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When freedoms of the press are curtailed
Sunday,26 August 2012
By : Shamlan Yousef Al-Isa
I cannot really comprehend the actual reasons why we always tend to restrict
the concepts that determine our freedoms of expression and opinion. Why is it
always so that the democratic experience witnesses repeated setbacks despite
the passage of nearly half a century of democratic freedoms? There are so many
answers to those questions, but what is certain is that although we have been
granted our freedoms the minute we embraced democracy, we have yet to accept
them deep within our hearts and minds. On the other hand, the experiences of
people in countries in the West where the concepts of freedoms are concerned;
are deeply entrenched in their minds and associated with the fact that their
freedoms have always been guaranteed by their governments.
There is also this fact which we must bear in mind and that is: Freedoms in
countries in the West have always been entrenched deep within the womb of the
conflicts arising deep in the chasm between the church and the state. In fact
the first rift that was witnessed between the church and the British monarch
King Henry VIII led to the separation of the church and the state. And when the
issue leapt beyond control, conflicts started arising between the Roman
Catholics and the newly founded Protestant doctrine. These conflicts were all
about the freedoms resulting in more and more freedoms while conflicts arising
in other underdeveloped countries whether among governments or the opposition
have, more often than not, led to attempts by all sides; to restrict those
freedoms.
In our own state of affairs, members of the National Assembly, who had earlier
demanded a free and open audio and visual media through the opening up of
satellite channels and publication of additional newspapers in attempts to
prevent monopoly and grant even more freedoms, are nowadays demanding the
closure of those very media means that they once demanded. The main reason for
their opposition lies in the fact that that those very members of parliament
who had once encouraged the press to censure the government's every move are
now demanding the media; including the press, television and radio to serve
their best interests instead. And the minute they realized that their ambitions
would never see the light of day, they started to demand the restrictions in
freedoms granted to the press.
It is also highly ironical that it is the Ministry of Information that has
taken the initiative to restrict the freedoms of the press, since it always
defends the government points of view. This surely demonstrates a lack of
government's vision and fear as well as the reluctance and ignorance of some
ministers over the importance of freedoms granted to the media. On the other
hand, the problem with granting freedoms in our country lies in the fact that
it is the government itself that has actually encouraged restricting freedoms
and this very notion contradicts with what the media used to always emphasize
on: that the rulers in Kuwait were more moderate, liberal, tolerant and respect
each others' views and opinions away from the radical Islamic alternatives that
are represented by the political Islamic school of thought which considers
freedoms as being imposed upon them by countries in the West.
This constant wrangling between members of the government and parliament has
actually left us dangling between a government that does not have a clear
vision and a parliament that seeks to restrict freedoms. Not to mention a
non-liberal society that is hesitant to accept reforms of any magnitude and
this in turn will surely not help in promulgating a fertile ground to advocate
the concepts and values of freedoms and democracy. The question that I'd like
to direct to the information minister and his representatives at the ministry,
which proposed restricting freedoms, is: "What is the nature of intellectual
life after restricting freedoms?" Restricting freedoms in a world, whose
peoples enjoy all the freedoms that exist in their respective societies that
are buzzing alive with satellite channels and the Internet coupled with the
evolution of digital communications, is not only foolhardy; it is simply not
possible.
No one can deny the fact that the status quo of some satellite channels in the
country and countries in the Arab region is marked with chaos with respect to
the concept of freedom of expression, but then again they manage to let
discretion prevail under the circumstances. On the other hand, in some
countries in the Arab world, some satellite channels focus on trivial issues
while others promote the concepts of tribalism and the social importance of
their clans at the expense of other components in society. Some satellite
channels have also become the representatives of political Islam and promote
some extremist religious concepts and stringent schools of thought.
All these negative attributes and realities certainly do exist in our society
and while most of us disregard its existence making it look like it does not
concern them, it will be in the best interests of one and all to work together
in an amicable manner and find effective solutions in not addressing them but
to actually take the initiative of raising the awareness of people and
developing a neutral media means. The media means, on the other hand, should
exert positive efforts in preserving and promulgating the concepts of cultural,
moral and social values that are miles away from the scourge of negative
extremism, ignorance and exploitation of sectarian, tribal, and religious
affiliations to achieve narrow partisan and tribal interests.
I personally think that the best solutions to all our problems can only be
achieved by adopting, accepting and welcoming positive yet moderate changes in
our lifestyles through promulgating the concepts of free dialogue and exert
exemplary attempts to correct all shortcomings and negative attributes that we
cling on to so desperately. It is high time we also set all our differences
aside and embark on a journey that only leads us to prosperity through
achieving overwhelming success in all our endeavors.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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