23 May 2012 By Tariq
Alhomayed In Saudi Arabia the
council of ministers, chaired by the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, issued
a ruling that requires state ministries to appoint
spokespeople and respond to the media, whilst in the
UAE, it was announced that four Twitter accounts
tracing back to Abu Dhabi had been suspended, because
they were inciting tribal prejudices. Without a doubt,
both initiatives are worthy of praise. For Saudi Arabia it is
the first time that ministries, without exception,
will have official spokespeople to deal with the
media. This is instead of some ministers portraying
the Saudi media as the problem, claiming that it
enjoys a degree of freedom that sometimes demands a
lot of responsibility. Yet that does not mean that a
minister, or their ministry, can live in an ivory
tower, using the Saudi press to embellish them
personally, or embellish their ministry! I do not
understand how the Ministry of Interior, where
collecting information lies at the heart of its work,
cannot provide an official spokesperson for Saudi
reporters, or anyone else for that matter. We have
also seen other ministries where a spokesperson is
already available, but they do not have the authority
to speak or give information! This is amazing, the
spokesperson not only answers questions, but they also
take the initiative and explain to the press what
information is appropriate for publication and what is
not. It is in the interests of all parties, official
or private, to respond to the media, for it is far
better when only part of the story, rather than the
whole thing, is against you. Thus we find the White
House in America dealing with the media like any
commercial enterprise in New York or elsewhere.
Silence does not protect you from the media and public
opinion, rather this is achieved through providing
correct information and of course, by responding to
questions. As for the UAE, what
happened in Abu Dhabi is a lesson for everyone, namely
that just because you are writing on a social
networking website; this does not mean that you are
out of reach of the law, or that you have a free reign
to offend people or institutions. This is not freedom
of opinion, freedom comes with responsibility, and it
does not constitute launching insults here and there.
An insult is not an opinion; it goes beyond this and
deserves to be punished. The punishments for such
abuses will only increase as we go further into the
debate, as we seek to restore our values in the Arab
world. Here some may ask how someone in the media can
ask for restrictions such as these. The truth is that
the volume of insults, the continuous broadcast of
lies, and the personal abuse directed at every public
figure has exceeded a reasonable limit in our region,
specifically in Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf
states, and likewise in a sad and notable manner in
Egypt. Everyone is allowed to
have a different opinion, to make a joke, or to vent
their rejection of a particular idea, but they cannot
lead campaigns of hatred, incitement or
misinformation, such that those that occur on Twitter
or Facebook. It is strange that many have not noticed
that Twitter itself, for example, sets strict
conditions against misinformation or deceiving the
public opinion, and prohibits any form of slander. A
British official said last week that those who write
under pseudonyms are hiding behind false names, but
this does not excuse them from prosecution in Britain,
while unfortunately we find Arab intellectuals and
officials who believe that the matter is a case of
"all or nothing" when it comes to freedom of opinion.
Yet there is another approach adopted by civilized
countries, namely to punish those who abuse their
freedoms. Therefore, the
decisions from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are steps in the
right direction, and deserve praise and support from
everyone who believes in responsibility and the need
to respect it. Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London.
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