RIYADH: A proposal to create a pan-Arab television monitor is a disturbing move that could lead to censorship of broadcasts critical of Arab governments, a media watchdog said on Saturday.
The Saudi-Egyptian proposal to establish a regional office to supervise satellite broadcasters is aimed directly at Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Hamas group s Al-Aqsa TV and Hezbollah s Al-Manar channel, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said.
This proposal is disturbing, to say the least, the group said in a statement.
The danger is that this super-police could be used to censor all TV stations that criticize the region’s governments. It could eventually be turned into a formidable weapon against freedom of information.
The proposal to create the Office for Arab Satellite Television was to be discussed when information ministers from Arab League countries met in Cairo yesterday.
Reporters Without Borders said the proposal stems in part from a recent move by the US Congress to allow satellite owners to be branded terrorist entities if they allow broadcasts by television channels also branded as such.
But it also represents an effort to strengthen traditional values, the group said.
The two leading regional satellite operations are Arabsat, created by the Arab League and based in Riyadh, and Nilesat, based in Cairo and controlled by the Egyptian government.
The two groups carry a broad range of hundreds of free-to-air and pay-TV channels in Arabic and other languages, from regional and global channels.
Not all of the 22 Arab League governments support the proposal, Reporters Without Borders said, citing opposition from Qatar and Lebanon.
Some fear this office would end up controlling content on privately owned TV stations. Others have voiced concern about loss of sovereignty, the group said. -AFP
