US pressures Al-Jazeera
The International Press Institute (IPI) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed dismay last week at reports that the US State Department put pressure on the government of Qatar to influence the news coverage of independent Qatar-based satellite channel “Al-Jazeera.” According to CPJ, the privately owned station, which is the most popular television channel in the Arab world, has been accused of airing anti-American views, particularly in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.
On 3 October 2001, United States Secretary of State Colin Powell met with the emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, asking him to use his influence to pressure the station into softening its coverage, says IPI. The US State Department complained that “Al-Jazeera” was repeatedly airing a 1998 interview featuring Osama bin Laden, and that it reported that US Special Forces troops were recently captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to CPJ. “The US State Department is seeking to sanitize reporting and is denying individuals the right to receive information as protected by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” declared IPI in a letter to Powell.
Ironically, IPI points out that last year, the US State Department characterised “Al-Jazeera” in its 2000 Human Rights Report as a “privately-owned satellite television channel [that] operates freely.”
Since the start of the United States-led bombing of Afghanistan on 7 October, the satellite channel - which is the only foreign broadcaster permitted in Afghanistan - has broken a string of exclusive stories on the situation inside Afghanistan, including a videotaped statement by Bin Laden released shortly after the bombings began.
In an interview with “Al-Jazeera” after his meeting with Powell, Sheikh Hamad said he viewed the US government’s request as “advice” and would pledge Qatar’s full co-operation, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The attempt by the US State Department to control “Al-Jazeera’s” media coverage follows an incident two weeks ago in which it tried to prevent the federal broadcaster, Voice of America, from airing a programme that featured an interview with the leader of the Taliban regime Mullah Mohammed Omar. Although the programme was eventually aired, the move raised fears that American media organisations were being pressured by officials into falling in line with US government policy.
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related links:
The Al-Jazeera Revolution
Al-Jazeera Surpasses CNN in Live Afghan War Coverage. By Magda Abu-Fadil, Poynter.org
Bin Laden’s statement broadcast on Al-Jazeera
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