Cablegate: Lively Media Reaction to Commments Regarding

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 002961

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, NEA/ARP, NEA/PD, NEA/RA, NEA/RRU,
DS/OP/NEA AND S/CT
CENTCOM FOR POLAD
NEA/PPD FOR AFERNANDEZ
THE WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR PHUM PTER KISL YM
SUBJECT: LIVELY MEDIA REACTION TO COMMMENTS REGARDING
"STALLED" DEMOCRATIZATION

1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Local outlets reacted strongly to the
October 6 publication of Ambassador Krajeski's remarks that
"Yemen's progress [towards greater democracy] has stalled."
Official and GPC-funded newspapers charged the USG with
interference in Yemen's internal affairs and accused the
Ambassador of acting like a "high commissioner." The Al-
Ayyam interview sparked a discussion on Al-Jazeera's "Behind
the News" program during which two Yemeni guests criticized
the Ambassador's statement at length. End Summary.

2. (U) On October 2, Al-Ayyam, a liberal independent daily
based in Aden (circulation: 35,000-40,000) interviewed
Ambassador Krajeski. In the interview, published four days
later, Ambassador Krajeski said: "Recently there has been
concern in Washington that rather than continue along this
... very well-defined path toward greater democracy, ...
Yemen's progress has stalled." The Ambassador added that
while "Yemen has publicly chosen at the highest level to go
down this road toward ... an expansion of freedoms, ... when
journalists are harassed, when journalists are arrested,
when newspapers are closed, yes, Washington is concerned."
The interview was conducted in English and translated into
Arabic. In publication, the article translated the word
"stalled" as "tuwaqqaf," a term connoting a full-stop --
rather than a temporary setback.

3. (U) On October 8, the ROYG's Saba News Agency responded
with a statement that "democracy in Yemen is a matter for
the people of Yemen alone," and called the Ambassador's
reported comments "interference in Yemen's domestic
affairs," asking rhetorically whether he "wants a democracy
similar to the one established by the coalition forces in
Iraq?" Government and independent media outlets carried
Saba's response. On October 9, official government daily Al-
Thawra (circulation: 40,000) published an editorial
entitled: "Our democracy is our business;" the editorial
opined that the Ambassador's comments contradicted the views
of the international community as a whole. A second opinion
article in Al-Thawra stated: "It is not wise for some U.S.
ambassadors to turn into high commissioners," and added,
"This kind of approach will only bring more hatred and
hostility to America's policies." Manbar Al-Shura (state-
funded weekly) cited the Ambassador's remarks as
confirmation of his suspicious links with the opposition
Joint Meeting Party (JMP).

4. (U) Also on October 9, Al-Jazeera hosted a discussion on
Ambassador Krajeski's comments. The program featured three
Yemeni guests: Abdul Wali al-Shamiri, Yemen's Ambassador to
Egypt; Abdul-Malik al-Mikhlafi, a former leader of Yemen's
Nasserist party; and Hassan Abu Talib, a Cairo-based
academic and editor. Al-Shamiri and al-Mikhlafi followed Al-
Thawra's lead in accusing the Ambassador of "acting like a
high commissioner." Al-Shamiri noted: "Yemeni forces have
never been involved in the murder of journalists the way
American forces have been in Iraq." Al-Mikhlafi said that
while opposition figures such as himself have many comments
on Yemen's democratization process, the Ambassador's
comments were intended to "blackmail the regime and the
opposition alike." Abu Talib, however, generally supported
the Ambassador's comments.

5. (U) On October 10, various media outlets across the
political spectrum described the Al-Jazeera program. Al-
Thawra added a second editorial describing the Ambassador's
remarks as "unfortunate and provocative" and contrasting the
remarks with other statements by USG officials' praising
Yemen's democracy. Al-Motamer Net (GPC-owned news website)
described the remarks as "irresponsible" and
"disrespectful."

6. (U) The English-language daily Yemen Observer
(circulation: 5,000) published online a second interview
with Ambassador Krajeski late in the day on October 10
noting the subtle difference in meaning between the English-
language comment and the Arabic translation, which appeared
in the Al Ayyam. Faris Sanabani, who serves simultaneously
as publisher of the Yemen Observer and as Deputy Press
Secretary to President Saleh, conducted the second

SIPDIS
interview. On October 11, Al-Thawra reported a similar
clarification by the Ambassador: "I did not say that Yemen
has halted its progress toward democracy, but rather that
democracy in Yemen has slowed due to certain incidents
involving the harassment and abuse of journalists." Al-
Thawra further quoted the Ambassador as saying the USG
"holds up [Yemen] as a model in the region."
7. (SBU) COMMENT: Had the Saba News Agency not flagged
the Ambassador's comments so prominently, the Al-Ayyam
interview likely would have raised no furor. The ROYG
appears to have realized this soon after issuing its rebuff,
and the conciliatory article by Sanabani's Yemen Observer on
October 10 may reflect the regime's desire to put the hubbub
surrounding the Ambassador's remarks to rest. This
conclusion may be confirmed by the similar tenor of the
October 11 Al-Thawra article. In view of President Saleh's
scheduled visit to Washington, the ROYG has a significant
interest in minimizing this sort of controversy. End
comment.

KRAJESKI

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