03 November 2012 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid A group of Syrian rebels in the
Azaz region stand accused of kidnapping Lebanese
journalist Fidaa Aytani. This journalist risked his
life to enter Syria and he is not the first media
figure to be detained by the Syrian rebels. This
renews talk about how long we can be silent about the
abuse of our professional colleagues who are only
doing their duty to cover the Syrian revolution? Whatever the justifications of the kidnappers, they
are carrying out crimes against the media as a whole
when they took the decision to detain this Lebanese
journalist, or as they portray it, "host" him!
Ultimately, this will result in those who rely on the
media's enmity [against al-Assad] being the biggest
losers. The media is the oxygen that any revolution
around the world lives on. Without the support of the
media, the Syrian revolution will lose everything that
it has gained, particularly as it is in a tough
situation requiring every sympathetic hand to stand
with the Syrian people and their revolution during
these difficult times. I am not specifically defending the media of the
revolution and its supporters, nor their opponents,
but rather everybody in the media, including those
working for the Syrian regime. They have the same
rights as all media figures, namely that they are
protected and their safety guaranteed, regardless of
their positions and stances. This is our duty to them,
despite our profound disagreement with their views.
Protecting journalists during times of war is a duty,
and this does not differentiate between positions and
affiliations; this is a necessity for the media as a
whole. Without the courageous media, and the brave
representatives, the Syrian revolution would perhaps
not have been able to win the sympathy of not just the
world, but the Syrian people themselves. Without
respecting the profession of journalist – regardless
of their political stances – the revolution will lose
the support of even those in their own ranks, as well
as the gains it has made. We blame the Syrian
revolutionaries more than the Syrian regime, because
they have a true cause, particularly as they are the
party that is making the most gains from a media
presence in Syria, regardless of their orientation.
This is why the detention of the LBC reporter or the
kidnapping of the Ukrainian report is something that
worries all media professionals. Why should the Syrian
rebels be afraid of a Ukrainian reporter, even if she
is filing reports that serve the Syrian regime? The
majority of the people have decided their stance
towards the al-Assad regime after more than one year
of controversy and violence. The majority of the world
stands against the al-Assad regime, and so not much
depends on what a Ukrainian journalist or western
photographer report, even if they do not like the
revolution. If the rebels Syrian rebels kidnap a
female reporter because she says things on television
that they do not like, then what is the difference
between them and the al-Assad regime that imprisons
and kills based on a word? Our profession is based on recognizing the right of
journalists to observe, enjoying safety and protection
whatever the situation in order to do their jobs,
particularly as without this newspapers and television
channels would be unable to cover and report what is
happening around the world. As for the journalists and
reporters who go to the battlegrounds, they are not
revolutionaries and do not have personal or national
agendas, rather they are media professionals who are
distinguishing themselves through their courage,
embarking on adventures that go beyond the call of
duty. Regardless of journalists' positions and
reports, we expect Syria's rebels to be more noble and
honorable in their dealings with the media than the
Bashar al-Assad criminal gang! We, as media representatives, cannot sit on the
fence regarding the abduction of journalists,
regardless of their political orientation or the
organization or country they belong to. We cannot be
silent on the lives of journalists being threatened in
this manner. The Syrian rebels have the right to
refuse to deal with the media figures they don't
trust, or to refuse to give information to media
organizations they don't like. However they don't have
the right to detain or abduct journalists simply
because they are on the opposing side. This represents
a violation of international rules and the norms that
protects journalists and reports. By doing so, the
Syrian rebels are undermining the profession that is
most helping them, and confirming the image that the
regime is putting forward about them. The Syrian
regime has sought, since the beginning of the
revolution, to kill and destroy the media, physically
and materially. Damascus is aware that if it is able
to divide the revolution and the media, this will be a
great win for the regime, particularly as it wants to
commit its crimes in the dark away from media
scrutiny. The al-Assad regime is seeking to push the
Syrian people to lose their enthusiasm, patience and
willingness to sacrifice; this would result in the
revolution losing much of the popularity and momentum
it enjoys.
Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai. Comments 💬 التعليقات |