RIYADH, 26 January — Interior Minister Prince Naif, chairman of the Higher Council for Information, stressed the need for the media to exercise responsible freedom to serve the best interests of the people and the Kingdom.
Speaking in a two hour-long meeting with the chief editors of local newspapers here on Wednesday, Prince Naif said press freedom in the Kingdom is guided by religious values, traditions and higher national interests while the western media concept is based on unbridled and absolute freedom.
The prince stated in the meeting that the security authorities have not yet implemented the new regulations governing publications to punish some newspapers for publishing incorrect and unfounded reports about certain crimes. Baseless reports only aim at sensationalism and chaos which upset the investigations.
"We do not prevent anyone writing about security matters or going to the site of a crime and photographing it, but we will not be pleased with reporting without verifying the facts from responsible security sources," the minister added.
The prince welcomed constructive criticism based on facts and invited media criticism of the agencies of the Interior Ministry and its security departments from the top to the bottom.
"Be assured that I am not the least annoyed or sensitive to such criticism if it is supported by existing facts and serving the public's and the country's interests," the minister said.
The authorities have to consider the public security and the sentiments of the readers whose right is to know the actual facts in full without sensationalism and exaggeration, the prince added.
"We in the Interior Ministry never ordered the general investigations department or the police to arrest any journalist nor did I demand the information minister — he is present here — to punish a journalist except on extremely exceptional circumstances related to the higher interests of the country," the prince said.
The prince added that he did not consider the ministry's officials to be incapable of making mistakes. The ministry has not punished anyone for what he wrote while it expected that the writings should be objective and based on facts particularly in matters where security is involved.
The prince explained that the delay in public statements on some criminal incidents was because the authorities did not want such announcements to hamper the investigations while the security officials used to arrest the perpetrators of crimes immediately after the crimes were committed.
"We admit and we don't deny the presence of crimes in the Kingdom. We cannot guarantee the absolute freedom of crime in the country since the phenomena is here in the world since the creation of mankind by Allah. Otherwise there would not have been any rules, regulations, courts, judges and lawyers," the prince said.
On the other hand, the level of crime in the Kingdom is low considering the country's size and population growth, he said. The Kingdom, just as any other country in the world, has been registering an increase in the occurrence of crimes but it's level is not as high as in other countries, the prince pointed out.
Burglary and unemployment were unheard of until recent years. Things changed with the inflow of the expat work-force and the rise in the number of university graduates. Prince Naif stressed the need for joint and intensified efforts by the ministry, society, media, writers and educationists to help curb crimes as well as the causes that lead to crimes.
