight camps and was struck by the fact that "these
guys aren't thinking about the economic crisis at all. They
have been living in these conditions since they arrived in
this country." Although there was no pressure from his
superiors, Kaufman said, he thought it was better not to
target the labor problem in general, but to tie it to the
economic crisis so that it did not cross political
sensitivities.


4. (C) Asked to describe his understanding of those
sensitivities, Kaufman replied that "it's hard to know"
because no one inside Al Jazeera really talks about them.
"We know that certain subjects are sensitive, and we know who
our bosses are," he said, "but I have not seen any
significant amounts of pressure not to file certain stories."



5. (C) Phuong-Y Nguyen, a Canadian producer at Al Jazeera

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English whose own report on labor conditions in Qatar was put
on the shelf by Al Jazeera managers two years ago, told PAO
that Kaufman's report proves that "the door is open" on the
labor issue. Asked what changed, Nguyen pointed to the
leadership of Tony Burman, another Canadian brought in to
head the English channel in the summer of 2008, and the "real
journalists" that he has since brought on board.


6. (C) Nguyen said that the airing of the April 10 broadcast
has inspired her to renew her effort to produce a longer
report on general labor conditions, that would include
interviews with Qatari officials. "When we tried two years
ago, the best we could get was someone from the National
Human Rights Committee," Nguyen said, "but you just can't
have a full report on labor issues without a Qatari
Government voice."
Ratney