CAIRO — Arab countries, at the initiative of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, yesterday adopted a document which imposes “regulations” on Arab satellite television and bars offending their regimes. Over the opposition solely of Qatar, the home of Al-Jazeera, information ministers of the 22-member Arab League voted in favor of the document.
The meeting was called at the request of Egypt, which hosts the Arab League and serves as base for several Arab satellite channels. It calls for the stations “not to offend the leaders or national and religious symbols” of Arab countries.
The Cairo document authorizes signatory countries to “withdraw, freeze or not renew the work permits of media which break the regulations.” It stipulates that satellite channels “should not damage social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values.”
Programming should also “conform with the religious and ethical values of Arab society and take account of its family structure.” Channels should “refrain from broadcasting anything which calls into question God, the monotheistic religions, the prophets, sects or symbols of the various religious communities.”
Broadcasters should avoid “erotic or obscene material” or programs that “encourage smoking or the consumption of alcohol,” the latter prohibited by Islam. They should also “protect Arab identity from the harmful effects of globalization.”
Egyptian Information Minister Anas Al-Fiqi told a news conference that his country would be the “first to implement the Cairo document.” “Some satellite channels have strayed from the correct path,” he charged.
Qatar said it was “still studying the document” but added that it did not “currently want to adopt” it for legal rather than political reasons.
Fiqi said the charter was binding despite reservations by Qatar. “(Qatar) decided to enter a reservation, out of fear that the charter could contain any provisions that contradict Qatari law... We shouldn’t politicize it,” Fiqi said.
Cairo-based analyst Issandr El-Amrani said the charter idea came after the proliferation of political talk shows in recent years, which gave “a much stronger voice to opposition politicians and movements like the Muslim Brotherhood.”
