In an era of transparency, the Middle East's fate can no longer be decided behind closed doors
A VERY GOOD COMMENT
Wadah Khanfar
(Wadah Khanfar is the director general of the al-Jazeera network)
The Guardian, Monday 7 February 2011
"It is almost a century since the state borders that today divide the Middle East were drawn up. The shape of the region was negotiated behind closed doors and imposed by colonial powers without consulting its people. The impact of those deals still haunts the region and, many would argue, plays a central role in its instability.
Some of the states that emerged from the carve-up later championed independence and social development, while others adopted a conservative stance. But almost without exception they maintained a monopoly on information and communication, underpinned by control and censorship of the media. For many years dissent, criticism or even limited exposure of what was going on behind closed doors was crushed with the argument that "it is not the right time" and "we are in a development and liberation battle". Such dissent and transparency would, the powers-that-be insisted, only "weaken unity and undermine the national interest".
That case is still being made by governments across the Middle East and their international backers, as the region has erupted in demands for change. But their control of information – along with the wider western monopoly of international communication – has already been broken......
We were with the crowds when they demonstrated outside the Tunis's interior ministry – a potent symbol of torture and repression, as in most Arab countries. And we have broadcast live from Cairo's Tahrir Square day and night for the last 12 days, despite all attempts to switch off our cameras and arrest our reporters.
This new alliance has given a transformative impetus to the media's most important role: to make information available to those who should be the source of all power in the region, the people of the Middle East themselves. Once people have access to information, they can decide their own fate and, we believe, make better choices than others have made for them – hopefully ones that will lead to a more peaceful and democratic future......
The Middle East is without doubt passing through a period of historic transformation. Al-Jazeera and other free media are not the cause of the wave of uprisings and unrest sweeping the region. The reasons are profound and go far beyond the role of the media. But we are one important factor giving people across the region the means to take control of their own lives. What is certain is that the fate of the Middle East can no longer be decided behind closed doors."
A VERY GOOD COMMENT
Wadah Khanfar
(Wadah Khanfar is the director general of the al-Jazeera network)
The Guardian, Monday 7 February 2011
"It is almost a century since the state borders that today divide the Middle East were drawn up. The shape of the region was negotiated behind closed doors and imposed by colonial powers without consulting its people. The impact of those deals still haunts the region and, many would argue, plays a central role in its instability.
Some of the states that emerged from the carve-up later championed independence and social development, while others adopted a conservative stance. But almost without exception they maintained a monopoly on information and communication, underpinned by control and censorship of the media. For many years dissent, criticism or even limited exposure of what was going on behind closed doors was crushed with the argument that "it is not the right time" and "we are in a development and liberation battle". Such dissent and transparency would, the powers-that-be insisted, only "weaken unity and undermine the national interest".
That case is still being made by governments across the Middle East and their international backers, as the region has erupted in demands for change. But their control of information – along with the wider western monopoly of international communication – has already been broken......
We were with the crowds when they demonstrated outside the Tunis's interior ministry – a potent symbol of torture and repression, as in most Arab countries. And we have broadcast live from Cairo's Tahrir Square day and night for the last 12 days, despite all attempts to switch off our cameras and arrest our reporters.
This new alliance has given a transformative impetus to the media's most important role: to make information available to those who should be the source of all power in the region, the people of the Middle East themselves. Once people have access to information, they can decide their own fate and, we believe, make better choices than others have made for them – hopefully ones that will lead to a more peaceful and democratic future......
The Middle East is without doubt passing through a period of historic transformation. Al-Jazeera and other free media are not the cause of the wave of uprisings and unrest sweeping the region. The reasons are profound and go far beyond the role of the media. But we are one important factor giving people across the region the means to take control of their own lives. What is certain is that the fate of the Middle East can no longer be decided behind closed doors."
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