Media News - Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Arab broadcasters criticise media charter

Media companies in the Middle East say a controversial charter adopted by many countries in the region needs to be rewritten because it has become another tool of censorship by authoritarian governments. At a conference of the Arab Broadcast Forum in Abu Dhabi, several broadcasters complained about the charter, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Adopted by 22 Arab League countries in February, the charter was created to govern satellite television. Only Qatar and Lebanon refused to sign it. The most controversial clause states that broadcasters should ‘not offend leaders or national and religious symbols in the Arab world’. Ahmed Sheikh, the Managing Editor of Al-Jazeera, a leading news channel, said the clause had already been used for censorship. ‘It's clear it's just to shut mouths and hide the truth,’ he said. He and other broadcasters said the wording was too vague, giving governments permission to shut down broadcasters at will because certain clauses allowed for this if a transmission threatened damage to social harmony, national unity or traditional values. (Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union)

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