Freedom of the Press,
Publications, and Speech in the PA
Article 19 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights: Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression: this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart
information and ideas of all kinds regardless of frontiers either orally,
in writing, or in print in the form of art or through any other media of
his choice.
Article 2 (1995) Palestinian Press Law:
Press and printing are free. Furthermore, freedom of opinion
should be entitled to every Palestinian individual who attends the
absolute right to express his opinion in a free manner either verbally, in
writing, photography, or drawing, as a different means of expression and
information.
According to the Palestinian Press Law, the right
to a free and independent press is guaranteed. This legal protection has
not been translated into the existence of a truly free and independent
Palestinian press. Furthermore, other measures of the freedom of
Palestinians to express themselves indicate that this freedom is
restricted and limited by a number of bodies with no official or legal
mandate, including various security services and the office of President
Arafat.
A. Daily Newspapers
The PHRMG interviewed journalists and editors
from three daily newspapers. Without exception, those interviewed insisted
on anonymity, stating the fear that their employers will take measures
against them, or that they will be harmed by security agencies of the PA.
This fear has a basis in fact: In 1996, journalist Samir Hamato was held
in detention for seven months, without being charged or interrogated. It
remains unclear what prompted his arrest; Hamato himself says that he has
no idea what led to his lengthy detention, or what caused his release.
Hamato is a supporter of Hamas. In another case, Maher Al-Alami was
detained for eight days for placing a story about President Arafat on page
8 of Al-Quds newspaper instead of on the cover page, as requested by the
office of President Arafat.
Newspapers published by Hamas and the Islamic
Jihad were also closed in 1996, in the wake of the bomb attacks in Israel
in February and March of that year. The pro-Jordanian newspaper An-Nahar
shut down on January 1, 1997, for financial reasons. A local newspaper, 'Jenin'
was shut down, and its editor, Imad Abu-Zahra briefly jailed and
threatened with further imprisonment in October 1996.
B. Harassment of Journalists in
1997
In the first three months of 1997, no senior
journalist was arrested. We have heard unverified reports of journalists
in Gaza being held by the security forces for one-way 'consultations,'
during which the journalists were told to 'behave.' The reports are
unverified because none of them have been willing to cooperate with human
rights groups out of fear of reprisal from the PA.
When asked, most of our interviewees expressed the opinion that arrests
are no longer necessary, since the effect of past intimidation has been
successful in silencing criticism. In any case, journalists from the three
major newspaper stated that they are aware of 'red lines' that must not be
crossed for fear of reprisals from either management or the security
forces.
During the celebrations in Ramallah after the release of the last women
prisoners from Israeli prisons (Feb. 11), a journalist was pushed and
threatened with arrest by members of President Arafat's security guard.
President Arafat invited a group of journalists to enter a room with him.
A security guard prevented the journalists from following. One of the
journalist told the guard, "if you won't let me enter the room with
Arafat, then I am going home and there won't be a story." The guard then
called other guards to take the journalist aside. The guards took him
aside, pushing and behaving in a threatening manner. After the
intervention of other journalists, the situation was resolved peacefully.
The incident is symptomatic of the contempt many members of the security
forces hold for journalists.
Khaled Amayreh is a journalist for foreign media, including UAE Satellite
Television. On March 22, officers of the PSS visited him at his home and
asked him to come the PSS headquarters in Dura. The officer in charge
yelled at Amayreh, accusing him of suggesting that Jibil Rajoub was taking
orders from Ami Ayalon, head of the Israeli General Security Service (Shabak.)
Amayreh had reported on a meeting held between the two men, a meeting
which was widely reported in local and international media. After
threatening him with imprisonment, the officer told Amayreh to sign a
document stating that there was no intent to "libel anybody or place
someone in a bad light." The next day, to senior officials of the PA
attacked Amayreh on a Voice of Palestine program. The officials were:
Mutawakil Taha (Director-General of the PNA Ministry of Information) and
Jibril Rajub, who called Amayreh "insane." Such comments intimidate
journalists, who fear being the target of official criticism and
harassment.
C. Restrictions on the Press,
Self-Censorship and Official 'Cooperation'
The pro-Jordanian newspaper An-Nahar closed on
January 1. This was ostensibly for financial reasons. However, the PA had
carried out a lengthy campaign of harassment against An-Nahar, resulting
in distribution difficulties and withdrawal of major advertisers, leading
up to the financial crisis. Two measures stand out: the closure of An-Nahar
for forty days in August and September of 1994, was followed by a steep
drop in advertising revenue since both advertisers and readers had moved
on to other newspapers, and newsstand vendors were approached by
individuals who 'recommended' that An-Nahar be 'displayed less
prominently.'
Three daily newspapers are published in the PA: Al Quds, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida,
and Al-Ayyam. The situation of the daily press is, in our opinion, the
most important tool for the assessment of the freedom of the press in the
PA. Despite its weakened condition, the daily press remains the main
channel for the distribution of information and opinion. Al-Quds is of
special significance, as it is the Palestinian 'newspaper of record.'
Other publications have fewer readers on the one hand, and the weeklies
and monthlies that address political issues tend to be geared towards a
more limited audience, one that is more educated than the readership of
the daily press. Public support for the three dailies is as follows: Al-Quds:
52.6%, Al-Ayyam: 8.6% and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: 7.6%. Al-Ayyam is
distributed in PA offices.
Various authorities practice censorship and unacceptable intervention in
the press. All of this intervention is in violation of the Press Law,
passed in 1995. The authorities control the content of the daily press
through existing relationships with the owners, publishers, and chief
editors of the papers. This relationship is based on outright ownership of
the newspaper by senior PA officials, participation of PA officials in
senior positions on the newspaper staff, and in the case of Al-Quds, a
close relationship between the chief editor and PSS head Jibril Rajub. The
close connections between Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and the PA seem
to allow those publications more latitude and freedom to criticize than
Al-Quds. Apparently, newspapers obviously and blatantly connected to the
PA are seen as 'loyalists' who may be permitted to criticize. Al-Quds on
the other hand, as the most veteran and respected newspaper, must be
restrained since its relationship with the PA is based more on
intimidation than on a close and voluntary relationship with the
authorities.
Al-Quds newspaper: PSS chief Jibril Rajub is in near daily contact with
Al-Quds Chief Editor Maher Sheikh. The two men apparently coordinate which
articles appear on the front page, and discuss the contents of stories
that are critical of the PA, or one of its agencies. The PSS head has been
witnessed at the offices of Al-Quds numerous times in 1997. This close
relationship has resulted in a situation in which the goals of the PA (as
seen by the head of one of a powerful security agency) and the editorial
perspective of the newspaper are nearly never in conflict. The newspaper
functions as a cheerleader to President Arafat. There is little, or no
'critical' coverage on major political issues, or a stage for alternative
views. This is the case for the Palestinian press in general, with the
situation of Al-Quds detailed above merely a case study. It can be said
that the Palestinian press is semi-official, similar to the Egyptian
press.
The Office of President Arafat continues to interfere in the editorial
process of newspapers. Editors are told which stories to include, where to
place them, and express dissatisfaction if their 'requests' made in the
past were not honored. In the case of stories that are known to the
journalists, and show a serious problem with a security agency, senior
official, or President Arafat, the newspaper is asked to wait with the
story until the situation is resolved. Then, the story will include a
resolution of the problem, thus turning originally critical news into a
success story. The PA has been successful in instilling a climate of fear
and intimidation on the community of journalists in Palestine. The result
is the practice of self-censorship by journalists and editors, and direct
manipulation of the media by high ranking officers in the security forces
and other agencies, such as the Office of President Arafat.
This media manipulation is often hard to point at. An example is the
coverage of political activity. Reading the three daily newspapers for
January - March 1997, there is rarely any mention of political activity by
any organization except Fateh. Statements by leaders are an exception to
this, as are paid advertisements announcing political events. Another
example is the coverage of human rights issues. There are some quotes
against human rights violations, but with the exception of the Al-Baba
case no coverage of the violations.
Some journalists see the practice of self-censorship not as the result of
intimidation, but as their patriotic duty, in view of the political
difficulties that exist. Another important factor is Palestinian political
culture, which educates people into accepting duties and responsibilities
as members of a group, without emphasizing the rights of the individual.
This results in the suspension of critical thinking and independent
action. The media is not in the position to determine public opinion, or
to spark public action. Rather, these roles are played by leaders - in all
levels of society - with the authority to dictate opinions and actions.
The source of authority is mostly external, coming as it does through
hierarchical channels. Journalists, as members of Palestinian society, are
subjects within this political culture, and not independent actors. The
exceptions to this merely prove the rule.
The international organization Reporters Sans
Frontieres has written:
Faced with [...] obstacles and the Israeli policy of sealing off the
Territories in the peace process, Palestinian journalists have taken up
Yassar Arafat's cause, cutting back on their criticism of the Palestinian
authorities. This is reflected by the fact that there were hardly any bans
on newspapers in the Autonomous Territories in 1996, whereas the previous
two years were marked by countless seizures, suspensions and closures of
publications.
D. Confiscation of Books
In December 1996, The General Intelligence
Service confiscated books at the border crossing from Jordan. These were
books that the Israeli officials allowed through. In correspondence with
the Ministry of Information, the PHRMG asked for a clarification on the
legality of the GIS actions. Mr. Hani Al-Masri, the official responsible
in the Ministry, wrote a letter to the GIS demanding that the confiscated
books be returned to their owner. This was not done, and the GIS is
refusing to submit to the orders of the civilian authority responsible for
printed material.
In the absence of the rule of law, the security forces feel free to set
the limits of freedom of expression by themselves, despite the existence
of civilian authorities responsible for this matter.
the limits of freedom of expression by
themselves, despite the existence of civilian authorities responsible for
this matter.
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