VZCZCXRO1381
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #1799 1901432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091432Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0059
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS KABUL 001799 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF PHUM KDEM
SUBJECT: MOJ POISED TO PUBLISH MEDIA LAW: A POSITIVE, BUT 
LARGELY SYMBOLIC STEP 
 
REF: A. KABUL 1372 
     ¶B. KABUL913 
     ¶C. KABUL 1134 
     ¶D. KABUL 361 
 
¶1. (U) On July 8 Minister of Justice Sanwar Danish announced 
that MOJ will soon publish the media law in the official 
gazette.  Palace sources also confirmed that President Karzai 
authorized the publication.  The law will reflect the Afghan 
Supreme Court's March 2009 determination that the National 
Assembly's Lower House does not have the authority to confirm 
the President's nominee for Director of Radio and Television 
Afghanistan (RTA) (reftel A).  A MOJ official told us on July 
9 that MOJ may print the law as soon as July 11. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Journalists largely support publication of the law 
even with the modification giving the President control over 
the RTA Director position.  Sediqullah Tauhidi, Director of 
Nai Open Media and board member of the Afghan National 
Journalists Union said his union strongly favors the law in 
that it provides legal protections to journalists who express 
critical views, provides a framework for journalists to 
express complaints, and recognizes journalists' right to 
unionize.  In terms of the law's immediate effects, however, 
journalists are less sanguine.  Moby Media Group co-owner 
Saad Mohseni told the Ambassador on July 7 that, "it is too 
late for the media law to level the playing field for 
challengers to Karzai in the election; the window of 
opportunity has closed." Co-owner Jahid Mohseni added, "if 
the President directly selects the RTA Director, it will 
remain a tool of his administration."  Human rights activists 
are even more critical.  RTA is already a government 
propaganda outlet, Afghan Independent Human Rights 
Commission's Nader Naderi said.  Naderi claimed that by 
vetoing the text passed by Parliament which balanced control 
of RTA between the legislative and executive branches, 
ignoring Parliament's override of the veto (reftel B), and 
trumping up a constitutional excuse to refer the law to the 
Supreme Court for modification,  Karzai enshrined RTA's 
partiality and mocked the principle of separation of powers. 
 
 
Comment 
--------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Publication of the media law is an important step in 
that it establishes principles, structures, and processes 
which could, in future years, help protect freedom of 
expression.   Low capacity and lack of political will, the 
latter evidenced by the continued imprisonment of Sayed 
Perwez Kambakhsh, Ghous Zalmai, and Mullah Qari Mushtaq, 
(reftel C,D) will prevent the law from having any significant 
effect in the short term. 
EIKENBERRY