MANAMA, 3 August 2006 — Newspapers in Bahrain criticized a letter yesterday from the British Embassy here which they interpreted as a request to stop publishing pictures of destruction and suffering in Lebanon.
News of the request which was made in a written statement issued by the British Charge d’Affaires Stephen Harrison broke yesterday morning after some of the newspapers revealed that their editors had received it.
The English version of the letter that was provided by the embassy quoted Harrison as saying: “We all wish to see an end to the horrific photos of destruction on your front pages over the past week.”
The British Embassy denies that this comment was a request for local media to censor themselves.
“We did not call for the pictures to stop, we strongly believe in the freedom of the press,” said a British Embassy spokeswoman who did not want to be cited by name.
Harrison had distributed a statement from the British Embassy in order to clarify Britain’s stance on the Middle East crisis. “You should not mistake lack of visibility for lack of action or intention on the UK’s part. The UK will continue to play its major role in bringing a speedy end to the conflict in Lebanon, for which we are all praying fervently,” it added.
While the statement may have been expressing hope that diplomacy would result in “fewer horrific photos,” Bahraini editors interpreted this comment as a direct request for them to censor themselves by not publishing photos of war crimes.
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Bahrain’s independent daily Al-Waqt responded to the letter with a page one column that went shoulder-to-shoulder with a large picture of a Palestinian woman holding a poster of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Above the picture was the headline: “To the British Embassy: Stop the aggression and we’ll stop publishing the pictures.” The column called on Britain to take a more active role in bringing about a cease-fire.
“We were hoping that Britain would ask for the aggression to stop and not to request us to stop publishing pictures that show the aftermath of that aggression which Harrison himself described as horrific,” the newspaper said. “We ask that Britain distance itself from the position of the US, which we consider an accomplice in the Israeli crimes and that they bring about a cease-fire according to human standards, not according to Israeli goals”.
The newspaper also criticized the UK for blocking the EU call for an immediate cease-fire following their meeting in Brussels.
“Mr. Harrison we will not stop publishing the pictures. This is the least we can do. It’s more proper to ask Israel to stop the slaughter,” the newspaper said.
Akhbar Al-Khaleej, the oldest of Bahrain’s six Arabic daily newspapers, responded to the letter with a headline in red that said: “Britain Refuses to Stop the Aggression”.
The newspaper carried a large picture of an elderly Lebanese woman carrying some of her belongings on her back as she walked by destroyed homes as part of a main page report that held Britain responsible for blocking the EU proposal for an immediate cease-fire.
The pro-government daily Al-Watan criticized the letter, which it printed on the front page inside a picture of Lebanese children walking on the remains of their homes with the comment, “these are the victims the British Embassy does not want us to write about”.
The paper in its sub-headline sarcastically quoted a famous Arabic saying: “He punched me and cried, and complained before I did”.
A British Embassy spokeswoman said that the letter only went out locally to Bahraini press to clarify the British position.
“We had been visited by several MPs and a lot of inquires had been made on where we stand, that is why the letter has been sent to clarify our position,” she said.
Harrison in his letter had asked that the newspapers not confuse UK policy with the policy of the US with regard to Lebanon, saying that the UK has been active diplomatically behind the scene to bring the war to an end.
Citizens and expatriates across Saudi Arabia criticized the British Embassy letter.
“Such moves can be construed as biased. After all, the media are projecting all that’s happening in Lebanon,” said C.J. Shahjahan, director business development at the Jeddah-based Batterjee Group of Industries. “This is a human tragedy. Any censorship will only encourage the perpetrator. The press is duty bound to project such tragic situations whenever and wherever they occur.”
“Britain is a champion of press freedom and I’m shocked to see the British Embassy making a move to restrict the press,” said Mohammad Alghamdi, a Saudi businessman.
“The Bahraini editors are fully justified in interpreting the letter as a direct interference. These are war crimes and the ground reality has to be projected in the media,” said Salim Qureshi, a physician.
— With input from K.S. Ramkumar
