Syria: al-Doumari licensing revoked
Syria, Politics, 8/4/2003

At the initiative of Syria's minister of information Adnan Omran, the Syrian Prime minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro has ended the first license issued to the private press publication in Syria which is owned by the renowned Syrian caricaturist Ali Farzat, thereby al-Doumari weekly will stop publication ultimately, following a series of rows on various fronts launched by the paper under several administration of considerable number of notable editors and journalists in Syria.

Both the two official Syrian dailies al- Baath and Teshreen published news on the al- Doumari decision, but confined to mentioning the justifications given by the ministry of information to end the license. The two dailies quoted an official source at the ministry attributing the reason of abrogation to "al-Doumari administration violation of the three months period for the issuance of the paper during which the paper stopped publication and thereby the license was cancelled.

According to the official source al-Doumari was warned 15 days earlier of the need to be published, according to the set date.

Al-Doumari stopped open publication on the fourth month of this year and Farzat was confined to issue medium- size paper copied photography for circulating the paper only to subscribers.

Farzat said he launches the battle of the "freedom of expression," stressing he will resort to the judiciary in his "battle."

A statement by the lawyer of the paper, Anwar al-Bunni, said that "ending the license the paper was not a surprising measure," describing "Miro's merely political decision and as another step to oppress the freedom of expression and the free independent press."

Previous Stories:
  Civil society reviving committees condemn decision banning the distribution of al-Doumari   (7/31/2003)
  Syria: banning al-Doumari circulation, one hour after permission   (7/30/2003)
  Syria: recirculation of al-Doumari   (7/29/2003)

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