Tony Gosling
tony@gaia.org
Wed, 06 Nov 2002 20:33:36 +0000
--=======72B26772======= Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-50C973A; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Kuwait shuts down al-Jazeera bureau http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,834046,00.html Ciar Byrne Tuesday November 5, 2002 The international press watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres has condemned the Kuwaiti government for shutting down the local office of Qatar-based Arab satellite television station al-Jazeera over claims it was "not objective". Kuwait closed down the bureau on November 3 which, according to RSF, was the day after the station broadcast a report stating a quarter of the emirate's territory had been sealed off to allow US-Kuwaiti military manoeuvres to take place there. RSF said the Kuwaiti government claimed the report harmed the country's interests, while al-Jazeera said it was objective and impartial. "The government informed me that the bureau is closed because the al-Jazeera channel is not objective," said the station's bureau chief, Saad al-Enezi. Al-Enezi said he did not know whether the closure was temporary or permanent. Kuwaiti officials could not be reached for comment. The RSF secretary general, Robert Menard, called on the Kuwaiti government to lift the ban. "The numerous bans and threats of Arab leaders aimed at the station clearly show their unshakeable solidarity when it comes to contempt for press freedom," said Mr Menard. "The Gulf emirates in particular distrust their own people by denying their right to free and balanced news as opposed to official propaganda," he said. It is not the first time the satellite channel has been banned in Kuwait, where many people feel it is biased towards the Iraqi leadership. In 1999 the station was prevented reporting from the emirate for one month after an Iraqi caller insulted the emir, Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah during a live broadcast. A group of Kuwaitis sued al-Jazeera over remarks made by one of its talk show hosts and the station was ordered to pay $1,650 in damages in April 2001, but the ruling was overturned on appeal. Sami Haddad, host of the show More Than One Opinion, said "hundreds of Iraqis, Palestinians and some Kuwaitis, were dissolved in acid" after the 1991 Gulf war that liberated Kuwait from a seven-month Iraqi occupation. The plaintiffs argued it was wrong of him to "insult people without providing proof." Al-Jazeera's tradition of giving airtime to opposition figures and allowing them to voice criticism of state rulers has brought the station into conflict with other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The channel has already been banned from operating in Bahrain and Jordan. Relations between Qatar and Jordan have been strained in recent months since Jordan accused al-Jazeera of stirring up unrest in the country and insulting the Jordanian royal family. Al-Jazeera plans to broadcast in English as part of an ambitious expansion plan, it emerged last week. Building on the prominence it has attained since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the channel will begin by dubbing news broadcasts into English, and if that proves successful will launch a full English-language version to rival international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC. Tony Gosling Press Officer South West TUC - Bristol 0117 947 0521 --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.408 / Virus Database: 230 - Release Date: 24/10/02 -- Tony Gosling 10-12 Picton Street Bristol BS6 5QA England +44 (0)117 944 6219 Encrypt messages to me using PGP http://www.bilderberg.org/tonyhom.htm#encrypt "Tony Gosling" <tony@gaia.org> http://www.tlio.org.uk http://www.bilderberg.org http://www.cultureshop.org http://www.videonetwork.org http://www.public-interest.co.uk/bbc/ http://www.ecovillages.org/uk/network/ --=======72B26772======= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-50C973A Content-Disposition: inline --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Unless you're using Norton Antivirus. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.408 / Virus Database: 230 - Release Date: 24/10/02 --=======72B26772=======--