NATIONAL
4
Monday, January 25, 2010
Press freedom in peril
Proposed government amendments criticized
Cabinet to decide fate of amendments today KUWAIT: The public will be anxiously waiting for the results of the Cabinet’s meeting scheduled to be held today during which amendments to the audio-visual law will be discussed. HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah will preside over the meeting. Meanwhile, the Cabinet may hold a National Assembly session to discuss the issue of national unity, viewing it as an opportunity to place several issues into perspective. A closed-door session may be held so that MPs will not use it to garner public support. In a separate issue, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi is expected to present a report on amendments to the disabled citizens’ law by overruling the Parliament’s specialized committee. In addition, the Minister of Health Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer will present a report which unveils future plans to develop health services. The Cabinet also plans to amend the currency market authority draft law, reported Al-Watan. Meanwhile, reports indicate that a new system will be established to take follow up action on the projects included in the development plan. It will be supervised by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister for Development Affairs and Housing, Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad Al-Sabah.
Political activists oppose freedom for personal gains KUWAIT: Political activists and officials from non-profit organizations stated at a recent seminar that influential individuals are seeking to impose the proposed restrictions to the audio-visual law in order to protect their own personal benefits. At the seminar held by the Kuwaiti Observatory for Instilling
Democracy to discuss the controversial proposed amendments, the participants agreed on the seriousness of any move that could damage the democratic gains made in the country. Faisal Al-Azmi, the head of the Observatory group, emphasized the importance of protecting the
constitutional gains of recent decades, primarily the rights to freedom of speech and opinion, reported Al-Qabas. Another speaker at the event, Zayed Al-Zaid, the editor of local daily Al-Aan, said that the recent alarming developments and attacks on Kuwait’s social fabric have been
perpetrated in order to cover up the hidden agenda of influential individuals who wish to disregard the constitution and drain the country’s financial reserves. Nasser Al-Abdali, the head of the Democracy Development Society, warned that imposing restrictions on local bloggers
would pave the way for the introduction of further restrictions on freedoms. Al-Abdali asserted that the true aim of such restrictions is to silence protest about the violations taking place in the country, stressing that protecting freedoms is the responsibility of all the country’s people.
kuwait digest
Press law changes vs. military rule
Information minister faces dilemma over laws n his column yesterday in AlQabas, Adel Al-Qassar criticized the Minister of Information for his handling of the audio-visual and press laws. ‘The term ‘corrupt information’ should be synonymous with the name of Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlAbdullah,’ he wrote. He pointed out that there are TV channels and newspapers specialized in spreading sectarianism and that there is a ‘mysterious lack’ of the Ministry’s commitment to enforce the law. Al-
I
Qassar criticized the Minister of Information because he ‘is clearly unable to deal with the affairs of the Information Ministry. He doesn’t have the time to do so while also acting as the Minister of Oil.’ He added that the Ministers pre-existing feud with several MPs only further demonstrate his inability to lead the ministries appropriately. ‘The Minister’s is perceived by his enemies to be a person who can not apply the regulations of the law against
people who insult the National Assembly,’ he wrote. ‘It is this lack of commitment to the law that caused such outrage and led to threats of interpellation. At the same time though, the proposed amendments are much to the objection of most media personalities.’ He argued that the Minister should be politically questioned for his hesitant decision making. ‘Most political parties are urging the minister to resign before he is forced to quit,’ he concluded.
KUWAIT: History has taught people that only military rule imposes restrictions on press freedom, especially authoritarian regimes that have ruled several Arab and Muslim countries following successive coups. They always silence people using draconian measures, wrote Mohammad Al-Shaibani in Al-Qabas. ‘This took place two years ago in Mauritania following the imposition of military rule, a stricter 1-4 year jail term against writers and journalists was introduced,’ he wrote. The author writes that Kuwait has achieved a prestigious place with respect to being able to exercise freedom of the press; this has helped it gain worldwide recognition. Therefore, it is unacceptable that this freedom is curbed. However, the Ministry of Information has disregarded this issue and has proceeded by implementing amendments on the audio-visual law, thereby strangulating the law. These amendments include stricter penalties for damaging the country’s social and political system, in addition to violating the controls exercised by commercial advertisements. Constitutional expert Dr Mohammad AlFeeli described these amendments as a reaction to an action that has already taken place. Stricter penalties will be imposed on a law that hasn’t been even enforced! It should be noted that this is manner in which laws in the country are implemented , he wrote. This, ultimately, causes several damages in the long run. Thanks to these amendments, people will be forced to keep their mouths shut, and writers will stop writing. Editors will refrain from taking new steps as any ‘mistake’ they commit may be penalized- in the form of thousands of dinars or with a jail term. The whole profession of journalism itself will become risky. The proposed amendments will fill up the Central Jail’s cells with journalists and editors, Al-Sahaibani concluded.
kuwait digest
Abused freedoms still stress that our endless problems are only getting worse because we don’t understand each other, for many reasons, wrote columnist Dr. Mubarak Al-Therwah in Al-Rai. This lack of understanding can be attributed to the lack of clear and precise definitions of various concepts. Our space is open to everybody, with numerous newspapers licensed and given a margin of freedom aspired in many other countries.....but have we appreciated these privileges and taken good care of them? And why is it that some parties are insistent on taking the audio-visual law back to square one? Have the proposed amendments got anything to do with freedom and human dignity? Personally, I believe that the whole problem is because of freedom and the concept of freedom. What does freedom mean according to our democratic, cultural or religious dictionaries? We’ve always warned that the broadcasting of insults is impolite and has nothing to do with the media business and values, but the answer came back: That’s Freedom and democracy and we should all admit and recognize it. Those on both sides of this debate have misunderstood the concept of freedom, its limitations and regulations. Do we want to regulate everything except corrupt media? It’s curious why so many people have only got angry whenever the constitution has been verbally abused and, at the same time, turned blind eyes and deaf ears to televised insults and the questioning of citizens’ loyalty and
I
patriotism. We made the rules and laws, why, then, do we get angry if in the middle of the way we find out that we were mistaken and decide to set things rights? Despite its small geographic area, after all, Kuwait has usually had a louder voice than some major countries. National unity is the top priority and should be taken as the basis for all laws, even if this reduces the amount of freedom as some parties claim. I curse the variety of freedom that allows the insulting of lawmakers. Laws which have no soul should be damned, along with freedoms that weaken national unity and solidarity to turn the whole nation into a heap of sand that could easily be blown away by the slightest breeze. What kind of freedom is it which differentiates between subjects of the same nation, after all? Have things now gone way beyond repair and are Kuwaitis unaware of this and unable to see what they have reaped? Have our laws turned into a beautiful woman who dresses up and puts on makes for a blind man who does not appreciate her beauty? Isn’t this what we are going through? You only have to reach out to your remote control and surf our local TV channels to see for yourself. When development wears out and freedom is exposed, no laws are sufficient as a remedy, no clothes are enough to cover our modesty, while simple debates and dialogue turn into fatal offensives that won’t be stopped by calls for fake freedom. Kuwait is free; it has been and will always be for everyone and its free citizens should not intimidate writers, TV channels, blogs or newspapers.
Lenin