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Reply and comments of the Ministry of Information
On the PHRMG report
Mr. Bassem Eid
26.9.1999
Director of the PHRMG
Greetings,
After thanking you
for giving us the opportunity to review your report
“Media in Palestine:
Between the PNA’s Hammer and the Anvil of Self-Censorship” before
publishing it, we stress our gratitude for the effort deployed and confirm
the following:
First:
Judging the PNA in general or its policy towards media in Palestine in
particular, must set out from its privacy or the factors that affect it,
specially as the nightmare of the Israeli occupation with its aggressive
military policies and its measures against press and journalists that
exceeded all the boundaries in which the Palestinian media move.
The responsibility of
the Israeli occupation is not limited to the direct policies and measures
that it takes, but also in taking the agreements signed between the two
sides, the Palestinian and the Israeli, as a base to launch a political
and media campaign, and practice a group of different pressures with
various excuses, labelled under what Israel considers uprooting the
infra-structure of violence and terrorism, and all that gives them life
and support.
We shouldn’t mix here
between: a) the policies and measures taken, or might be taken by the PNA,
who works to fulfil the Palestinian rights and wring freedom and
independence for the Palestinian people. The PNA is in most of the cases
forced to take measures related to the higher national interest or to
protect a party, or parties, involved in the case.
And b) the policies
and measures that are carried out or committed by the occupation. Those
policies and measures are produced by the occupation whose aim is to keep
the Palestinian people detained under the occupation and the confiscation
of its land and identity, and suppressing its freedom and undermining its
rights. On the other hand, the policies and measures that come from the
PNA are produced by a legal, national and elected authority. Therefore,
there is no chance for comparison, equality, misinterpreting or mixing
between these two subjects. How, then, if they are distinguished, and for
whose interest?
For the interest of
the occupation whose actions are described with underestimating words like
“limited” in order not to provoke it, or is this word “limited” properly
used when we talk about major issues like not giving the Palestinian share
in the wave frequencies, or pressing for the closure of stations and so
on.
Second:
From the
basic conditions regarding the effectiveness of any report, is not to have
previously taken positions, and be objective, honest and precise. We are
sorry to say that your report doesn’t follow these principles in some, or
even many situations. It looks prejudiced against the Authority, critical
to it, and overestimates its errors and mistakes.
The report isn’t
concerned with mentioning the point of view of many of the security
services and members who have been criticized, specially in questions that
require hearing them, and displaying the different ideas and parties,
following the most simple method in the professional journalistic honest
work. For example, some of the measures taken by the Ministry of
Information were mentioned in a completely inaccurate manner, or even, a
false way, we may say.
The report mentioned,
in page 17, that on 16th and 17th February 1998 that
local TV stations were closed by the Ministry of Information because “they
contradict the related laws and orders”, which implies that some unknown
matters are behind the closure, when the truth was that the decision to
close those stations relates basically to the attempt to organize the work
of the audio-visual stations, and put an end to the chaos in the
increasing unsystematic unprofessional situation, which harms the higher
national interest of the security of the homeland.
In order to confirm
that the reason behind the closure relates to lacking the professional
requirements, we may say that six of those eight stations that were closed
were reopened after they met the required criteria.
(Attached the
decision of closure of the eight stations, and the decision of reopening
six of them)
Another example for
not being precise we find in the report regarding the al-Ru’aa TV
station last May, where you presented the matter as if the PNA created an
issue about the protest by the Christian sect, when the truth was,
regardless of the legality and continuity of the closure until this time,
that the station was closed after petitions were presented from a group of
Christian brothers who considered the script play “Natreen Faraj”
as disregarding Jesus Christ. A communiqué was also issued by the
Patriarchate with the same meaning. You may ask for copies of these
petitions and this communiqué, which means that the subject raised some
reactions, and wasn’t created by the Authority, although we say that the
play was taken more seriously than possible, and was misinterpreted as a
message directed against occupation and settlements and didn’t mean to
disrespect Jesus Christ in any way.
A third example, and
the most influential, relates to the intensive activity in recording the
violations and abuses committed by the PNA against press and journalists,
with no similar activity to register or indicate the important
achievements that were accomplished, starting with the press law in 1995,
that guarantees the freedom of press and expression, the flowing and
exchanging of information, and restricts the movement of the executive
authority in solving disputes with the media, by appointing the judiciary
and its courts and as the two parties to decide in disputes and abuses
that occur or committed with or against any media party. Its only worth
mentioning that this law prevented previous monitoring of any printed
material, and allowed its publication and distribution without any monitor
or observer. It allowed for easy measures regarding licensing newspapers
and magazines, which allowed for 140 newspapers and magazines; daily,
weekly, and seasonal, in this short period. It is also worth mentioning
that all Arabic and foreign newspapers and magazines could be imported and
distributed with no problems, even those that may contain criticism to the
PNA or the PLO, because we believe in freedom of expression and political
and thought pluralism. In this regard, we draw the attention of those who
prepared the report to the fact that many newspapers and magazines,
specially those produced by the opposition, contain wide and deep
criticism, sometimes harmful, without being stopped by anyone. Moreover,
the newsletters and magazines, issued by the human rights organizations
are printed and distributed freely, in a manner not found in countries
that pass a transitional phase like the one we live in, and don’t suffer
exceptional circumstances like those we live.
Adopting the policy
of establishing private radio and TV stations, with no hard conditions,
without limiting it to the PNA supporters, reflects a democratic approach
and a belief in variety and pluralism, not found in most of the 3rd
world countries and the Arab world. This deserves support and respect,
equally if not more than when a private station is closed. It is not
enough in this respect to present abuses and hints even in the issue of
having many stations, and providing false information that transmission of
a station covers only one neighbourhood within a city, when in some cases
it reaches tens of kilometres.
In this place, we
confirm that the Ministry of Information has no rejection against
establishing a private TV or radio station in Gaza, and we have received
several applications for this purpose, but they didn’t meet the
professional and administrative requirements, and they were not pursued,
Having in mind that
the transmission of some stations in the West Bank reaches Gaza.
Another example we
find in the report, that it doesn’t indicate to any advantage of the PNA,
even when it shows that abuses have decreased in the year 1998, and in the
past part of 1999. Instead of taking that as an evidence on the
improvement in the performance of the PNA, gained by learning from our
experiences and mistakes, the resistance of the society and the change in
the internal and external factors, the report refers that to what it calls
“intensification” in self-censorship.
The springs of
self-censorship are not restricted to the violations of the Authority or
the influence of the advertising giants, but there are also the springs of
traditions and costumes, social relations, family and tribal and sect
relations, that make any criticism to an official a criticism to his
family, village or camp or city or sect. There are also the extremist
sides that use the cover of religion and hold the weapons in the face of
any initiative even if it was by senior Islamic scientists. These people
practice enormous censorship that leads to self-censorship not less than
that caused by the political authority, if not more.
The important
censorship, in addition, is practiced by the sponsors of the newspapers
and magazines themselves, as we can’t ask or wait for the supporter of the
Authority to make his newspaper follow the opposition or wait for the
magazines of the opposition to support the Authority, this would be
against the logic of things.
Third:
In countries all over the world, those that are named democratic or the
real democratic ones, there are subjects that are taboo, no one may
discuss or talk about, because they may cause dispute or touch beliefs and
thoughts of other, or harm the high national interest, or lead to racial
or religious discrimination, urge for violence or disrespect divine
religions, and others that became like holy matters that must be dealt
with through judiciary, and not through any official in the executive
authority, regardless of his high position, at the time of wars,
emergencies, natural catastrophes and so on.
Fourth:
The report falls into false accusation when it suggests that implementing
the decree on incitement will necessarily lead to an increase in the
suppression of Palestinian media. The case of the writer of the report is
similar to that who told a lie then everybody believed it, he began to
deal with it as a truth. The full truth is that about a year have passed
since the establishment of the “suggested” committee for incitement, yet
we didn’t see until now any interference or influence on the Palestinian
media. Incitement genuinely springs out from the occupation and its
actions and policies, and this committee has to focus on that. As for
taking away the Palestinian memory and preventing freedoms and the change
of syllabuses, all these are Israeli projects that shouldn’t be dealt with
as official Palestinian policy that await the convenient chance to appear.
The policy that urges for violence and racial discrimination and oppose
peace is spread through out the extremist Israelis in a way that make
fighting against what these extremists transmit a priority for the
Palestinian side in the committee against incitement to focus upon. We
also remind the writer of the report that we have the press law of 1995 to
rely upon as a reference regarding the freedom of press and media, we
don’t really know where from the report brought all this talk about
suppression after issuing the decree on incitement?
Fifth:
Based on what was mentioned earlier, we confirm that the PNA appreciates
the important role of the various legal organizations, and that defending
the Palestinian human rights, and those concerned with abuses committed
against press and journalists, as they believe in the essential assistance
to free the hands of the Palestinian media to enable it to take its basic
role in the ballet to achieve national independence, development, and
establishing democracy. Media is not only “her majesty – the fourth
authority” but it is at present, at the time of the revolution of
information, communications, satellites and internet, competing to take
over the place of the first authority.
We in the Ministry of
Information confess that there is a necessity to develop the role of the
authority in the field of putting forward legislations and legal systems
that guarantee the protection of all freedoms and on top the freedom of
the press, and providing the suitable work atmosphere, and put our
attention to fulfilling the most refined experiments of democracy on the
basis that democracy is not only a silly dream but a way of life
Whose characteristics
are dependent on the political, economical, and cultural development of
the concerned country. Stages can’t be burnt hastily, nor we can go
slackening, but as the French proverb says “Let’s
Hurry slowly”
according to the need, capacity, and requirements of the real situation.
Finally:
We bolster your efforts and hope that those comments would find their
right response, and it is important to note that there are many issues in
your report that require revision and reference to the related parties,
such as the closure of “an-Nahar” and “al-Bilad” newspapers, for reasons
related to the Authority and the allowed margin of freedom, when the truth
was that they both stopped appearing due to financial reasons before
anything else.
With much gratitude,
Hani al-Masri
Director General
Press and Publications
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