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By Shadi Tabbara, Editor-in-Chief

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – On Tuesday, February 12, 2008, the Arab governments decided to abolish the rest of the little freedom that we, the people, enjoy; whereby the absolute majority of Arab Ministers of Information decided to adopt the “Principles for Organizing Satellite Broadcast and Television Transmission and Reception in the Arab Region.” This document, sponsored by two key Arab countries, renowned for their disregard to human rights and freedom of expression, advocates the regulatory bodies of Arab League members to take action if satellite channels violate principals that negatively affect the image of the country and leaders of the same and other Arab Nations.

About the free-less document

As soon as the Cairo document was revealed, domestic and regional journalists condemned the document. The following points explain the reason behind this criticism:

Basically, the document authorizes signatory countries to "withdraw, freeze or not renew the work permits of media which break the regulations." It specifies that satellite channels “should not damage social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values." Moreover, it forces the programs to “conform with the religious and ethical values of Arab society and take account of its family structure." Also, it refrains the latter "from broadcasting anything which calls into question God, the monotheistic religions, the prophets, sects or symbols of the various religious communities."

On another level, broadcasters will be forced to avoid "erotic or obscene material" or programs that "encourage smoking or the consumption of alcohol," the latter prohibited by Islam. Finally, the channels will have to "protect Arab identity from the harmful effects of globalization."

While many approve and others disapprove of the previous points, according to Joe Stork, Middle East and North Afria director of the Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Arab League governments are trying to stifle one of the few relatively uncensored forms of mass communication in the region. […] should be ashamed for sponsoring a proposal that would extend repression of free speech to airwaves across the region.”

Luckily, Lebanon and Qatar opposed the document. The latter to protect its state-owned “Al Jazeera” news channel; and Lebanon, to sustain article 13 of the Constitution [Expression, Press, Assembly, and Association]: “The freedom to express one's opinion orally or in writing, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of association are guaranteed within the limits established by law.”

The Material of “The Pros and Cons of the Document” was taken from Agence France Press (AFP)

The Lost Freedom

If we take a look at the freedom of Press in the Arab World between 1996 and 2006, we notice that 67% of the following 15 Arab countries in 2006 had less freedom of press than in 1996. Moreover, while in 1996 five members were considered to be partly free*, 2006 rankings show that only two remain partly free; of course, disregarding the fact that none of these countries are close to being unequivocally free.

*Press freedom rankings: The entries represent freedom of the press with values:
0-30 = Free;
31-60 = Partly Free;
61 – 100 = Not Free.

The Material of “The Lost Freedom” was taken from the Freedom House

The Backed Corruption

If we take a look at the control of corruption** between 1996 and 2006, although there is improvement, due mainly to globalization and the image of these countries, we notice that only the United Arab Emirates has a low level of corruption and that too is due to its new transparency acts and electronic services. On the other hand, if we take Lebanon as an example of the only democratic republic in the Arab World, we see that corruption has increased in the last years contrary to what is believed.

If the Lebanese Minister of Information had signed this alleged document, we would have definitely noticed an increase in corruption in subsequent years.

**Control of corruption: A subjective governance indicator aggregated from a variety of sources and measuring perceptions of the following concepts: corruption among public officials, corruption as an obstacle to business, frequency of “irregular payments” to officials and judiciary and perceptions of corruption in civil service. Estimates range between -2.5 and 2.5; higher is better.

The Material of “The Backed Corruption” was taken from the World Bank

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Corruption is the outcome of a system lacking transparency and judgment. If we were to support this document, given that some points are clearly appropriate, we would have created a tool for political and religious leaders that will assist them in encouraging corruption and bad governance. Respect to Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Al-Aridi, who stated to Reuters a few days after the release of the document that “[it] will not restrict media freedom in Lebanon” and added that “[he] is against anything that touches media freedom anywhere” and so is most, if not all, of the Arab citizens.

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