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No restrictions on the net
Lebanon ranks first when it comes to internet freedoms in the Arab World
- By Sami Moubayed, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 01:00 April 11, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News
When Joseph Sarkis, the Lebanese Minister of Tourism shut down several pubs in the Gemmayze neighbourhood of Beirut last week, several young Lebanese rushed to the internet to trumpet the news to friends - and media. The government argued that this was a solution to the noise, parking problem and traffic chaos. One site Blogging Beirut immediately ran the names of the 16 pubs closed down, while two petitions quickly started circulating on Facebook, first in French then English, objecting the legislation.
It is no wonder that Lebanon ranks first when it comes to internet freedoms in the Arab World. There is no censorship, and active Lebanese can go to great lengths to market their views on politics and life on the world wide web. The fact that most Lebanese are young - and are fluent with languages -makes internet use all the more easier. So does Article 13 of the Lebanese Constitution, which guarantees "freedom of expression, verbally or in writing, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to form associations".
Internet cafes are everywhere to be found, and there are no age or ID requirements to log-on to the internet. Unlike other countries in the region, neither political sites, nor pornographic ones - not even Israeli propaganda - are proxied. The only exceptions are at schools and universities, or in some workplace, where certain sites are restricted to ensure a more productive environment. In 2005 for example, the Druze politician Wiam Wahhab filed an official complaint to the Public Prosecutor against a website that was defaming him personally. The government listened, but the website continued to operate, un-harmed.
Outlet
The internet came to Lebanon in the early 1990s, during the era of the late prime minister Rafik Harriri. The civil war had just ended and the Lebanese were hungry for an outlet to express themselves - and show just how ambitious and angry they were from all that they had been through. Harriri put his full weight behind internet usage in Lebanon, promoting it at universities, at work, in homes and initiating a project called the "Computer for Every Student and Teacher". By the time Harriri was killed in 2005, Lebanon had 550,000 internet users, with an expansion rate of 11.8 per cent. Since 2005, most websites and blogs have concentrated on promoting the March 14 line, which is pro-Saad Al Harriri and blames Syria for all of Lebanon's woes, including the assassination of his father.
This includes news sites like Ya Libnan, and blogs such as Across the Bay. Sahban Abd Rabbo, a webmaster who created several campaign sites for the Rafik Harriri team during the elections of 2000, spoke to Gulf News saying, "The internet was being used as a political tool; to win votes, to get the Rafik Harriri team back into parliament. Some deputies were enthusiastic; others, like the late Walid Eido, were enthusiastic - with reservations. The internet was just becoming useful as a political tool".
The Free Patriotic Movement of General Michel Aoun has been "wired", actively trying to get its boss into Baabda Palace, and so have his allies at Hezbollah.
Hugh Macleod, a Beirut correspondent for The Sunday Herald, commented, "Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (of Aoun) are not succeeding to get their message across in the English-language web... failure to do so seems to indicate a lack of understanding of how powerful a tool for influencing opinions the web can be."
He adds that the March 14 Coalition dominates the Lebanese internet but "content from such pro-March 14 websites is often highly unreliable and sometimes plain wrong".
Just like everything else in Lebanon, even internet users are divided. Aoun's team blog in French. Hezbollah blogs in Arabic and English. March 14 blogs in all three languages, although Arabic is least used among Lebanon's internet users. Nicholas Blanford, the Beirut-based veteran journalist and author of Killing Mr Lebanon, said, "TV, press, and word of mouth are more powerful as political tools (than blogs). As a journalist I consider blogs akin to opinion pages in newspapers. I don't read blogs for any news snippets they might publish."
Not surprisingly enough - nor do decision - makers in Lebanon. An interview on one of the popular talk shows on LBC or Future TV, an article in an-Nahhar, or a documentary on Al Manar all have much of an impact than anything published on the internet. Blogging did become trendy and powerful, however, during the Lebanon War of 2006. Hundreds of Lebanese used the internet to recount personalised stories about their lives during the 33-Israeli raid on Lebanon. Some used blogs, others turned to YouTube.
The Lebanese government created a special section at the Internal Security Department to prevent "violations" through the internet and combat "electronic crimes". Although no websites were closed, the Lebanese remember too well the case of Gaylebanon.com, which started operation in 2000. Lebanese security tried to intervene and find the names of both the owners and subscribers to the forum of homosexuals and lesbians in Lebanon. The manager of the ISP Destination Company Ziad Maghraby refused to cooperate, although he did shut down the site, yet insisted on giving no names. Both he and Kamal Al Batal, the director of the Lebanese Human Rights Organisation MIRSAD, were called to court, convicted and sentenced to three months in prison for making the case public.
Initiative
One recent initiative which aims at diverting Lebanese attention from the internal bickering that dominates political websites is that of Dania Koleilat, who has founded www.meforum.com. Aimed at monitoring international news and praising objective reporting, the website criticises - or corrects - subjective coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It also tries to lobby in favour of journalists and publications writing in favour of the Arabs and being smeared by the anti-Arab lobby.
Speaking to Gulf News, Koleilat said, "The Israeli War on Lebanon triggered this. I was watching CNN and they showed a demolished building from a distance - of course from a distance because they did not want to show the casualties that resulted from the strikes! I decided that something must be done to combat this misinformation!"
Few Lebanese bloggers share her enthusiasm for something that is not Lebanese. Will such a website with a noble cause be able to compete for visitors with juicy others that speak anti-Syrian, are filled with political commentary, and cover what ordinary Lebanese want to hear - in addition to having "sexy" titles, like Across the Bay, Beirut Blogger, or Blacksmiths of Lebanon?
Dr Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst.
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