BEIRUT: Lebanon has the best press freedom in the Arab world, in spite of falling 17 places in global standings, an international media watchdog said Wednesday.
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), in its 2010 Press Freedom Report, ranked Lebanon as the 78th freest country, ahead of Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Kuwait. It also came eight places higher than Israel, which climbed 18 spots after journalists enjoyed a relatively free 12 months in comparison to 2009, which saw Israel’s “Cast Lead” assault on Gaza kill six journalists.
It is the first time for several years that Lebanon has topped regional ranking tables on RWB’s database, although press-freedom advocates will have little cause for celebration; Lebanon’s standing owed largely to the comparatively poor performances of neighboring states.
Kuwait, usually ranked above Lebanon, fell 27 positions owing to its harsh treatment of blogger and writer Abdulqader al-Jassem. “This contradicts the [Kuwaiti] authorities’ stated desire to project an image of being the leading democracy of the Gulf,” RWB said in a statement following the release of ranking tables.
Although Lebanese media outlets are rarely threatened with pre-censorship proceedings regarding content, a number of incidents over the last 12 months have contributed to its freedom index decline of 22 percent.
In August, Al-Akhbar journalist Assaf Abu Rahal was killed when he was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle between Lebanese and Israeli troops near the Blue Line in Adaysseh. Ali Chouayb, and Al-Manar TV reporter, was also wounded in the clashes.
In August, Al-Akhbar journalist Assaf Abu Rahal was killed when he was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle between Lebanese and Israeli troops near the Blue Line in Adaysseh. Ali Chouayb, and Al-Manar TV reporter, was also wounded in the clashes.
In the same month Al-Akhbar journalist Hassan Allek was detained without charge for publishing a story alleging Defense Ministry officials were collaborating with Israeli agents.
“Allek’s detention and interrogation were conducted in a completely arbitrary and illegal manner,” RWB said in August. “At the same time, the defense minister’s threats against him and the entire media profession raise doubts about a readiness to respect the rule of law on the part of those who are supposed to uphold it. This is disturbing for press freedom in Lebanon.”
Several clashes between local partisans of certain political groups and members of the press were reported during May’s municipal polls and other sporadic cases of reporters being intimidated continue to be documented by Lebanon’s SKeyes watchdog.
“The defense of media freedom continues to be a battle, a battle of vigilance in the democracies of old Europe and a battle against oppression and injustice in the totalitarian regimes still scattered across the globe,” said RWB chief Jean-François Julliard.
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