Manama: Bahrain has defended its decision to "freeze the activities" of the Al Jazeera television station, saying that it was purely for professional reasons. However, an international media watchdog yesterday urged Manama to reconsider its move.
"There are agreements between us and Al Jazeera, and the other party has, maybe unintentionally, flouted them," Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, the Culture and Information Minister, said. "There will be a Memorandum of Understanding that will be prepared to clear up the circumstances that resulted in the temporary freeze."
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders said that it was "very concerned" about the ministry's decision.
"We urge the culture and information ministry to rescind this decision," the watchdog said.
In a statement published on its website, Al Jazeera, whose headquarters are in Doha, said it was "surprised and puzzled" by Bahrain's decision to freeze its activities in the island kingdom.
"We were surprised and puzzled by the news Bahrain's culture and information ministry has decided to temporarily freeze the activities of our bureau in Bahrain," the pan-Arab network said. "While we deeply regret the decision that had not been officially conveyed to us... we remain invariably committed to the motto of equal opportunities for opinion and counter-opinions that we have kept since we were launched."
The station said it had received no notification about the ministry's decision and it did not even have a bureau in Manama.
Bahrain on Tuesday evening said it had temporarily shut down the office of the Al Jazeera television station for "violating professional conventions."
"The Ministry of Culture and Information has made the decision to freeze the activities of the Al Jazeera Satellite Channel office in Bahrain after the channel violated professional conventions and did not comply with the laws and regulations of the press, printing and publication law," the ministry said in a brief statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
No official statement was issued to explain how Al Jazeera had "violated professional conventions and did not comply with the laws and regulations of the press, printing and publication law."
However, the Kuwaiti daily Al Watan speculated a recent report by Al Jazeera on poverty in Bahrain was behind the decision, while observers suggested it was linked to the escalating tension between the two countries after a Bahraini was wounded when Qatar's coastguards fired at him for entering Qatari waters and not heeding their warning.
