CPJ "DISMAYED" BY U.S. PRESSURES ON AL-JAZIRA TV NEWS CHANNEL
New York 5 Oct. (IPS) The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed Thursday "deep concern" by reports that U.S. officials pressured Qatar in an attempt to influence the news coverage of the Qatar-based Al-Jazira Satellite channel.
Following a meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., with U.S. secretary of
State Colin Powell, Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani acknowledged that U.S. officials had asked him to use his influence to rein in Al-Jazira's news coverage", the New York-based CPJ said in a communiqué."The U.S. government apparently feels that Al-Jazira's programming has been unbalanced and anti-American, particularly in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.", the Committee added.
"We heard from the U.S. Administration, and also from the previous administration", the Emir was quoted as saying by CNN. "Naturally we take these things as a kind of advice", he had added.
A State Department official told CNN that Secretary Powell and the Emir "had
a frank exchange" on the issue and "there should have been no mistake of where we are coming from."On October 2, the, U.S. Embassy in Qatar filed a formal diplomatic complaint with Qatari authorities regarding Al-Jazira's coverage, CPJ further said, without mentioning which programs or what coverage have raged the American Administration.
Founded in 1996, Al-Jazira is the most widely watched news channel in the Arab world. The 24-hour channel has revolutionized the Arabic news industry through uncensored news programs and open debates.
Although the Qatari government subsidizes Al-Jazira, the station has been widely praised for its editorial independence. Over the years, Al-Jazira
has drawn a steady stream of complaints from Arab governments angered by its reporting."The U.S. Administration is effectively urging Qatari authorities to interfere with what is essentially an independent news station", said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "Arab government attempts to influence Al-Jazira have garnered widespread attention over the years. We are disheartened to see U.S. officials adopting similar tactics", she protested.
The station is the only one in the world to have two correspondents in Afghanistan, one of them stationed in Kandahar, the city where lives the Taleban’s supreme leader Mollah Mohammad Omar Akhound. ENDS CPJ 51001