UAE Split Between Press Freedom And Social Stability

Public support in the UAE for media restrictions designed to promote a stable society is among the highest in the world, a survey conducted by the BBC World Service has found.

But despite the value British people place on freedom of the press, just 56 per cent of them believe their media is actually free – exactly the same proportion as in the UAE, where residents place as much value on social stability as a free media.

The figures emerged as part of a survey of more than 11,000 adults in 14 countries, published by the BBC on Monday.

“While people generally support a free media, the Western view of the necessity of a free press to ensure a fair society is not universally shared across all regions of the world,'' said Doug Miller, president of GlobeScan Inc, one of the two polling firms commissioned to conduct the survey.

It shows opinion in the UAE is divided between those who believe press freedom is important to a fair society (51 per cent) and those who believe restrictions on the media are important for maintaining a stable society (48 per cent).

And despite the worldwide prestige of the BBC, only 29 per cent of British people believe Government-owned or publicly funded news services (including the BBC) did a good job of reporting the news accurately. In the UAE, the figure was 54 per cent.

The figures were similar for privately owned news organisations, such as XPRESS, with 51 per cent of UAE residents feeling they did a good job, compared to just 28 per cent of British people.

Worldwide, more people in Kenya believed their press was free than anywhere else (81 per cent), while only 36 per cent of Singapore residents felt their press was free.

Support for a free press was highest in the United States, with 70 per cent for Americans believing it was important.

Nations valuing social stability most highly include the UAE, Brazil, Singapore and India – 48 per cent of people in all those counties supported media restrictions.

For a full copy of the poll results, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/10_12_07_worldservicepoll.pdf