BEIRUT: After 23 years at the helm of Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters without Borders), Robert Ménard, 55, is moving to Qatar, where he will be heading the Doha Center for Media Freedom (DCMF). The DCMF, which opened for business last Friday, provides assistance to journalists under threat anywhere in the world. But it also aims to promote freedom of expression in the Arab world. Ménard discussed the many challenges ahead. Common Grounds News: Where did the idea for the Doha Center for Media Freedom originate?Ménard: The idea was born in Baghdad in October 2007. I went to Iraq as the head of a small Reporters without Borders team in order to provide help to the families of Iraqi journalists who were killed - assassinated most of the time. I was amazed to see that not a single Arab country was helping us do this despite the fact that many of them could well afford it. An Iraqi colleague suggested that I ask for a meeting with Sheikha Moza Nasser Al-Misnad, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, which I did. It was supposed to be a 15-minute interview but, in the end, it lasted almost an hour. I explained to her the urgency of the situation and that to help protect these Iraqi journalists who were being threatened and attacked was the very least we could do. Her response was prompt. Just two days later, she let me know that she had discussed the issue with the Emir and that he had agreed to create a center in Doha. The center has already taken in an Afghan journalist who was under threat in her home country. How exactly will the DCMF function? The center's first objective is to come to the aid of journalists anywhere in the world. This aid can be in the form of financial help to media in difficulty. To date, the center has helped close to 90 journalists worldwide, including 20 or so in Haiti where many media lost their offices in the hurricanes that ravished the country this summer. In Djibouti, we have helped a group of Somali journalists in exile to create their own independent and bilingual news agency.But the DCMF can also provide help in terms of security. The center has been set up as a safe house for journalists who are under threat in their own countries. The center will also provide medical help to journalists wounded on the job, wherever they are in the world. So the DCMF is a kind of lifeline for any journalist in need?Not just that. The center will also serve as a forum in order to promote dialogue - in the first place between the Arab world and the West, particularly in light of the controversy over the cartoons [of Prophet Mohamed] and later between the Arabs themselves. It is not just governments that attack the media; sometimes the media are fighting among themselves, like in Lebanon. The Doha Center also wants to be a sort of tribute to all the journalists who have died doing their job. There will be a memorial and a museum dedicated to freedom of expression Why did you choose Qatar as the location for the center?There are several reasons. First, there are few leaders anywhere in the world who are willing to invest in something like this as Sheikha Moza did. Second, Qatar is practically the only Arab country where journalists from any nationality - including Israeli - can be accommodated. Remember, it was Qatar that provided a base for Al Jazeera and allowed it to turn the image of the media in the Arab world upside down. This experience has greatly influenced Qatar and I think this is a very important development for the Arab world. What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with this project? The Arab world is one of the most troubled regions in the world and I have always wanted to become more involved with this region. We are seeing the emergence of a number of independent media organizations. There is significant progress in terms of the freedom of the press in the region, and I hope that the center will be instrumental in helping to create a real force of independent journalists in the Arab world and in the world at large. You sound optimistic. Does this optimism stem from your observation of the region in terms of freedom, after 23 years at Reporters sans Frontières?It's complicated. The statistics about press freedom in the Arab world are worrying. Take Iraq for example. But at the same time these statistics show that an independent press is starting to assert itself in this part of the world. Of course, Lebanon is not a good example because it has always been at the vanguard of press freedom in the Middle East. But look at Morocco. The press there has seen a great evolution in the past 20 years. Of course, the situation is still far from good and the Moroccan authorities continue to put pressure on journalists through the courts. But this in itself is proof that a free press is taking shape. I think it is a question of people wanting it themselves; it is a true battle for freedom of expression. Rania Massoudis a Lebanese journalist working in the international section of L'Orient-Le Jour. Robert Ménard is one of the co-founders of Reporters sans Frontières. This article originally appeared in L'Orient le Jour and is distributed with permission by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
