Soapbox: Sighs of totalitarianism By Awatef Abdel-Rahman Arab foreign ministers approved a document regulating satellite broadcast in the Arab world. If it takes effect, the document will affect the operations of 60 companies running 400 Arab satellite stations, all of which now broadcast over ArabSat (owned by the Arab Broadcast Union) or NileSat (owned by the Egyptian government). Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan all expressed reservations about the document. Article 19, an international human rights organisation defending press freedoms, didn't mince its words. Agnes Callamard, the organisation's executive director, said the document constitutes "a major setback to freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the Arab world." The document includes regulations covered by already existing media codes of honour, such as respect for privacy, non-incitement of violence, and respect for religious and ethical sensitivities. But then it ventures into rather treacherous grounds. For example, it instructs the media not to get "offensive" about leaders and national figures. Offenders, the document says, will have their licences revoked, which means that they cannot, for starters, use the broadcast facilities of the countries involved. The document conflicts with Article 32 of the 2004 Arab Human Rights Charter, which defends the right of the public to obtain information and express its opinion. The document is also in violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which has been signed by most Arab countries. The document fails to specify the authority charged to implement the said regulations. Would implementation be left to administrative and security agencies? Would the judiciary -- not mentioned in the document -- be in charge? And who is to interpret the maze of regulations mentioned in the document? Who is to referee the different interpretations that are bound to rise? Article 2 of the document bans satellite services not only from airing final cuts, but also from possessing rough cuts of material deemed offensive. Bizarrely enough, the document also tries to control material exchanged between mobile phones, including short text messages. The whole thing is ridiculous. One can only hope that it is the last sigh of totalitarianism. This week's Soapbox speaker is a professor of journalism at Cairo University.
