Syria: banning al-Doumari circulation, one hour after permission

Each of the Syrian cynical weekly al- Doumari editorial team and the "human rights society in Syria" have criticized preventing of the weekly from circulation, just one hour after the authorities had permitted that.

In a statement issued in Damascus yesterday after the "Arab establishment for prints distributions" was handed over at 9 p.m. Monday one thousand copies of al-Doumari and having received the permission of circulation of the same issue at the same time, verbal instructions were issued to halt the issue just one hour later at 10 p.m. Monday.

The paper's editorial team deplored this measure and considered it as a "violation to the law and in contradiction with the calls of reforms which was behind the enthusiasm to complete this issue."

Al-Doumari, however, stopped publication and was confined to circulate copies only to subscribers, until it received a warning from the ministry of information threatening for its closure in case it will not be issued openly. And this what happened in the recent issue which dealt with the file of reforming the Syrian media.

For its part "the human rights society in Syria" considered that what had happened proves "continued monopoly of the mass media and refusal to accepting the views of others."