Pursuing press freedom

By Nevine Khalil

Nafie addressing participants at the Free Press/Fair Press conference photo: Adel Ahmed

During five panel discussions -- Egyptian media, reporting the Arab world, fairness in the press, Western coverage of the Arab world and technology and the Arab media -- participants from national, opposition and independent newspapers spoke about their experience in this part of the world.

Board Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Ibrahim Nafie said that throughout its history, the Egyptian press had fought for freedom on the political, cultural and social fronts. "Journalists and writers have gone through bitter battles during this century [to win] the right of free expression," Nafie said. "Over the past two decades, the Egyptian press has moved up on the freedom scale, getting closer to the freedom we [strive] for."

He noted that by looking at modern history, one realises that the deterioration of society has always been the result of the absence of an informed public and the absence of a mechanism to ensure access to information. "The Egyptian press now encompasses various political and ideological currents which were long absent," Nafie added, giving credit to President Hosni Mubarak's personal interest in ensuring freedom for the Egyptian press.

Nafie said Mubarak "played an effective role in the march towards tolerance and diversity, not only with his staunch belief that freedom of expression will set the press free, but also with his action to disperse the clouds of fear which hung over the Egyptian press for a long time."

Prominent Al-Ahram columnist Salama Ahmed Salama said that although there is no tradition of a "free press" in the Middle East, freedom is "an educational process" which needs to be pursued. "You have to give journalists freedom, but they must be [accountable] for this freedom," Salama added. "There is a large margin of freedom in Egypt," he said. "A clever journalist can say everything he wants to say without going to prison."

Nafie agreed that Egyptian journalists "don't write with trembling hands." He said that the challenges facing the Egyptian press include active and positive engagement with developments on the national and international scenes. "We need a new formula," Nafie said, including a "new language," higher and more sophisticated levels of technology and professional performance. "For this to work effectively, freedom of expression should be left untouched as far as possible," the Al-Ahram editor emphasised.

Nafie suggested that the Egyptian press should undertake "new commitments" corresponding to its "new freedoms," by upgrading press technology and the quality of training received by journalists.

Regarding Arab press and media policies, Jordan's George Hawatmeh, director of the Arab Media Institute, said that Arab countries are trying to find "the balance between a democratic government and the role the press should play." He added that journalists in his country do not have a clear idea of what they should do. "A few would say they should pursue the truth and hold the government accountable," Hawatmeh said.

On the panel dealing with the fairness of Western coverage of the Arab World, State Information Service Director Nabil Osman said that stereotyping by the Western press and media is based partly on ignorance and partly on "scheming" -- the latter to support Israeli policies at the expense of Arab interests. Conceding that Western reports on Arab issues have improved since the late President Anwar El-Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1977, Osman said they remain biased.

Akhbar Al-Youm Managing Editor Kamal Abdel-Raouf agreed, adding that the US media continue to link terrorism with Islam. John Dainsewski of the Los Angeles Times admitted that Arab issues are not given the same coverage as Israeli news in the US, but said that there is sometimes a gulf between what is reported about the Arab world and what people want to believe.

Al-Ahram Weekly's Foreign Editor Gamal Nkrumah noted the absence of Arab forums where Arab journalists may interact. The only available forums are sponsored by Western organisations, he said. "Leading journalists in the Arab world are connected through the Arab Journalists Union, but the younger generations rarely meet," Nkrumah said. He added that at Western forums, Arab journalists are urged to make an effort to interact with their Israeli counterparts, while nationals of "rogue" states such as Libya, Iraq and Sudan are rarely invited.

Mona Ziade, national editor of the Daily Star in Beirut said that cooperation between Arab and Israeli journalists does not exist, mainly because the peace process is going through hard times as a result of Israeli hard-line policies.

Speaking on advances in media technology in the Arab world, Hussein Amin, professor of television journalism at the American University in Cairo, said that it was becoming more and more difficult to control the airwaves. "Satellite broadcasts have caused governments to rethink the issue of censorship altogether," Amin said, conceding that access to foreign broadcasts and the Internet in Egypt is limited for economic and educational reasons.

Hamdi Saleh, director of press and media affairs at the Foreign Ministry, believes that technological advances have a positive impact on the democratisation process and can improve regional integration. "Technology helps understanding," Saleh said, "it brings people closer, eliminating stereotyping and generalisations."

The Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute, established in 1993, develops the skills of Arab and Egyptian journalists through numerous programmes and conferences on new trends in journalism, graphic arts, music criticism, legal problems of the press among other subjects.

The Freedom Forum, established in 1991, is a non-partisan, international foundation dedicated to "free press, free speech and free spirit for all people." The foundation pursues its priorities through conferences, educational activities, publishing, broadcasting, on-line services and partnerships. The forum has established centres in London, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Johannesburg. One forum member told the Weekly that his organisation is thinking of opening two new offices on the African continent, possibly in West and North Africa.