(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Sulman Al-Khalifa Prime Minister Bahrain H.E. Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah As-Salim As-Sabah Prime Minister Kuwait H.E. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said As-Said Prime Minister Oman H.E. Amir Maj.-Gen. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Ath-Thani Minister of […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC):
H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Sulman Al-Khalifa
Prime Minister
Bahrain
H.E. Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah As-Salim As-Sabah
Prime Minister
Kuwait
H.E. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said As-Said
Prime Minister
Oman
H.E. Amir Maj.-Gen. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Ath-Thani
Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief
Qatar
H.E. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abd Al-Aziz As-Saud
Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard
Saudi Arabia
H.E. Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum
Prime Minister
United Arab Emirates
Vienna, 11 October 2002
Your Excellencies,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is deeply concerned about the intimidation and boycott threats made against the independent Al-Jazeera satellite news network by information ministers from the following countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
According to our sources, information ministers from all six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met in Oman on 10 October 2002. At the meeting, one of the ministers reportedly told news media that Al-Jazeera must “adopt a more polite tone” and stop “using a language that is offensive and insulting” or else “GCC would call on the private and public sector not to advertise on the channel and on officials not to cooperate with it”.
Another senior source said the ministers had taken particular offence at Al-Jazeera’s “The Opposite Direction”, a confrontational debate show which pits guests from opposite ends of the political spectrum. The source said the Gulf ministers had objected to alleged comments, made during the show by the programme’s moderator, calling Arab leaders “bastards” and “thieves”.
Since the establishment of Al-Jazeera, IPI has noted with satisfaction that Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, has bravely refused to give in to pressure from abroad to curtail the network’s freedom to report. IPI sincerely hopes that this attitude, fully in line with Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognises press freedom as a basic human right, is not about to change.
Furthermore, IPI is keenly aware of the current climate in the Middle East and hopes that the comments expressed by the information ministers are not merely the first attempts to curtail Al-Jazeera’s reporting prior to a possible conflict in the region. The Middle East, like all the regions of the world, has a desperate need for information particularly in times of crisis and IPI is saddened by the fact that members of the GCC would appear to feel it necessary to impede the free flow of information. IPI also believes that to apply official pressure in a situation such as this one, whether directly or indirectly, is unnecessary and indeed harmful to democratic culture, openness, tolerance and diversity. Indeed, it could have an adverse effect on the media and the political climate in the region.
With the above in mind, IPI invites the GCC to rescind its statements thereby affirming the right of the media to operate freely and without undue interference.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Sulman Al-Khalifa
Prime Minister
Bahrain
H.E. Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah As-Salim As-Sabah
Prime Minister
Kuwait
H.E. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said As-Said
Prime Minister
Oman
H.E. Amir Maj.-Gen. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Ath-Thani
Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief
Qatar
H.E. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abd Al-Aziz As-Saud
Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard
Saudi Arabia
H.E. Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum
Prime Minister
United Arab Emirates
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