General

World Press Freedom Day?

By on Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Happy World Press Freedom Day, as for Bahraini Press and websites, please go directly to jail, and do not pass go. As there is no such thing, nor will there ever be press freedoms here as long as the Ministry of Disinformation is established, and as long as it is filled with the likes of Jamal Dawood, esq.

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  1. anonymous

    World Press Freedom Day?

    Happy Press Freedom to All!

    “Freedom of Speech will NOT be touched….” said the Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman AlKhalifa

    God Bless Him, the Bahraini Government, and the Ministry of Information!

  2. mahmood

    Re: World Press Freedom Day?

    referring to this article:

    THE RIGHT TO KNOW
    Freedom of speech is sacrosanct and will not be touched, the Premier told leading Bahrain journalists yesterday. Press freedom is the country’s first line of defence, he said, vowing to make citizens fully aware of “every movement”.

    The Prime Minister made his remarks while receiving new board members of the Bahrain Journalists’ Association at his majlis in Riffa.

    “As long as it is honest and in the national interest, freedom of the Press will not be touched,” he pledged.

    “Citizens have a right to be kept informed, and the country’s openness should be employed in developing investment, promoting tourism and increasing incomes,” he said.

    He issued directives to government ministers “to continue keeping the local Press informed with what serves the country in order to avoid distortion of information.”

    He said that the Press was depended on to contribute to achieving the country’s development goals.

    The Premier stressed that Bahrain has the capacity for even more daily newspapers, thanks to public awareness and an open democratic atmosphere.

    Advertising incomes were also increasing.

    The majlis was held on international World Press Freedom Day.
    GDN

  3. anonymous

    World Press Freedom Day?

    Mahmood,
    Thanks for highlighting this issue!
    Silly Me

  4. anonymous

    World Press Freedom Day?

    “As long as it is honest and in the national interest, freedom of the Press will not be touched,” he pledged.”

    The question is: who determines what constitutes ‘in the national interest’?

    JJ

  5. kategirl

    World Press Freedom Day?

    The line that alludes to the truth is this one:

    He said that the Press was depended on to contribute to achieving the country’s development goals.

    Translated: “The Press was depended on to promote the government’s line, and hide its errors.”

    [Modified by: Chan’ad (chanad) on May 04, 2005 01:35 PM]

  6. mahmood

    Re: World Press Freedom Day?

    Yes, that’s the very line that made me twitch too.

    “You’re completely free as long as you recognise that the red line will continue to shift without warning. And if you tresspass, we’ve got laws that we have ‘frozen’ but can thaw especially for any situation of our choosing!”

    Funny really, how freedom and national interests are very very flexible entities.

  7. mahmood

    Re: World Press Freedom Day?

    Ever the optimist, I choose to translate that line as giving the press the green light, as the king has done before, to constructively criticise, highlight wrongs, and help eradicate inefficiencies within and without the government. All of this is to be done responsibly!

    Now see my other comment in reply to JJ and see how the quoted article is so contradictory. Especially when you consider that the jouranists themselves do not recognise this “board” as they feel it does not represent them since in contains the business owners, editors and journalists! They contend that it should only be journalists who should be represented rather than the publishers and owners as well. I agree with them completely. The current set up for instance does not allow the journalists union to strike, as within its board of directors and members are the very people who pay their salaries!

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