الاتحاد الكاثوليكي العالمي للصحافة- لبنان اوسيب – لبنان
Antelias, June 5th, 2002
During the observation of the World Forum of Professionals in the Secular and Religious Media which aims to convey the mass media and persons working in these institutions in order to guarantee the media freedoms and the expression of opinion, it issued the following statement:
1 – The Forum expressed its worries toward the images and news transmitted by some mass media concerning troubles to which certain of their representatives were exposed when covering the partial elections facts at the North Metn, and through prohibiting them to achieve their democratic and national sacred media duty. After that the Forum called some of them and heard their testimony, it called some references to claim the equal respect of the profession dignity and publicists. Thus, the Forum reminded that the free press was the first guarantee of the democratic system, and that it insured the communication between the people and the responsible power, whereas the complication of its work and the hindrance in achieving its mission in this crucial national situation were nothing but a clear sign to what the destiny of democracy and media freedoms in Lebanon encompass. The Forum considered as well the aggression against reporters in the last days, namely the attack of reporters in Al Zahrani industry as Ra’fat Naim, messenger of the ‘Future’ newspaper, and Amin Choummar from ‘Al – Manar’ television, the attack of the colleague Moukhayber Al – Achkar, chief editor of ‘Akkar and North’ magazine, and the attack of ‘Hawa’ Magazine’ by breaking, dislocating, and firing its offices in Beirut.
2 – The Forum observed imminent media positions in the last days which were expected that publicists stand by. Mostly was the declaration of the minister of Education, Ghassan Salame, during the debate of “the citizenship and the disruption of the State”. He said: “the project of reestablishing the State in Lebanon does not seem a good decision until now, because we remark that some little States are spread here and there and that there is no concept of the State”. Then was the position of the minister of Information, Ghazi Al – Aridi, during his lecture titled “What is the margin of the media freedom in Lebanon today?”. He said: “There were trials to restrict the freedoms in Lebanon, there were inclines of certain parties for practicing a kind of injustice, restrain or restriction on freedoms or on certain colleague reporters….”
3 – The Forum stuck to communicate with the publicists in order to encourage them in their sacred national and professional work and to respect their duties in the service the truth, justice and peace, and to communicate with the officials in order to remind them that the guarantee of publicists is a part of the democracy protection and the continuity of this nation messenger.
4 – The Forum repeated its claim to support the National Media Council and to give it decisive authorities as was the case of the national Media Council in France, which inspired the constitution of the Lebanese Council. It is necessary that this Council gets back its authority of deciding of the urgent media problems, such as the application of the elections media law, the suspension of unauthorized mass media which cause a financial, political and technical disturbance inside the Lebanese media.
Translated by: Joyce Tary
