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Viewing cable 09CAIRO544, BLOGGERS MOVING FROM ACTIVISM TO BROADENING

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09CAIRO544 2009-03-30 13:01 2011-01-28 00:12 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Cairo
VZCZCXRO3905
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0544/01 0891336
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 301336Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2050
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1241
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 000544 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/NESCA 
NSC FOR PASCUAL AND KUCHTA-HELBLING 
LONDON FOR SREEBNY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2029 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KIRF KWMN SOCI EG
SUBJECT: BLOGGERS MOVING FROM ACTIVISM TO BROADENING 
DISCOURSE AND SELF-EXPRESSION 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 468 
     B. CAIRO 243 
     C. CAIRO 229 
     D. CAIRO 152 
     E. 08 CAIRO 2403 
     F. 08 CAIRO 1973 
     G. 08 CAIRO 783 
     H. 07 CAIRO 3214 
     I. 06 CAIRO 3161 
 
Classified By: DCM Matt Tueller for reason 1.4 (d). 
 
1. KEY POINTS 
 
-- (C) Egypt's bloggers are playing an increasingly important 
role in broadening the scope of acceptable political and 
social discourse, and self-expression. 
 
-- (C) Bloggers' discussions of sensitive issues, such as 
sexual harassment, sectarian tension and the military, 
represent a significant change from five years ago, and have 
influenced society and the media. 
 
-- (C) The role of bloggers as a cohesive activist movement 
has largely disappeared, due to a more restrictive political 
climate, GOE counter-measures, and tensions among bloggers. 
 
-- (C) However, individual bloggers have continued to work to 
expose problems such as police brutality and corporate 
malfeasance. 
 
2. (C) Comment:  The government generally allows bloggers 
wide latitude in posting material critical of the GOE. 
Exceptions to this policy are bloggers who directly insult 
President Mubarak or Islam, and the government has arrested 
and jailed bloggers who have crossed these red-lines.  The 
GOE has also arrested activists, such as XXXXXXXXXXXX and 
XXXXXXXXXXXX, who have used blogging to organize and support 
protests (refs A and C).  Activists are increasingly writing 
blogs to advance their political aims.  Contacts accurately 
point out that bloggers have ceased to function as a cohesive 
activist movement.  It is noteworthy that bloggers did not 
play a significant role in the most recent example of mass 
cyber-activism -- the April 6, 2008 strike orchestrated 
through Facebook (ref G). 
 
----------------------------- 
The Current State of Blogging 
----------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Egypt has an estimated 160,000 bloggers who write in 
Arabic, and sometimes in English, about a wide variety of 
topics, from social life to politics to literature.  One can 
view posts ranging from videos of alleged police brutality 
(ref B), to comments about the GOE's foreign policy, to 
complaints about separate lines for men and women in 
government offices distributing drivers' licenses.  One NGO 
contact estimated for us that a solid majority of bloggers 
are between 20 and 35 years old, and that about 30 percent of 
blogs focus on politics.  Blogs have spread throughout the 
population to become vehicles for a wide range of activists, 
students, journalists and ordinary citizens to express their 
views on almost any issue they choose.  As such, the blogs 
have significantly broadened the range of topics that 
Egyptians are able to discuss publicly. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Expanding Discourse and Personal Expression 
------------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal 
Rights told us that blogging allows Egyptian youth to air 
their views about social and political issues in ways that 
were "unimaginable five years ago."  XXXXXXXXXXXX said that blog 
debates currently cover formerly "taboo" topics, such as 
Christian-Muslim tensions and the military's potential role 
in succession.  XXXXXXXXXXXX, a blogger who now concentrates 
on journalism and film-making, described how bloggers began 
public discussions of issues, such as sexual harassment and 
the legal status of Bahai'is, that were previously too 
sensitive to discuss.  XXXXXXXXXXXX attributed the media's 
sympathetic treatment of the Bahai'is' national 
identification card case in January 2008, in comparison with 
skeptical media coverage of the issue in 2004, to bloggers' 
efforts. 
 
 
CAIRO 00000544  002 OF 003 
 
 
5. (C) Two young upper middle-class bloggers told us that 
expressing themselves on their blogs is a "bright spot" for 
them in the current atmosphere of political, economic and 
social malaise.  They noted that blogging provides them with 
an outlet, which they perceive as relatively anonymous, to 
disseminate criticism.  One of them expressed satisfaction 
over being able to attack the "religious hypocrisy" and the 
"serious problems" in the society.  A third blogger told us 
that she uses her blog to discuss whatever issues may be 
bothering her:  her views on dysfunction in the Sinai, the 
prime minister's latest speech, or the Obama administration's 
Middle East diplomacy.  She has written critically about 
issues, such as the XXXXXXXXXXXX (ref F), without any GOE 
attempts to silence her. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Relationship with the Independent Media 
--------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX noted that the open atmosphere created 
by bloggers has positively influenced the independent media, 
especially satellite television, to discuss sensitive issues 
such as sexuality and abortion.  XXXXXXXXXXXX of 
the American University in Cairo's Adham Center for Media 
Studies, explained that while bloggers originally pushed the 
independent press to tackle new issues in 2006, the 
independent press has now overtaken the blogs in breaking 
important news.  XXXXXXXXXXXX asserted that while bloggers did 
ground-breaking reporting on sexual assaults in 2006 before 
the independent press covered the issue, bloggers are now 
recycling news stories that the independent press breaks. 
According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, the relationship between bloggers and 
the independent press has come full circle, as bloggers now 
depend on the independent press for news. 
 
------------------------------- 
Originally an Activist Movement 
------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) While the voices of individual bloggers are currently 
making their mark on expanding public discourse and personal 
expression, bloggers originally saw themselves as a cohesive 
movement of political activists.  XXXXXXXXXXXX, said that in 2006, bloggers with diverse orientations -- secular, Islamist, and leftist 
-- worked together to organize events, such as a sit-in 
protest at the Judges' Club (ref I) and demonstrations in 
Tahrir Square.  XXXXXXXXXXXX characterized bloggers during this 
period as activists who worked closely with civil society 
organizations to raise public awareness of issues, such as 
sexual assault.  Because of bloggers' independent, relatively 
anonymous identities, XXXXXXXXXXXX continued, they were able to 
engage on these issues more freely than NGOs.  XXXXXXXXXXXX believes that female bloggers' personal accounts of being harassed put 
an important personal face on the problem. 
 
8. (C) Since 2006, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, bloggers have not been able to replicate the same kind of political activism for a number of 
reasons.  He cited growing tensions and divisions within the 
blogger community, where Islamist bloggers are openly 
critical of secular and Christian bloggers.   As part of the 
GOE's increasing crack-down on political reformers since 
2005-6, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, State Security (SSIS) began to target 
bloggers.  He accused SSIS of orchestrating his ouster from a 
job at the XXXXXXXXXXXX, and of pressuring western news 
organizations to dismiss other bloggers who challenged the 
GOE.  XXXXXXXXXXXX noted that many bloggers have abandoned their blogs due to this pressure, and are focusing instead on 
careers in journalism and civil society. 
 
9. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX explained that as political activism waned after 
2006, bloggers lost their context for advocacy.  He concluded 
that there is currently no political opening for bloggers to 
push for significant change, and predicted that the next 
opportunities may be during the 2011 presidential election. 
Human rights activist XXXXXXXXXXXX separately echoed XXXXXXXXXXXX' assessment, opining that there is a current "despondency" among bloggers, whom she considers to be part of the broader activist community.  She asserted that in the current 
"political stagnation," bloggers are bereft of compelling and 
achievable political causes, but she predicted they would 
play a crucial role "during the eventual succession." 
 
---------------------------------- 
Bloggers as Human Rights Activists 
 
CAIRO 00000544  003 OF 003 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
10. (C) While XXXXXXXXXXXX minimizes bloggers' current impact as 
activists, veteran civil society advocates view bloggers' 
contributions as significant.  XXXXXXXXXXXX 
of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, stressed the 
importance of bloggers' concern with torture and press 
freedom.  At a public lecture in February following the 
screening of a documentary film about blogging, human rights 
lawyer Gamal Eid lauded XXXXXXXXXXXX for posting an alleged 
police sodomy video a few days earlier (ref B), and for 
breaking the El-Kebir police brutality case.  In November 
2007, a court sentenced two polic officers to three years in 
prison for assaultin and sodomizing bus driver Imad 
El-Kebir.  The cse gained notoriety after XXXXXXXXXXXX posted a 
cell phoe video recording of the attack (ref H). 
 
11. (C Eid cited the "3,000 hits per day" on XXXXXXXXXXXX' blogas 
evidence of his influence, asserting that XXXXXXXXXXXX is more 
widely read than "Rose Al Youssef," th SSIS-backed daily 
newspaper.  Separately, a human rights lawyer specializing in 
torture at the Hisham Mubarak Law Center marveled at XXXXXXXXXXXX' power to expose police brutality on his blog.  Bloggers have also been active on other issues.  For example, Tamer 
Mabrouk, who has blogged about corruption, gained attention in January when a court fined him for accusing a chemical 
company of dumping toxic waste into the Suez canal and a 
nearby lake (ref D); his lawyers are appealing the fine. 
SCOBEY