http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=80915&d=25&m=4&y=2006&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Local%20Press
Tuesday, 18, April, 2006 (20, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1427)
Freedom of the Press
Mohammed Dyab . Asharq Al-Awsat
Montesquieu was once asked who the most dangerous people were. He
answered, "People who are prevented from talking are the most dangerous because
they will use their muscles to communicate." And as Beethoven was steadily
losing his hearing, people said to him, "What a tragedy for a great composer to
lose his hearing." His answer was quick: "It would be far worse if I lost my
tongue because it is the expression of my freedom."
Every time I think of the shocking annual World Press Freedom Index by
the French organization, Reporters Without Borders, which ranks journalistic
freedom in different countries, the two quotes spring to my mind. I usually
come to the same conclusion - which is that the countries in our Arab world,
from the Gulf to the Atlantic, are on the dark side of the moon, or at least of
our planet.
Among Arab countries, Kuwait apparently has the greatest journalistic
freedom, ranking 85 on a list of 167 countries. Which means that all other Arab
countries are on the dark side of the World Press Freedom Index and, if we look
only at the Arab countries, there are substantial differences between the first
and last. Once the freest of Arab countries, Lebanon now ranks fifth among
them. Egypt, long known for the influence of its media, ranks twelfth on the
Arab list according to the World Press Freedom Index for Arab countries.
If the world views freedom of the press as one of the indicators of
public liberties, then reports such as these ought to set all the alarm bells
ringing. The governments of Arab states ought to review their own internal
affairs related to their citizens' freedom of speech. It is well known that
writers and thinkers who can openly and freely express their opinions don't use
false names on Internet blogs and forums. Writers with sealed mouths and
chained pens, on the other hand, don't threaten governments. The freedom of
journalism is ultimately the freedom of mankind.
Some people seem to believe that the standards used by Reporters Without
Borders fail to consider cultural differences. They think that the standards
are exclusively Western. Despite the fact that such an assumption exists - and
may be partly true - we still can't afford to blame the organization for our
position as Arabs in the World Press Freedom Index. We have to do something
about the enormous gap and change the current situation for the better. And no
matter what the Reporters Without Borders index tells us, journalism in the
Arab world really needs more doses of responsible freedom. It must move away
from the traditional inherited supervisory methods that are hopelessly outdated
and totally out of touch with the modern world. When, I ask you all, is any of
this going to happen?
--
----------------------------------------
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 446 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
