الاتحاد الكاثوليكي العالمي للصحافة- لبنان اوسيب – لبنان
UCIP said it was shocked to see the smear campaign launched against the daily newspaper L’Orient le Jour that published the details of the attack against a military helicopter in which First Lieutenant Samer Hanna Harb was killed. In this context, UCIP Media Observatory would like to reaffirm the following stable traits:
1-Every campaign launched against the media that publishes confirmed facts undermines the citizens' right to knowledge. Do we want to live in society where the media is prevented from publishing disturbing facts? People who are asking to bring the newspaper before the courts should not intervene in the judgment and should only be mindful of preserving the media real message i.e. presses freedom.
2-The press is responsible to readers and justice and not at all to politicians caring only about their personal interests. It is up to the courts to judge and to penalize the press if it publishes untruthful news and violates the work ethics. In such case, readers also penalize the newspaper and withdraw their confidence in it. However, they can also penalize it in case it did not reveal the truth and turned a blind eye on politicians' violations.
3-The daily newspaper L'Orient Le Jour has always been known for its courage even in the most difficult times of the Israeli occupation and the Syrian tutelage. It accomplishes its mission and reveals the information it gets. It is true that we support the free and independent Lebanese press, however we cannot but point out the errors made in the professional practice. One of these errors is citing anonymous sources that refuse to reveal their identities. Therefore, the press should avoid publishing news coming from "unidentified sources" because such sources could use the press to serve their own goals.
4-The Lebanese press has the right to obtain information from official sources, but, unfortunately, this is not always the case. It is therefore necessary to set the appropriate legislations that open the doors of public administrations to the press in order to enhance transparency and to preserve the citizen's right to information. In fact, the citizen has the right to know what happened so that he could evaluate the officials democratic performance.
5-The media must present the facts and reveal the truth. It must also be protected from bearing the responsibility of some politicians' statements and acts. People who chose to serve the public opinion and the nation must work more than others on preserving their good reputation. Their words and deeds must fall into line with the image they want to give in the media. Let's them always remember that the media is not their scapegoat, every time they commit a mistake.
Translated by : Marie-Lou Nicolas
