Freedom of Press worldwide and the Yemen case

Jamal Amar, AlWasat newspaper Chief Editor

On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, people has to know what is like to be a journalist and what is  the freedom of press situation in Yemen and the risks facing journalists across the world. Many Yemeni journalists feel that freedom of press in Yemen is retreating for several reasons.  Among the reasons for restricting freedom of press recently were the riots and sabotage acts that broke out in some districts in the south of the country incited by some separatists and opposition parties that started anti-government campaigns while using all possible legal and even illegal means. 

Also, the government war against the al-Houthi rebels in Sa’ada northern province where journalists were banned from covering the incidents of the war puts limits to the freedom of press in Yemen. These events resulted into issuing a resolution by the Ministry of Information to ban the al-Wasat independent weekly newspaper under the pretense of violating the press law and for inciting the public against the unity of the country, as well as agitating sectarian hatred, as stated in the resolution issued by the Ministry of Information. 

However the al-Wasat newspaper’s editor in chief and the journalists filed a case in the West Capital Court, which issued its verdict to cancel the resolution and fined the Ministry of Information for violating the law.  The second case was for the imprisoning of the al-Khaywani former editor in chief of the al-Shoura opposition newspaper, who was accused along with 34 al-Houthi rebels of forming a gang that committed acts of sabotage. 

The third case was imprisoning the journalist and politician Mohammed al-Maqalih by the judge of the special penal court during a trial session for trying the same cell. Al-Magalih was jailed by the court for expressing sarcasm on the general prosecution during the court session.  Other violations of press freedom was the banning of some organizations from launching SMS news services because there was no law to organize these services yet. 

 Although Yemen is an emerging democracy and the freedom of press started in Republic in 1990 following the reunification of Yemen and the establishment the Republic of Yemen, such practices contradict the democratic values in place, as well as with the Press Law that is being called to be amended to match with the new democratic changes and to match with the international laws this respect.  The long awaited amendments of the Press Law seems to be postponed for more months or years years after the journalists syndicate and civil society organization have failed to reach to a compromise with the Ministry of Information and the government over several controversial articles of the new law.

The President’s electoral platform promised to free radio and TV media and to allow the private sector to run private and independent TV and radio stations, however this promise have not been fulfilled due to the obstacles facing the issuance of the new journalism law. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers” The situation of freedom of press worldwide is not much better than the Yemeni case if not worse. 

 The reports issued by different pro-press and freedom organizations about the risks facing journalists shows scary retreatment and predations being committed against the freedom of press across the world.  The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RWB) released an updated list of the “predators of press freedom” for World Press Freedom Day on Saturday.

Mohammed al-Maqleh, ajournalists

The group omitted some figures from the predators of press freedom list such as Fidel Castro of Cuba and added new predators topped by Israel Defense Forces.  Reporters Without Border said the IDF began to target journalists covering Israeli incursions into Palestinian territory and a Palestinian cameraman working for Reuters was killed in April by an Israeli tank shell.

The RWB has also showed that nine journalists have been killed, 129 Journalists imprisoned, seven media assistants imprisoned, and 63 cyberdissidents imprisoned since the beginning of 2008. The highest number of journalists killed in 2008 was four in Iraq and one journalist was killed in each of Israel, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Pakistan, and Nepal.  The highest number of journalists imprisoned was in China with 32 followed by Cuba, 23; and Eritrea, 16. 

Meanwhile only seven media assistants were reported imprisoned, two in Eritrea, two in Laos, and one in each of Niger, Lebanon, and Pakistan. The report also stated that 63 cyberdissidents were imprisoned, 48 in China, seven in Vietnam, three in Syria and one in each of Burma, Egypt, Jordan, and Libya. These numbers are exceptionally high, especially that only four months of 2008 have passed only.  What was most significant was that RWB also recorded violence against journalists within several countries of the European Union (EU) including France, Italy, Denmark, Spain, and Northern Ireland.   Violence against journalists was also committed in recent years in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Cyprus.

 Although these violence were not committed by the governments, they still represent a risk proving that journalists in the less developed countries and even in the most developed and democratic countries are at risk.  The group said former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is off the list after turning over power to his brother because of health problems.

 A U.S. ally, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, is also off the list, having “lost February’s parliamentary elections and, in the process, his ability to harm press freedom,” the group said. Ten new “predators” have been added to the list. In addition to Israel Defense Forces or the Israeli occupation forces, the armed wing of Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank “were guilty of serious press freedom violations,” the group said and each “faction systematically hounded journalists suspecting of siding with the other camp.”

 May 3 is the World Press Freedom Day, however figures on freedom of press and the journalists are not at all pleasant. In 2007, some 875 journalists were arrested, 95 were killed and 127 were sent behind bars. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) holds an annual global campaign for the promotion of freedom of press. This year’s campaign has shifted its focus on journalism in China. China has been topping the list of 24 nations that throw journalists in prison for nine years in a row.

Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, and Azerbaijan complete the top five. Attacks on freedom of press are attacks against international law, stressed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day. He also requested the perpetrators of attacks on journalists not go unpunished.  In its annual 2008 report, Reporters Without Borders accused public officials around the world of “impotence, cowardice, and duplicity” in defending freedom of expression. “The spinelessness of some Western countries and major international bodies is harming press freedom,” secretary-general Robert Ménard said in the organization’s annual press freedom report.

“The lack of determination by democratic countries in defending the values they supposedly stand for is alarming.” He charged that the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva had caved in to pressure from countries such as Iran and Uzbekistan and expressed concern at the softness of the European Union towards dictators who did not flinch at the threat of European sanctions. The Worldwide Press Freedom Organization voiced concern about the safety of journalists covering fighting in Sri Lanka, the Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Niger, Chad and especially Iraq, where it said “journalists continue to be buried almost every week.”

It also protested against censorship of new media, including mobile phones transmitting photos and film and video-sharing and social networking websites, and highlighted media repression in China in the run-up to the Olympic Games there this summer. “Nobody apart from the International Olympic Committee seems to believe the government will make a significant human rights concession before the Games start,” the organization said. “Every time a journalist or blogger is released, another goes into prison. China’s dissidents will probably be having a hard time this summer.”

 The report includes surveys of press freedom in every region of the world over the past year and chapters on 98 countries, including European Union members and the United States. A press conference to introduce the report will be held in Washington on 13 February in the presence of journalists from Iraq, China, Eritrea and Pakistan.

Another will be held in Berlin with Russian and Zimbabwean journalists. This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific research, known as scientific freedom, publishing, press and printing the depth to which these laws are entrenched in a country’s legal system can go as far down as its constitution.

 The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to media and individuals. Reporters Without Borders considers the number of journalists murdered, expelled or harassed, and the existence of a state monopoly on TV and radio, as well as the existence of censorship and self-censorship in the media, and the overall independence of media as well as the difficulties that foreign reporters may face. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) uses the tools of journalism to help journalists by tracking press freedom issues through independent research, fact-finding missions, and firsthand contacts in the field, including local working journalists in countries around the world. CPJ shares information on breaking cases with other press freedom organizations worldwide through the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global e-mail network.

CPJ also tracks journalist deaths and detentions. CPJ staff applies strict criteria for each case; researchers independently investigate and verify the circumstances behind each death or imprisonment.  Freedom House likewise studies the more general political and economic environments of each nation in order to determine whether relationships of dependence exist that limit in practice the level of press freedom that might exist in theory.

So the concept of independence of the press is one closely linked with the concept of press freedom. It is supposed that all journalists across the world should unite to defend their rights, unfortunately there are a sort of hypocrisy in dealing with the problems and miseries of Arab and Muslim journalists compared to problems and miseries of western journalists.

For Instance Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Haj, who was recently released by the US authorities after had been held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2002.  Very little coverage about his detention and release was done by the Western media if compared to the big propaganda launched by the western media about the detention  and release of the British Journalist Allen Johnson in Gaza. 

Al-Haj was detained, regularly tortured and subjected to close to 200 interrogation sessions by his jailers. Sami Al-Haj began a hunger strike on January 7, 2007, in protest against his detention and to demand that his rights be respected. His jailers force-fed him on several occasions.  The U.S. Army accused him of secretly interviewing Osama Bin Laden, gun-smuggling for al-Qaeda, and running an Islamist website.

 No evidence has ever been produced to back up these allegations, and no charges have ever been brought against the journalist. These violations were committed by the Word number one democratic country that alleges it is the custodian of democracy and human rights.   The question is what would happen if a third world country detained a western journalist and accused him of similar accusation and had proofs about its claims against the journalist?

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