Disinformation and Xenophobia in Middle East Media

More journalists arrested in Iran

2012-01-24T15:50:00.002Z

As Iran is getting closer to the March Parliamentary elections, press freedom standard is rapidly deteriorating in the country, with seven journalists arrested since the beginning of 2012. The last three, Marzieh Rasouli, Parastoo Dokouhaki and the photojournalist Sahamoddin Bourghani, worked for different reformist opposition newspapers and publications, and they have been imprisoned with the charge of acting against the national security of the Islamic Republic. In the last years, it has been common for journalist in Iran to change continuously publisher, due to temporary closure of the newspaper by the government. Iranian authorities have adopted a policy of putting pressure on the journalist community with frequent arrests and newspapers closures. According to the Committee to Protect Journalist, 42 journalists were in jail at the end of 2011, and the recent increase is a sign of a worrying tendency for the following months. Moreover, 3 Web technologists have been recently sentenced to death. Among them, Saeed Malekpour has been accused of developing software used in porno websites, and he has been forced to confess his alleged crimes on state television. In addition to reduce freedom of press and speech in the country, proceedings against journalists and reformists are used by different factions in their struggle for internal power, especially on the eve of electoral terms. The March 2012 Parliamentary elections will be the first ones since June 2009, and are becoming a turning point for the internal political struggle among different conservative groups.

Two newspapers closed in Sudan

2012-01-24T15:48:00.000Z

Two Sudanese private newspapers have been closed by the police in less than two weeks in January 2012. Alwan and Rai al-Shaab were two independent opposition dailies, published in Arabic: the first one was closed after having published an interview with a local religious leader, while the second was the official newspaper of the opposition group Popular National Congress. Khartoum authorities stated that the two dailies had violated the journalist ethical and professional standards, and this caused the closure. While asking to remove the block, Reports Without Borders denounces the deteriorating situation of press freedom in Sudan, and asked the President al- Bashir to stop his campaign against local newspapers and opposition media.

Egyptian critic of military rule attacked after leaving Nileside state television HQ

2012-01-24T14:39:00.000Z

On the 18th January, prominent Egyptian activist, blogger and newspaper columnist, Nawara Negm, was attacked as she left work at the Nileside state television HQ. The attack was caught on video and uploaded to social networking sites, and showed a small crowd both physically and verbally assailing her. A key figure in the 2011 uprising and a vocal critic of the military government, Negm's attack appears to be the latest in a string of violence against protest participants, including the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in December. This trend is all the more worrying in light of a thinly veiled warning to anti-military activists by Egypt's milutary ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. In comments published on Wednesday, he said Egypt was facing "grave dangers" but assured the nation that the armed forces would protect it. What this means for demonstrators will depend on what Tantawi's definition of 'protect'. The attack on Negm is an indication that Egypt is certainly not through the woods, and the upcoming anniversary of the start of the uprising will prove to be telling.

Press TV licence revoked in the UK

2012-01-24T12:58:00.001Z

British media authority Ofcom has revoked the licence to Iranian broadcasting channel Press TV on January 20, and the channel has been removed from Sky platform. The decision was taken after Press TV was found guilty of breaching rules of editorial control, and Press TV failed to pay a previous £100,000 fine imposed last year. The struggle between Ofcom and Press TV erupted in 2009, with the “Maziar Bahari case”: Maziar Bahari is a Newsweek and Channel 4 journalist who was interviewed by Press TV while detained in Tehran after the June 2009 elections. After investigations, Ofcom found that the real editorial control of the English channel of the Iranian TV was in Tehran, and accused Press TV of several breaches of UK broadcasting code. Press TV accused Ofcom’s decision to be just a move toward an UK attack against Iran, silencing an inconvenient voice of the British-American actions in the Middle East- Gulf area. After the expulsion of the Iranian representatives in November, now Tehran has to welcome back home also its journalistic staff, while international pressure is really increasing in the effort to stop its nuclear programme.

PRESS TV FAKE REPORTS ON DRONE STRIKES IN SOMALIA

2012-01-17T17:13:00.000Z

Iranian state-owned Press TV is again accused for its conduct. After being fined £100.000 by UK Ofcom for a fabricated interview of a journalist in jail, now its reports of US drone strikes in Somalia are said false by many source. Since September 2009, the Iranian media group has reported more than 57 attacks, with more than 1370 victims in the local population. Given the high protests against the use of drone in other countries (especially Pakistan), these cases would support the position against the use of this un-man weapon in the American campaign against global terrorism. But many sources disavow Press TV’s claims. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism finds most of the Iranian reports uncompleted, with missing references and details. For instance, on September 15 Press TV reported the alleged killing of 9 women and children by a US drone strike on the outskirts of the Somali town of Kismayo: even if no on-the-field operator confirmed the event, some international organizations reported it as true. It has to be taken into consideration that the situation on the ground is much confused, and it is quite difficult to fund reliable source. According to US journalist Jeremy Scahill of The Nation, American attacks with other weapons could have been confused with other weapons, for instance with cruise missiles. Said that, the misreporting of drone attacks can be seen as a propaganda tool used by Iran in the struggle against the “Big Satan”, while the situation in the Gulf is increasingly dangerous. While the situation in the Horn of Africa is in need of great effort by the international community to find a way out, the US is primarily concerned with its own objectives – killing suspected terrorists – without a significant engagement in solving the problems of the area. For sure, reports of an alleged secret drone strike on the Iranian soil would have major consequences for the parties involved.

TURKEY ARRESTS KURDISH JOURNALISTS

2012-01-09T16:56:00.001Z

26 journalists were arrested in Turkey on December 20, in a broad operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Kurdistan Communities Union that lead to 38 imprisonments. The journalists are employees of Kurdish newspapers and agencies, and they have been arrested under the Turkish anti-terrorism law, with the charge they spread propaganda on behalf of terrorist groups through their journalistic activities. This operation is part of a broader attempt made by Ankara’s authorities to tackle Kurdish minorities and groups in the country, involving also military means in a conflict that is more than 30 years old. Several European and American free speech agencies and human rights activists have protested against the arrest of journalist in Turkey: the International Federation of Journalists reports that more than 70 journalist are in jail at the moment, expressing great concern for the Turkish media standards and respect of personal rights.

Filastin incitement

2011-12-21T11:56:00.000Z

In an article titled "We Are All Martyrdom-Seekers," published on 13th December 2011 in the Gaza-based daily Filastin, columnist Fakher Shreteh said that the salvation of the Palestinian people would only be achieved through resistance, gunpowder, and "the shedding of blood that would water the land," and that he who loved life more than death would always be the one to lose the fight.

The article goes on to glorify suicide bombing and concludes "As the Israelis know, today is not like yesterday. They are now facing the great army of mujahideen and anticipating the day they will meet [us]: the day of the marriage of martyrdom and liberation, [when] the mujahid sacrifices his life for the sake of Allah in order to earn life in heaven. The Zionists know that their end will come at the pure hand of those who do not fear death, and through self-sacrifice operations, when [the martyrs] put their souls in the palms of their hands and bear their [burial] shrouds on their backs. The Jews also know that the Palestinians will stand up to them and wipe them out, according to the divine promise, when the divine decree is passed down."

A full transcript of the text of the article (from Memri) can be found at this link

Egypt Press Report

2011-12-21T11:12:00.000Z

Here is a report prepared by Camille Hennion, a media research intern at the NCF.

Media Credibility Index: Egypt Section.

Preliminary research - Cairo, 2011

1. The Egyptian Media

Newspapers - Government-owned

§ Ahram /al Ahram weekly

§ Al Akhbar

§ Al Goumhurya

Party-owned newspapers

§ Al Ahrar

§ Al Wafd

§ Al Ghad

Independent newspapers:

Daily:

§ Al Masry al Youm

§ Al Shoruk

§ Nahdet Misr

§ Al Youm al sab'aa (Cairo; online)

Weekly:

§ Al Osboa

§ Al Dostour

§ Al Fajr

§ Sout al Umah

Television

§ ERTU (The Egyptian Radio and Television Union) controls state owned terrestrial television of which there are eight channels (two national and six local). ERTU operates the Nile TV network.

§ Satellite (Arabsat / NileSat) are major Egypt based satellite providers providing the satellite “bouquets” that give the Middle East 452 channels at the latest count. In an Egyptian context however, their channels include:

The Egyptian National Channel
The Nile Programmes (Nile sports, Nile variety, Nile News and so forth)
Dream TV (private): Dream I and Dream II
El Mehwer
ONTV
Al Hayat (3 channels)

Remarks

· The Egyptian audience is accustomed to official propaganda. It is characterized by a strong critical awareness regarding the quality of media coverage and by a great ability to read between the lines of the official and media discourses.

· Before the Revolution, the newspapers with the largest audiences were the following:

1. Al Masry al Youm

2. Al Youm al sab'aa

3. al Ahram

· The Revolution had a large impact on the media landscape as it entailed huge loss or gain of credibility to media sources according to their coverage of the movement (cf. section 2 below). The licensing process which had been highly painful and bureaucratic was also apparently significantly eased following the Revolution. This led to the creation of new media in Egypt. The most significant are the newspapers al-Tahrir and Tahrir TV created by Ibrahim Eissa.

2. Coverage of the Revolution

The Egyptian Media had a crucial role to play in the revolutionary movement that broke out in Egypt in January 2011. Yet the veracity of the coverage varied widely.

· Reliable Media:

Al Masry al Youm was praised by all as the most reliable Egyptian newspaper during the Revolution. The editorial board of al Masry al Youm apparently took the decision very early on to tell the truth about the movement. It must be noted that al Masry al Youm has long been considered one of the most reliable newspapers in Egypt, even before the Revolution. Al Shoruk also provided an accurate source of information during the movement. Among the TV channels, ONTV offered the most reliable information on the Revolution.

Finally it must be noted that the Qatari channel al Jazeera gained a wide audience in Egypt because of its highly insightful and critical coverage of the regime's behavior during the Revolution. It was considered more reliable than most of Egyptian sources. Yet, even if they praised al Jazeera's position during their Revolution, Egyptians were aware of the channel's own agenda and strong anti-Mubarak stance. They do not consider al Jazeera as entirely neutral and impartial in its coverage.

· Unreliable Media

As a result of their poor coverage of the Revolution, many national media sources lost credibility.

Most notably al Ahram did not report on the Revolution until 8 February, when it finally published an editorial recognizing and supporting the Revolution on the front page. Prior to that al Ahram had been publishing inaccurate information on the movement and taking part in the regime propaganda campaign against foreigners and foreign media in Egypt. For example, al Ahram published numerous reports warning about the presence of spies and foreign infiltrators, suggesting that they aimed at dividing Egypt. Al Akhbar produced the same kind of regime propaganda during the Revolution and hardly changed its position after the fall of Mubarak. For example, as late as 13 June, when the US-Israeli student Ilan Grapel was arrested on the contested accusation of spying, al Akhbar's provoking headline was: 'a big blow for the Mossad'.

The coverage of the national TV channels was even more problematic. State owned Channel 1 and Channel 2 (part of the ERTU network) as well as Nile TV broadcast false reports on the movement. These media were at the forefront of the propaganda campaign against foreigners and foreign media. For example, on 7 February, Nile News reported on an unnamed source in the security services accusing foreign diplomats of bringing weapons to Egypt in their luggage.

3. Media in transition

As a consequence of their biased coverage of the Revolution, the national media lost a large part of their credibility and, more importantly, of their audience. As such the national media were forced to launch significant changes in editorial direction in order to survive economically and re-gain viewers.

Al Ahram is a striking example of this dynamic. On 8 February it suddenly changed its position, adopting an anti-regime approach and reporting accurately on the Revolution. New people were brought in and the editorial content was changed significantly. For example the pro-Mubarak editor-in-chief Osama Saraya was replaced by Abdel-Azim Hamad.

Along the same line, the national TV channels had to adapt quickly. The ERTU and Nile TV channels had been widely criticized for their coverage before and during the Revolution. Consequently they undertook a difficult process of transition. Nadia Halim was replaced by Nihal Kamal as head of the TV department, Abdel-Latif El-Manawi by Ibrahim Kamel El-Sayed as head of the news department and Entesar Shalabi by Ismail El-Sheshtawi as head of the radio department. Finally Tariq el-Mahdi replaced Sami al Sherif as the head of the ERTU. Yet the transition of Egyptian national media is a difficult process. Some have already highlighted the resilience of old practices despite the appointment of new people, with the change to a anti-Mubarack stance not representing a more objective culture of reporting but rather a mere switch of alliance to the new ruling group. The appointment of Tariq al-Mahdi as General Supervisor of ERTU soon after the ousting of Mubarack is cited as proof: al-Mahdi is a former member of SCAF and his appointment shows the prevailing influence of the military government over the media and their determination to maintain that control during their rule. Further evidence for this persistant dominance of the media rather than reform comes from the continued questioning and arresting of journalists and the resignation of some state media figures such as Hafez El-Mirazi.

4. The figure of Ibrahim Eissa

Ibrahim Eissa deserves special attention in this report as he appears as a major figure of the Egyptian media landscape. He has been a dissident voice since long before the Revolution. He was one of the rare journalists openly criticizing Mubarak before his fall. He was the embodiment of Egyptian independent media, particularly through the publication of al Dostour from 1995 onwards. Most of his writings and talk shows leveled direct criticisms at the former president and regime. In retaliation, in 2008 Eissa was sentenced to two months in prison on charges of publishing false rumors about Mubarak’s health. Later, Mubarak pardoned him in an attempt to tame Eissa. But the journalist maintained the same tone and continued to face harassment. In October 2010, Eissa was fired from his position as editor-in-chief of al Dostour after the paper was sold to Wafd Party chairman Al-Sayyed al-Badawi. Rumors circulated that Badawi kicked Eissa out in a good-will gesture to Mubarak. Eissa told the press he was dismissed a few hours after he was told not to run an article by the then leading opposition figure Mohamed el Baradei. Eissa made a stunning comeback on the media stage with a new publication - al Tahrir - launched at the beginning of July 2011. Al Tahrir newspaper is co-owned by the publisher of al Shoruk independent newspaper, Ibrahim al Moalem. The executive editor of al Tahrir Ibrahim Mansour also comes from the team of al Dostour as well.

5. A net improvement in the press freedom

The current state of the press in Egypt is quite messy given the context of political transition. There is real improvement in terms of press freedom and the availability of independent and free information sources. Yet the relationship between the media and the military council is complex and might deteriorate as the military remains extremely sensitive to criticisms. The following are a few examples of breaches of the press freedom that occurred after the Revolution:

· On 30 May the activist Hossam el Hamalawy and the ON-TV presenter Reem Maged were summoned for questioning by the military council after an interview broadcast on ON-TV where they accused the military leadership of abuses against civilians.

· On 19 June Adel Hammuda, the editor of the newspaper Al-Fajr, and Rasha Azab, one of his reporters, were questioned by a military prosecutor in connection with an article about torture that quoted an army officer. They are to be tried before a military court on a date that has not yet been set. Azab is facing a possible jail sentence on a charge of publishing “false information liable to disturb public security” in the article she wrote for Al-Fajr’s 12 June issue. Hammuda is facing a possible fine for alleged negligence in his role as editor.

· Dream TV presenter, Dina Abdel Rahman, appears to have been sacked after an on-air sharp discussion about the military leadership on 24 July.

6. Problematic absence of regulatory framework for media in Egypt

An important issue in this transitional phase for Egyptian media is the absence of any reliable regulatory framework to both protect the press freedom and regulate its practices. It will be a crucial issue in the coming months as, at the moment, there is nothing ensuring a fair treatment of the electoral campaign.

Bahrain TV

2011-12-16T18:19:00.000Z

13 December 2011: Yousef Al Khoei complains that Bahrain TV largely ignored the Bassiouni Commission report - and indeed that on the Shiite day of mourning (10th Muharam known as Ashura which fell on December 6th this year) - Bahrain TV devoted itself to cookery programs and programs praising the contentious Prime Minister - thus actually promoting sectarianism. In response Ambassador Alice Samaan, speakling for the government, said that the government was committed to reforming Bahrian TV.

Press Tv has to pay ( but not that much)

2011-12-06T16:30:00.002Z

The Ofcom has finally decided to fine the Iranian state-owned broadcaster Press Tv £100,000 for the “Mahari affair”. As you can remember, the Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari was imprisoned for four months during 2009, accused by the Iranian authorities to be a spy involved in the demonstrations that after the June elections had been spreading all over the Persian country. Before be freed from the prison of Evin in October, the journalist had to confessed his alleged activities in an interview aired by Press Tv, an interview conducted under duress, with Bahari obliged to read a prepared script, as he later told. When the British media regulator Ofcom told Press Tv that this represented a so serious breach of the broadcasting code that could be punished with the termination of the Iranian media group licence, Press tv accused “powerful pro Israeli politicians and US sympathisers” and “members of the Royal family and the (British) government” to had influenced the decision – WikiLeaks cables about an increasing American diplomatic pressure on English authorities to limit the Iranian media activities somehow supported the Persian claims. The Foreign Office has always denied any involvement in the issue, but nowadays, with the bilateral relations at the lowest level after the events of the last week, the decision of the Ofcom acquires a great value. The decision not to shut down the Press tv activities in the UK can be seen as a positive sign by the British authorities, a way to maintain an open channel towards Iran, also through a satellite connection.

"Welcome to Israel", but where are we?

2011-12-06T16:19:00.007Z

In the last Guardian Weekend Magazine dated 26 November 2011, the Israeli Minister of the Tourism published a map of the State of Isreal, including the Gaza strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank as if they were part of Israel proper - the advert was entitled "Welcome to the Northern Isreal". This issue has casued the reaction of the Palestinian authorities in London, which sustains that it is part of the broader campaign made by Israel to deny the rights of the Palestinian people on their territories. The underlying complaint is that the Guardian newspaper should not have accepted the advertisement as it was both provocative and misleading.

Egyptian State TV falsely accuses Coptic activists

2011-11-21T12:01:00.003Z

Reporting on the 9th of October, Egyptian journalist Rasha Magdy, told a story of extreme coptic violence toward Egyptian soldiers. The State TV coverage claimed that 3 soliders had been murdered during protests in Cairo while actually the true events of the evening were decidedly bypassed in which soldiers attacked protesters.

Upon the truth being discovered, it seems a blame game took place between reporter and editors however, this malpratice of reporting seems to have become a thing of habit for the station.

On Saturday, the 19th of November, reports flew in from a number sources that military had opened fire on protesters, some of which claimed one person dead and as many as 500 injured yet, State TV apparently portrayed the event, as done so in October, as an attack on the Egyptian nation and it's people. It also declared that according to the national health service, 81 people had been injured.

It seems that the station's heedless attempt at representing the views of the nation is again victim to the higher power's authority during this uncertain and tempremental period in which the masses antcipate the upcoming state election.

Satirical American comedy takes Iran by storm

2011-11-15T16:24:00.005Z

Since the programme 'Parazit' began broadcasting in 2010, it has seen increasing levels of support from its satirical subject of the Iranian people.

Presented by two native emigrants of Iran, the show is now in its third season with approximately 750,000 Facebook followers. The title refers to the static state of government affairs in the country. It has been widely discredited by Iranian officials who claim the show, produced by the US state owned Voice of America TV station, is another branch of CIA propaganda whose aim is to wage soft cultural war on the Iranian population. And, although the apparent consensus in Iranian civil society agrees with the idea that it is a tool of propaganda, it seems to be hugely irrelevant to its growing online viewer ratings.

In retaliation to the flourishing project, the Iranian government have launched their own attempt at comedic satire in the form of "Just For Your Information" which, to date, has only gained small viewing numbers.

Israeli forces arrest Scottish TV reporter

2011-11-08T15:37:00.003Z

Hassan Ghani, originally hailing from Glasgow and TV reporter for Iranian Press TV was held by Israeli soldiers who boarded a boat travelling to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Upon disembarking the vessel, Ghani and 26 other international visitors were arrested by Israeli police. The group had been travelling on two vessels which were delivering medical supplies when the soldiers came aboard.

While other activists have been released, the whereabouts of Ghani are still unknown.

ERTU accused of bias in riot reporting

2011-10-24T12:18:00.001Z

The Egyptian Radio and Television Unit (ERTU) has come under fire due to its reporting of a Cairo riot on 9th October. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has expressed concern about biased reporting of the clashes between Coptic Christians and Egypt’s security forces. The EBU highlight in a letter to ERTU that "membership of the EBU entails a commitment to independent and impartial reporting at the service of all sections of the population, including minorities". ERTU is accused of failing to meet these standards since its reporting of this particular story encouraged its viewers to side with the military.

Bahrain Court Fines Al Wasat Editor and Staff

2011-10-13T12:40:00.000Z

The editor and three staff members of the main opposition newspaper, Al Wasat, in Bahrain have been fined by a court. The four, who were ordered to pay 1000 dinars, are accused of publishing false stories about abuses against Shiite-led protestors. Editor-in-chief Mansoor al-Jamri admitted to mistakenly publishing false stories, but said that it was part of a plot to discredit the paper by backers of the Saudi monarchy who provided his reporters with false information.

Iran attempts to intimidate BBC

2011-10-10T13:27:00.004Z

Iran has been intermittently involved in a campaign of censorship against the BBC for a number of years, including the more recent blocking of the BBC Persia service since the disputed presidential election in 2009. However, following the airing of a BBC documentary about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, Iran has intensified its campaign. Iranian authorities have not only been involved in the jamming of Persian language television stations in an attempt to prevent the Iranian audience from accessing this source of information, but are now being accused of threatening and intimidating BBC staff and their family and friends. This behaviour has brought strong criticism from the BBC’s head of global news, Peter Horrocks, who reports that passports have been confiscated, homes raided, and relatives told to either tell their family members to stop appearing on air or to secretly provide the Iranian authorities with information on the BBC. Horrocks has requested that the British government take action to deter Iran from using these tactics of intimidation and undermining free media.

Egyptian columnists leave their columns blank in protest

2011-10-07T11:43:00.006Z

"I withhold my writing today to protest the barring, impounding of newspapers and the presence there of military censorship." These are the words written by three Al Tahrir columnists in protest against ongoing media censorship by the military authorities. Other than these few words, Belal Fadl, Omer Taher and Nagla Bedir chose to leave the rest of their regular columns blank.

What their protest highlights is the level of censorship still exercised by Egypt’s rulers, despite Mubarak’s ousting. This comes after authorities stopped the publication of a series of articles due to their critical stance. Last week an article which criticised the leadership of Egypt’s intelligence service under Omar Suleiman, a close confidant of the ousted president, was prevented from being published. Editor of the paper, Abdel-Halim Qandil, said intelligence service officers stopped the paper from being printed while the press was running, overseeing the destruction of 100,000 copies. Two other publications received similar treatment, one which claimed that Mubarak had instructed authorities to drop a case against an Israeli spy, and the other reporting that protestors wanted current military ruler Tantawi removed.

The mention of Tantawi is instructive, since the protest against censorship coincides with calls for the military to speed up the transition to a civilian government, with protest leaders and journalists criticising the military’s proposed timetable which would see them holding presidential elections at the end of 2012. This would mean the generals would stay in power for nearly two years instead of six months as had been proposed initially. The Al Tahrir columnists are protesting precisely because they want such a transition to bring genuine change, and in particular a new way of dealing with the press. As Belal Fadl, one of the columnists put it, censorship is no longer the way to deal with the press, "it is no longer acceptable. The solution is to correct mistakes by allowing more freedom and to raise the professional standard of journalists,". "Our protest does not reflect a desire to have absolute freedom for the press without any controls."

Journalist and Protest Leader Murdered in Baghdad Home

2011-09-28T11:09:00.002Z

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for a full investigation into the murder of Hadi al-Mahdi on September 9, 2011. The popular radio journalist was shot dead in his home in Baghdad; witnesses at the crime scene informed HRW that they saw no evidence of a struggle and no valuables were taken from the house, implying that the killing was deliberate rather than a result of burglary. Al-Mahdi, who was a prominent freelance journalist and theatre director, had been openly critical of government corruption and social inequality in Iraq. In the run-up to Iraq’s “Day of Rage” on February 25, al-Mahdi became increasingly involved as a vocal organizer of Iraq’s new protest movement; he stressed the importance of peaceful demonstrating, and he took part in a human chain to keep the riot police and violent protestors apart. After the protests, al-Mahdi and three other journalists were arrested in a Baghdad restaurant; he was blindfolded, beaten and threatened with torture in the subsequent interrogation. Al-Mahdi alleged that he was forced, whilst blindfolded, to sign a criminal confession and a pledge to stop his participation in future demonstrations. Despite this ordeal, he continued to organise peaceful demonstrations in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square. The journalist was not unaccustomed to intimidation. According to HRW, he frequently received death threats in the form of text messages, phone calls, and messages on Facebook.
Al-Mahdi’s murder is part of years of targeted violence against journalists in Iraq. Most recently, an unknown assailant beat Asos Hardi, a prominent journalist, with a pistol in Sulaimaniya; Hardi was hospitalized and left needing 32 stitches. Ammar al-Shahbander, the head of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Iraq, said “so many journalists have been kidnapped and killed in Iraq but it doesn’t matter how many are tortured, intimidated, or killed – journalists will continue doing their jobs. This attack just shows how desperate the enemies of democracy have become.”

Iran Intelligence Chiefs question people over BBC Farsi links

2011-09-26T13:52:00.000Z

Iranian Intelligence Chiefs have summoned a number of people over alleged links to the BBC Farsi service; the exact number of people is not yet known. The questioning comes a week after six independent film-makers were arrested. Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said on state television: “Important information has been obtained about those cooperating with and linked to BBC Farsi, and the ministry has summoned more people linked to this so-called media”. He went on to accuse the British Intelligence services of operating in Iran under the cover of BBC Farsi.
Tehran prohibits cooperation with Farsi broadcasters that are not controlled by the government, including this BBC and Voice of America which are very popular in Iran. Satellite channels are also routinely scrambled by Iranian authorities.

Iranian Journalist Succumbs to Injuries in Kabul

2011-09-23T14:47:00.002Z

Farhad Taqaddosi, a cameraman for Iran’s English-speaking Press TV, died in a hospital in Kabul from injuries he sustained in a Taliban attack on September 13. In a well-organised series of attacks, Taliban militants struck at the NATO headquarters, the US embassy and other prominent international buildings in central Kabul; seven civilians were killed in the attack, whilst a further 15 were injured. The Iranian journalist was working at Press TV’s office when the building came under the rocket attack. Taqaddosi is the 21st journalist to be killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression

2011-09-20T14:11:00.000Z

Anthony Shadid published an article in the New York Times called “Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression” on September 15.
The balance of the article has been questioned. Shadid mentions nothing about the Crown Prince’s national dialogue initiatives, whilst he is rather dismissive of the possibility of any Iranian interference in the protests. The Bahraini government has been very unfriendly to foreign journalists since March, and so one has to suspect if Shadid is visiting Manama with government blessing.

6 Film-makers Arrested in Iran

2011-09-20T09:57:00.001Z

Iranian authorities have arrested a group of film-makers on suspicion of being members of a network which “supplies information, produces films and clandestine reports for the BBC Persian programme, aimed at portraying a bleak picture of Iran”. BBC Persian broadcasts live news, documentaries and entertainment programmes to Farsi speakers (mostly in Iran and Afghanistan), though the channel has suffered deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal since its launch in 2009. The BBC has confirmed that the arrested individuals are independent documentary filmmakers, not BBC employees; the BBC had bought the rights to broadcast their documentaries (which is itself a common practice), but had not commissioned them specifically. The arrests came a day after the channel broadcast a documentary on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Ramezan Sharif, a Revolutionary Guard spokesman, claimed that the BBC tried to “identify elements inside the country [who produce] cultural productions in order to use them against the Islamic establishment.” Liliane Landor, on behalf of BBC global news, described the arrests as part of the “ongoing efforts by the Iranian government to put pressure on the BBC for the impartial and balanced coverage of its Persian-language TV of events in Iran and the wider region.”
The irony of the events is that the Iranian authorities themselves are the ones who are “portraying a bleak picture of Iran” by arresting these film-makers.

BBC journalist hit by sniper in Libya

2011-09-19T16:19:00.002Z

Mohammad Ballout, a BBC Arabic correspondent, has been hit by a sniper in Bani Walid in Libya today. Ballout, and several other journalists, were targeted by a sniper as they were preparing for a live broadcast on the outskirts of the town held by Gaddafi loyalists. Last week, Ballout and his team were the first journalistic team to reach advanced rebel positions on the front line in Bani Walid. The BBC has applauded Ballout’s bravery, whilst stating that his injuries are not life-threatening and that he is receiving medical treatment.

Aroor interview on Wasal TV

2011-09-19T14:06:00.002Z

The Kuwaiti-owned Wasal TV has broadcast an interview with the radical preacher Adnan Aroor. Adnaan Aroor is a Sunni Muslim Syrian sheikh, who has appeared regularly on various TV stations where he has criticised non-Sunni Islamic minorities.

Click here to watch part of the interview.

Al-Jazeera Raid

2011-09-13T13:50:00.001Z

Security officers raided the Cairo offices of an Al-Jazeera channel in Egypt and detained several members of its staff. The channel, Al-Jazeera Mubasher, broadcasts live international events and was accused of not having a proper licence; however Islam Lotfy, a lawyer for the channel, claimed that the channel had repeatedly applied for a licence since March, but had not had a reply. Launched in 1996, Qatar-based Al-Jazeera has risen to become the highest-profile news broadcaster in the Middle East with both English and Arabic speaking channels. The broadcaster has often had difficulties with governments that seek to maintain their traditionally tight control of the media. The Cairo raid comes after a warning last week from Osama Heikal, Egypt’s Minister of Media, that the government would take legal action against stations that “endanger the stability and security” of the nation; some analysts speculate that the raid could signal a broader effort to curtail the new freedoms of expression acquired following the removal of President Mubarak earlier this year. Egyptian officials have reported that Al-Jazeera’s main Arabic channel, and Al-Jazeera International (its English-speaking counterpart), are still operating freely.

BBC Reporter killed by NATO forces in Afghanistan

2011-09-12T11:37:00.001Z

It has emerged that Nato forces shot dead the BBC reporter Ahmed Omed Khpulwak in July, mistakenly believing that he was a suicide bomber. ISAF, the Nato- led International Security Assistant Forces were at the time responding to several suicide bombings at the offices of Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), in the town of Tarin Kowt, southern Uruzgan province.

Khpulwak’s body was discovered at the broadcasting offices, in the aftermath of two suicide bombings, which had injured US soldiers. He had been shot eleven times. ISAF claim that its soldiers acted in accordance with the laws of armed conflict under the circumstances, and soldiers maintain that Omed Khpulwak had ‘something clinched in one of his fists and [was] reaching for something on his person with his other hand’, fuelling fears that he was a suicide bomber.

Tarin Kowt has experienced a surge in violence in recent weeks; three suicide bombings in the town market led to air strikes and heavy fighting between NATO forces and the Taliban. Khpulwak was one of nineteen people initially believed to have been killed by the Taliban in this particular attack. However, NATO were prompted to launch an inquiry into the death of the BBC reporter, following the Taliban’s claim that they were not responsible for the shooting. The Taliban did assume responsibility for the earlier suicide bombings.

The death of Omed Khpulwak once again brings the safety of journalists into the spotlight. If the actions of ISAF forces really were in compliance with international standards and laws governing conflict, then we have to question whether the ‘safeguards’ put in place are adequate enough protection for the reporters on the front line.

Omed Khpulwak worked as a reporter for the BBC Pashto service, but some of his reports also reached English- speaking audiences. He has been described by colleagues as a ‘brave reporter’. The death of Khpulwak is the third casualty for the BBC in Afghanistan.

'Real First Step' for Journalism in Iraq?

2011-09-05T15:10:00.000Z

On August 9th 2011, the Iraqi Parliament approved legislation with the intention of 'strengthening' the rights of its journalists. The Protection Laws enable Judicial Decision alone to sanction the confiscation of newspapers, the investigation of journalists for activity deemed criminal, and also provides financial assurance for journalists injured on the job. This legislation comes at a time when Iraq has, for the fourth year running, been branded as the country with the worst record of justice for murdered reporters, according to a New York- based Press watchdog. Iraq has more than three times the number of media- related unsolved murders than Somalia, which has the next most concerning record, and yet still shows no signs of improvement.

In spite of this, Al- Lami, of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate, has responded to August's Journalism Protection Laws as a 'real first step'. Indeed, with the syndicate being 15,000 strong, the Iraqi government surely would have hoped that last month's legislation would go some way to quelling the weekly non- violent protests that have characterised Fridays at Tahrir Square, since February. However, many have voiced concern over the wording of the legislation, and journalists such as Hiwa Osman assert that the Protection Laws have been passed under the guise of 'killing the industry'. Primary concerns have been expressed over the vague language employed, along with the narrow definition of journalists ('full- time, registered media workers'), and the way in which the laws ensure that many journalists are restricted to covering government- friendly issues. In this sense, the Journalist Protection legislation actually seeks to foster a much larger dependence on the Iraqi Journalist Syndicate; paving the way for much greater central control and exacerbating the threat to the free media in Iraq. Osman predicts that the implementation of the law will hasten the demise of professional journalism in Iraq; the restrictions in accessing and broadcasting information that journalists will be subject to are a severe blow to democracy. The law essentially opens the door for state- sponsored persecution of journalists who do not comply with the government.

It seems inherently clear that the law is an attempt to reign in Iraqi journalists and, at the same time, act as a deterrent to international journalists. Not only have foreign reporters long been the targets of assassinations, random violence and roadside bombs in Iraq, but they now have to be more aware than ever of the wrath of Iraqi 'judicial decision'.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/3951.html

Satirical Palestinian TV show ordered off air

2011-08-25T16:28:00.004Z

19 August 2011: Watan ala Watar, (or "country hanging by a thread") has been broadcast on Palestine TV every night since Ramadan began on 11 August and only lasts ten minutes. However the sketch show has caused such commotion and upheaval that even political rivals are agreeing to its removal from air. According to reports in the Palestinian media, complaints about the show were made by the head of the Palestinian Medical Association, the chief of police and the head of the anti-corruption authority about the satirical programme's content.

The show has had such a following from the general public and provided Palestinians with a healthier and more liberated approach to sensitive issues. "We put issues under the spotlight, and when you make people laugh you reach them," says the show's star and scriptwriter, 33-year-old Imad Farajin. "We touch traditionally taboo issues." Ahmad Mughani, the attorney general's take was slightly different... he said the programme's language was offensive and the show did not "serve the public interest" and was "harmful to Palestinian society". It had crossed "red lines", he said.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the chairman of Palestine TV, which broadcasts the show agreed to stop the series, but has called for the public to take an interest in this matter.

Muscat's Daily Azzaman awaits its fate on the 28th August

2011-08-25T15:59:00.003Z

Watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) appealed last week to Oman's Sultan Qaboos to disregard the charges placed upon Yousef al-Haj, a senior editor with the Muscat-based daily Azzaman. On 14th May, Mr al-Haj expressed his view in the daily that there is an emerging problem of corruption within the Ministry of Justice. He also quoted a justice ministry employee's similar allegations about favouritism in promotions within the ministry. The stories last year cited claims of embezzlement, graft and other abuses within the ministry. Justice minister Mohamed al-Hanai lodged an official complaint about the journalist leaving him with charges including "insulting the justice ministry, insulting the justice minister and his under-secretary, trying to create divisions within Omani society, violating article 60 of the civil code (the publications law), (and) working as a journalist without a permit."

The RSF said, "it would be regrettable if the Omani courts upheld this decision, which would violate freedom of the press and would give credence to the journalist's allegedly defamatory claims." The president of Azzaman's board will also be tried for "illegally employing Haj without a permit from the information ministry." Last Sunday, an Omani court postponed the trial of Azzaman editor Ibrahim al-Maamary and managing editor Yussuf al-Haj until 28th August to give the defence attorneys more time to prepare. The daily could risk being shutdown.

Al Jazeera blocks programme

2011-08-15T10:45:00.004Z

Al Jazeera has banned the replaying of "Shouting in the Dark", which was aired on 11 August 2011.

The programme is a documentary focusing on Bahrain's pro-democracy protestors. As soon as it was aired, it received complaints from the Bahraini authorities. It showed footage that was secretly recorded during the protests- focusing on the brutal violence during this time.

The decision to not replay the programme gives rise to fears that Al Jazeera is succumbing to political pressure from Bahrain, and is not as independent as it claims. Interestingly this programme was shown on Al Jazeera English, but not on Al Jazeera Arabic, which is the more watched channel.

Al Jazeera reporting on the Beirut bomb

2011-08-12T15:05:00.001Z

Rumours suggest that Al Jazeera unnecessarily promoted sectarianism in Beirut today by reporting that a bomb exploded in a "Christian suburb".

The Al Jazeera website now contains no such comment.

al-Jazeera stands its ground in re-run of controversial Bahraini film

2011-08-11T12:19:00.002Z

Following Bahraini upset over al-Jazeera's documentary, Manama received an official letter from the Sunni government asking for the immediate withdrawal of the film. The ministry asserted that the production, "Bahrain: Shouting in the dark" was based on untruths and provoked Sunni-Shia tensions. Yesterday it appeared that the satellite channel had taken heed of the complaint as rebroadcasting times for the film were removed from their website. However, the documentary will be rebroadcast today and succeeded by the programme, "The Inside Story" which will discuss the controversy surrounding the film.
There is ongoing speculation that the diplomatic ties between Qatar and Bahrain have been damaged.

Bahrain vs Doha's al-Jazeera

2011-08-10T14:16:00.002Z

Bahrain has protested to Qatar against a recent film produced by the Doha based satellite channel, al-Jazeera. The 50 minute documentary details the long list of human rights abuses suffered by the Shia population in Bahrain, as well as a demonstration of how the Sunni Government used Facebook to determine which ‘Shia traitors’ incited protests. Bahraini press criticised the film for its ‘lies and slander’ and its insinuation that the regime continues to behave in a violent and prejudiced way towards the Shia majority. Matar Matar, an al-Wifaq MP was interviewed in the film and later jailed for denouncing the al-Khlaifa dynasty. He awaits his trial in the civilian court.

Khamis al-Rumaihi, a pro-government Sunni MP, accused al-Jazeera, owned by the emir of Qatar, of trying to instigate unrest and counteracting the benefits procured by the recent national dialogues. The Bahraini government has also insinuated that the satellite TV channel is biased and inconsistent in its reports as apparently much more sympathy was bestowed upon the respcetive regimes’ actions in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria. An indisputably underhanded move on al-Jazeera’s part was that the documentary was only aired on its sister English channel, thereby reducing the repercussions of the broadcast.

Media Credibility Index: Egypt

2011-08-10T13:48:00.004Z

Here is a report prepared by Camille Hennion, a media research intern at the NCF based on her preliminary research in Cairo, 2011

1. The Egyptian Media

Newspapers - Government-owned

Ahram /al Ahram weekly

Al Akhbar

Al Goumhurya

Party-owned newspapers

Al Ahrar

Al Wafd

Al Ghad

Independent newspapers:

Daily:

Al Masry al Youm

Al Shoruk

Nahdet Misr

Al Youm al sab'aa (Cairo; online)

Weekly:

Al Osboa

Al Dostour

Al Fajr

Sout al Umah

Television

ERTU (The Egyptian Radio and Television Union) controls state owned terrestrial television of which there are eight channels (two national and six local). ERTU operates the Nile TV network.

Satellite (Arabsat / NileSat) are major Egypt based satellite providers providing the satellite “bouquets” that give the Middle East 452 channels at the latest count. In an Egyptian context however, their channels include:

The Egyptian National Channel

The Nile Programmes (Nile sports, Nile variety, Nile News and so forth)

Dream TV (private): Dream I and Dream II

El Mehwer

OTV (OTV is actually a Lebanese generalist TV channel but is much viewed in Egypt)

Al Hayat (3 channels)

Remarks

The Egyptian audience is accustomed to official propaganda. It is characterized by a strong critical awareness regarding the quality of media coverage and by a great ability to read between the lines of the official and media discourses.

Before the Revolution, the newspapers with the largest audiences were the following:

1. Al Masry al Youm

2. Al Youm al sab'aa

3. al Ahram

The Revolution had a large impact on the media landscape as it entailed huge loss or gain of credibility to media sources according to their coverage of the movement (cf. section 2 below). The licensing process which had been highly painful and bureaucratic was also apparently significantly eased following the Revolution. This led to the creation of new media in Egypt. The most significant are the newspapers al-Tahrir and Tahrir TV created by Ibrahim Eissa. Some former weekly newspapers transformed into daily newspapers, the main example being Al Masry al youm.

2. Coverage of the Revolution

The Egyptian Media had a crucial role to play in the revolutionary movement that broke out in Egypt in January 2011. Yet the veracity of the coverage varied widely.

Reliable Media:

Al Masry al Youm was praised by all as the most reliable Egyptian newspaper during the Revolution. The editorial board of al Masry al Youm apparently took the decision very early on to tell the truth about the movement. It must be noted that al Masry al Youm has long been considered one of the most reliable newspapers in Egypt, even before the Revolution. Al Shoruk also provided an accurate source of information during the movement. Among the TV channels, OTV offered the most reliable information on the Revolution.

Finally it must be noted that the Qatari channel al Jazeera gained a wide audience in Egypt because of its highly insightful and critical coverage of the regime's behavior during the Revolution. It was considered more reliable than most of Egyptian sources. Yet, even if they praised al Jazeera's position during their Revolution, Egyptians were aware of the channel's own agenda and strong anti-Mubarak stance. They do not consider al Jazeera as entirely neutral and impartial in its coverage.

Unreliable Media:

As a result of their poor coverage of the Revolution, many national media sources lost credibility.

Most notably al Ahram did not report on the Revolution until 8 February, when it finally published an editorial recognizing and supporting the Revolution on the front page. Prior to that al Ahram had been publishing inaccurate information on the movement and taking part in the regime propaganda campaign against foreigners and foreign media in Egypt. For example, al Ahram published numerous reports warning about the presence of spies and foreign infiltrators, suggesting that they aimed at dividing Egypt. Al Akhbar produced the same kind of regime propaganda during the Revolution and hardly changed its position after the fall of Mubarak. For example, as late as 13 June, when the US-Israeli student Ilan Grapel was arrested on the contested accusation of spying, al Akhbar's provoking headline was: 'a big blow for the Mossad'.

2. Media in transition

As a consequence of their biased coverage of the Revolution, the national media lost a large part of their credibility and, more importantly, of their audience. As such the national media were forced to launch significant reform efforts in order to survive economically and re-gain viewers.

Al Ahram is a striking example of this dynamic. On 8 February it suddenly changed its position, adopting an anti-regime approach and reporting accurately on the Revolution. New people were brought in and the editorial content was changed significantly. For example the pro-Mubarak editor-in-chief Osama Saraya was replaced by Abdel-Azim Hamad.

Along the same line, the national TV channels had to adapt quickly. The ERTU and Nile TV channels had been widely criticized for their coverage before and during the Revolution. Consequently they undertook a difficult process of transition. Nadia Halim was replaced by Nihal Kamal as head of the TV department, Abdel-Latif El-Manawi by Ibrahim Kamel El-Sayed as head of the news department and Entesar Shalabi by Ismail El-Sheshtawi as head of the radio department. Finally Tariq al Mahdi replaced Sami al Sherif as the head of the ERTU. Yet the transition of Egyptian national media is a difficult process. Some have already highlighted the resilience of old practices despite the appointment of new people. For example the ERTU chief, Tariq al Mahdi, is himself a general and very close to the military council. It is still too early to assess the impact of the on-going reform on the national channels. The coverage of the coming elections might be a good test to measure the scope of these changes.

3. The figure of Ibrahim Eissa

Ibrahim Eissa deserves special attention in this report as he appears as a major figure of the Egyptian media landscape. He has been a dissident voice since long before the Revolution. He was one of the rare journalists openly criticizing Mubarak before his fall. He was the embodiment of Egyptian independent media, particularly through the publication of al Dostour from 1995 onwards. Most of his writings and talk shows leveled direct criticisms at the former president and regime. In retaliation, in 2008 Eissa was sentenced to two months in prison on charges of publishing false rumors about Mubarak’s health. Later, Mubarak pardoned him in an attempt to tame Eissa. But the journalist maintained the same tone and continued to face harassment. In October 2010, Eissa was fired from his position as editor-in-chief of al Dostour after the paper was sold to Wafd Party chairman Al-Sayyed al-Badawi. Rumors circulated that Badawi kicked Eissa out in a good-will gesture to Mubarak. Eissa told the press he was dismissed a few hours after he was told not to run an article by the then leading opposition figure Mohamed el Baradei. Eissa made a stunning comeback on the media stage with a new publication - al Tahrir - launched at the beginning of July 2011. Al Tahrir newspaper is co-owned by the publisher of al Shoruk independent newspaper, Ibrahim al Moalem. The executive editor of al Tahrir Ibrahim Mansour also comes from the team of al Dostour as well.

4. A net improvement in the press freedom

- On 30 May the activist Hossam el Hamalawy and the ON-TV presenter Reem Maged were summoned for questioning by the military council after an interview broadcast on ON-TV where they accused the military leadership of abuses against civilians.

- On 19 June Adel Hammuda, the editor of the newspaper Al-Fajr, and Rasha Azab, one of his reporters, were questioned by a military prosecutor in connection with an article about torture that quoted an army officer. They are to be tried before a military court on a date that has not yet been set. Azab is facing a possible jail sentence on a charge of publishing “false information liable to disturb public security” in the article she wrote for Al-Fajr’s 12 June issue. Hammuda is facing a possible fine for alleged negligence in his role as editor.

- Dream TV presenter, Dina Abdel Rahman, appears to have been sacked after an on-air sharp discussion about the military leadership on 24 July.

5. Problematic absence of regulatory framework for media in Egypt

Jerusalem Post grovels with an apology

2011-08-08T16:03:00.000Z

It might have taken two weeks, but in the aftermath of its editorial posted on 25 July 2011, the Jerusalem Post has apologised for its comments on the Norway massacre.
The first editorial stated “While there is absolutely no justification for the sort of heinous act perpetrated this weekend in Norway, discontent with multiculturalism's failure must not be delegitimatised or mistakenly portrayed as an opinion held by only the most extremist elements of the right."

Making reference to issues that were not directly related to the massacre such as the Oslo Peace accord, multiculturalism, European immigration policies, this angered many readers because the topics were a weak attempt to justify the extremist actions of Anders Behring Breivik.

In an unusual move for a newspaper, it printed a full page editorial apology. The apology said “... hope that the Norwegian government and people will accept the Post's apology and forgive us for any offence or hurt caused by our editorial and columnists at this sensitive time".

7% of Bloggers in Middle East Arrested This Year

2011-08-05T14:27:00.001Z

A Harvard Survey of 98 bloggers has revealed that 7% of bloggers in the Middle East have been arrested or detained in the past year alone. Furthermore, 30% say they have been threatened. The survey was conducted by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, with funding from the State Department and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, who are based in the UK.

The participants are anonymous. The composition included 81% who blogged in English, the rest being either Arabic or French. This implies that there were few bloggers from Iran, Turkey or Israel. The bloggers generally used Facebook, Twitter and Gmail.

Around 8% of those who took part used high security blogging and sites where the provider refuses to share information with governments. The Arab Spring has proved to be a particularly poor time to be a journalist or blogger.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1771520/survey-7-of-arab-bloggers-have-been-arrested

Syrian Scholar Supports Death Penalty for Homosexuals

2011-08-04T12:26:00.002Z

“We are extremely lucky in our country,” remarks Syrian Scholar Muhammed Rateb Al-Nabulsi. “The garbage heaps of Syria are better than the gardens of Australia...There is a 150% chance that you will see your son with an earring in his right ear. This means that he is a homosexual.”

The academic then further describes the significance of earrings in determining sexuality. His statements, aired on Al-Aqsa TV on April 28^th 2011, depict an extremely narrow-minded homophobe. “It’s frightening. Homosexuality involves a filthy place, and does not generate offspring.” This is his reason for why homosexuality carries the death penalty.

He criticises the British Health Secretary and an Italian Minister for homosexuality, and refuses to acknowledge the “notion” that “a homosexual is a normal person.”

The video clip containing the excerpt of his statement is broadcast online by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute.

http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/815/2938.htm

Eygpt state TV comes under criticism

2011-07-25T14:40:00.008Z

The Egyptian State TV has been generally criticised in a BBC article, ‘Egypt state TV building an ugly reminder of the past’, 22 July 2011

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14222908

In January, the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party were burnt down but the army sent its tanks a few hundred meters away to protect the Maspero (Egyptian state TV headquarters).

This clearly demonstrates the importance of the TV station to the government.

State TV has been notorious throughout the years, for broadcasting cookery programmes during times of crisis.

Despite revolution, there has been little change at Egypt TV. The head may have changed but the editors, heads of channel and presenters remain the same as they were and employees continue to lack skills, leaving production standards low.

Phone in shows are usually faked, with office staff calling in and putting on different voices.

News and information remain tightly controlled by the government and opposition groups accuse them of impoverishing Egyptian culture.

Moataz Nasreldin says that state television is designed to make people as idiotic and stupid as possible and calls for drastic change as protestors continue to demonstrate outside the TV station’s headquarters.

Provocative Sheikh's views aired

2011-07-15T10:49:00.005Z

Safa TV, a Saudi satellite station, recently allowed known terrorist Sheikh Mohamed Al-Zoghbi to air his inflammatory, xenophobic and libellous views on their station.

The Sheikh lists horrific calamities he wishes to befall Bashar Al-Assad and calls on Allah to punish not only Bashar, but all the Al-Assad family as well as those who help and support them, referring to the whole family as an ‘infidel clique’, ‘criminals’ and ‘abusers’.

He then calls on the people of Syria, men, women, slaves and children to revenge themselves against them all and fight them with their ‘money, bodies and tongues’.

He says that the jihad against the Al-Assads is more important than that which Muslims should be waging against the Christians and even the Jews, referring to both religions as ‘infidels’ but stresses that Nusayris are greater infidels.

He closes by saying ‘Kill these unbelievers until you purify the earth from their filth’.

These comments should be strongly condemned as should Safa TV for allowing Sheikh Zoghbi to make them on their station.

Interview can be viewed here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi24WT7D2fg

Hamas to leave Damascus?

2011-07-06T10:29:00.002Z

In May, Al Hayat reported that Hamas would be leaving Syria though this was later denied by Hamas officials who announced their intention to stay in Damascus both when this was first suggested by Al Hayat and again later in further interviews.

Al Hayat reported that Qatar had offered to act as host country to the Islamic insurgence group in early May despite the fact that it is well known that since 2007, Hamas have been attempted to move to the Gaza strip but have failed to so as they could not gain permission from authorities.

There were also alleged talks with Egypt and Jordan though both rejected Hamas’ proposals; Egypt did however agree to host a Hamas ‘interest bureau’ which was to provide fuel for future speculation.

Gaza based political security analyst Shaker Shabat reported to Gulf News that Hamas had been asked to leave Syria due to their unwillingness to support and defend the regime but this again has been categorically denied by Hamas. Gulf News later reported that the move had gone ahead. This too has been denied.

More recently, there have been new reports about Hamas' possible next moves. There are reports that Hamas have now received an offer from the Egyptian government and will be relocating completely. These reports came after an announcement made by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, confirming the move, heralding it as 'symbolic'.

Most publications still view these announcements as highly speculative as Hamas has only denied its move to Qatar and has yet to issue a statement on Egypt.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-hamas-leadership-to-relocate-from-syria-to-qatar-1.358956

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/hamas-move-linked-to-unrest-1.801944

http://www.thetrumpet.com/?q=8326.7014.0.0

Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust

2011-07-05T15:13:00.004Z

In an article published on May 17^th, the Saudi Daily Al-Iqtisadiya expressed the view that America has exaggerated the number of people killed during the Holocaust.

Abd Al-Rahman Al-Trairi supported the claims made by famed Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, that the idea that six million Jews were killed is completely ‘irrational’.

This view was reiterated by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking on IRINN (Iranian news) on the 24^th June; he said that ‘if the black boxes of the Holocaust, and of 9/11 are opened, much evidence will come to light’.

Ahmadinejad compared the two events claiming both showed examples of how America had exaggerated numbers of deaths in order to advance the Jewish cause in the Middle East and highlighted that many people believed these exaggerations were made to give America an excuse to invade and ‘fill the pockets of capitalists’ and to secure the Zionist homeland.

Western media reporting on Syria

2011-06-30T14:31:00.004Z

The troubles in Libya and Syria, amongst other countries currently experiencing uprisings, have been extensively and supposedly well documented. The BBC and Al Jazeera have been at the forefront of providing up to date coverage of every twist and turn that these countries experience. However, particularly in the case of Syria, where foreign journalists have been banned, how can we be assured that we are getting the accurate version of events? Every day new reports are issued detailing larger and large protests, more violence and increasingly the demise of the Assad regime. Contradictory to this, on the 21^st of June we saw pro- Assad protests lining the streets of Damascus waving an enormous Syrian flag demonstrating their support for the regime. Anti-government protests have not yet reached Damascus and Aleppo, the two largest cities in Syria, which is perhaps an indication that the protests have not reached a critical point where the regime is in actual danger of being overthrown.

Furthermore, video postings have been heavily broadcasted. In particular the young boy, Hamza al-Khateeb the 13 year old boy who was reportedly tortured by Assad’s security forces, has become a martyr for Syria. From an outside perspective we are horrified by these images and hearing similar atrocities committed by the regime accept such claims as truth. However, the governments insist these videos have been falsified. How far can we trust what we are hearing when there are no independent reporters to verify these reports? Facebook and other such media sites have also been used extensively. For instance, the blogger ‘A girl in Damascus’ reached the headlines for blogging the day to day life in Damascus. Following her anti- government blogging some reports claimed that she had been captured and bundled into a van by security forces. When the story broke that this Syrian girl was actually a young man from Edinburgh University, the credibility of what we are hearing could be called into question. The Western media in this case are quick to report on anything that blackens the regime reputation without fully verifying the facts.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

'Dont believe eveything you see and read about Gaddafi'

2011-06-30T13:58:00.007Z

Patrick Cockburn article for the independent entitled ‘Don’t believe everything you see and read about Gaddafi’ raises some interesting points. Cockburn touches on what he sees as the naivety of the foreign media who ‘almost universally sympathise with the rebels’ swallowing whole the atrocities that are reported to them. For example, huge human rights abuses have been reported in Benghazi. One case in point is on the use of mass rape by Gaddafi’s soldiers which was covered by news channel Al Jazeera. Dead soliders of Gaddafi’s had been supposedly found with condoms and Viagra in their pockets. Dr Suleiman Refadi, a general surgeon at a Libyan hospital, assured Al Jazeera that these were evidence that rape was being used as a weapon of war. On the 9th of June 2011, the Telegraph published that the international criminal court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, had evidence that hundreds of women had been raped. In addition, he said he had recieved information indicating that Gaddafi himself had decided to rape. Once these claims had come from the ICC, western media took what he had said as facts and began to report without evidence supporting these claims.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been unable to find evidence that supports these claims. In fact, researches were unable to find one woman who said she had been raped. Grave human rights violations like these are being reported on a daily basis and without any hard evidence to back up them up. Meanwhile, the media are quick to pick up on stories like these and sensationalise them to their viewers. Whilst there are certainly atrocities being committed, western media need to be more sensible when it comes to accepting without question what they hear from rebels or opposition members.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Israel government threathen journalists with 10 year ban

2011-06-27T16:02:00.001Z

The Israeli government have threatened journalist who plan to travel aboard an aid flotilla, which is scheduled to sail to the Gaza strip, with a 10 year ban on reentering the country. Furthermore, additional sanctions and the promise of having their equipment impounded have also been stated in a message sent by the Government Press Office director, Oren Helman. This ban is seen as a clear violation of the right to truthful and free media. Journalists should be able to work in an environment that is open and free from threat.

The trip has the intention of breaking Israel’s blockade of the coast. 200 activists from around 20 countries are said to be taking part in a bid to offer humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip. The first flotilla of this kind was attempted last year and was brutally stopped by Israeli commando resulting in 9 deaths and leaving 40 wounded.

The Israeli government stands by their previous interception and assures those aboard that they will block the flotilla a second time. The government sees this attempt as a serious provocation and a violation of Israeli law. Meanwhile, in response to government warnings, the Jerusalem-based Foreign Press Association said in a statement: "The government's threat to punish journalists covering the Gaza flotilla sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press”

Syrian Disinformation

2011-06-11T21:01:00.000Z

This complaint comes in from Mickhael:

Iam a strong supporter of the BBC. I believe it is the best professional media organisation in the world. This morning friday at 7 am, I made my coffee, opened the TV, BBC Arabic. It was the news about Syria:

The TV presenter: we will contact an eye witness [shahid ayan] from jisr al shugur in Syria.
Abou ahmed: what do you see, describe the situation for us.
Witness: Syrian army with tanks killing everyone, old, children, raping women.
Presenter: where are you now?
Witness: about 5 km from jisr al shugur
Presenter: what is your village name . . . taaaaataaa he did not know, voice behind him saying something [presenter interfered]
Presenter: What about the refugees to Turkey…after he answered….oh yes
Witness: my villge name is??? I cannot remember the name.

We are not talking about the politics…but professionalism which the BBC is famous for.

Could the BBC get someone that knew his village and to be at the centre of the event not 5 km away?

I felt like an insult to my intelligence.

Syrian-American pro-democracy blogger detained

2011-06-08T15:44:00.002Z

On June 6^th, Amina Arraf, a popular young Syrian American blogger, was reportedly kidnapped by three armed men in Damascus. Being one in over ten thousand pro-democracy men and woman who were detained and tortured by Syrian forces over the past few months, her high profile status is taken by some to signify that the regime is no longer concerned with upholding legitimacy.

Arraf blogged abundantly about her family’s experiences during the crackdown and being a gay woman in Syria (homosexuality is illegal in that country); she was a symbol for countless Syrians campaigning for basic rights. Her abduction has shocked and horrified scores of pro-democracy protesters, many of whom have embarked upon a campaign to attempt to secure Arraf’s prompt release from the custody of the notoriously brutal Syrian forces (it is as of yet unconfirmed which of the 18 branches of the security services is holding her).

Her family is likewise desperately trying to find out who abducted Arraf and where she is being kept. Her safe return is looking more and more unlikely, and calls for US and Turkish diplomats have been made to put pressure for her immediate release. The ‘Free Amina’ campaign is gaining widespread support.

One of Arraf’s last blogs read: “Today or tomorrow might be the last one for me; or tomorrow might be the beginning of a new Syria.” Let’s hope that at least her first prediction does not prove true.

Misrepresentation of Arabs by Western Media

2011-06-01T21:27:00.002Z

A conference held at SOAS (University of London) today discussed the phenomenon of the misrepresentation of the Arab world in Western media. A wide array of speakers gave their respective views mainly on how the image of the Middle East is distorted in the West by newspapers, television programmes and the film industry.

Journalist and filmmaker Abdullah Homouda claimed that an example of this distortion is the failure of Western media to "condemn Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians", adding that the image of the Arab world is reduced to either Islamic fundamentalists or corrupt and despotic tyrants.

Hosny Imam, president of the Foreign Press Association, referred to the BBC’s labeling of the Egyptian revolution as merely the “Egyptian crisis’’, while Al-Jazeera alternatively used the terms “upheaval” and “revolution” to describe the events that began in January of this year. He further stated that prior to the “Arab spring”, 90% of British media coverage of the Middle East was dedicated to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

According to Worod Al-Musawi, Arabs have long been portrayed by the West as “barbaric and uncivilised”; Al-Musawi cited the 1926 movie “The Son of the Sheikh”. Producer and author Lewis Al-Samari referred to the negative depiction of Arabs in a host of Western-made films, for instance “The Sheikh” (1921), “Network” (1977), “Protocol” (1984) and “True Lies” (1994) among others.

Hany Beshr, a reporter for Al-Jazeera, asserted that the BBC Panorama programme “Death on the Med”, which aired in August 2010 and used Israeli footage, showed a deep bias in favour of Israel.

2011 International Media Awards Winners

2011-05-27T12:50:00.001Z

2011 International Media Awards Winners

The International Council for Press and Broadcasting Seventh International Media Awards

The International Media Awards ceremony was held at a gala night in central London on Saturday 9th of April. Western, Israeli, Arab and Asian journalists from across the Middle East gathered for the seventh International Media Awards.

The Peace through Media Award

.DAOUD QUTTAB is founder/general director of AmmanNet and director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University
.DOV ALFON is Editor in Chief at Ha’aretz.

The Cutting Edge Award

.FALAH AL THAHABI is an Iraqi journalist and the current managing director at Alhurra TV.
.DILAWAR KHAN WAZIR is the BBC Urdu Service Correspondent for the tribal areas and Waziristan.
.NADA ABDEL SAMED is a Beirut based broadcaster for BBC Arabic.
.AYMAN MOHYELDIN is a correspondent for Al Jazeera.
.ADEL ZANOON works for AFP & ANN, Gaza.

Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting

.JACKIE ROWLAND is a field correspondent for Al Jazeera English

The Breakaway Award

.ALICE FORDHAM is a Baghdad based freelance journalist working for The Times, Christian Science Monitor and as a correspondent for The Economist.

Outstanding Contribution to Peace Award

.LINDA MENHUIN is a founding member of the Society for Peace with Syria and an advisory board member of the Smart Middle East Forum.

Press Freedom Award

.FERAS KILANI is a journalist for BBC Arabic
.GOKTAY KORALTAN is a cameraman for BBC Arabic
.CHRIS COBB SMITH is a production co-ordinator for BBC Arabic

Bahraini journalists deny charges of unethical coverage

2011-05-19T14:34:00.006Z

Four journalists from Bahrain’s only opposition newspaper, Al Wasat, have pleaded not guilty to the charge of unethical coverage of the security forces’ crackdown on Shia-led opposition protests against the kingdom's Sunni rulers. The charges against Al Wasat’s journalists include not only “publishing fabricated news” but also “the intention of causing instability in Bahrain”, punishable by up to 2 years in jail. The million dinar question is not whether the Al Wasat journalists are guilty or innocent, but whether they would still have been accused of fabrications had the articles been coloured with a pro-government hue.

The original 14 February protest movement included demands for the prime minister to step down, for fair elections, and for equal rights for all - including an end to anti-Shia discrimination. The suppression of the protests came after the government imposed martial law and invited troops from Sunni-ruled neighbours Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Co-operation Council to help quell the unrest. Several journalists and photographers have already been detained over their coverage of the civil unrest, including one of the founders of Al Wasat, Karim Fakhrawi, who died in police custody a week after he was arrested on 5 April. Other individuals who have documented the unrest in a non-professional capacity have also been targeted, including online bloggers, microbloggers, forum administrators and moderators.

Al Wasat was ordered to stop printing in early April after being accused of falsifying six news articles. One example was an article concerning a Bahraini who claimed he had been assaulted by security forces, but the accompanying photograph allegedly showed a Moroccan assault in 2005. Al Wasat’s publishing ban was lifted following the resignation of 3 of its editors, all of whom are to be put on trial: Chief Editor, Mansoor al-Jamri; British Managing Editor, Walid Noueihed; and Head of Local News, Ageel Mirza. A fourth journalist, Ali Al-Sherify, was deported last month and will be tried in absentia.

Former Chief Editor, Mansoor al-Jamri, has acknowledged that six false articles did appear in Al Wasat - yet claims that the articles were not a case of genuine mistakes being made, but rather that Al Wasat was purposely targeted by an external campaign to plant misinformation. Jamri claims the false information was emailed to the Al Wasat complete with fake phone numbers, but slipped past editing checks due to weak infrastructure following an attack on the newspaper's printing offices in mid March by mobs armed with clubs and butcher knives. Jamri has voiced the possibility of a double agent planted in Al Wasat to spread fabrications. The case has been adjourned until June 15 to give defence lawyers time to review the prosecution’s evidence.

Saudi Arabia hammers press freedom

2011-05-01T11:30:00.000Z

The Saudi King has imposed draconian press restrictions on his country to curb reporting of discontent and dissapointment:

Saudi king tightens media restrictions

Kuwait Times - 01 May, 2011
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has imposed new media restrictions and threatened hefty fines and closure of news organisations allegedly undermining national security, press reports said yesterday.

Under a decree issued on Friday, the media will be prohibited from reporting anything that contradicts the strict Islamic sharia law or serves "foreign interests and undermines national security". The decree requires publishers to stick "to objective and constructive criticism that serves the general interest", media reports said, adding that violators face fines of up to 500,000 riyals ($ 133,000).

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Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the UAE

2011-03-14T17:20:00.002Z

Sir Harold Walker sent The NCF a heads-up on BBC coverage of Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late President of the UAE. John Humphrys, on the Today programme, described Shaikh Zaid as “a very very nasty man".

However Sir Harold believes that Shaik Zaid was a good friend of the UK, and Humphry's was guilty of voicing a snap opinion of this man, and should apologise.

Al Jazeera under attack in Libya.

2011-03-14T14:18:00.003Z

Ali Hassan Al Jaber, a cameraman working for Al-Jazeera was shot and killed in Benghazi, Libya on 13 March 2011.

During the turmoil of the last month in the Middle East, Al- Jazeera has been praised for its daring and courageous covering of the unfolding events. Often this coverage has seen resistance and opposition from the countries from within which it has been reporting from.

Al Jazeera issued a statement saying that the killing of the camera man "comes as part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting Al Jazeera and its staff".

CNN sacks Middle East Editor

2011-02-23T18:55:00.004Z

8 July 2010, Index on Censorship report that CNN sacked their Middle East editor, Octavia Nasr, after she expressed her admiration for the late Lebanese Cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah on Twittter. Nasr commented that the senior Shiite cleric, who is said to have inspired Hezbollah, was “one of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot”. In a subsequent blog, she apologised claiming that the message was referring to Fadalallah’s progressive views on women’s rights. CNN officials condemned the post as an error of judgement and stated that Nasr’s position was no longer operating because her credibility had been “compromised”.

Israeli forces arrest AFP correspondent in Hebron

2011-02-23T18:53:00.003Z

14 April 2010, Index on Censhorship reports that Hazem Bader, a correspondent for AFP, was arrested by Israeli forces in Hebron after he refused to stop filming a protest. Fifteen protesters were also arrested for not leaving the closed military area. Bader was detained for three hours then released after AFP intervened.

UAE flexes its muscles and blocks the Sunday Times newspaper

2011-02-23T18:49:00.004Z

1 December 2009, Index on Censorhip report that The United Arab Emirates blocked circulation of the Sunday Times newspaper due to its coverage of the unfolding Dubai debt crisis. The National Media Council blocked the distribution of the newspaper because of the publication of an image which depicted ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum sinking under a sea of debt. An official from the council commented: “We cannot accept a personal insult.”

Another Journalist Arrest

2011-02-23T18:47:00.001Z

20 January 2009, Index on Censorship report that Khalid Amayreh, a correspondent for Al Ahram who works in the West Bank was arrested by the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service (PSS) following a interview with Al-Quds TV station in which he accused the PSS of preventing Palestinians in the West Bank from organising massive pro-Gaza demonstrations.

Egyptian Foreign Minister halts imprisonment of Al Dustour Editor

2011-02-23T18:40:00.004Z

20 March 2008, Index on Censorship report that Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Al Dustour was sentenced to two months in prison after publishing rumours about ex President Mubarek’s health. However in a bizarre turn of events, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry requested Eissa not to turn himself in because it was realized that this imprisonment would reflect badly on the Mubarek regime.

Emirates Airlines under the spotlight

2011-02-23T18:29:00.002Z

30 October 2009, Index on Censorship report that Al Arabiya fired American journalist Courtney C Radsch within 24 hours of her uncovering a story about breaches of safety at Emirates Airlines. The article focused on pilot fatigue in the airline.

Journalists are discouraged from reporting on Emirates Airlines, as its chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, is also the head of the aviation authority and a member of the country’s ruling family.

Journalist for Al Baghdadia TV killed

2011-02-23T18:28:00.001Z

2 June 2009, Index for Censorhip report that Alaa Abdel Wahab, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia TV, was killed outside Mosul, Iraq. A bomb, which was placed underneath his car, detonated

BBC Persian TV jammed by Iran

2011-02-23T18:27:00.002Z

11 February 2011, Index on Censorship report that the BBC's Persian Television service was jammed by Iran due to its coverage of political unrest in Egypt. The jamming was triggered by the extensive coverage the channel had of the Egyptian protests.

Journalist for Al Jazeera is made a scape-goat

2011-02-23T18:26:00.004Z

7 August 2009 Index on Censorship reports that the Tunisian government discredited Al Jazeera through both state run and pro-government media stating that it was the “the mouthpiece of opposition” to President Ben Ali’s government.

What triggered this discrediting was Al Jazeera’s coverage of a congress organised by Tunisian exiles in Geneva on 20-21 June 2009, in which they urged the president to allow his exiled opponents to return to Tunisia even though many of them face jail sentences because of their political views.

In response to this coverage, the government severely restricted the activities of the Tunisian correspondent for Al Jazeera, Lofti Hajji. More specifically police prevented Hajji from interviewing human rights activists and his internet connection was cut.

Al Jazeera targeted in Kuwait

2011-02-23T18:25:00.004Z

14 December 2010, Index on Censorship report that Al Jazeera's Kuwait city office was closed due to footage by the channel of police brutality against members of the Kuwaiti opposition.

Amongst the footage shown was police beating activists, and the airing of interviews with members of the Kuwaiti opposition. Four Kuwaiti members of parliament and a dozen citizens were injured in the incident. The official reason given for the closure of Al Jazeera was “the latest developments and your interference in Kuwait’s internal affairs”.

Bahrain suspends Al Jazeera

2011-02-23T18:24:00.003Z

19 May 2010 Index on Censorhip reported that Bahrain suspended Al Jazeera from broadcasting and has not allowed its film crew to enter the country. The government said the news channel was “flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing” in the country and did not comply with “professional norms.”

Palestinian Authority acknowledges Al Jazeera

2011-02-23T18:23:00.002Z

21 June 2009, Index on Censorship reports that the Palestinian Authority lifted a ban on Al-Jazeera in the West Bank. The ban was triggered after a guest on the station accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of collaborating with Israel to have Yasser Arafat killed.

Close call at Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza

2011-02-23T18:21:00.003Z

10 March 2009, Index on Censorship reports that staff at the Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza were threatened after a bomb was left outside its office. Due to the fact that the office received a warning call and staff were immediately evacuated,the Palestinian police were able to defuse the device and no one was injured.

Mubarek flexes his muscles

2011-02-23T18:19:00.002Z

5 October 2007, Index on Censorship report that Wael el Ibrashi the chief editor of Sawt Al Umma, is one of eleven journalists given a custodial sentences for offending ex-President Mubarek and his son. Wael el Ibrashi was sentenced to one year in prison, fined LE20,000 ($3,636) and granted bail for a further LE10,000 ($1,818) pending an appeal

Journalists Targeted in Killing

2011-02-23T18:16:00.005Z

15 September 2008, Index on Censorship report that four employees of Al Sharqiya were murdered on the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Three of those murdered were journalists, namely Musab al Azawi, Ahmed Salem and Ihab Maad, and the fourth was their driver, Qaidar Suleiman. The men were kidnapped by gunmen whilst filming a programme about Ramadan in the Mosul district of Al Zenjili.

Editor-in-Chief targeted

2011-02-23T18:14:00.001Z

18 May 2010, Index on Censorship report that Jamal Khashoggi, the editor-in-chief of Al- Watan, resigned after the newspaper published a controversial opinion piece criticising Salafism. Wahabbism is strictly adhered to by Saudi authorities because it is a form of Salafi Islam.

Egypt's 25 January 2011 Revolution -- An Intellectual guerrilla's Mémoirs

2011-02-16T14:10:00.000Z

by Dr. Nadia E. El-Shazly (dedicated to the 400 martyrs)

The 25 January 2011 white revolution triumphed against tyranny in Egypt by a combination of the youth's vision and their technology expertise, good luck, in addition to the armed forces' tacit endorsement of their fundamental legitimate demands for democracy, a respect for human rights and social justice.

Their good luck lay primarily in the government's slow-motion response to few of their demands, coupled to Husny Mubarak's much-delayed arrogant speeches. This led to their realization that the whole regime had to be abolished.

When we all worried that the demonstrators would suffer from exhaustion, or that the protests could fizzle out, a number of tragic events outraged public opinion greatly, namely, what we now call the "battle of the camels", which left many young bright promising protesters dead ... and the public break-down in tears, on a TV channel, of Wael Ghoneim, a Google manager in Dubai and online activist. He had just been released, after being arrested and kept blind-folded for 12 days, shortly after the protests began. So, the crowds kept streaming to Tahrir Square over the following days, but they never lost their courtesy, grace and humour.

For eighteen long days, those who remained at home like me, held their breath. But then, I've never been good at protest rallies. A few years ago, as I was stepping out of the Royal United Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London (RUSI), having attended a meeting there, someone berated me for not having demonstrated for one cause or another ... I can't remember which. Before I could answer, my good friend Dr Afif Safieh, the former Palestinian ambassador to London, Washington and Moscow, retorted, saying, "she's an intellectual guerrilla". Well, I'm still doing what I do best ... for the Palestinian cause, for the plight of the Iraqis and the Kurds under Saddam Hussein, for my beloved Egypt always.

Right after the parliamentary "elections", I had absolute proof that the powers-to-be were watching internet traffic, but I continued doing what I could to support and garner support for the legitimate fundamental rights that we were demanding.

Now that our youth have freed my country, memories, emotions, facts keep coming back to me. For the sake of my grandchildren and their generation, I'll try to write my impressions about that wondrous event, how it developed, its highlights, and its climax.

26.01.2011

The internet is not available at times. Nevertheless, the government denied tampering with it, nor with Facebook, Twitter, and websites of local opposition papers, as well as foreign papers and satellite TV stations. Today, the authorities said they will do so tomorrow. My God, I thought, we've become so dependent on the internet. Also, mobile phones weren't operating.

I decided to stop buying Al-Ahram newspaper, as did many of my friends.
30.01.2011

A TV crew discovered 23 bodies in the Alexandria mortuary, shot by the police. Several had ghastly mutilated faces. Their families, assembled there, screamed for retaliation against the police.
03.02.2011

For the past few days, I could hardly sleep ... three hours at the most, and I'm unable to do anything except watch quickly developing events ... statements ... interviews, both in Egypt and abroad, on TV stations. The internet is back thanks to the new Prime Minister's orders. Ahmad Shafik has taken over at a difficult time. He seems to be trustworthy, but I'm in a wait and see mode to judge his performance, despite his excellent career history, whether military or civilian. He is reputed as being competent ... an achiever, and his character is a mix of flexibility in methodology, ie, ready to listen to others' opinions and adopt them if they're good, while decisive in firing under-performing people. I met him officially once last July, when we were seated next to each other over lunch, and found him extremely polished, diplomatic and courteous, with a low key sense of humour. One of my 31 first cousins (on my mother's side), a retired airforce general, was his assistant for many years.
04.02.2011

Thank God for blessing me with many friends, even among my daughters' friends, and the younger generation of family members, who phone me daily, sometimes more than once, to make sure I'm alright, safe, in need of nothing, offering their services, and also to pick my brain about developments, analysis and predictions ... though in this extremely fluid situation, internally and internationally, when events are moving so quickly, no one can claim to foresee what is in the cards. Today is decisive. May God Almighty save Egypt from any mischievous forces, local or foreign, at this grave historical juncture.

As for provisions and petrol for the car, I had to drive outside of Alexandria about 60km to refuel and refill. Most petrol stations are shut, while others had long, long queues. Shelves in supermarkets in town are emptying, while crowds are of a number unseen before. Apart from that, I had to remain at home since the 25th.
05.02.2011

A New Yorker article on the newly-appointed Vice-President Omar Suleiman made for chilling reading. I received it from sources outside Egypt. Mubarak's going away "present" to us, Suleiman, the perverse head of the feared Mukhabarat, would have thrown Egyptians under the yoke of a sadistic leader, one worse than his master. He is said to have enjoyed personally supervising the torture of the people "renditioned" by the US, and even devised new ways of abuse. He is very popular with the Israeli government, and had a direct hot phone line to Israel. "Bibi" was overjoyed by news of his appointment. I suggest he be "exported" to the US or to Israel, once the regime is toppled, hopefully. I'm sure he'll be highly appreciated there. Ha! Ha!
07.02.2011

Very few of the "mafia" oligarchy, who amassed fortunes illegally, were named, and will be prosecuted. Many more, from the lists I have, should also be brought to justice, and, if found guilty, have their fortunes, in the Swiss banks, or elsewhere, returned to their rightful owner -- Egypt. These funds could pay back Egypt's foreign debt; establish labour intensive infra-structural projects, and industrial and agricultural enterprises, that would absorb the hundreds of thousands of unemployed, or under employed and under-paid youths; to also substantially increase wages; to create a fund for the unemployed; and improve health and education, and other services.
10.02.2011

I'm infuriated, nauseated, and much more, after Mubarak's speech. He has no shame, no pride. Benjamin Netanyahu must have been cheering that his buddy is still here, and must have popped more than one champagne bottle.
11.02.2011

FINALLY!!!! At hearing the news of Mubarak's capitulation, in a terse 50-word communiqué by Omar Suleiman, I could not help myself jumping up and down, screaming, laughing, crying.

I can once again be proud - very proud - of being an Egyptian. I'm unbelievably happy to feel that my country, hijacked long ago, has been returned to me by these valiant youngsters, who kept to their promise to march peacefully, despite attacks by criminal NDP thugs, the only time they had to be violent in self defence. They proved that they could be stronger than one of the worst tyrannies.

Thank God for ridding Egypt of Mubarak's going-away "present". Finally, young Egyptians have given us an "ex president". We never had one, except for Mohammad Naguib, who remained under house arrest until his death.

12.02.2011

The channels I watched during the past 17 days, by order of priority, because of their objectivity and credibility in my view, were France 24 in French and English (Arabic was canceled), and BBC World (English and Arabic). Sometimes, I used to turn to Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera International (Arabic was canceled, then restored later), though the latter often aired news that it was forced to deny later. Al Arabiya seemed to side with Mubarak, or at least, was wary about the democracy movement gaining ground. Statements by American very senior officials on CNN were often contradictory, mirroring policies that seemed vacillating, which I saw as the dilemma/conundrum they were faced with, namely, side with the ideals of the revolutionaries, who demanded democracy, and on the other hand, the pressures by Netanyahu, who was markedly frantic, during a press conference with Angela Merkel. Israel even allowed the Egyptian army to deploy some units to Sharm El Sheikh. Did Bibi know that his buddy would eventually move there? I never watched Egyptian TV, but will start now that the regime fell, and that consequently, the Minister of Information, Anas El Feqi was removed. He reminded me of Saddam Hussein's El Sahhaf, at the time of the US led occupation of Iraq. I strongly feel that this post should be scrapped, and Egyptian TV and radio turned into a corporation, independent of government influence.
13.02.2011

One of the guests on the Andrew Marr show this morning on BBC TV, was the Egyptian ambassador to London, H Seif el Nasr. Although he made a very good impression, both in replying to probing questions and fielding others, I was infuriated. Asked whether Mubarak should be put on trial, because of the billions he had amassed, he said that that was not the Egyptian's way that we retained a certain deference for our leaders.

"Deference" for a corrupt and corrupting "leader"?!!! How can Mr Ambassador or anyone else for that matter have "deference" for a swindler in chief, who not only sucked Egypt's resources dry, but also allowed his sons and their cohorts to embezzle in a grand manner, to terrorize the population, and to kill and maim with impunity.

I won't apologize for my outburst, as there's too much on my chest.

I find it revolting that a clique - quite a large one as a matter of fact - have skimmed off Egypt's resources, then claimed that our country's economy has grown in the past five years, under their stewardship, while ignoring the fact that half the population lives in abject extreme poverty ... that the education system and health "services" couldn't be worse (which forced the poor to go to private doctors, and pay for their medication, and hire private tutors for their children, [private tuition fees in Egypt totalled approximately LE5 billion last year]) ... that university graduates' monthly wages were LE300, while some ministers' was LE2 million a month, such as the former Minister of Interior, Habib El Adly ... and some senior police officers' pay was five and six digits, while policemen's were a mere couple of hundreds, sometimes less, which led the latter to terrorize small merchants and the poor to pay them "mafia type protection" or a bribe to do the job they were supposed to do ... and more and more.

******

As for Tahrir square, based on TV, the internet, reports I received from others and my own observations:

1. The demonstrations were peaceful at all times, except when they had to defend themselves against the NDP thugs, who used rocks, Molotov cocktails, and even stormed in on camel and horse back, one night. They were even targeted by snipers on roof tops, and those killed had bullet wounds to their heads and chests.

2. Neither American nor Israeli nor any other flags were burnt.

3. While thugs man-handled and arrested foreigners, protesters were friendly towards them, and never attacked any of the hotels.

4. When the Muslim Brotherhood attempted to shout Islamic slogans, they were silenced, once and for all, by the other participants, and modern attired young women were seen having serious friendly discussions with bearded Islamists.

5. Egypt's streets were notorious for sexual harassment ... not one case was reported;

6. In the beginning, the participants were the educated middle-class and upper middle class computer savvy male and female youth, followed later on, as their movement seemed to gain popularity by their sheer resilience, by families from all walks of life, members of professional syndicates and labour unions, artists (singers, actors, painters, musicians, etc), authors, poets, opposition politicians ... thousands waved the Egyptian flag, and either sang patriotic songs, or newly created ones ... evenings, they listened to poets and singers, cracked jokes about Mubarak and the regime, and, more seriously, planned for their next steps.

7. They regularly swept the square and even hired mini trucks to take the garbage to the dumps.

8. Families, individuals and the troops distributed food, some cooked in homes, and some from delivery shops, as well as water bottles.

9. Doctors and surgeons, elderly and young, assisted by their nurses, left their private hospitals, provided sophisticated medical equipment, medicines, bandages, etc, and set up field hospitals across the square, the biggest in the well known Omar Makram mosque (where my mother's funerary service took place, one year ago).

10. Homes surrounding the square provided the girls with the opportunity to rest a little and use their bathrooms, while shops, cafes and other establishments allowed boys to use their toilets.

11. Later on, public toilets in the square, shut by the government previously, were opened and refurbished by the participants ... the sign on it read Maqar al Hizb al Wati, a play on words by removing the noun (meaning the headquarters of the NDP).

12. Apart from those that demanded that Mubarak must leave, for the regime to fall, for the NDP to be banned, some placards, used by the demonstrators, affirmed the Egyptians' sense of humour, such as, "Mubarak, leave, my wife is in labour and the baby doesn't want to see you" ... "Mubarak, leave, I miss my wife (I've been married for 16 days)", "Mubarak, I'm a carpenter, tell me what glue you use" ... "Suzanne, if you love him, take him away" ... "Mubarak, I've been holding this sign for too long, leave, my arm is hurting" ... "America has batman and spiderman, Egypt has Soleiman"...

13. To show the regime their resilience ... their decision to remain in the square until their demands were met, and that life would go on regardless, two young fiancés had their marriage ceremony performed by a sheikh in the square ... the bride wore her wedding dress, while the crowds cheered and offered their congratulations, along with sweets and sherbet;

14. They showed their inventiveness in many ways, from setting up tents, mainly for the female participants to sleep under more comfortably, as well as to shelter under when it rained; to connecting to the street lights to charge their mobiles, or to boil water for hot drinks; to establishing a supervised nursery, with kids given toys, colour pencils and papers; water and food distribution, as well as garbage collection points (the latter also with a humorous sign saying "NDP MPs"); and more; in fact, Tahrir Square became a well-organized mini-state.

15. The male demonstrators formed a circle, holding hands, and guarded a "lost and found" display in the middle, where many, many IDs, mobile phones, even cash and other objects were exhibited;

15. Most importantly, despite Pope Shenouda's call to the Coptic community to stay away from the demonstrations, thousands of his parishioners joined, as a show of solidarity with Muslims. On 6 January, the Coptic Christmas eve, Muslims, from all walks of life, held a vigil as human shields, at churches across Egypt, following the New Year eve's massacre at a church in Alexandria (now documents have proven that it has been the work of the police, under the supervision of the former Minister of the Interior). I was deeply touched when I saw the Copts holding hands and encircling the Muslims at prayer times, to guard them, while the police, assisted by their hired thugs, used water cannons, bludgeons, machetes and swords, live and rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas canisters against them all. They also helped their Muslim brethren in the pre prayer ablutions, by pouring water for them ... and because the youngsters didn't have enough mikes for all those in the square to hear the word "Allahu Akbar" which is repeated during prayers to sync their movements when they bend and prostrate, the young Copts relayed the words to those far from the mikes, and could be seen and heard shouting "Allahu Akbar". I still get goose pimples, even while I'm writing.

16. As a final act, the demonstrators decided to clean up the square, one more time, before going home, and even gave a "bath and scrub" to the two lions at the entrance of Kasr El Nil bridge, and painted the walls and the pavement stones that had been damaged.

******

Across Egypt, when the police forces vanished, the youngsters were stationed at street intersections. Never was traffic as regulated as when they were in charge, and drivers cooperated beautifully. No driver tried to "burn" a red traffic light, something unheard of for many years.

At the same time, when garbage collectors also disappeared, housewives and twenty-somethings and teenagers swept the streets, gathered the garbage in sacks and stacked them at street corners, painted tramway stations and walls that had been damaged by anti-Mubarak graffiti. I saw one of them, Safiyah, the daughter of the late prime minister of Egypt under the monarchy, Nuqrashi Pasha, killed by the Muslim Brotherhood. In some neighbourhoods, including mine, mini trucks were hired to take the garbage to the dumps. This is continuing until now, and the streets in some areas have never been cleaner.

When the police opened the prisons, freed thieves, burglars and other criminals, abandoning their weapons before disappearing, neighborhood watches were established right away. In the evenings, fathers kept watch in front of the buildings, armed with iron pipes, wooden sticks, kitchen knives, and, in rare cases, licensed pistols or shotguns. From midnight on, the sons took over that responsibility.

In tandem, the army deployed tanks to sensitive areas. For instance, because I live about two hundred meters from the residence of the Alexandria governor and the Jewelry Museum on one side, and two presidential residences on the other, several tanks have kept my building safe. Nevertheless, male residents also spent the night guarding us.

The Swiss Federation of Banks have frozen the Mubarak assets half an hour after he resigned. Bravo. I hope that Egypt will recalibrate its relations with other countries, based on their willingness to do the same. Some of the countries named in that respect are the US, the UK, France and Brazil, and probably many others. Calls have already moved to follow the Swiss example and freeze assets, but I wonder whether it makes a difference that Mubarak's wife and son are said to be British.

As for Tahrir Square, it has been vacated by most. A score have remained. Those are the families of those assassinated in the square, asking for the perpetrators of violence and assassinations to be found, arrested and brought to justice, in addition to the families of the "disappeared" during the protests, demanding that their whereabouts be revealed and released.

Strikes are nation wide. In the past six years there were 2,500 strikes, and last year, 56 workers committed suicide.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is facing an extremely challenging task, nevertheless, their communiqués are focussed, wisely and matter of factly worded, and their actions up to now have been applauded by the people (suspension of the Constitution, dissolution of the two Chambers, prosecution of a number of senior officials and the freezing of their assets, orders to the border police to prevent former officials from travel abroad).
15.02.2011

My inbox is swollen, what with more and more people becoming keen to exchange information about the revolution (articles, YouTube new patriotic songs and poems composed in the square, slogans, photos of people in the square and elsewhere across Egypt - from Asswan to Alexandria and from Marsa Matrouh to Suez and the Sinai, etc) -- so much so that I'm swamped and overwhelmed.
16.02.2011

TV satellite programmes, with graphic photographs of some of the torture chambers in police stations, including one in Alexandria, have shown the instruments used against the population. The death under torture of a young man last Spring in my city of Alexandria actually was one of the sparks that led to the revolution. A new opposition movement was formed at the time, and became part of the core of the protest organizers. In addition, families now speak openly about what their sons suffered at the hands of the Mukhabarat, after having been muzzled by the perpetrators of those crimes, with threats of retribution. One of them is my husband's grand nephew. The young man had absolutely no political activities, but was picked up while on his way home, one night. For ten days, his mother didn't know his whereabouts, until she contacted her cousin, a close friend of Suzanne Mubarak. He was released, on condition he and his family don't ever reveal what happened to him during his detention, but the boy seemed psychologically broken.

For more on that, you could read Robert Tait's article in the Guardian on 9 February, although he only experienced a "mild" detention, much less than the more sinister crimes many of us already knew about or suspected.

*************************************************

Of course, everyone is speculating about what the future might hold. Let's hope for more of what we all had dreamt for. May God Almighty save Egypt, and may its courageous young women and men be graced with health, happiness and prosperity.

The Waging of Jihad

2011-02-14T16:10:00.001Z

The Islamic State of Jihad (ISI), in an open letter, urged Egypt's Muslims to wage jihad and establish Islamic law there. This was the first official reaction to the events in Egypt from any Al-Qaeda affiliate. Interestingly, the letter, titled "From the Islamic State of Iraq to our Muslim People in Beloved Egypt," is signed by the ISI's so-called War Ministry, its operational wing, rather than by its so-called Ministry of Communications, which usually disseminates the organization's publications.

Will the autocrats ever learn?

2011-02-14T16:08:00.000Z

Reporting of the protests in Egypt did not accurately reflect the facts on the ground (and the grassroots movement), but rather voiced the sentiments of the current regime according to liberal Egyptian playright Ali Salem. This culture of “total denial” was one of the catalysts for the protests because in the modern information age, all news is available to the public in real time and the Egyptian people were able to watch history unfold before their eyes.

The precarious nature of Egyptian politics

2011-02-14T16:05:00.000Z

Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal Jihad website recently published a fatwa by Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti, a prominent Salafi-jihadist cleric. He ruled that the recent participation in the protests in Egypt was permissible since it might bring about the fall of the current Egyptian regime. In his view not only would the fall of the Mubarak regime change the political situation in Egypt itself, but it would also cause the West to lose an important ally and signal a new era in the Arab and Islamic world.

Issues raised in Gaza

2010-12-17T00:00:00.000Z

Following a recent trip to Gaza, we post a number of issues raised with us by the Gaza Centre for Journalists. These are human rights trype issues, in effect a list of incidents impacting the freedom of the press:

16 April 2008 Fadil Shana'a, a 23 year old Reuters Cameraman, killed by a tank shell, South East Gaza City
July 2008 Sawah Abu Seif, a Palestinian cameraman with German ARD TV, was arrested at his home in Tel Al Harwa by masked security agents, presumably because he was a member of Fatah
27 December 2008 Basil Ibrahim Al Faraj, a 22 year old cameraman on assignment to Algerian TV from the Palestinian Media and Communications Company, killed by an air strike on his car
10 January 2009 Ala' Mourtaja of Al Wan Radio (a local radio station), killed by an air strike on his home in Al Zaytoun quarter
17 January 2009 Omar Silawi, an Al Aqsar TV cameraman, killed in Jeballia by an air strike
1 December 2010 Israel's Channel 10 was filming construction work in an area that was part of the former settlements. Italian TV had covered the same story but Channel 10 were asked to apply for a permit to do so. It took three days to get the permit. This was because Channel 10 is Israeli.
5 December 2010 Al Jazeera English TV's entire team including cameraman, correspondent and producer, arrested when they tried to cover a sit in at the Fatah affiliated Shariq Foundation

Government Closes Baghdad Based TV Station

2010-11-02T14:43:00.002Z

On Sunday government forces took over the Baghdad office of the Egypt-based Al-Baghdadia during their broadcast of the church raid that killed at least 52. The station has said that two of its employees were arrested and have been charged with terrorist activities.

The reason for the shutting down of the station midbroadcast is as of yet unclear but it seems to be related to the fact that one of the insurgent gunmen had contacted the station through a hotline expressing their will for negotiation.

The station has now called for a sit in and asked the international media to co operate with them and show solidarity. They believe that this act was simply a crackdown on press freedoms and the right to broadcast the will of the terrorists.

If this is the case then it is an inexcusable action as of yet though the Iraqi government has not commented.

Haaretz spins Hamas weapons story

2010-10-29T16:18:00.000Z

We get a lot of reports in Haaretz about Iranian weapons heading for Hezbollah and Hamas. However most Israeli sources tell us that Iranian weapons getting through the tunnels to Gaza are such a rarity as not to be true. The shells that get through are - universally - chinese - and are sourced through Sudan.

Haaretz knows this. So why do we get crazy intelligence agency feeds like this inj what is otherwise a credible paper:

Nigeria intercepts 13 Iran missile containers possibly destined for Gaza

Bahraini Opposition Labelled Terrorists

2010-10-15T14:41:00.000Z

In the run up to the National elections, on October 23rd, opposition activists, bloggers and Shia clerics have been arrested in what must be seen as a clampdown on freedom of speech.

Bahrain's political elite, who are almost entirely Sunni seem out of touch with their subjects, over 70% of whom are Shia. They are also extremely worried that if the elections ran freely then due to the sectarian voting tendencies of the electorate in the Middle East they could lose their grip on power, or at least see it eroded.

23 Shia Muslims were charged with terrorism, spreading false and tendentious information and forming and financing an illegal organisation aimed at stopping the state from carrying out its functions.This is a backwards step for a state which is due to hold its third round of national elections since 2002. The main cause for concern for the ruling al-Khalifa family is that, despite outrageous gerrymandering and the fact that less than a third of the 1m inhabitants can vote, the mainly shia Wefaq party may win a majority and gain control of the lower house.

Those charged are due in court on the 28th, 5 days after the polls close and if released may find that nothing has changed as a result.

International Media Awards 2011

2010-10-11T14:21:00.001Z

Nominations Now Open to the Public. Close on 30th November.

The International Media Awards 2011 will take place in April of next year and the Next Century Foundation welcomes nominations now. The International Media Awards is hosted yearly by the NCF to show our appreciation for those journalists, TV producers, Broadcasters and those in that area who have worked to improve the understanding of the issues both of and within the Middle East.

The current list of those already nominated can be found here: http://www.ncfpeace.org/drupal/node/572.

Nominations close before November 30th with shortlisting taking place on the 8th December.

Please send your nominations, and if possible a short biography of them and why you are nominating them, to NCFPeace@aol.com and we will include them in the long list as soon as possible.

Dissident Egyptian Editor Fired

2010-10-06T11:11:00.002Z

Ibrahim Eissa one of the most well known critics of the the current Egyptian administration has been sacked in what is being claimed as a crackdown on press freedom in the run up to elections in November.

Eissa was editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustur and rose to prominence internationally after being jailed in 2006 for "defaming the President" Hosni Mubarak and also again in 2008 for running a story "publishing false information and rumours" after claiming that Mubarak's health was deteriorating.

Eissa announced that he was not given an exact reason but that it came "hours after the publishers told me they didn't want me to run an article written by Mohamed ElBaradei", who is the figurehead for opposition national political reform movement and a past winner of the Nobel peace prize. Asked about his firing on Al-Jazeera TV, Eissa claimed he was told by the publishers they were terminating his contract due to government pressure.

The move comes less than a month after one of Eissa's TV shows was cancelled with the independant TV station also citing political pressure and "Cairo Today" a show that had run for 12 years and was noted for its criticism of the government was also closed on Monday.

Mubarak has not yet announced whether he will stand for a sixth term in 2011 with rumours circling that his son is being groomed to replace him. The clampdown appears to be an attempt to reduce criticism of both upcoming elections as both seem likely to be riddled with fraud.

Koran burning protests still ongoing

2010-09-13T16:40:00.000Z

Even though the pastor concerned called off the Koran burning in the USA, the news seems not to have filtered through to the people of Afghanistan, many of whom think the action went ahead, such is the poor state of the media in that country. Heaven knows the outcry that might have ensued had he actually gone ahead and done it:

2 killed in Afghan anti-Quran-burning protest

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC (AP) – 14 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan soldiers fired on demonstrators trying to storm a government building to protest against a once-planned Quran burning in the U.S., and two protesters were killed, an Afghan official said. Four were injured.
The protesters in eastern Logar province Sunday chanted "Death to America" and burned tires, attacked several shops and set election campaign posters on fire, said Mohammad Rahim Amin, chief of Logar's Baraki Barak district.

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Conspiracy theories - harmless entertainment?

2010-08-31T10:55:00.005Z

Conspiracy theories are generally considered to be far-fetched, sensationalist nonsense. They are seen as an outlet for those with unusual and some might say, crazed opinions on politics, science and dramatic world events such as the attacks of 9/11 or the environmental debate over global warming. Before the invention of the internet, such theories would have taken the form of gossip and probably only appealed to those with enquiring minds and wild imaginations, thus doing little damage and posing no threat to the opinion of society in general. The internet provides the world with the incredible ability to network, communicate and research an enormous range of topics, but is there a darker side?
With sophisticated graphics and convincing wording, anyone can create a website proposing a theory about any given subject and it is instantly available to anyone who wishes to read it. Although this is in most cases a valuable resource, it also provides fertile ground for the propogation of ridiculous opinions that lack any real evidence and have the potential to influence thousands of people. There is a rising fear that the extensive publication of such material is warping society's view of reality and convincing those who are perhaps vulnerable to such ideas that they are the truth, providing them with the authoritative opinion that they desperately seek.
There are many conspiracy theories surrounding issues in the Middle East and the reasons behind and causes of wars with the West. William Engdahl's recent theory on the agenda behind western war with the Middle East states that 'western wars are pre-planned' and contrived to carry out NATO's complete dominance of The Middle East, Russia and China by initiating various small conflicts, 'under the guise of the war on terror.' He claims that the CIA has constucted a force by recruiting Al Qaeda, creating the Taliban, providing a confrontable side for the allied forces so that they are able to carry out 'low-intensity warfare.' This, ultimately prolongs and accentuates 'the ongoing destabalisation that the West seeks.' Engdahl discusses the plans of 'resetting the culture' and 'a new government that has a Western perspective.'
It is of course wrong to directly impose western ideals on another culture, particularly through force. Intervention should only be carried out under the correct guidelines, without any hidden agenda. I think there are many who remain sceptical as to the intentions of the United States and British governments, regarding their entering Iraq and some previously questioned the existance of the elusive weapons of mass destruction.
I feel that it is right for us to form opinions and question political action and it is right that we should be allowed the freedom to express our questions appropriately. Has the freedom that we have been permitted gone a step too far? Is it right that websites full of conspiracy theories are so widely available and have the potential to attract scores of followers, forming opinion groups and provoking endless discussion?
It is quite terrifying that, through the capabilities of the internet, individuals' opinions, such as Engdahl, have the potential to hold such virtual power over the minds of others.

Broadcasting Conference Report

2010-07-10T20:39:00.000Z

Attached, after much deliberation, are the final proceedings of the NCF Mid East Broadcasting conference held at the same time as the International Media Awards under the auspices of the International Council for Press and Broadcasting

Executive Summary for The State of Broadcasting in The Middle East:

Conference Conclusions

The key difference between the established media and the blogosphere is that established media are accountable. This difference will develop as time passes because it maintains a raison d’être for the establishment as opposed to the radical internet citizen journalist. In the Middle East:

● Objective coverage Subjective reporting is not a problem peculiar to the Middle East. It is very difficult to find a truly objective channel, since all journalists operate within a cultural milieu. Fact-checking is essential in the West as well as the Middle East and whatever the source of information. What may appear to be a fair story for one group may appear intolerable to another. The job of the news editor is to try and balance the news report by, for example, the studio presenter interviewing people with differing opinions. Opinion and analysis is a separate branch of news, but the basic rules of good journalism still apply.
● While press laws are ostensibly designed to protect journalists, they can actually be used to hinder their work or even jeopardise their personal safety. This is particularly the case for local journalists who are not protected by large international media bodies.
● Political Interference is an ever greater problem. The two major satellites in the Middle East are Nilesat and Arabsat. Nilesat now carries around 540 channels. These providers are commercial businesses, which prefer not to control content, despite international pressure to stop the broadcast of extremist channels such as al-Zawra’. There is currently some discussion about creating a semi-judicial committee of satellite operators to oversee content and identify programmes inciting violence or racism. There has also been a decision in the League of Arab States under the terms of which the Arab Ministers of Information are to impose a set of ethical standards on broadcasters.
● The consequences of jamming. There is currently no cooperation between satellite companies to address the problem of signal interference. There is also no precedent on how to resolve signal interference carried out by a sovereign government. The major satellite providers should be encouraged to work together to establish similar codes of conduct and responsibility with regard to the stations they are carrying and oppose efforts by governments to limit broadcasts. As commercial enterprises, many of these companies are hesitant to sanction those few countries which jam broadcasts or otherwise attempt to prevent free transmission of programmes.
● The way forward for a freer press. An initial step in the development of this process would be the convening of an international meeting to expose the problems and advance common ground as a means of addressing them. This meeting would be held at a neutral site, so as not to prejudice its legitimacy.
● Media Credibility Index The conference recommends the creation of an audience driven Media Credibility Index. The Index would index media (in all formats) on the basis of: 1. Accuracy (with particular attention to un-sourced material) 2. Incitement 3. Balance 4. Sensitivity e.g. women’s rights, civil rights, children’s rights (the latter with regard to exposure to violent imagery) 5. Transparency (no hidden agenda)
● International Organisation. International efforts to defend journalistic freedom necessitate the creation of a new international body, an International Media Ethics Institute which would become a point of reference and research into media ethics and journalistic freedom. Member states of the United Nations would be encouraged to adopt measures to protect journalistic freedom, and in some instances to protect journalists physically. These might include offering asylum to journalists in their embassies.
● The Individual Broadcaster - Ensuring ethics in journalism are not compromised Disinformation and xenophobia are both worldwide phenomena hindering progress in broadcasting. An effective media ethics code is one way to tackle this problem. The workshop suggested the following elements should form part of such a code: 1. Write the facts as you see them 2. A story without a source is a source of trouble 3. A source is not a source when the story is based on rumour 4. When in doubt, cut it out 5. Prejudge no one 6. Be objective 7. Divorce comment from news and label it as such 8. Commentators are not exempt from the duty to be accurate 9. Never incite racial or religious division 10. Enlighten, lest we fail to understand one another
● Desensitisation Controversy over the desensitisation of children to sex and violence is not new. However, some satellite television channels in the Middle East repeatedly broadcast graphic real-life violence as a form of propaganda. A causal link between real life violence and repeated viewing of television violence has never been statistically proved
● Terrorist exploitation Satellite television can have the effect of exaggerating the reach of even a minor terrorist group, enabling it to spread its message to a much larger audience than previously possible. Following the December 2009 failed Detroit bombing, for instance, Internet footage from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was widely used by broadcast news networks, inadvertently dramatically exaggerated the group’s strength in the region.

The State of Broadcasting in the Middle East

The main objective of this conference, which was held to mark the first twenty years of Arab satellite television, was to draw together experts from the field of Middle East broadcasting in order to gain insights into the challenges and key trends in broadcasting in the region. The one-day conference was followed by a second day of workshops which tackled themes of objectivity, political interference, technical interference and disinformation. These were identified prior to the conference as the key areas of concern for those operating in this sphere.

Part 1: Summary of Conference proceedings

Session One Middle East Satellite Television: Objective coverage or media myopia? Chair William Morris Next Century Foundation. Panel: Jim Muir - BBC, Beirut Falah Al Thabhi, Al Hurra TV Iraq Jeena Al Ammo – Oman TV, formerly Al Hurra Ben Wedeman CNN

Session Two Political Interference - censorship, intimidation and assassination Chair Robin Williamson - International Communications Forum. Panel: Bahielden HZ Elibrachy – Ibrachy & Dermarkar, Cairo. Soran Aziz APTN (Alirqiya TV). Itai Anghel – Channel 2 Jihad Ali Ballout, Communications Manager, BBC Arabic

Session Three The consequences of jamming and of the deportation of journalists Chair Louisa Brooke - Senior World Affairs Analyst, the BBC. Panel: Salah Hamza – Chief Technical Officer, Nilesat. Adel Darwish – Broadcaster

Session Four Ethics of Broadcasting – the impact of xenophobia and disinformation
Chair Russell Twisk – Editor at Large, The Reader’s Digest. Panel: Maysa Baransi-siniora and Mossi Raz - Peace Radio Israel Abdalrahman Dheyab Abdullah- Al Sharqiyah Issam Abdullah – formerly MBC and BBC Arabic

• Session One: Middle East Satellite Television: Objective coverage or media myopia?

The main point emphasised by speakers in this session was that subjective reporting is not a problem peculiar to the Middle East and that it is very difficult to find a truly objective channel, since all journalists operate within a cultural milieu. If this is born in mind when viewing or using the raw data provided by media outlets in the Middle East then they will operate as crucial sources of information and primary data. Speakers agreed fact-checking is essential in the West as well as the Middle East and whatever the source of information.

There are also a number of other pressures that impact on the objectivity of any channel. These include commercial interests and political or ideological agendas. Funding is one way of influencing media. Falah al-Thabhi of Al Hurra said Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria use money to influence media in Iraq and thereby sway public opinion, He contrasted this with his own US government-funded station and said he had not encountered official pressure to conform to any specific agenda. Al-Thabhi highlighted further difficulties. Even while he felt no ideological or political pressure, he experienced suspicion among Iraqis of collaboration with foreign-linked media. This was the primary reason why the channel has been unable to give more comprehensive coverage of Iraqi Sunni issues. Before 2007, it was hard to make contact with Sunni figures and some of those who did appear on the channel were later assassinated. The Iraq case illustrates the challenge of maintaining objectivity and giving a platform to all sides in the midst of violent conflict. It also illustrates the personal risk taken by journalists in trying to ensure this objective coverage.

A further point raised was that while press laws are ostensibly designed to protect journalists, they can actually be used to hinder their work or even jeopardise their personal safety. In cases such as the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, the press laws tend to restrict rather than protect. In Egypt, the position of journalists is further undermined by the ongoing use of emergency laws. Ben Wedeman of CNN said that Egypt’s press laws are clearly severe, there is a tendency to use the wide-ranging powers accorded the police and government by the emergency laws to intimidate and legitimise intimidation, physical bullying and fining of journalists. This creates a climate of fear from which emerges a culture of self-censorship that hinders objective and honest reporting. This is particularly the case for local journalists who are not protected by large international media bodies.

• Session Two: Political Interference – censorship, intimidation and assassination

The first session identified the two main problems in objective broadcasting as foreign interference and censorship/intimidation. This was developed in the second session which addressed the degree to which the work of journalists is at risk of censorship and the journalists themselves are often the direct target of violence. Examples were given of the deliberate targeting of journalists in Serbia and Iraq. Beyond personal safety, the lack of freedom of speech and the tendency for television channels and newspapers to be owned or aligned to political blocs means that media are often used to influence the public rather than to simply inform.

Speakers identified a major new form of censorship - direct interference with satellite broadcasts though jamming. There has been massive growth in the number of satellite channels and there is increasing recognition of the potential of such channels, in combination with the spread of Internet technology, to reach more people. One result is the at least partial loss of government monopolies over media. A further result is the large number of extremist channels now being broadcast. The two major satellites in the Middle East are Nilesat and Arabsat. Nilesat now carries around 540 channels. These providers are commercial businesses, which prefer not to control content, despite international pressure to stop the broadcast of extremist channels such as al-Zawra’.

However, it has become increasingly clear that it is in their interest to adapt to new rules to maintain their profitability. Both regional and western governments are now pressuring satellite companies to play a role in controlling content. In the past standards of regulation have been weak and there is currently some discussion about creating a semi-judicial committee of satellite operators to oversee content and identify programmes inciting violence or racism. There has also been a decision in the League of Arab States under the terms of which the Arab Ministers of Information are to impose a set of ethical standards on broadcasters.

Despite these challenges, speakers argued that satellite television has had an impact on the social/cultural taboos that contribute to self-censorship and has challenged some political red lines. In some respects it has also had a negative impact - encouraging a quantity of channels of dubious quality, each of which is owned by someone who often has an agenda and is also concerned with being commercially successful. This pressure encourages channels to appeal to popular discourse. In Israel, there is a chauvinistic tendency among a portion of the media that runs counter to efforts for achieving a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

• Session Three: The consequences of jamming and of the deportation of journalists

Speakers in this session highlighted the need to tackle jamming of satellite channels if broadcasters are to overcome political interference. Salah Hamza of Nilesat pointed out that a signal cannot be blocked, but can be distorted by overlaying it with a signal at the same frequency. This means it is impossible to distort an individual channel, but only the signal of a whole bouquet of channels. So when BBC Persian was targeted on Eutelsat, fourteen channels in total were affected. One hour after BBC Persian was taken off air, the interference stopped. There is currently no cooperation between satellite companies to address the problem of signal interference. There is also no precedent on how to resolve signal interference carried out by a sovereign government. There are commercial reasons why a satellite provider would not want to prosecute a government and furthermore a government cannot be sued except in its national courts, Hamza pointed out. There is some pressure for satellite providers to boycott channels but generally there is reluctance on the part of the providers to act as a political entity.

On the question of the deportation of journalists, Adel Darwish noted that governments will often deport foreign journalists or correspondents, but also use subtler methods: not renewing visas; refusal to grant visas in the first place; or granting visas deliberately too late to allow a specific news even to be covered.

• Session Four: Ethics of Broadcasting – the impact of xenophobia and disinformation

The main focus of this session was the hindering effect of disinformation and xenophobia on achieving an Israeli Palestinian peace settlement. Maysa Baransi-siniora and Mossi Raz established the joint Israeli-Arab station “All For Peace Radio”. The channel, funded mainly by America, Germany and the Netherlands, currently has tens of thousands of listeners online. However, the impact is hard to measure. A decision was taken to split the frequencies – one for Arabic and one for Hebrew – and to tailor content to both sides.

Abdalrahman Dheyab, correspondent for the pan-Arab station Al Sharqiyah, also stood as a candidate in this year’s parliamentary elections in Iraq. He argues that since 2003, the new media system in Iraq often has made journalists victims and the media is being exploited for political reasons. Its prime objective is not to serve people but to influence them, he said.

Part 2: Outcomes of the Workshops
1. Government and Broadcasting: The way forward for a freer press. Led by Hon. Mark Hambley - Former Ambassador to Lebanon former US Spokesman for the Middle East: How do broadcasters respond to censorship, jamming, intimidation and deportation?

2. Broadcasting Organisations in a safer world: Mechanisms to foster balanced press coverage. Led by Adel Darwish - Broadcaster: How do broadcasting organisations maintain integrity around disinformation and political bias?

3. The Individual Broadcaster: Ensuring ethics in journalism are not compromised. Led by William Morris - The Next Century Foundation: How do broadcasting organisations reinforce peace and not hatred?

4. The Mission of Satellite Television: Governments have been challenged by satellite TV. Is that its purpose or is the BBC approach of attacking social taboos more pertinent? Led by David Powell – Deputy Head of the Media Outreach Center, US State Department

• Session One: Government and Broadcasting: The way forward for a freer press
The working group concluded that process to increase media freedom in the Middle East would be served by using an institutional model to promote journalistic freedom and integrity and to enshrine universally accepted principles concerning the safety and ability of the media to report freely, whilst undermining hostile state intervention in the media. An initial step in the development of this process would be the convening of an international meeting to expose the problems and advance common ground as a means of addressing them. This meeting would be held at a neutral site, such as the Initiatives of Change in Switzerland, so as not to prejudice its legitimacy in the eyes of foreign governments. The meeting or conference would then operate on the Davos model , and would include a wide-ranging variety of stakeholders:

• Columnists, journalists and other media practitioners, including bloggers, Internet news agencies, and other non-orthodox elements
• Commercial media groups
• Satellite broadcasters
• Print media
• Representatives of government,
• Representatives of civil society
• Technical experts

Improving the Media Environment

An improvement in the media environment in the Middle East would be facilitated by a concerted international effort, perhaps using the aforementioned conference or international meeting as a starting point, to combat the most overt form of negative state interference with the media. Such behaviour consists of, but is not limited to:

• Assassination
• Jamming
• Harassment and Intimidation
• Deportation

Media Credibility Index

One outcome of the conference would be the creation of a Media Credibility Index. The Index would index media (in all formats) on the basis of:

• Transparency
• Resourcefulness
• Ethical Code
• Accuracy of facts

A media credibility index would act as incentive for national governments to uphold journalistic freedom through both reward and censure. The process of censure and reward would impact upon the international standing of Middle Eastern countries, as most Middle Eastern countries do seek to develop and encourage a positive reputation within the broader international community.

International Organisation

International efforts to defend journalistic freedom within an officiated framework might necessitate the creation of a new international body, possible working under the auspices of the United Nations. One idea put forward was the creation of an International Media Ethics Institute which would become a point of reference and research into media ethics and journalistic freedom. Such a body would be able to compile a Media Creditability Index and act as bridge between non-governmental civil society and international government.

The International Media Ethics Institute would also produce research papers and engage members in sector-specific initiatives. The International Media Ethics Institute would also hold periodic (most likely annual) conferences covering media issues. The output of these conferences would be disseminated and live-streamed through satellite television the internet and social media.

By making maximum use of new media for propagation of conference output, the findings, conclusions and reports of the conference would further evade governmental censorship. Furthermore, if senior governmental figures from around the world were to attend such a conference, it would become increasingly difficult for individual governments to justify its censorship.
Member states of the United Nations would be encouraged to adopt measures to protect journalistic freedom, and in some instances to protect journalists physically. These might include offering asylum to journalists in their embassies.

In addition, governments should be encouraged to implement laws, rules and regulations concerning press freedoms and the sanctity of journalism as a profession. Many Middle Eastern governments, for example, have ample laws on the books which address these issues but which have not been brought into force.

Similarly, the major satellite providers should be encouraged to work together to establish similar codes of conduct and responsibility with regard to the stations they are carrying and oppose efforts by governments to limit broadcasts. As commercial enterprises, many of these companies are hesitant to sanction those few countries which jam broadcasts or otherwise attempt to prevent free transmission of programmes.

• Session Two: Broadcasting Organisations in a Safer World – Mechanisms to foster Balanced Press Coverage

This working group debated the question of whether news can ever be neutral or balanced? They concluded it is possible for news treatment to be neutral, but it cannot be guaranteed to be balanced, because everyone always has a “side” to take.

TV/ Radio:

Whilst it is preferable to make each news item balanced, this goal is often unrealistic and laden with many inherent difficulties: What may appear to be a fair story for one group may appear intolerable to another. The job of the news editor is to try and balance the news report by, for example, the studio presenter interviewing people with differing opinions on the subject in a report. Opinion and analysis is a separate branch of news, but the basic rules of good journalism still apply.

Training of Journalists:

A fund should be created to invest in the training of journalists. A committee should be established to ensure that this fund is administered correctly. In the UK, the fund would be administered by the journalists unions, NGO’s and other similar organisations. Some of the BBC licence fee could be apportioned to this fund. There could also be a membership fee for the fund. The fund would also enable journalists to conduct research.

The training of the journalists will be undertaken by a separate committee established under the umbrella of the fund. The journalists will be trained by experienced members of the International Media Council, the British media and NGO’s. Journalists should be brought over from the Arab world and trained in the UK for about one year. Apprenticeships should be set up to train foreign-based journalists and those within the UK,

• Session Three: The Individual Broadcaster - Ensuring ethics in journalism are not compromised

Disinformation and xenophobia are both worldwide phenomena hindering progress in broadcasting. An effective media ethics code is one way to tackle this problem. The workshop suggested the following elements should form part of such a code:

The Media Ethics Code:

1. Write the facts as you see them
2. A story without a source is a source of trouble
3. A source is not a source when the story is based on rumour
4. When in doubt, cut it out
5. Prejudge no one
6. Be objective
7. Divorce comment from news and label it as such
8. Commentators are not exempt from the duty to be accurate
9. Never incite racial or religious division
10. Enlighten, lest we fail to understand one another

It was strongly felt that an audience-driven Media Credibility Index might facilitate the development and implementation of such a code. Two indices were discussed as possible ways to facilitate this end.

The Media Credibility Index - Criteria:

1. Accuracy (with particular attention to un-sourced material)
2. Incitement
3. Balance
4. Sensitivity e.g. women’s rights, civil rights, children’s rights (the latter with regard to exposure to violent imagery)
5. Transparency (no hidden agenda)

The Iraqis in the group felt that a Media Credibility Index was of little value without a corresponding Media Freedom Index which focuses on the working environment. This should not be merely censorship focussed like that attempted by Freedom House, nor should it be merely press freedom focussed like that initiated by Journalists without Borders. This should be journalist driven. Thus:

The Press Intimidation Index - Criteria:

1. Assassination and violence
2. Legal repression
3. Denial (or delay) of visa rights
4. Loss of job (closure of bureau)
5. Denial of access to sources of Information

An independent, international body was suggested to take these ideas forward. Existing structures could implement it. Governments should be solicited to come on board in tangible ways (e.g. by agreeing to grant asylum in their embassies to journalists who become severely persecuted and whose lives may be in danger).

• Session Four: The Mission of Satellite Television - Governments have been challenged by satellite TV. Is that its purpose or is the BBC approach of attacking social taboos more pertinent?

This working group discussed the problem that many television channels in the Middle East exist only to further the political agenda of certain governments, groupings (religious, ethnic or political) or powerful individuals. These channels may propagate views from across the political spectrum. However, as the basic function of these channels is agitation and propaganda, the news content is often marred by disinformation, incitement and lack of balance.

Private enterprise

The group also identified the problem that private, profit-driven satellite television networks which have no national public service remit lack original content. The reason is that Western television programmes, often with much higher production values, can be licensed by a regional satellite broadcaster at a much lower cost than creating original content locally.

Furthermore, locally-produced content will either be made cheaply or be based on easy-to-export Western formulae, The “X Factor” format, for example, stimulated other pan-regional Arab talent shows. But local cultural development on television may be hindered by this lack of original programming. For the time being, local content is still predominantly produced by the established terrestrial TV stations.

Effects of foreign TV

The working group discussed the effect of satellite television in exposing the Middle East to Western culture and lifestyles, often in exaggerated or distorted forms. This cultural disparity between the domestic social order and imported western culture can cause frustration in certain segments of society. It can also give a warped view of Western culture, for instance leading many in the Middle East to consider Western women to have loose morals because of the way they are depicted.

Debate and Education

Exploration of social issues on satellite television has sparked more public debate in Middle Eastern countries of issues such as terrorism, female emancipation and religious freedom. Satellite television also has the capacity to educate: unbiased news coverage can educate the general public constructively, and socially-aware soap operas can educate the public about social issues in a less overt way. This means of debate can educate the young on subjects they are unable to discuss in the traditional family environment. However, the educational value of television stations dedicated to agitation and propaganda can be extremely detrimental to social development.

Desensitisation

Controversy over the desensitisation of children to sex and violence is not new. In fact, Plato proposed the banning of poets from the ideal republic, due to their ability to corrupt young minds. However, it is certain that television, particularly in multi channel format, can broadcast disturbing imagery at a vastly inflated volume and to ever expanding global audiences.
Some satellite television channels in the Middle East will repeatedly broadcast graphic real-life violence as a form of propaganda, incitement of value reinforcement, for example the broadcast of victims of Israeli aggression on the Hamas-controlled Al Aqsa TV. A causal link between real life violence and repeated viewing of television violence has never been statistically proved. But the working group discussed the use of such violence as a means of incitement, perhaps in conjunction with parental and societal influences.

Terrorist exploitation

Satellite television can have the effect of exaggerating the reach of even a minor terrorist group, enabling it to spread its message to a much larger audience than previously possible. Following the December 2009 failed Detroit bombing, for instance, Internet footage from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was widely used by broadcast news networks, inadvertently dramatically exaggerated the group’s strength in the region.

The Future for Middle Eastern Satellite television

The working group concluded that satellite television in the Middle East will likely continue to develop its local and pan-regional platforms. These two are not mutually exclusive and do not necessarily compete for the same broadcast space. Another likely variant to Middle Eastern broadcasting will be the growth in international partnerships between local and global communications providers such as BBC World or News International (which has not had significant market penetration in the region as yet)

Multi-platform broadcasting

In the future Middle Eastern broadcasting is likely to follow the pattern that has been set by Western media outlets in diversifying their output onto the Internet, digital radio, mobile phone and other forms of new media. Multi-platform broadcasting is likely the increase loyalty towards particular networks as consumers are likely to become attached to particular online formats. Both Al Jazeera and BBC Arabic now have substantial online presences and loyal consumer bases. Multiplatform news consumption has the effect of increasing the number of times content is accessed, but dramatically decreasing each individual viewing as consumers tailor and customise their media viewing to their own habits.

The growth in multi-platform broadcasting will force the advertising industry in the Middle East to adapt and possibly force the pan-regional satellite broadcasters into the ownership of individual wealthy investors. This will take place as the advertising industry in the Middle East adapts to the general state of uncertainty in which it finds itself during the transfer period form old to new media.

Humour and Satire

The satire and humour in Middle Eastern societies is notably absent from the air waves. The working group concluded that after many decades of authoritarianism, broadcasters are reluctant to engage to risk censure by satirical programming. Even when Middle Eastern stations are not subject to strict censorship or controls, the staff are still reluctant to engage in mockery of public figures and political humour.

This state of affairs is gradually changing, however, as the group heard. Palestine TV has introduced a satirical programme, which has become very popular. Kuwait’s recent banning of a political comedy programme, however, illustrates the long way to go before authoritarian culture allows space for satire.

Inward or outward looking?

Many in the region believe modern media will make the population more open to the outside world, since modern media works together with the process of globalisation. But the group concluded that the question of whether it will make the Middle East more outward looking or more insular is still open.

Iran is Jamming

2010-05-29T21:57:00.003Z

The Iranians are actually boasting about jamming satellite broadcasting. Really pathetic

View Item here

International Media Awards 2010

2010-05-11T13:22:00.005Z

The International Council for Press and Broadcasting Sixth International Media Awards

The International Media Awards ceremony was held at a gala night in central London on Saturday 8^th of May. Western, Israeli and Arab journalists from across the Middle East gathered for the 6^th International Media Awards.

The International Media Award winners for 2010:

Outstanding Contribution to Peace Award

MOSSI RAZ & MAYSA SINIORA joint Israeli and Palestinian winners for All For Peace Radio, a joint Israeli-Arab radio station.

The Peace through Media Award

IAN BLACK Middle East Editor of the Guardian

SAMIA NAKHOUL is the Reuters Middle East Editor

AKIVA ELDAR is the Chief Political Columnist for Haaretz

PATRICK COCKBURN, Foreign Correspondent Independent and contributor to London Review of Books

Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award

BEN WEDEMAN is CNN’s Senior International Correspondent based in Cairo.

The Cutting Edge Award:

ITAI ANGHEL is a senior correspondent for the weekly current affairs program “UVDA” on Israel’s Channel 2 television

MOEEN AL HILOU is currently Gaza Producer for Israel's Channel 10 TV, as well as being a director for the Hebrew News Department at Palestine TV

The Breakaway Award:

RANJ ALAALDIN is a Middle East political and security risk analyst based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He writes for the Guardian columnist and numerous other print and online publications.

Outstanding Contribution to New Media (The Bloggers’ Award)

BENNY ZIFFER has been the literary editor of Haaretz since 1987. More recently his blogs “Lo BeBeit Sifrenu” and “Dressed to Provoke” have risen to prominence in the Hebrew blogosphere.

MBI Lifetime Achievement Award

JIM MUIR is BBC Middle East Correspondent. Having begun his involvement with the region in Beirut in 1975, he is now based there again, focusing on issues both within Lebanon (particularly Hezbollah) and in the wider Middle East, traveling regularly to cover Iraq.

The Annual International Media Awards were established in 2005 and are one of the projects run by the Next Century Foundation. The awards celebrate the work of journalists covering the Middle East, whose high standards of analysis and reporting have helped break down barriers and promote better understanding of the people and politics of the region. The awards also recognise the skill, courage and determination of individual journalists when reporting from areas of conflict or political repression. The Awards honour and encourage journalists who have advanced our understanding of the Middle East through their outstanding journalism.

Speaking on behalf of the International Council for Press and Broadcasting, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, the Patron of the International Media Awards said “It is a great pleasure to be able to sponsor these Awards”.

Ms Dalia Salaam of the Next Century Foundation, convener of the awards along with Lord Stone of Blackheath, stated, “We are all ourselves honored to be able to honour these outstanding journalists on this special occasion.”

Lord Stone of Blackheath told reporters, “The Media Awards are awarded to journalists and broadcasters who, through the consistently high standard of their work, promote better understanding of the people and politics of the Middle East. All those journalists honoured are worthy recipients.”

Ambassador Mark Hambley said, “These awards demonstrate anew the positive role which media, in all its varied forms, is playing to increase understaning and reduce conflict in the Middle East. The award winners are to be congratulated for their persistence and courage, often under fire.”

Broadcasting Conference on 8/9th May 2010

2010-04-21T10:23:00.001Z

The State of Broadcasting in the Middle East

A conference organised by the International Council for Press and Broadcasting to provide an overview of the current status of Middle East broadcasting. This is a two day conference on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th of May organised with the support of the US State Department.

The conference will be held at Initiatives of Change, 24 Greencoat Place, London, SW1P 1RD. Tel: 020 7798 6000
Saturday 8th May 2010.

9:15 Registration

9:45 Opening Remarks Katherine Van de Vate - Director, Media Outreach, US Government

10:00 Session One Middle East Satellite Television: Objective coverage or media myopia?

Chaired by: William Morris- Secretary General, Next Century Foundation

Panel: Jim Muir - BBC, Senior Correspondent, Beirut.

Zaki Chehab – LBC Satellite TV Correspondent

Adel Zanoon - AFP, Anglo-France Press

Adnan Abu-Hasna – Voice Radio project, Gaza

11:15 Coffee Break

11:30 Session Two Challenges to Middle East Broadcasting: Political Interference - The impact of censorship, intimidation and assassination

Chaired by: Robin Williamson - International Communications Forum

Panel: Abdalrahman Dheyab Abdullah- Al Sharqiyah TV

Soran Aziz - Presenter, Producer and Broadcast Journalist

APTN Correspondent (Alirqiya TV)

Moeen al Hilou, - Producer, Channel 10 TV, Gaza

Itai Anghel – Senior Correspondent, Channel 2 Israel

1:00 LUNCH

2:00 Session Three Challenges to Middle East Broadcasting: Technical Interference - the consequences of jamming and of the deportation of journalists

Chaired by: Louisa Brooke - Senior World Affairs Analyst, the BBC

Panel: Adel Darwish - Broadcaster and Newspaper columnist, former producer MBC TV

Ribal Al Assad - Chairman of ANN Satellite Television

Issam Abdullah - Broadcaster, former presenter LBC

3:00 Tea Break

3:15 Session Four Ethics of Broadcasting – the impact of xenophobia and disinformation
Chaired by: Alan Mendoza – Director, The Henry Jackson Society (tbc)

Panel: Shahdi Al Khashif - Senior BBC Broadcast correspondent, Gaza

Maysa Baransi-siniora - Peace radio (Palestine)

Mossi Raz - Peace Radio (Israel)

5.00 Day One Concludes

DAY TWO

Sunday 9th May – What Can be achieved? A series of policy working groups organised in cooperation with Innovation Arts

Working Discussion Groups 11.00 am - 4.00 pm (working lunch 1pm)

The DesignSession - the workshop with a difference - draws out the collective intellect and creative capabilities of participants to explore concrete opportunities for addressing the challenges that will have been raised on the previous day.

A results-driven collaborative experience, stakeholders come together in to share and develop:

• Original thinking and insights

• New tools, frameworks and models

• Innovative solutions and action plans

The process is interactive and encourages new thinking, the exchange of best practices and collaboration. We'll create an informal, creative atmosphere to allow you as participants, the main actors in the session, to work together as peers. A Facilitator manages the flow of the session, drawing out participation and collaboration and Discussion Leaders may be assigned to breakout groups, guiding participants through the team exercises. They encourage participation and share experiences, but do not give formal presentations.

The areas of focus for our DesignSession are the following:

Government and Broadcasting:

The way forward for a freer press led by Hon. Mark Hambly - Former Ambassador to Qatar and Lebanon former US Spokesman for the Middle East

How do broadcasting organisations respond to censorship, jamming, intimidation and deportation?
Broadcasting Organisations in a safer world: Mechanisms to foster balanced press coverage led by Adel Darwish - Broadcaster and Newspaper columnist, former producer MBC TV

How do broadcasting organisations maintain integrity around disinformation and political bias?

The Individual Broadcaster: Ensuring ethics in journalism are not compromised led by William Morris- Secretary General, The Next Century Foundation and Chairman of the International Council for Press and Broadcasting

How do broadcasting organisations reinforce peace and not hatred

For more information on this session, go here: http://www.thevalueweb.org

For media files, go here: http://www.thevalueweb.org/?page_id=770

Jerusalem Post's bad behaviour

2010-02-07T22:31:00.003Z

An extraordinary story sent to us by our Board member June Jacobs. It seems that an obscure right wing group is targeting the New Israel Fund because it has dared to speak on the Gaza War issue, AND AS A RESULT Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz has caved in to pressure and sacked (by e-mail - presumably too frightened to face her) Naomi Chazan who writes a column for him and also happens to chair the New Israel Fund >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Issues Raised by Journalists: Israel deports journalist

2010-01-13T16:12:00.000Z

Soraya raises the issue of the deportation of a news editor from Israel which raises major questions about press freedom:

Issues Raised by Journalists: Israel deports journalist

Complaints about Iran

2009-12-29T14:04:00.002Z

The Cyberdissidents organisation is a neo-con propoganda front for the US extreme right wing. Still, the following was sent round by their boss, David Keyes, and is valid, sadly, not that it tells any of us anything we don't already know, sadly:

On Nov. 18, two Iranian Internet activists, Ali Behzadian Nejad and Omid Lavassani, were sentenced to six years in prison. Their crimes? Mr. Lavassani had the audacity to design a Web site for the leading opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mr. Nejad is being jailed for "published comments" written by others on his blog, and "propaganda against the system."Iranian laws about the Web are purposely kept vague. Ahmed Batebi, the dissident who recently escaped Tehran after eight years in prison, told me that "The regime can arrest people and bloggers for any reason precisely because the laws are not clear." >>>

Openness first Normalization last

2009-12-01T00:10:00.005Z

Linda Menhuin sent us this. The title is her own: Openness first Normalization last

Two months ago I and my sister were delighted to receive a wedding invitation from an Iraqi family living in Amman, Jordan. We were privileged to have known the groom’s grandfather, who spent his law internship with my father, back in the Forties in Baghdad. Eventually he earned fame as an audacious lawyer in Iraq and abroad. Once, bumping into him in London a couple of years ago, I had approached him to seek help unearthing any clues about my missing father - kidnapped during Ahmed Hassan Al Baker’s time, and of whom we have heard nothing since.
Both of us have now become refugees, dispossessed from the country we once called home…but like the Arab poet Imru’e Alqais said, “Alas neighbor, we are both strangers here yet we are as kith and kin."
My younger sister and I embraced the invitation wholeheartedly. The visit to Amman lasted for two days only, yet for me it was the journey of my life. This rare opportunity enabled us to re- connect with our fellow countrymen, something which had proved to be out-of-bounds for almost forty years. They too have had to flee from the persecutions, the wars and the troubled situation in Iraq to embark on a better future. The openness with which they treated us looked so natural. We understood each other as only refugees can, and the frank discussions and the wide-ranging debate even reached out to include the Iraqi Jewish community’s numerous contributions to modern Iraq. In no time we joined the joyful crowd in Arabic popular dance. We could not take our eyes off the columns of men dancing to the Kurdish tunes of the Choppi, the national Kurdish dance. We could not help but let out intermittent sighs for what used to be part of our heritage.

The next day we were taken to Amman’s modern shopping centre. We stood mesmerized in front of the Iraqi goldsmith’s window, admiring the far-fetched enamel designs. We immediately engaged in a lively conversation, sharing with him happy memories of the country, while contrasting it with the present situation; we found ourselves shedding tears over the tragedy of it all. Then we discussed together some of the opportunities for economic cooperation that could be developed between the countries of the region; a better income, long-term prosperity, both so very vital to the livelihoods of our friends and relatives from both camps. How can this encounter be framed? In terms of normalization, openness or re-connecting, while bearing in mind that our interlocutors were well aware of our Iraqi origin and Israeli nationality.

Normalization, according to strong voices in the Arab world, is a prize that Israel is not entitled to: its “bad behavior” towards the Palestinians requires boycotting. Yet this approach has not yielded any positive outcome for Arab interests.

Israel has forged ahead in all directions to establish its presence as a leader in technology internationally, in spite of the Arab boycott. In the eyes of the majority in Israel, normalization with the Arab world is worthy compensation for the suffering from enmity we endured in the last 50 years. Most notably we, Jews from Arab countries, have paid a high price not many are aware of, because of the social and cultural deprivations we have had to endure. Indeed even now there are communities of Jewish refugees who fled in the late Forties and early Fifties from Arab countries, still living in the far-flung development towns, suffering from lack of access to Israel’s economical, cultural and political hub.
The real meaning of normalization: the abundant published material in Hebrew and Arabic reveals an enormous gap between how each party conceives normalization. From the Arab point of view, normalization will engender Israeli total dominance over the region’s culture and economy, thus threatening Arabic stability and continuity. In addition, the concept of normalization as a whole arouses concern and fear, partly from the loss of the common enemy, Israel - substantial glue behind Arab solidarity. Normalization was always conditional on time and circumstances. At one time Israel is required first to withdraw from Lebanon ….at others, it must evacuate all the territories it has annexed, and so on.
On the Israeli side, normalization is the logical step to follow recognition by the Arabs, entailing an exchange of visits as well as dismantling any trade obstacles in the face of economic cooperation. In practice, Arab countries are expected not to add to obstacles aiming to derail opportunities of cooperation with Israel in order to boost the Arabic economy, thus leaving economic initiatives to the private sector that will engender higher employment and eventually improve the standard of living. This approach will bring about tangible results on the ground. Accordingly, it is better to focus on openness rather normalization as a whole, which seems frightening from the Arab perspective.
Global economic openness: Glasnost in the former Soviet Union in 1989 was applied before any process of political reconciliation was put in motion. The reason was a drastic need to shore up the collapsing Soviet economy at the time. In contrast, political openness is more complicated and requires more time, tolerance and a forgiving mindset. Even China underwent major pain to give birth to economic openness while trying to ignore the need to introduce democracy and political openness. Since then, though, she has taken vital steps that define her as an economic giant in the global arena.
The rules of the economic game have changed during the last two decades: America has ceded its leading economic place to growing nations like India and Indonesia. To maintain effective cost margins, big organizations are willing to travel long distances in search of cheaper labor. The distance between Israel and the countries in the region is indeed an asset because it is minimal. Israel possesses ample trading and marketing savvy in a variety of fields. When combined with development of Arabic labor and skills, these can form an unbeatable package capable of winning entirely new markets never before contemplated. It is a fallacy that Israel will inundate the Arabic markets: its produce is far too expensive to sell in the region. Therefore the international markets are the only outlets.
There is no reason to roam uselessly in the labyrinth of what is called Israel’s economic dominance. Just like other growing nations, the Arabs stand to gain from the far-reaching changes which have swept across the world’s economic focus and which are set to open new horizons for all –as explained by Farid Zakaria, author of bestseller The Post-American World.
Openness before normalization: Economic peace will allow the Israeli man in the street to be introduced to indigenous Arabic language and culture. Physical encounters between Arabs and Israelis will emerge, rather than meeting virtually via media such as the Internet, if they do at all. Direct conversations, hearing the truth on each side, will open up new vistas for both sides, influencing each other’s opinions.
A “people to people” roadmap will entail positive and frank discussions based on goodwill. Cordial relations will make inroads from a more established Arabic civilization into a still nascent Israeli society open to different foreign cultures. Since reconciliation is based on truth, it is also very important for the Arabs to realize that Jews from Arab countries - in parallel with the Palestinians - have left behind vast amounts of property (estimated to be equivalent to four times the area of Israel). This is according to a survey made by Maurice Romano - as well as frozen portable and non portable assets estimated at $80 billion, losses that constitute far more than the amount left by the Palestinians. The price that Jewish refugees from Arab countries have paid has been cut off from the narrative of Arab-Israeli conflict.
To conclude: There is no doubt that we need to generate an atmosphere of goodwill to clear the air and encourage people to start talking! And even though an agenda for political recognition cannot be on the cards yet, we don’t need to aim so high: willingness to open up, awareness of each other’s needs - these should be enough initially to promote the process of opening up. It creates greater optimism on the horizon. It also gives us, the people in this region, a far better future to look forward to.

This article by Linda Menuhin (nee Abdel Aziz) first appeared in Elaph in Arabic on 26 October 2009. Linda is an active member of Israel civil society, a member of the board http://www.forum-smart-middle-east.org.il/ and a founding member of Israel-Syria peace society.

The impact of indoctrination on young children

2009-11-18T11:28:00.000Z

The Cult of Martyrdom: Consequences for the possibility of peace

The value of a child’s life has become subordinate to the aspirations of militant Islam. Palestinian children and teenagers are directly involved in terror attacks, especially suicide bombings. But how has the celebration of violence against Israelis become so deeply ingrained in Palestinian culture?

School textbooks and websites are used with its powerful use of visual images and interactive nature, to glorify martyrdom and to convince Palestinian children to engage in life-threatening behaviour. The objective of this material is to manipulate children’s minds and emotions by frequently broadcasting images of blood and dead children.

One such website, www.al-fateh .net, an alleged Hamas movement web magazine for children and youth exemplifies the pervasive indoctrination of the younger generation into the cult of martyrdom. The Jewish people and the State of Israel are delegitimized, with the portrayal of Jews as enemies of mankind and killers of prophets. The concern is that a de facto government is using its position of authority to promote incitement and arguably giving a sense of legitimacy to the material in question.

Whilst the web and reading material has a prominent role in the indoctrination process two other factors need to be considered. The inextricable link between the belief that martyrdom is rewarded by an afterlife of eternal bliss and the financial reward given to families of suicide bombers further glorifies the violence.

On the roadmap to peace, the culture of martyrdom and its pervasiveness in the lives of Palestinian children must be addressed. There must be a re-education of the value of life over death. Young minds are highly impressionable and it is in the best interests of both Israelis and Palestinians to ensure that children are not exposed to such provocative and manipulative material.

Influencing children through a children's magazine- meeting at Houses of Parliament

2009-10-14T12:21:00.004Z

NCF has been asked by IMPACT- SE to look into a website called Al-Fateh.

Al-Fateh is an on-line Arabic-language magazine aimed at Arabic-speaking children and youth. The website went live in September 2002.

IMPACT SE analyses school curricula in the Middle East and worldwide to ascertain whether the material conforms to the international education standards.

There will be a meeting held in Parliament on 11 November 2009 at 2pm. All are welcome to join. Please email ncfpeace@aol.com to confirm attendance.

The link to the website is: www.al-fateh.net

It is worrying to find a children’s magazine that glorifies the cult of martyrdom- especially as it will help to generate the next generation of suicide bombers. Given that every child has the inherent right to life, as set out by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is exploiting the innocence of children by exposing them to consider martyrdom in a children’s magazine.

New Law gags Algeria's bloggers

2009-09-26T11:57:00.002Z

This came in from Politics on Line:

Algerian Bloggers Feel Threatened by Proposed Law (NYT) By day, he writes for a pro-government newspaper. After work, he becomes El Mouhtarem, author of one of the most popular political blogs in Algeria. Until now, El Mouhtarem, who keeps his real name secret to avoid retaliation by the authorities, and his readers have been free to comment on issues that few in the mainstream Algerian media would touch. While he has received anonymous death threats, there have been no attempts by the government to censor his blog, "Algérie-politique." Full Story

Syrian Blogger Gaoled

2009-09-23T22:56:00.000Z

This came in from RPS. It is very worrying:

Washington DC - September 23, 2009 - (GlobalVoicesOnline.org) -- On September 13, 2009, the Syrian State Security Supreme Court sentenced the young blogger Kareem Arbaji to three-years prison for “publishing mendacious information liable to weaken the nation's morale,” under article #286 of the Syrian penal code.

The thirty- one years old economics graduate, Kareem Arbaji, has been detained for over two years, since June 7th, 2007, by military intelligence officers.

Human Rights Reports reveal that Arbaji has been tortured during the detention:

Kareem Arbaji was detained before being tried, he received a cruel and disproportionate sentence even if he was convicted. He was tortured during investigations and ill treated for more than two years in prison.

It is likely that Arbaji has been arrested, detained and then sentenced for opinions he expressed on the blocked Syrian forum, Akhawiya, which he used to administrate along with other members. The forum members have created a page to honor and support their friend behind bars. A Facebook group too has been recently created in support of the jailed blogger. Several Syrian bloggers have expressed their anger at the court's order. The Arab bloggers league has also issued a statement denouncing Kareem's sentence.

Below is an excerpt of The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) report regarding the Syrian court's decision to sentence Kareem Arbaji:

ANHRI requests the Syrian government to immediately release Kareem Arbaji and all prisoners of conscience in Syrian dungeons, to abolish arbitrary detention policy and stop the security interference in judiciary affairs.

ANHRI asserts that the charge against Arbaji is a false one , only used as a pretext to inhibit freedom of expression and repress activists.

ANHRI also urges the Syrian government to eliminate the state security court as it is a stain to the Syrian justice.

Several Syrian and other human rights organizations and websites have joined ANHRI's call to release the jailed blogger.

It is worth to note that along with Kareem Arbaji, Syrian authorities sentenced several Syria bloggers in prison. On 11-5-2008 the State Security Court in Damascus stated its verdict on the Syrian blogger Tariq Biasi who was held in detention since 7-7-2007.

The Iranian Threat..."Hyped"?

2009-09-02T11:49:00.001Z

The Jerusalem Post featured an ironic headline this morning. In its “Iranian Threat” section, the first headline from the day read “El-Baradei (chief of the IAEA) calls Iranian Threat ‘hyped’.” I honestly can’t think of any reason why! Where did such a sentiment come from?

Israel’s fear of Iran is certainly founded, given Ahmadenijad’s inflammatory rhetoric against it. It is certainly the state’s job to diplomatically address potential threats.

Nevertheless, there is a popular perception throughout the world, which El-Baradei points to in his interview that automatically labels Iran as a threatening nuclear nation.

Clearly, the IAEA believes Iran is not an immediate threat, though media outlets may disagree. For instance, simply having an “Iranian Threat” section of the Jerusalem Post’s website makes endemic an automatic view of Iran as an enemy that cannot be negotiated.

Meanwhile, the actual threat of Iranian weaponry is far smaller than is perceived – is this actually giving Iran more power to intimidate the populations of other states??

Either way, such a bias destroys a media outlet’s ability to be analytical and non-partisan, forcing unhealthy public discourse. How can Israel and Iran, or any other country for that matter, enter into peaceful negotiations when the population is being convinced by the media that Iran is a violent enemy?

Abu Mazin bans Al Jazeera

2009-07-16T21:29:00.003Z

Abu Mazin has banned Al Jazeera in the West Bank - because they claimed he killed Arafat. I am doubtful Abu Mazin was culpable. But I am quite certain Arafat was assassinated. I visited him with a press delegation a couple of days before he was taken ill - and he was as fit as a fiddle.

The Palestinian Authority said Wednesday it was suspending the West Bank operations of al-Jazeera, alleging incitement and unbalanced reporting by the Arab news station from the Palestinian territories.

Issues Raised by Journalists: Jamming ANN

2009-05-21T19:31:00.000Z

This incident goes beyond sad. It is dangerous and needs to be dealt with before it happens again:

Issues Raised by Journalists: Jamming ANN