Why Arabs Doubt U S Congress, of Free Speech and Abandoned Backbones on the Jordan…………
“As a matter of fact, the American democracy doesn't find it strange to punish and shut down a complete TV station just because it criticizes the American policy in the region…….. Nothing strange…The US House of Representatives has adopted a bill asking the US president to report to Congress on incitement to anti-American violence on television networks in the Middle East. Lawmakers adopted the measure in a decisive 395-3 vote…………… The bill calls for punitive measures for networks deemed to be fueling terror. Among the networks mentioned are Al-Aqsa, Hamas' television station, which broadcasts from Gaza, and Hezbollah's Al-Manar. While the US Senate has yet to weigh in on the issue, Lebanon and the Arab world decided to "raise the voice" against the awaited move. In this context, the Arab League General Secretariat criticized the bill threatening to punish satellite networks under the pretext that they sign contracts with channels broadcasting "incitement" against the United States. AL Secretary General advisor for information affairs Ambassador Mohamad Khamlishi said that the institutions that own the satellites are not responsible of the content all TV channels broadcast, noting that the TV channels don't sign contracts with the satellite networks unless they have the needed license from their countries. Khamlishi pointed out that the Arab League was holding discussion over the issue with the Information ministries as well as concerned sides in the Arab World. In Lebanon, the American bill was discussed by the Information and Telecommunication parliamentary commission in its weekly meeting headed by MP Hasan Fadlallah and attended by Information Minister Tarek Mitri and a number of media representatives. Following the meeting, Fadlallah told reporters that all the committee's members believe the US bill was political, not legal. He said that the Lebanese cabinet would discuss the matter and issue a united stance over it…………” al-Manar
It is true that al-Manar is one of the targets of this measure and hence it has its own interest in this issue. What they are trying to say, though, is that the way Arab peoples (not Arab oligarchies) see it, the commitment of the US Congress to free speech stops at the shores of the Atlantic. Or maybe at the Jordan River, because to most Arab peoples (not to the ruling oligarchies) that is the exact spot where the US Congress parts ways with its backbone.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
mhg
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Humm... interesting,
Jordan is one of the countries that has a threat to the west but very little is known about them,
Thanks for writing, most people don't bother.
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