Al-Jazeera Director General Waddah Khanfar removed from board of directors

Posted by Mica Swyers on June 25, 2007 at 10:23 AM

An amiri decision issued by Heir Apparent Shayk Tamim Bin-Hamad Al Thani has led to the removal of Al-Jazeera’s Director General Waddah Khanfar, who heads the networks television channels, its website and research centers, as well as the anticipated international printed newspaper. Khanfar’s removal from the Al-Jazeera board of directors is seen by some as “the first step towards removing him from his position as director general of the network.”

Well-informed media sources claim that Khanfar’s removal is the result of “outside US and Palestinian pressure,” perhaps including dossiers underlining his pro-Hamas sympathies and association with The Muslim Brotherhood. In addition, Khanfar had recently been at odds with Qatari newspapers accusing him of ignoring Qataris in key Al-Jazeera posts.

Perhaps related to Khafar’s removal, some have cited recent changes in the network’s news coverage, in particular a pro-Fatah bias. “Al-Jazeera was relatively biased towards Fatah. It hosted persons who belong to Fatah or who are considered Fatah protégés and gave them the opportunity to criticize Hamas,” some sources said of the network’s recent coverage of the conflict between the rival Palestinian groups.

The decision also called for a reorganization of the network’s board of directors, which now comprises a majority of Qatari members, including Maryam Rashid Yusuf al-Khatir, the board’s first female member. Another new member Abd-al-Aziz Al Mahmud had been removed from is post as chief editor of Al-Jazeera.net by Khanfar.

Source: BBC Monitoring

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