VZCZCXRO0292
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #1560/01 1301927
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101927Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4383
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001560 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPAS ECPS IZ
SUBJECT: SECTARIAN CONCERNS AT IMN 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford, for Reasons 1.4 (B) 
and (D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  In a May 4 meeting, Presidential media 
advisor Hiwa Osman and former Iraqi Media Network (IMN) 
Directors General Ahmad al-Rikaby and Jalal al-Mashta told 
Poloff that media will be just as important to stemming 
violence in Iraq as the security portfolio.  They lamented 
the growing sectarian bias in IMN reporting and programming, 
and warned that the current DG, Habib al-Sadr, was lobbying 
UIC leaders to include his position in government formation 
political party agreements.  They called for the immediate 
replacement of al-Sadr by a non-sectarian, politically 
independent, experienced professional.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
IMN Promotes Shia, not National, Unity 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Hiwa Osman, media advisor to President Jalal Talabani, 
told Emboff May 4 that media has a very important role to 
play in stemming sectarian violence in Iraq.  He highlighted 
the ability of the media to educate, foster dialogue and 
promote reconciliation.  Osman argued that, as the official 
public service broadcaster for Iraq, IMN should be leading 
the effort to unite all Iraqis, regardless of sect or 
ethnicity.  He accused IMN DG Habib al-Sadr of using IMN to 
promote a sectarian agenda, spread propaganda, and curry 
favor with Iraqi politicians and spiritual leaders. 
 
¶3. (C) Former IMN DGs Ahmad al-Rikaby and Jalal al-Mashta, 
who were also present at the meeting, agreed.  They noted 
that the war on terror is "not only fighting car bombs and 
stopping civil war, it is changing the mentality of the 
people."  They said that Iraqiyya, the largest television 
station in Iraq, routinely cuts away from scheduled 
programming to air live Shia celebrations in Najaf.  However, 
none of the three media experts could recall ever seeing a 
single Sunni, Christian or Kurdish program on the station. 
Osman claimed that the morning prayer, broadcast on Iraqiyya, 
included the verse, "may God curse the first, second and 
third," which is a reference to the Sunni caliphs.  They 
complained that al-Sadr had completely removed any public 
service aspect from Iraqiyya's programming, and was actively 
using the medium to promote Shia, rather than national, unity. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Al-Sadr Lobbying to Keep his Job? 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Al-Rikaby and al-Mashta said that they still have 
contacts in IMN with whom they regularly meet.  These 
contacts reported that al-Sadr had been lobbying outgoing PM 
Ibrahim Jafari to include the IMN DG position in the 
government formation negotiations, despite the fact that it 
is not a ministerial position.  They claimed Habib al-Sadr 
had also lobbied Muqtada al-Sadr and SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz 
al-Hakim to support this initiative.  (NOTE: Rikaby and 
Mashta claimed that Habib al-Sadr is Muqtada's cousin and 
Hakim's brother-in-law.)  Although they said Habib al-Sadr 
had not directly engaged PM-designate Nuri al-Maliki, 
al-Rikaby and al-Mashta noted that IMN press coverage of the 
new PM has been overwhelmingly favorable and in some cases, 
"flattering." 
 
¶5. (C) Al-Rikaby, al-Mashta and Osman all speculated that 
Habib al-Sadr was confident of his support within the Shia 
Coalition based on his ingratiating behavior.  They claimed 
that al-Sadr is a political partisan, not a media 
professional.  If his position were officially allocated to a 
political party, he would be assured of staying on as DG, a 
position that al-Rikaby said "comes with benefits." 
Al-Rikaby alleged that those benefits have included paychecks 
from several prominent politicians. 
 
¶6. (C) Osman asked for US help in creating the conditions for 
the right people to manage IMN, "an important institution 
that will sell the vision of the new Iraq to the people." 
While he admitted that the legal framework did not exist to 
immediately fix IMN's problems, Osman emphasized that al-Sadr 
needed to be removed as soon as possible.  He suggested that 
the current Board of Governors, which he charged was 
illegally appointed by Allawi, be removed and the original 
board, selected by CPA authorities, restored.  The original 
board, of which Osman was a member, could remove al-Sadr and 
then vote to dissolve itself.  They could appoint a caretaker 
Board of Governors until the Council of Representatives (CoR) 
selects a permanent board. 
 
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Comment 
 
BAGHDAD 00001560  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶7. (C) Reaching nearly 70% of Iraqi households, Iraqiyya has 
the potential to be a tool of sectarian or cross-sectarian 
messaging.  While the claims made here reflect only one view 
of the issue, they are consistent with the general 
disquietude many of our centrist contacts about the 
management of IMN.  Al-Sadr's management has been far from 
stellar and politicization that began during Allawi's 
government needs to be checked on all sides.  CPA order 66, 
which established IMN as the public service broadcaster for 
Iraq, includes explicit provisions regarding the independence 
of IMN.  The examples cited above directly violate the 
station's mandate to "reflect fairly and equitably the 
regional, cultural and political diversity of Iraq," and 
actively promote a Shia agenda at a time when sectarian 
tensions continue to run high.  The Embassy is currently 
reviewing several steps to help put the public broadcaster 
back on neutral footing.  Among the first steps, we are 
inviting experts and media contacts to a May 11 forum to 
critically review the performance of IMN, with al-Sadr 
attending. 
 
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Bionote 
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¶8. (C) Hiwa Osman is the son of noted Kurdish independent 
politician Dr. Mahmud Othman.  Osman speaks fluent English 
and has an extensive background in media, having honed his 
skills as a reporter for the BBC and a columnist for the 
Washington Times.  He considers himself a technocrat and a 
political appointee who will leave the Presidency's Media 
Office with President Talabani. 
SATTERFIELD