Event Summary
On Monday, March 17, 2008, The Brookings Doha Center, a project of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, hosted a distinguished panel to address the topic of the Arab Satellite TV Charter passed in Cairo on February 12, 2008. The policy discussion was the first to take place on the premises of the recently inaugurated Brookings Doha Center (BDC) and the third to be organized by the BDC since its launch in 2007.
Event Information
When
Monday, March 17, 2008
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Where
Brookings Doha Center
Doha, Qatar
Map
Contact: Hiba Zeino
Phone: +974.6574.579
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The discussion was moderated by Hady Amr, director of the Brookings Doha Center and fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Guest speakers on the panel included Ibrahim Helal, deputy managing director of Al Jazeera English; Saad Eddin Ibrahim, professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo and distinguished visiting professor at Istanbul Kültür University; and Michael Ratney, American chargé d’affaires in Qatar.
The debate focused on the contents of the recent Arab Satellite TV charter—formally referred to as the “Suggested Guidelines and Principles for Organizing Satellite TV in the Arab World”—which was passed unanimously by Arab ministers of information with Qatar abstaining. While one of the Arab information ministers who signed the charter said the aim of the document was “to protect society […and] not for political benefit or to defend a specific party's point of view,” critics said the charter would repress rather than progress the freedom of knowledge and expression in the Arab world. Some experts in Arab countries have called the new set of guidelines “binding” while others have disagreed. The charter, which forbids offending leaders or damaging social harmony, has another notable feature: it contains a set of escalating penalties for non-confirming channels, ultimately resulting in revoking a non-conforming channel’s permit to operate.
The speakers also addressed potential repercussions of the charter on journalistic practices and civil society in the Arab world and compared and contrasted the new regulatory document to media laws in the United States.
Transcript
Hady Amr: Before I turn the floor over to our speakers, I wanted to give a little bit of background on the charter which was signed on February 12, a little over a month ago, at a meeting convened at the request of Egypt with the support of Saudi Arabia. The final document which was adopted by all member states with the exception of Qatar and Lebanon requires broadcasters in the region to do the following things. First, not to offend leaders or national or religious symbols in the Arab world, not to damage social harmony or national unity, and asked them to conform with the religious or ethical values of Arab society, to refrain from broadcasting anything which calls into question God or the monotheistic religions, and to protect Arab identity from the harmful effects of globalization, with penalties which include withdrawing permits from offending stations.
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Participants
Panel
Ibrahim Helal
Deputy Managing Director, Al Jazeera English
Saad Eddin Ibrahim
The American University, Cairo
Michael Ratney
Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Doha, Qatar