CAIRO: Arab journalists and activists called for greater freedoms of press and expression at a regional conference on Monday held at the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo. "More steps need to be taken to guarantee greater press freedom across the Arab world, said Ibrahim Nawar, chairman of Arab Press Freedom Watch (APFW), a regional NGO. Conference participants blasted the poor state of regional news media, which many said reflected the political stagnation seen in the Middle East. "As things stand, we don't have an active media anywhere in the Arab world, said Bahraini journalist and APFW vice-president Maha Al-Salhy. "We need to reform our laws in order to start working for the creation of more open societies, spurred by open, public debate. On the whole, journalists agreed that in recent years some Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, have witnessed gradual improvements in questions relating to freedoms of press and expression. "Four or five years ago, women were completely forbidden from presenting their own television programs [in Saudi Arabia], said Saudi Arabian journalist Badr Mohamed Al-Abbas. "Now that's changed. Nevertheless, no Arab country can claim to have reached a satisfactory level of freedom in this domain, said Nawar, explaining that different countries faced different challenges. Nawar pointed out that journalists in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, for example, face relatively fewer press restrictions, while Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have worse records. "The problems faced by journalists in the Arab region vary from country to country, he said. "What unites us, perhaps, is that we all have a long way to go. Among problems cited by conference participants was the abundance of legislation regulating the kind of information that can be disseminated and punishing media workers that cross red lines. "In Algeria, media laws are justified as written for the good of the country, said Algerian journalist Ali Djerri. "But more often than not, they serve the interests of the state alone. Djerri pointed to the fact that three journalists were currently in prison in Algeria for media-related offences, while a total of 44 journalists have been investigated and charged in the past two years. Only one article in Algeria's media law protects journalists from harassment, said Djerri, while others are written to warn journalists of the penalties associated with crossing red lines. Red-line issues vary from country to country. In Egypt, reporting critically on the president, his immediate family, the military or sensitive religious issues are all considered punishable offences, and can involve jail sentences of up to two years. In Algeria, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, certain political issues, as well as touchy religious questions, remain off limits. "The very fact that the state imposes such red lines demonstrates that we have no freedom of expression to speak of, said Yemeni journalist Hamdi Al-Bukari. According to recent reports by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press-freedom watchdog, Yemeni journalists routinely face harassment and arrest for criticizing the president and his family or reporting on corruption and political dissidence. A new draft law, the report notes, indicates a worsening of conditions for journalists rather than an improvement. But it is in Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territories where journalists suffer the greatest threat, often losing their lives in the pursuit of their profession: according to the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, 85 journalists and media assistants have died in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. "In 2006 alone, 26 journalists have already been killed, said Iraqi journalist Nada Omran. According to Nawar, Iraqi journalists hired by international organizations are the most vulnerable. "They risk their lives while chief [foreign] correspondents, whose lives are insured, work from hotels in Baghdad, he said. Calling for legal reforms aimed at encouraging a culture of freedom of expression; conference participants said the quality of local journalism would drastically improve with the creation of laws protecting, rather than incriminating, journalists. Others, however, believe that proposed legal reforms are merely cosmetic, and that wholesale political change is a necessary precondition to freedom of expression in the Middle East. "Not until the political face of our countries changes and we have greater democracy will we have a truly free press, said Magdy Al-Gallad, editor-in-chief of independent Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm. IRIN
