Category Archives: Media System

Egypt freedom of press downgraded to ‘Not Free’

123995618_51nFreedom House is an organization that is dedicated to promoting free institutions worldwide.  In order to do this the organization gives reports and statuses on the freedoms of every country.  In 2013 Freedom House downgraded Egypt’s freedom of press from ‘Partly Free’ to ‘Not Free’.  This downgrade in status speaks volumes on the contentious and ever-changing situation with the Egyptian government.  The reasons behind the downgrade were that Egypt has had campaigns to intimidate journalists, that there have been increased efforts to persecute journalists who talk badly about political leadership and there is a reduced availability of balanced coverage in the country.

The reduction of balanced news coverage in Egypt is related to when former president Mohamed Morsi took over power in 2012.  Morsi was a leader for the Muslim Brotherhood and appointed a fellow Muslim Brotherhood member to be in charge of producing a pro-government bias to the national media.  The Brotherhood’s newspaper, Freedom and Justice, became a platform to the overt promotion of Morsi’s policies.  Now that Morsi has been thrown out of power the interim government has seemed to go too far on the opposite end of the spectrum.  As mentioned in another blog post the interim president, Aldy Mansour, prohibited the printing of the Freedom and Justice newspaper and any publication that was in favor of Morsi.  By taking these actions the new government is doing exactly what Morsi did, which is restrict news coverage to only things that are favorable to them and that virtually eliminates balanced news coverage.  I find it a little ironic that Morsi was thrown out of power for promoting a biased media, but the new government is doing the same exact thing by not allowing news that isn’t favorable to the current leadership situation.  By limiting news from multiple and sometimes conflicting news outlets it hurts citizens’ abilities to see multiple perspectives on issues.  By not allowing this to happen the Egyptian government is influencing how they want their citizens to think, whether they realize it or not.  This absence of balanced coverage in Egypt is a huge hit for their freedom of press and because of that I feel they were rightfully downgraded to ‘Not Free’.

Posted by Tyler Ainge

Source: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/egypt

Morocco’s hypocritical constitution

r-HANDCUFFS-600x275In 2011 Morocco passed a new constitution that guarantees freedom of press, but in reality this is not the case.  According to Freedom House, Morocco’s freedom of press status for 2013 is ‘Not Free’.  Freedom House explains the rating by saying that although Morocco passed a new constitution in 2011 that guarantees freedom of press this promise has not been fulfilled by the government.  Due to the vague language in the constitution it enables for loose interpretation of the law and hinders media protections.  In the same constitution that guarantees press freedom there is another law that forbids criticism of the Moroccan monarchy and Islamic religion.  If this law is violated it is considered a criminal offense and can result in prison time or hefty fines.

In February 2012 a Moroccan teenage student was sentenced to 18 months in prison after posting a cartoon drawing of the king on his Facebook page.  In that same month a man was sentenced to three years in prison for criticizing royal policies and calling the king a dog in a video that was uploaded on YouTube.  In both of these examples, it shows that the government takes this law very seriously and its penalties can affect ordinary citizens, not just professional journalists that write for newspapers or magazines.  With these vague laws in the constitution it can cause people to not know what their exact protections are when it comes to freedom of speech.  One Moroccan columnist said, “The freedom of the press is very relative and the independence of journalists is most often trumped by the interests of political and economic decision-makers.”  To avoid harsh punishments like the ones listed earlier in the post many journalists decide to practice self-censorship.  This is dangerous because it means that journalists are afraid to publish certain newsworthy materials that might be vital for the public to know.  I am happy that a respectable organization like Freedom House was not fooled by Morocco’s hypocritical constitution and has given their press freedom the appropriate rating of ‘Not Free’.

Posted by Tyler Ainge

Source: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/morocco

http://muftah.org/freedom-of-press-in-morocco/

Greyson detainment highlights mistreatment of journalists

johngreyson-slider-680x340Since the removal of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi there have been over 40 cases of detainment where journalists and media members are put in jail without facing any formal charges.  Most of these detainments are related to media members that are sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood or former president Morsi.  However, in the case of Canadian filmmaker John Greyson I feel it highlights how this unfair treatment can have affects on anyone.  On August 16, 2013 Greyson was on his way to Gaza to film a movie but he could not reach Gaza because Egypt had closed its border.  While in Egypt he documented police cracking down on a Muslim Brotherhood demonstration.  Egyptian authorities found the video on Greyson’s camera and a spokesman for the Egyptian military said that he would be charged with “participating in an illegal demonstration.”  Greyson faced horrible conditions in jail where he shared a cell with 40 other people.  He was also searched, interrogated, beaten, shaved bald and refused phone calls while in jail.

Finally with help from the Canadian government and international authorities Greyson was released from jail.  During the protest to get Greyson out of imprisonment the Canadian government and several other organizations wrote a letter of support for Greyson that was signed by 311 cultural and academic figures from around the world.  Also an online petition was signed by nearly 150,000 people.  On October 5th the Canadian government announced that Greyson had been released, however the Egyptian military said he could not leave the country while under investigation.  On October 10th Greyson was finally able to get on a plane and leave Egypt.  I feel that this one example shows how unfair journalists are treated in that country.  In this case it was a foreign filmmaker who just got stuck in the country and happened to film the wrong thing, but this same type of harsh and unfair treatment happens everyday to journalists in that country.  I think the main point to highlight from this example is that Greyson was held in jail without ever being formally charged, but due to help from his government he was able to be freed.  Egyptian journalists are not afforded this same luxury and when they are detained without formally receiving charges their stay in jail can be indefinite.

Posted by Tyler Ainge

Source: http://cpj.org/blog/2013/10/john-greyson-detention-exposes-egypts-arbitrary-po.php#more

Couple Arrested in Morocco for Kissing

Kissing Kids

Two teenagers were arrested in Morocco in November because of a picture that was posted on the Internet of them kissing. The picture was posted on Facebook and was considered “public indecency.” Along with the 14 and 15 year olds featured in the picture, the 16 who took it, was also arrested. This kiss caused a huge uprising and questioning of person freedom in Morocco. Online protesting blew up and a hashtag, #Nadorkiss, started trending to support the teens. Shortly after the arrest, supporters staged a “kiss-in” event to protest what had happened. A few dozen Moroccan citizens kissed in courtyard outside the parliament and posted the pictures on Twitter. While Morocco is known to be a conservative, Muslim nation, the citizens feel as though they should have the right to show affection in public. They felt as though the teenagers were wrongly arrested. Even though not as many people showed up as was expected, participants in the event said “For us, the message got through. It was a success. There were couples and single people, and the couples were not embarrassed in public.”

Unknown

However, not everyone agreed that the couple was wrongly arrested. Some people looked at it from a religious standpoint. One person who supported the arrest commented that “We are an Islamic country and kissing in public is forbidden. A simple kiss can lead to other things.” It seems that religious beliefs definitely played a part in this situation. The pressure from the protests caused for the teens to be released three days after the arrest but they are still expected to appear in court. People have been speculating that the arrest was more of an educational lesson to the public rather than a criminal act by the citizens. It is amazing how social media can bring out so much support and controversy at the same time.

Sources:

http://www.france24.com/en/20131013-morocco-protest-stage-kiss-in-support-arrested-teens-picture-facebook-kissing-islam

http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social-media-outcry-grows-over-moroccos-arrest-of-teenagers-kissing/story-fn5j66db-1226766816498

Social Media is Reshaping News in Morocco

 

social-media-profiles-33d

It’s no secret that the newspaper and the traditional newscasts are becoming outdated here in the United States. This is also the case in Morocco. Conventional news media such as the newspaper and newscast have been called “passé” in their region. With social media on the rise worldwide, Morocco is not going to be left behind. In the Arab Spring region in general, social media has blown up, giving the citizens the opportunity to share news. Morocco gives its citizens the right to use websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Social media is so quick and so easily updated that journalists constantly find themselves searching for new information to give their audiences something they don’t know yet. Regular people can announce and follow major events on their personal social media profiles.

Before social media, it was the major news outlets job to announce the big stories on the front page of the paper or with a breaking news story. People love social media because of the interaction and quick updates. However, experts in communication warn that accuracy sometimes isn’t always up to speed in social media posts but with professional journalism, accuracy is always the priority. With all the war and violence going on in the Northern African region it is vital that the information being given out to people is 100 percent correct. People’s lives and safety could be at stake if something is reported wrong or if something starts trending that a lot of people do not like.

The world of social media definitely complicates the life of journalists but they will learn to adjust as technology and communication techniques evolve. I think it is so interesting that social media is affecting a country such as Morocco the same way that it is affecting the United States. The media systems in both countries are changing and growing as social media becomes more popular and usable.

Sources:

http://www.moroccotomorrow.org/social-media-reshaping-news/

http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/morocco

Morocco Communication Minister bans publications

The Moroccan Communication Minister Mustapha Khalfi banned two French weeklies in 2012, which sparked outrage from the Human Rights Watch.  A February publication of Le Nouvel Observateur was banned because it contained pictured representations of God.  Khalfi also banned an issue of Le Pèlerin because it had pictures that depicted the Prophet Muhammed.  Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, argued against the ban saying “This ban violates the right of Moroccans to read – or not to read – publications of their choosing, only months after they approved a new constitution that is supposed to guarantee freedom of expression and press freedom.”

Morocco’s new constitution states, “Press freedom is guaranteed and cannot be restricted by any form of prior censorship.”  It does however, also gives the communication minister the power to ban publications that inflict harm to Islamic religion, territorial integrity or respect due to the king.  In the Le Nouvel Observateur case there was an image taken from an animated film showing a woman talking to God who is shown as a man with a white beard.  With Le Pèlerin the publication reproduced Turkish and Persian paintings from the 16th and 18th centuries depicting Muhammad with his face hidden. Khalfi, who is a member of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development, justified his banning of the French weeklies by saying that in both cases the pictures go against an Untied Nations decision that prohibits inflicting harm on religious beliefs.  However, Human Rights Watch feels that this is a misinterpretation of the international law governing freedom of expression, which doesn’t allow governments to restrict speech merely because it may offend members of a faith.

I agree with Human Rights Watch that it was wrong for Khalfi to ban the French publications.  I felt that in both instances the publications were not intentionally trying to offend any religious members and were just showing replications of other people’s work.  In regards to the Muhammad depiction I feel that since his face was hidden it is still respectful to the Muslim community.  I also feel that it is wrong that the Moroccan government gave the communication minister the power to ban whatever he feels is inappropriate since he can pretty much censor whatever he feels like.  I believe that giving this much power to one person is unwise and can lead to suppression of free speech like in the two cases talked about.

Posted by Tyler Ainge

Source: http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/10/morocco-weeklies-censored-depicting-god-muhammad

 

Egyptian censorship continues under new government

Adli Mansour, Egypt's chief justice and head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, attends his swearing in ceremony as interim president in Cairo

In July, 2013 the new Egyptian government began detaining journalists and censoring news outlets, especially those associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.  This concerned the Committee to Protect Journalists because the new government and interim president Aldy Mansour originally expressed the intention to being more of a liberal media system by being inclusive with the media, but these actions clearly contradict that.  The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious and political group that believes Islam is not just a religion, but a way of life.  The Muslim Brotherhood officially rejects violent means to secure goals, but offshoots of the group have been linked to attacks in the Middle East.  Former Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and therefore has much support from the organization.

The CPJ’s Middle East and North African program coordinator, Sherif Mansour, said that if the new government in Egypt is sincere about pursuing democracy it must begin to respect the freedom of press and all voices, including the Muslim Brotherhood, should be heard.  Examples of recent censorship in Egypt include the Al-Ahram government printing house refusing to print the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice daily.  The military also raided Al-Jazeera’s Egyptian television station and shut down at least three stations that are supportive of previous Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi.  Police also arrested two Islamist television hosts and dozens of staff, including journalists, were detained in undisclosed locations without contact to lawyers or families.

Reading this article it is easy to see the hypocrisy that the Committee to Protect Journalists is noticing with the new Egyptian government.  The interim president expresses the want for Egypt to be a democracy; however he censors any form of media that is supportive of the former president.  By raiding media outlets and detaining journalists they are censoring the voices of people in the country that contradict the current president.  Egyptian citizens have the right to know about the viewpoints of all different political organizations, so they can form their own informed opinion on their current and former leaders.  As long as Egypt continues to not follow freedom of press to the full extent than the country will never be a true democracy and liberal media system.

Posted by Tyler Ainge

Source: http://www.cpj.org/2013/07/egyptian-authorities-step-up-censorship.php