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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Some are freer than others
By Rasha SaadThe year 1998 witnessed some of the worst attacks on press freedom in the Arab world, declared the latest report of the Federation of Arab Journalists' (FAJ) Press Freedom Committee. The report, however, took note of some "positive steps" taken by certain Arab countries with respect to freedom of the press.
The release of the report was concomitant with the annual meeting in Cairo last week of the FAJ general secretariat. The Press Freedom Committee, a subcommittee of the general secretariat, also met separately on Thursday. Both meetings focused on the issue of press freedom in the Arab world.
Two major forms of limiting press freedom in the Arab world cited by the report were censorship and the restrictions placed on the issue of independent newspapers. Arab Journalists have also been exposed to imprisonment, and sometimes to physical abuse, the report said.
The report reviews in detail the status of the press in six Arab countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait and Yemen. It stated that these countries were "the only ones that enjoy relative freedom [of the press] -- albeit a restricted one."
According to Salaheddin Hafez, secretary-general of the FAJ, the limitations on press freedom in the Arab world are part and parcel of the overall status of democratisation in the region. Most Arab regimes, Hafez told Al-Ahram Weekly, refuse to accept democratic change. "Freedom of the press is not isolated from other freedoms. It is not a privilege only for journalists but should be enjoyed by the whole society," said Hafez. "We can never speak about freedom of the press when there is a lack of other fundamental freedoms." He said that part of the social and cultural dimension of press freedom lies in the fact that there are a limited number of Arab readers because of illiteracy and low wages.
There is a silver lining, however. Ibrahim Nafie, chairman of the FAJ, board chairman of Al-Ahram Organisation and chief editor of Al-Ahram newspaper, expressed the FAJ's deep satisfaction with a decision by Lebanon's new president, Emile Lahoud, to support press freedom and ensure journalists were not jailed for their publication offences. Nafie urged similar measures to be adopted throughout the Arab world.
Moreover, the report lauded Morocco as the Arab country with the least restrictions on press freedom -- although it also was guilty of committing a number of minor violations.
Another positive development noted by the report was that 1998 witnessed an end to the assassination of journalists in Algeria. Sixty-five journalists have been killed there since the country erupted into violence in 1992. But, on the downside, the report said the on-going political turmoil and the clashes between Islamists and the security forces still had an adverse effect on the conditions under which journalists worked and on the situation of press freedom in general.
Press freedom in Kuwait, according to the report, still suffered from the fallout of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of the country. Nevertheless, the report was hopeful that the re-establishment of an elected parliament with a pluralism of ideological and political trends will reflect positively on the situation of the press in the Gulf country.
Jordan, on the other hand, witnessed a sudden setback in the situation of press freedom in 1998, according to the report, which cited the introduction of a new laws that set tougher penalties for publication offenses and imposed new restrictions on the publication of newspapers. As a result, 13 weekly newspapers ceased publication because they were unable to meet the new requirements.
In its meeting on Thursday, the Press Freedom Committee suggested the setting up of a $5 million fund to help defend press freedom in the Arab world. A draft of the proposal will be presented to Arab press syndicates and a follow-up meeting will be held in September.
