Arab states mistreat free press
Regional, Politics, 5/4/2005

The Arab states is at the back of the list of the free media in the world and Iraq has been the most dangerous media square, and the year 2004 witnessed the worst since 1995 concerning the number of journalists who were killed in the world.

The Arab world occupies the first place in harassing the media, according to the statement of "Journalists Sans Frontier" on the occasion of the International Day For the Freedom of the Press.

The year 2004 witnessed the killing of 53 journalists and scores were tried in various areas including Taiyseer Allouni in Spain under the charges of being a member in al-Qaida organization, or at the US where the judiciary was described as the largest enemy for the press. Journalists continued to be brought before the justice in order to force them to disclose their sources.

The report strongly criticized the condition of the freedom of the press in the Arab states as from Saudi Arabia where tough censorship is still imposed on published articles, to Morocco where Ali al-Murabit was prevented from writing for 10 years in his country because he approved the right of the people of the western Sahara to self determination, to Algeria where the press is suppressed over opposing President Butaflika to Tunis where it is very difficult to have access to certain Internet web sites.

However, many consider that the annual reports about the freedom of the press ignore the local components in certain Arab states and the special traditions, similar to the case of the advisor of the Kuwaiti journalists society Ayed al-Manna who considers that it is the right of the state to interfere when the matter pertains to its symbols.

The Cairo-based Arab Journalists Union ( AJU) condemned violence and hostility against journalists in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories at the hands of occupiers in these areas.

In a statement issued Tuesday on World Press Freedom Day and Arab Press Day ( which falls on May 6 ), the AJU underscored that killing of journalists, kidnapping or taking them as hostages while doing their jobs constitute a crime against humanity and flagrant violation of freedom and democratic principles.

The statement pointed out that most of these crimes were committed by the occupying troops in Palestine and Iraq.

It also called for lifting restrictions imposed on the freedom of press in the Arab region as part of a national and pan-Arab reform initiative.

Previous Stories:
  Arab journalists-open letter to forthcoming summit   (3/21/2005)
  Spanish judiciary decided to release journalist Allouni, keep him under house arrest   (3/15/2005)
  Arab media called to lobby for release of Italian abducted journalist   (2/9/2005)
  Arab Journalists Federation statement on Human Rights day   (12/9/2004)
  The Third Arab Women Journalist conference: issues of concern   (7/8/2004)
  Arab Journalists Union urged press freedom   (10/18/2003)
  Arab journalists union hails new era in Morocco   (10/15/1999)
  Arab Journalists ask governments to increase press freedom   (5/7/1999)

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