VZCZCXRO4557
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #0100/01 0251432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251432Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2071
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 000100 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO AE
SUBJECT: UAE DRAFT PRESS LAW HEADLINES AT FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL 
 
REF: A) 08 ABU DHABI 1125, B) 08 ABU DHABI 1068 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  After lengthy delays and multiple appeals from 
journalists for the Federal National Council (FNC) to discuss the 
draft press law (ref B), the FNC took up the issue January 20 and 
forwarded the law for Cabinet consideration (the FNC's role is 
consultative, not legislative, so its approval is not mandatory and 
further amendments may or may not be referred back to it).  While 
the law helpfully eliminates prison terms as a punishment for 
infractions, it apparently does little to expand public discourse by 
nurturing a more mature and responsible press and has left 
journalists concerned about the degree of latitude left to the 
government to decide what is and is not a transgression of the law. 
End summary. 
 
The FNC deliberates media rules 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In a January 20 session featuring passage of the draft press 
law, the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) hosted five ministers 
(Interior, FNC Affairs, Health, Labor, and Water/Environment) in 
addition to a number of Emirati journalists and Chairman of the 
Journalists Association Mohammad Youssef.  (Minister of Labor Saqr 
Ghubash also serves as National Media Council Chairman.)  The draft 
law (text not available) was discussed in some detail and forwarded 
to the Cabinet for consideration -- following which it will require 
endorsement by the Supreme Council (rulers of the seven Emirates) 
and signature by the President. 
 
¶3.  (U) The law, as characterized by FNC Chair of the Committee for 
Education, Media, Culture, and Youth Affairs: 
-- includes 7 chapters divided into 45 articles (compared to 108 
articles in the current law) focusing on basic regulations; 
-- stresses article 30 of the constitution which guarantees the 
freedom of opinion and expression within the limits of the law, 
-- removes "imprisonment" as a penalty for press-related crimes; 
and 
-- attempts to open the door to a new era of media empowerment and 
balance between public and personal freedoms. 
 
¶4.  (U) In lieu of imprisonment, journalists and media officials 
will reportedly be subject to fines ranging from AED 500,000 (USD 
136,000) to AED 5 million (USD 1,362,000) in cases of defamation of 
the President, Vice President, Supreme Council members, crown 
princes, or deputy rulers.  Media which damages the reputation of 
the UAE, its foreign relations or its national identity, or 
publishes material that harms the national economy, can be fined 
and/or banned (and journalists involved deported) if false 
information is "knowingly" printed, with fines ranging from AED 
100,000 (USD 27,000) to AED 500,000 (USD 136,000).  Licenses may be 
revoked for repeat violations.  The law apparently requires media 
outlets to publish free of charge whatever the government requests 
of them in times of calamity or crisis.  Reports note that article 
39 of the proposed law also gives the National Media Council 
jurisdiction to ban certain books and publications (without 
mentioning a transparent process for doing so).  The draft 
reportedly states that owners of all newspapers and their 
editors-in-chief must be suitably qualified and experienced Emirati 
citizens with no criminal record. 
 
¶5.  (U) Journalists, harboring some skepticism, initially tried to 
postpone discussion of the draft law until they could meet with the 
National Media Council Chairman; they were reminded that the 
Chairman had met with some journalists and that the agenda item must 
be addressed by the FNC as planned.  During the course of 
discussions, FNC members insisted that an article be added (in 
response to demands from the Journalists' Association) stipulating 
that "no journalist can be forced to give up his sources."  Some 
also wanted the law to refer specifically to the Prime Minister's 
decree that explicitly bans imprisonment for journalists doing their 
job.  Discussion ensued during the session about censorship, which 
is apparently referred to in the context of banning "prior 
censorship," which raised questions about censorship after 
publication.  NMC Chairman Ghubash simply answered that there would 
be punishment for violations of law (rather than censorship before 
the fact). 
 
Experts comment in the press 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Journalists Association Chairman Mohammad Youssef told 
Emarat Al Youm (local Arabic daily) on January 22 that the draft law 
came as a shock to journalists in the country, was somewhat vague, 
and mixed issues of journalism and media licensing regulations.  He 
said the draft law does not meet minimum demands expressed by 
journalists for some years, nor does it match the political rhetoric 
of UAEG leaders about empowering a responsible press.  He also noted 
that 10 out of 45 articles talk about penalties and punishments. 
 
¶7.  (U) According to media professor Aisha Al Nuaimi in a Gulf News 
 
ABU DHABI 00000100  002 OF 003 
 
 
(English daily) editorial on January 17 ("Media Law Should Reflect 
Changing Times"), the new draft aims at achieving the federal 
government's strategic plan to use a diverse and active media to 
project a positive image of the UAE and its achievements.  However, 
after a long wait, the new law emerged below expectations, and 
represents a step backward for the UAE media.  She commented after 
the FNC session that "the FNC has failed to protect journalists" by 
approving the law.  She also wondered why the ban on jail terms for 
journalists was not explicitly included in the new law as the Prime 
Minister ordered last year. 
 
¶8. (U) Even semi-official (and Abu Dhabi government owned) English 
daily The National has highlighted the issue and expressed concerns. 
 The January 25 National  featured a front page article highlighting 
promises from the National Media Council to attempt to address 
problems with an appendix spelling out regulations.  Editor-in-Chief 
Martin Newland was quoted only last week in a Gulf News analysis of 
UAE media, expressing concerns that some of the law's more vague 
provisions raise liability concerns and worries for journalists and 
editors that could chill expression. 
 
Contacts complain of "vagueness" in the law, 
which constitutes a setback for journalists 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Reaction from journalists themselves has been uniformly 
negative and disappointed.  Aisha Sultan wrote in her daily column 
in Al-Ittihad (government affiliated Arabic daily) on January 24: "I 
am shocked that the FNC has ratified this draft law....  We have 
been expecting for years a law that lifts the freedom ceiling of our 
media, eliminates obstacles to establishing new newspapers and 
publications, and, above all, maintains freedom of expression...this 
law does not give us this historical opportunity.  We are not 
against a law as a regulatory mechanism and a reference; but we are 
against a draft law that obstructs instead of regulates, tightens 
constraints instead of alleviating them, and simultaneously opens 
[us] to attacks from international organizations interested in human 
rights, especially press rights." 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Muhammad Yousuf, Chairman of the UAE Journalist 
Association, described the draft law to Post as "a shock to the UAE 
press community; it will never replace the 1980 law simply due to 
its lack of clarity and its confusion between press activities and 
media licensing regulations."  Yousuf reiterated that "the law does 
not even meet our minimum demands," but noted that the Association 
is "in continuous dialogue with the authorities" and hopes to reach 
a breakthrough to satisfy both parties by meeting somewhere in the 
middle.  He asserted that many controversial points in the law must 
be "reconsidered, such as stopping a newspaper for as long as a 
year", which would constitute collective punishment of newspaper 
owners, staff, contributing journalists, and readers.  He concluded 
that "we do not oppose being accountable for what we do, nor to be 
sued in front of courts; but the punishment must be in line with the 
act," and should include less drastic options such as issuing a 
correction or apology, or making compensation. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Abdulhamid Ahmad, Editor-in-chief of the English daily 
"Gulf News," notes that omitting mention of the ban on imprisonment 
of journalists promulgated by Vice President and Prime Minister 
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid makes the new law awkward; it "does not 
fit, and in all honesty the old law that regulates media and 
publications was far better."  He blames the National Media Council 
for allowing lawyers from Egypt and Jordan to take charge of 
reviewing the proposed amendments made by the Journalist 
Association.  He openly wondered why the UAE is a leader in so many 
areas but not in media regulation. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Muna Busamra, Secretary-General of the Journalist 
Association and Head of Activities at the Dubai Press Club, gave one 
of the more blunt assessments of the new draft law: "it really 
sucks, and does not give the vibrant media community in the UAE any 
gains."  She added that "all members of the media community were 
expecting significant breakthrough" in the law in light of many 
remarks made by the UAE leadership, and that the draft submitted for 
FNC discussion was a disappointment that "slapped us in the face." 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Comment:  The original impetus to redraft the law 
represented an apparent willingness and desire within society and 
some parts of the UAE leadership to move cautiously toward nurturing 
the modern, responsible press that is vital to creating the vibrant 
modern society the UAE seeks to be.  The decriminalization of press 
law violations (removing reference to imprisonment) is clearly a 
step in the right direction.  In addition, training programs can 
improve technical skills and a robust economy can keep many presses 
active, adding to the breadth of a dynamic press environment. 
Nonetheless, it appears that not everyone is as forward leaning, and 
at least some in the UAEG are not yet ready to allow the level of 
journalistic latitude and freedom of expression that motivates the 
heart of an inquisitive media corps.  End comment. 
 
 
ABU DHABI 00000100  003 OF 003 
 
 
OLSON