8 - 14 November 2001
Issue No.559
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 8 - 14 November 2001 Issue No.559 |
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Stop press
As far as the media are concerned, 11 September brought about two major changes. One is the erosion of the West's exclusive claim to free media; the other is the rise of Al-Jazeera as a source of independent, uncensored reporting.
Al-Jazeera has become the centre of attention for its monopoly or, to be more exact, exclusive reporting on the Afghanistan conflict. The Qatari satellite station conceals no facts, regardless of the subject: the Taliban, Bin Laden, the Northern Alliance, the constant US bombing of so- called Taliban bases, and the resulting destruction and rising death toll. The world, transfixed by the momentous events and hungry for the tiniest details, desperately needs the picture it provides. And experienced journalists and politicians can easily appreciate the fairness and objectivity of that picture.
Before 11 September, the Western media couldn't get enough of Al-Jazeera: they commended its professional standards and outstanding coverage; they admired its fearless coverage of dissenting views and willingness to tackle sensitive matters at the risk of alienating Arab governments. For the West, it was an example of what the Arab media should be.
Now, however, it is a mouthpiece of Bin Laden and the Taliban. The New York Times, a former enthusiast, sees it as anti- American and anti-Israeli. Al-Jazeera, we are told, is airing irresponsible and distorted news, because it reports Bin Laden's views and releases his statements, and this, presumably, whips up Muslim sentiments.
I have never been a fan of Al-Jazeera; I am not even a regular viewer. But objectively speaking, this channel has passed the litmus test. The sudden antagonism, then, is due to Al-Jazeera's consistent reporting on anything that qualifies as news, regardless of who gets upset.
Sadly, this litmus test of good reporting no longer works for Western media experts. One obvious reason is that the American and Western media have moved from the realm of information into that of propaganda. The US and its European allies are waging a "real war," in which all means may be used, and the Arab and Muslim world is bearing the brunt. Suddenly, the wide-scale publication of information in Arabic is seen as a threat. The West is desperate to win, fast and at any price, and is willing to sacrifice facts and the interests of other nations in the process.
Not since the end of the Cold War has "truth" been so irrelevant. The so-called "war against terror" has led to unprecedented censorship, military as well as political. The West is matching Third World countries in suppressing dissident and censoring opinion. Most European governments have passed laws suppressing criticism of US raids against the Afghan people, or prohibiting analogies between the victims of 11 September and those of the atrocities committed by the "civilised world" in Vietnam, Bosnia, and Palestine. The US authorities are keeping a tight lid on any news about the interrogation of over a thousand suspects, or about the military operations carried out by UK and US planes in Afghanistan. The world is told of the hundreds of missions flown, the thousands of tons of bombs dropped; but the consequences of the bombing remain an untold story.
Ironically, certain people want Arab public opinion to remain hostage to one- dimensional views, and are terribly frustrated that numerous channels inside and outside the Arab world are trying to break free from government control and provide the Arab public with the facts. What we have here is a case of panic -- an inability to face the truth.
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