Qatar refuses to sign satellite TV penalty pact

Doha: Qatar has not subscribed to the Arab council ministers' document allowing punishment of TV channels critical of Arab leaders, citing possible incompatibilities with its constitution, the Qatar News Agency reported.

"The Arab information ministers' council endorsed a Document of Principles organising satellite radio and television transmission in the Arab region with reservation by the state of Qatar on the document," said Qatar News Agency late Tuesday.

"In remarks at the end of this extraordinary meeting Egyptian Information Minister Anas Al Feqi who chaired the meeting said Qatar's reservation emanates from its desire to present the document to its legislative authorities and institutions to make sure that the principles contained in it do not contradict Qatari legislation.

Al Feqi termed the Qatari reservation as "legal and not political."

Traditional values

"Al Feqi said the Qatari reservation would not prejudice the approval of the document by the Arab information ministers' council," it added.

Shaikh Jabr Bin Yousef Al Thani, the chairman of the Qatar News Agency, who also represents Qatar in all issues pertaining to information and media, was unavailable for comment on Friday.

At a meeting in Cairo called by Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, information ministers from the 22-nation Arab League signed a charter which allows authorities to withdraw permits from channels deemed to have offended "Arab leaders or national or religious symbols".

The document also said the media should not "damage social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values". Authorities will have the power to "withdraw, freeze or not renew the work permits of media companies which break the regulations", according to media agencies quoting the charter.

Qatar was the only Arab League country which did not endorse the document. The Gulf State abolished its ministry of information in 1995 and lifted censorship in a bid to create a free climate for media in the country.

Qatar hosts the Al Jazeera satellite network which has often come under fire for its criticism of Arab leaders.

Speaking to Gulf News, Dr Yahia Shukkeir, a journalist and campaigner for media freedom, said he had not yet read the charter but observed that freedom of expression and press freedom were essential human rights guaranteed in many binding treaties, the most important being the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

"Article 19 in the ICCPR provides the guidelines on when we can put exceptions on these fundamental rights..."

Press freedom

The basic important documents on human rights and press freedom that inspire all conventions on the topic are: