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 BASRAH 000155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO KDEM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: REO BASRAH SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE MEDIA IN THE RUN-UP TO THE 
DECEMBER 15 ELECTION 
 
¶1.  Summary.  REO Basrah programmed $145,000 in public diplomacy 
grant funds to media organizations for coverage of key election 
issues in the run-up to the December 15 national election. 
Al-Samawah, Al-Manarah, Shatt Al-Arab, Al-Haqeeqa and Basrah 
Politics newspapers and Radio Shinasheel each received between 
$10,000 to $15,000 grants, resulting in hundreds of hours of 
extra radio programming and over 190,000 supplemental editions 
being published and distributed in nine southern provinces. 
Between the five newspapers and the one radio station, thousands 
of voters scattered among all the southern provinces were 
reached. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  REO Basrah programmed $145,000 in Embassy Baghdad Public 
Diplomacy grant funds to local and regional media organizations 
to highlight important issues preceding the December 15 
election.  The goals of the program were to assist local and 
regional newspapers to highlight key issues and profile 
candidates and political lists for the overarching aim of 
providing voters with a better understanding of the electoral 
process. 
 
¶3.  Al-Haqeeqa, Shatt Al-Arab, Al-Samawah and Basrah Politics 
newspapers used grant funds to support the publishing of 
eight-page special editions twice a week in advance of the 
elections, for a total of six extra editions.  The editors of 
these papers made special efforts to provide balanced coverage 
of both Unified Iraqi Coalition (List 555) candidates and their 
opponents, placing specific emphasis on women's rights and the 
role of women in the election.  Al-Samawah newspaper from 
Muthanna province, in particular, devoted equal space for 
conservative and moderate candidates, including several 
two-page, fold out sections that profiled one candidate on the 
left page and another on the right. 
 
¶4.  Al-Manarah, the only regularly published newspaper in the 
south (twice weekly), provided three separate products.  First, 
it developed and inserted an eight-page election supplement into 
its regularly published biweekly newspaper and distributed it to 
10,000 Iraqis throughout the south.  This supplement was 
designed to provide readers with an overview of candidates and 
their platforms, as well as general election issues in the 
south.  Second, Al-Manarah published two special provincial 
editions in each of the nine southern provinces, one before and 
another after the election.  These provincial editions focused 
on issues and candidates in their respective provinces. 
Al-Manarah distributed 3,000 copies of each edition in each 
province.  Finally, two days before the election, Al-Manarah 
published and distributed a special election primer edition, 
with 3,000 copies distributed in eight southern provinces and 
10,000 distributed in Basrah province.  This special edition was 
designed to be an election day tool for voters, identifying all 
of the candidates on each list and describing each list's basic 
platform. 
 
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Media Reaction 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  Vignettes from special election editions and supplements: 
 
Al Haqeeqa (Basrah), Communist, summary of front-page editorial 
by Abbas Al-Jourani on December 7, titled, "Terrorism and the 
Electoral Campaigns." 
 
 "Any participant in the electoral process can not deny the 
important steps that the Iraqi people have taken to remove the 
remnants of Saddam's regime.  Unfortunately, during the legal 
campaigns, we have observed the tearing of posters and pictures 
of candidates, a result of the lack of democratic education of 
the people.  This is a blemish on the political process and I 
call on all parties to condemn this action." 
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Shatt Al-Arab (Basrah), Independent, summary of front-page 
editorial by Bakr Al-Nimrawee on December 3, titled, "Let's make 
the election the beginning of the end of the occupation." 
 
"In order to build a new independent, democratic Iraq and free 
ourselves from occupation, we must adopt the following national 
goals and principles: 
 
-- Be loyal to an Iraqi identity first, rather than a doctrine, 
or ethnic/sectarian affiliation. 
-- Cast away religious and political extremism. 
-- Embrace the democratic process 
-- Invite all elements of Iraqi society to be involved in 
electoral process, regardless of affiliation. 
-- Maintain the unity of Iraq by ensuring that all parties 
receive a fair share of the nation's natural resources. 
 
We know that by adhering to the principles spelled out above, we 
can ensure that our democracy grows strong and results in the 
withdrawal of coalition forces." 
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Al-Samawah (Muthanna), Independent, summary of third page 
unattributed editorial on November 26, titled, "People Chatting 
Before the Parliamentary Elections." 
 
 "The Iraqi people have a proud and storied civilization and 
culture and we will soon return to that place we occupied long 
ago.  They have started to build a new Iraq step by step and now 
they will choose their candidates to write down the permanent 
constitution and apply it as well. Here show some of the 
opinions of the people and what the election means to them: 
 
--Waleed Mazher - Researcher 
The parliamentary election is coming soon and the people hope 
for lots of change for the coming government because it's the 
first time an elected government will lead the country for four 
years. 
--Ali Adnan - Student 
The Election is the foundation to build a new Iraq and every one 
should express his own opinion and show what he can do for Iraq. 
 
--Maysoon Al-Shaik: 
The most importing thing is increasing the participation of 
women in government. 
I think the women will have a strong showing in the coming 
election. 
 
--Maraim Al-Halfy: 
The Election is the right step on the way to a new strong Iraq 
to survive this critical period and achieve a stable Iraq that 
provides for the aspirations of the candidates and the people." 
 
¶6.  Summary:  Communicating election issues to the widespread 
population in the southern provinces is a challenge for the 
small, poorly-funded private media organizations in the south. 
The $145,000 in grant funds enabled private media to spread 
information about the December 15 national elections at a 
critical time in Iraq's history.  End Summary. 
GROSS