VZCZCXRO4147
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0997 1101332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201332Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8540
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS KABUL 000997 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: INFORMATION MINISTER SURVIVES IMPEACHMENT VOTE 
OVER MEDIA LAW 
 
REF: KABUL 913 
 
¶1. (U) Information and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Khoram 
survived a chaotic impeachment vote in the Lower House on 
April 20 over his refusal to enforce the media law.  Pashtuns 
and former members of the Hezb-e-Islami mujahideen group 
rallied to Khoram's defense, shouting down the minister's 
critics and orchestrating a quick impromptu vote by a show of 
hands.  Khoram's leading critics said afterward that 
pro-Khoram MPs had intimidated many anti-Khoram MPs into 
abstaining or not attending Parliament at all.  The Lower 
House's leadership did not record an official vote count, 
though green cards (pro-Khoram) outnumbered red cards 
(pro-impeachment) by more than a 2-1 margin.  One MP said he 
counted 27 pro-impeachment votes ) a stark contrast from the 
preliminary 71-52 vote in favor of impeachment held on April 
¶18. 
 
¶2. (U) MP Mir Ahmed Joyenda (Kabul, Hazara) organized the 
push for Khoram's impeachment, pointing to Khoram's refusal 
to enforce a media law passed over President Karzai's veto by 
a two-thirds Lower House majority last September (reftel). 
Khoram has criticized the law for being improperly influenced 
by Western governments and too lenient toward un-Islamic 
media content.  A majority of MPs have supported the law, 
calling it an important reinforcement of the Constitution's 
protections for media freedoms.  Karzai has objected to one 
provision requiring the chief of the state-run Radio and 
Television Afghanistan (RTA) to win confirmation from the 
Lower House, and has refused to publish the law in the 
official legal gazette.  Embassy, others in the international 
community, and civil society groups continue to press Karzai 
to gazette the law.  Many MPs feel confirmation of the RTA 
chief will help ensure impartiality in state media, 
especially during election campaigns. 
 
¶3. (SBU) After the vote, Joyenda told PolOff that Khoram's 
backers had framed the vote as an ethnic issue, claiming the 
minister's Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara critics wanted fewer 
Pashtuns like Khoram in the Cabinet.  Khoram's connections to 
the Hezb-e-Islami mujahideen group also appeared to benefit 
him, as several MPs who fought against the Soviet occupation 
alongside Khoram rallied to his defense.  Those MPs shouted 
over other MPs during the debate and ignored Deputy Speaker 
Yaseni's attempts to bring the house to order.  Joyenda also 
blamed the Lower House's new system of voting on impeachment 
) raising red or green cards by hand instead of a secret 
ballot ) for helping pro-Khoram MPs intimidate the 
opposition.  Several Lower House staffers and Parliament 
watchers said Khoram's allies had called pro-impeachment MPs 
over the past two days and warned them not to attend 
Parliament or abstain from voting.  Despite 123 MPs in 
attendance, only about 80 raised a red or green card. 
Attendance among women MPs was down dramatically, even though 
many had voted for the minister's impeachment in the 
non-binding April 18 vote.  A UNAMA Parliament watcher 
commented that he had never seen so few women MPs present for 
a plenary session. 
RICCIARDONE