(RSF/IFEX) – On 17 December 2004, the State Department announced its decision to place the Lebanese satellite television station Al-Manar on the Terrorist Exclusion List. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said the decision to place Al-Manar on the United States (US) government’s list of terrorist organisations was taken because of “[the station’s] incitement of terrorist […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 17 December 2004, the State Department announced its decision to place the Lebanese satellite television station Al-Manar on the Terrorist Exclusion List. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said the decision to place Al-Manar on the United States (US) government’s list of terrorist organisations was taken because of “[the station’s] incitement of terrorist activity.” Al-Manar is operated by the Lebanese Shiite organisation Hezbollah.
US authorities said anyone with links to Al-Manar would be refused an entry visa or would be subjected to expulsion procedures if already on US territory. On 17 December, Al-Manar was removed from the satellite service that beamed it into the US, the satellite’s owner, Intelsat, told the Reuters news agency.
Commenting on the decision, RSF urged US authorities to “be careful not to lump the fight against anti-Semitism with the fight against terrorism.”
“Some of the anti-Semitic statements broadcast on Al-Manar are inexcusable, but placing this television station in the same category as terrorist groups worries us and does not strike us as the best solution,” the organisation said.
Noting that anyone working directly or indirectly with the station would be banned from visiting the US and that those residing in the US would now face expulsion, RSF asked if the Al-Manar bureau in Washington would be closed and its staff forced to leave the country.
RSF pointed out that the decision also meant that, in the event of a war, Al-Manar’s journalists would be in danger of being considered belligerents and their bureaus of being viewed as military targets.
“We fear that this measure could be just the first of many, and that all news media that have been accused of helping terrorist organisations through their coverage could end up on this list, in which case there would definitely be abuses,” RSF added.
On 13 December, French authorities ordered the satellite operator Eutelsat to stop relaying Al-Manar within 48 hours, saying its programming had “a militant perspective with anti-Semitic connotations.” Authorities also cited the need to preserve public order as a reason for the decision (see IFEX alert of 14 December 2004).
