WAN – Summary of Beirut "Press under Siege" conference
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on December 12, 2006 at 12:08 PM
The World Association of Newspapers' (WAN) "Media in Danger - Press Under Siege" two-day conference opened in Beirut on Sunday Dec 10th. More than 3,000 people attended the opening of the conference, which sought ways to support the development of independent, professional media in the Middle East and the Arab world. Presented here are some of the main points and quotes recorded during the conference.
The opening ceremony was dedicated to the memory of all murdered journalists and Mr Tueni, the WAN Board member and publisher of the An-Nahar newspaper who was killed by a car bomb on Dec 12th 2005. Many illustrious speakers from around the world took turns at the booth or through video conference.
"It has been a bloody year for journalists, the worst on record, and no more so than in Arab countries," said Timothy Balding, CEO of WAN, in his opening address.
"The press is not only defending its own freedoms, but the biggest challenge is defending public freedoms, especially political freedom. The right to be in the opposition, the right to speak out," said Fouad Seniora, Prime Minister of Lebanon.
The events on Monday Dec 11th focused on press freedom abuses in the Arab world. Editors, publishers and journalists discussed the challenges they faced and proposed pragmatic solutions.
"I am not exaggerating when I say the Arab press is witnessing one of the worst periods of its life," said Salaheddine El Hafez, Vice Editor-in-chief of Egypt’s Al Ahram and Secretary General of the Arab Journalists Association. "The margins of freedom for the Arab press is severely limited and we have evidence of that in our daily lives."
"Arab rulers, regardless of their differences, agree on one thing -- all of them consider the Arab press to be their sworn enemy," said Jamal Amer, Editor-in-chief of Al Wasat in Yemen. Another editor also reminded of the simple fear of facing the people's reaction on the streets, which also forced newspapers towards self-censorship.
Among the many solutions discussed, participants emphasized the necessary establishment of “standards of free expression,” the enacted prosecution of individuals and organizations that restrained press freedoms, the proliferation of financially autonomous – editorially independent – newspapers, and higher living standards and support for journalists.
Thanks to Larry Kilman, Director of Communications at the WAN, for his communiqués on the conference (directly quoted).
Source: WAN (opening ceremony and Arab world press freedom)
"It has been a bloody year for journalists, the worst on record, and no more so than in Arab countries," said Timothy Balding, CEO of WAN, in his opening address.
"The press is not only defending its own freedoms, but the biggest challenge is defending public freedoms, especially political freedom. The right to be in the opposition, the right to speak out," said Fouad Seniora, Prime Minister of Lebanon.
The events on Monday Dec 11th focused on press freedom abuses in the Arab world. Editors, publishers and journalists discussed the challenges they faced and proposed pragmatic solutions.
"I am not exaggerating when I say the Arab press is witnessing one of the worst periods of its life," said Salaheddine El Hafez, Vice Editor-in-chief of Egypt’s Al Ahram and Secretary General of the Arab Journalists Association. "The margins of freedom for the Arab press is severely limited and we have evidence of that in our daily lives."
"Arab rulers, regardless of their differences, agree on one thing -- all of them consider the Arab press to be their sworn enemy," said Jamal Amer, Editor-in-chief of Al Wasat in Yemen. Another editor also reminded of the simple fear of facing the people's reaction on the streets, which also forced newspapers towards self-censorship.
Among the many solutions discussed, participants emphasized the necessary establishment of “standards of free expression,” the enacted prosecution of individuals and organizations that restrained press freedoms, the proliferation of financially autonomous – editorially independent – newspapers, and higher living standards and support for journalists.
Thanks to Larry Kilman, Director of Communications at the WAN, for his communiqués on the conference (directly quoted).
Source: WAN (opening ceremony and Arab world press freedom)
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