Remember that debacle where the Arab world agreed to “protect our traditional values” by curtailing freedoms of expression especially that of news television channels? You know, the news channels who normally criticise established regimes, specifically Aljazaeera and to some extent Alarabia?
That was in February earlier this year, and only Lebanon objected to such a scheme while Qatar expressed some reservations. The rest of the crowd just nodded along and carried on in their slumber. But as you might expect, there were some criticisms against such a move from all corners of the world. It seems that pressure has borne fruit; in today’s paper, I was really happy to read this:
جددت البØÂرينوقطر والإمارات تØÂÙÂظهم خلال اجتماع وزراء الإعلام العرب اليوم (الخميس) على وثيقة البث الÙÂضائيبدعوى إنبنودها تÙÂرض قيودا على ØÂرية التعبير ÙÂيالعالم العربيوعلى عمل الÙÂضائيات.وذكرت تقارير صØÂاÙÂية إناجتماع وزراء الإعلام العرب الذيعقد ÙÂيالعاصمة المصرية القاهرة اليوم ÙÂشل بالخروج بآلية Ù…ØÂددة لتنÙÂيذ وثيقة تنظيم البث الÙÂضائيوالإذاعيالتيأقروها قبل Ù†ØÂÙˆ 4 شهور وسط خلاÙÂات عربية ØÂول بنودها.
وكانوزراء الإعلام العرب قد واÙÂقوا باستثناء قطر ÙÂÙŠÙÂبراير/ شباط الماضيعلى وثيقة تنظيم البث الÙÂضائيÙÂيالمنطقة العربية والتيجوبهت بØÂملة اØÂتجاجات شديدة منقبل منظمات صØÂÙÂية عربية ودولية.
وقال مشاركونانمصر والجزائر ابديتا استغرابهما منالتØÂÙÂظات القطرية والإماراتية وانالاجتماع لم ينجؠÙÂيالنهاية بالخروج بآلية Ù…ØÂددة لتنÙÂيذ الوثيقة.
واكتÙÂÙ‰ وزراء الإعلام العرب ÙÂيختام اجتماعهم بالدعوى الى إعداد قاموس لصياغة المصطلØÂات التييتم تداولها ÙÂيوسائل الإعلام العربية.
This report now states that in their latest meeting, more “reservations” were expressed by the Emirates and Bahrain! Man oh man. Yes, you read it right: “Bahrain” expressed reservations, meaning that, well, we’re not having it any more. This happened amongst different expressions of bafflement by Algeria and Egypt (Saudi was probably absent?).
So to save some face before they bury such an inept concept, they agreed on the creation of a lexicon in which unified definitions of words and concepts is to be adopted by broadcasters. Well, I guess most (but not all) news editors will file this in their rubbish bins on receipt, but at least it makes someone happy that they have saved face. What I would have preferred is just giving the proponents of such an idiotic “code” the bird and leaving the room at the very start, but that’s just being rude and politics and norms should be respected I guess.
Well done Bahrain. I fully expect – that should the new minister carries on like this – our Press Freedom Index for 2008 will be appreciably better. Well done again.
Comments
Pingback: Mahmood’s Den : Spoke too soon. Another opinion writer in the dock
Mahmood, I don’t know where to bury this but I think it’s worth thinking about….
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior
to World War II owned a number of large industries
and estates. When asked how many German people
were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our
attitude toward fanaticism.
‘Very few people were true Nazis’ he said, ‘but many
enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more
were too busy to care. I was one of those who just
thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools.
So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen.
Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had
lost control, and the end of the world had come. My
family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration
camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.’
We are told again and again by ‘experts’ and talking
heads’ that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the
vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.
Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is
entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to
make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish
the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in
the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment
in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the
fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars
worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically
slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout
Africa and are gradually taking over the entire
continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who
bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the
fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is
the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and
hanging of rape victims. The hard quantifiable fact
is that the ‘peaceful majority’, the ‘silent majority’,
is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who
just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian
Communists were responsible for the murder of
about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were
irrelevant.
China ‘s huge population was peaceful as well, but
Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering
70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World
War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan
murdered and slaughtered its way across South
East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the
systematic murder of 14 million Chinese civilians;
most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed
into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority
of Rwandans were ‘peace loving’?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and
blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often
miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant
by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will become the world’s enemy if
they don’t speak up, because like the rich guy from
Germany , they will awaken one day and find that
the fanatics own them, and the end of their world
will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese,
Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghanis, Iraqis,
Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and
many others have died because the peaceful majority
did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay
attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics
who threaten our way of life.
Bahrain might just be a tiny speck on the map but it’s good that there are responsible bloggers like you who are rationally addressing the Island’s problems.
Any one surprised…? 😀
Jade said
this is an amazing observation and a challenge to all of us who claim to be peace loving . If we do not speak out against injustice against our fellow man , even if it costs us personal pain , then we are being complicit in the injustices inflicted on others … we are culpable because of our cowardice to speak up….
Jade , this may sound naive but what in your opinion can peace lovers do to counteract such regimes and ideologies that rule by intimidation , oppression and violence ??