ARAB information ministers yesterday failed to reach a decision on whether to set up a pan-Arab censorship service, in an exceptional meeting that held yesterday in Cairo, after a US Congress decision to criminalise some controversial Arab TV satellites. "Around 12 ministers were absent from the meeting, which lasted for three hours and could not formulate a final decision about the censoring service," said an official who attended the meeting. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the meeting had focused on the means to control satellite TVs. The proposal to create a pan-Arab television monitor was described by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders as a "disturbing" move that could lead to censorship of broadcasts critical of Arab governments. The Saudi-Egyptian proposal to establish a regional office to supervise satellite broadcasters is aimed directly at Qatarbased Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Hamas group's Al-Aqsa TV and Hizbollah's Al-Manar channel, the watchdog said. Reporters Without Borders said the proposal stemmed 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 labelled as such. But the proposal also represents an effort to strengthen "traditional values," the group said. The two leading regional satellite operators are Arabsat, created by the Arab League and based in Riyadh, and Nilesat, based in Cairo and controlled by the Egyptian Government.
