Bahrain is involved in jamming and pressuring on the satellite channels covering human rights condition in Bahrain, such as Al-Jazeera English and Lulu channel.
14 August, 2011
Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concern about the permanent campaigns by the government of Bahrain that muzzle, blur the facts and restrict publishing the information and freedom of media, which have increased in the last years and worsen since the beginning of the brutal repression campaign against the protesters last February and after imposing the state of emergency, that ended in the beginning of June 2011. The latest jamming was on lulu channel, Bahraini opposition channel broadcasting from London, also, pressuring on Al-Jazeera English to prevent re- broadcasting “Bahrain shouting in the dark”, that shows the repression campaign against pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain.
Bahrain is involved in jamming and pressuring on the satellite channels covering human rights condition in Bahrain, such as Al-Jazeera English and Lulu channel.
14 August, 2011
Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concern about the permanent campaigns by the government of Bahrain that muzzle, blur the facts and restrict publishing the information and freedom of media, which have increased in the last years and worsen since the beginning of the brutal repression campaign against the protesters last February and after imposing the state of emergency, that ended in the beginning of June 2011. The latest jamming was on lulu channel, Bahraini opposition channel broadcasting from London, also, pressuring on Al-Jazeera English to prevent re- broadcasting “Bahrain shouting in the dark”, that shows the repression campaign against pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain.
According to the information Bahrain Center for Human Rights has received, the Bahraini opposition Lulu channel which started broadcasting last month from London (July 17, 2011) had been jammed intensively after 4 hours of broadcasting, and according to a report by a telecommunication company, the jamming signals are from Kingdom of Bahrain. It seems like Bahraini authorities are trying to prevent what this channel broadcasts to Bahrainis, especially after broadcasting scenes of deaths ,arrests and attacks on the current and ongoing protests in Bahrain, and at the same time preventing any different media from Bahrain’s official television , which the citizens and observers questions its reports that are characterized with inciting violence against protesters , moreover , inciting sectarian, fabrication and falsification, and which described killing protesters as “cleansing.”
According to the Lulu founders’ statement, Lulu channel was not allowed to broadcast from Bahrain, forcing them to start broadcasting from abroad. However, the continuous jamming, despite their continuous attempts to re- broadcast on different frequencies, resulted to remove the channel from the satellite channels [1].
The channel sought to highlight the other opinion which is against the Bahraini government and broadcasting scenes and news of the current events in Bahrain, which are not covered by any official media but only slightly and called sabotage.
On the other hand, Bahrain’s government pressured on Al-Jazeera English after broadcasting a documentary film about the events of Bahrain’s revolution on August 4, 2011. Exactly after broadcasting it, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister attacked Qatar and Al Jazeera on Twitter, also the son of King Hamad Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad described the channel indecently, calling it “A despicable channel”, this however, warned of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries led to stop re-broadcasting [2] the documentary, “Bahrain shouting in the dark” after what Al-jazeera website has posted times of re-broadcasting the film on Monday ,Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, but all these times were omitted without giving any explanation.
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The 50 minutes film documents the revelation’s events in Bahrain and the subsequent brutal repression, deaths, attacks on medical staff, military control on the hospitals and torturing wounded protesters by Bahraini and Saudi security forces. Mr. Al Anstey, managing director of Al-Jazeera English said:
“The film-maker was not given access to many things. We were not given free access. We were denied comment by the Bahraini authorities. Our producer (of the documentary) was unable to access certain areas. Some sections of society also refused to comment. ” he also said “Many times we have requested Bahrain but denied (permission and access)”[3].
Bahrain’s government controls the media in the country especially audio-visual media, and there is not any independent privet channel broadcast from Bahrain. The authority had blocked Al Wefaq’s National Islamic Society website last September 2010 after announcing its intention to launch a visual and audible media via the Internet [4], at the same time Alwasat newspaper was denied from broadcasting audio and video reports on its website [5]. Furthermore, some activists were imprisoned [6] just because they sent some videos and pictures about the violations in Bahrain to the media outside Bahrain; Lots of detainees were imprisoned and sent to military court in this recent security campaign with charges related to speaking to the international media [7]. It is worth mentioning, that is the last appearance of an opposition critic on Bahrain’s television was in 2008, Ibrahim Sharif, Secretary General of the National Democratic Action Society – Wa’ad (detained since March and was sentenced to five years in prison for the moment) and after broadcasting the show, Minister of Information Jihad Bukamal was isolated from his office, and it’s currently managed by Shaikh Fawaz Al Khalifa who oversees the exclusionary sectarian policy and non-professional in Bahrain TV.
Furthermore, Bahrain’s authorities have jammed several other satellite channels which broadcast news reports on the events in Bahrain in February and March, including “Al-Alam” an Iranian channel and “Al-Manar” which is Lebanese [8].Also, blocked PressTv’s website in Bahrain that broadcasted numbers of English reports and talk shows about the protests in Bahrain.
The official visual and audio media had played a serious role in fueling sectarian strife and incitement among the society sects, hit the internal fabric, endangering civilians in danger, falsification the facts and information, establishing public trials and hold dissidents and protesters on TV, not allowing any contrary voice with the authority to speak on TV, but disconnected every call criticizing those shown on the television [9] in the recent months. Many victims have fallen to this role, dozens of citizens have been subjected to various types of harassment including raids on their houses at night and arresting them after these televised trials [10].
This organized campaign restricting freedom of visual media and flowing of information contradicts Bahrain as a member in Human Rights Council and its claim in respecting freedom of speech and opinion, and violates Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Bahrain, which provides that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the government of Bahrain represented in the media the following:
• Stop all forms of harassment by the government on the independent media and their crews and allow them to operate and broadcast news about Bahrain.
• Cancel all procedures that would restrict flowing of information and freedom of speech and opinion.
• Release all those who were arrested because they exercise freedom of speech and to deal with the media.
• Bahrain’s government has to restrict with its international obligations and respect for all forms of freedom of expression and publication as provided in the international covenants and treaties.
• Punish all those who are responsible in spreading lies and inciting sectarian and removed them from their offices in the Information Affairs Authority and Bahrain Tv .
• Oblige to codes of ethics on the media and all the international treaties and conventions, especially the International Covenants on Civil and Political, Social and Cultural Rights.
• Give all spectrums of the society the same amount of freedom to express their views about various issues without excluding any category based on the basis of sectarian or ideological or political.
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[1]http://english.aljazeera.net/vid..
[2]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/wo..
[3]http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/index.php?id=40..
[4]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3366
[5]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3327
[6]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3513
[7]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/4260
[8] http://manamavoice.com/news-news_read-6708-0.html
[9] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkgN51pEAnk
[10]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/4121