MANAMA, 28 January 2005 — Statements made by the newly re-elected Bahrain Journalist Association (BJA) Chairman, Isa Al-Shaugi, describing Bahrain Journalist Union (under establishment) as an illegal
body sparked criticism from the union yesterday and a pledge by them to boycott the BJA if necessary.
Al-Shaugi, who is the editor-in-chief of the semi-government Arabic daily Al Ayyam, made the statements following his re-election yesterday to the post unopposed, after the two candidates running against him withdrew at the eleventh-hour.
Seven other journalists, including a woman, were elected to the new board of the BJA.
“There is no entity called a union in my dictionary and this an illegal grouping,” Al- Shaugi said.
He added that the BJA was the only official body representing journalists in Bahrain and that they had revived the government’s backing to form a union.
Al-Shaugi also said that they had removed all the obstacles to help other journalists join them.
His statement sparked a heated response from the union that described it as regretful and inaccurate, vowing to boycott the BJA if needed.
“We had operated for the past five years without joining the BJA and we are prepared to do it for another 10 years till we have a union that truly represent us,” said the vice-chairman of the union Ghassan Al-Shehabi.
Bahrain has four Arabic and two English language daily newspapers, in addition to a number of publications that print weekly, monthly, and quarterly.
