By IPS Correspondents
DUBAI, Sep 15 2005 (IPS)

With the brief arrest of Basma al-Jandaly, a reporter with a leading English daily in Dubai grabbing headlines around the world, the issue of media censorship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a hot topic in the Arabic and English press in the country.

Basma, was stopped at Dubai airport in June and told that there was a warrant for her arrest, because of an article she had written in February about a man who had slashed women in Sharjah, another of the country’s seven emirates. The warrant issued by Sharjah Police contended that her article may have helped the attacker escape by alerting him to their investigation.

”This case has been highly exaggerated,” said Ibrahim Al Abed, director general of WAM, the official Emirates News Agency. ”It has nothing to do with media censorship. It was just the result of a misunderstanding and was cleared immediately.”

Intervention by Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, ensured Basma’s release. The minister also issued a subsequent directive that all UAE police departments must draw up a new mechanism to deal with cases against journalists, and said that the freedom of the press would be ”reserved and protected”.

”Media coverage is definitely more open these days,” said Ahmed Raouf, an Egyptian journalist based in Dubai. ”For example, press reports of irregularities in the education system saw authorities swinging into action, not against the press but against the offenders-a sure example that press freedom is no longer a myth but a fast progressing reality.”

”Reports in the Western press often criticise the restrictions that the government imposes on journalists, but an unbiased analysis of past and present situations does reveal that the situation is improving. We must remember that these are extremely conservative countries that are changing their mindsets and opening up for reforms. The process of change, therefore, will be a slow but sure one,” Ahmed said.

Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal, head of the organising committee, said: ”The conference’s main objective is to enhance interaction between Arab and international media organisations and bridge the gap between them, to make uncovering the truth the only priority for them.”

In an interview to a local English daily, Osama Ahmed, a reporter with the ‘Al Bayan’ Arabic newspaper daily, said: ”I believe that the press law in the UAE is much better than some other Arab countries. I have written several reports in which I have criticised many departments or institutions which failed to perform in the field of public service. I did not face any problem or restriction which prevented me from doing such stories.”

”The only difficulty I face currently is that some officials do not deal with the press with transparency, as they always hide the truth or refuse to comment on issues of public concern. Although the level of press freedom in the UAE is acceptable, more freedom and transparency was required to help the media play its vital role in the development of the country,” he observed.

When Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Information and Culture, stressed the need for a re-assessment in the media sector and called for a legislation that guarantees access to information it was another sign that the government was loosening its grip. .

”I am not talking here of mere amendments, or of cosmetic changes, but of a complete re-assessment that takes into account the developments in information technology and changes in the speed and ease of the flow of information. If there has to be a law, what is required is legislation that guarantees free access to information and that prohibits any denial of access, except as they can work efficiently in the new information age,” he said during a conference in the country’s capital Abu Dhabi in January..

”Issues such as unequal pay scales at workplaces, poor working conditions for blue collar workers, labour disputes, traffic woes and lack of coordination between municipality and police departments and their inaction, rising cost of living, environmental concerns, crime (national and expatriate), etc., are increasingly finding space in the media. These are issues that act as a barometer to judge how free the press is. The media spares nothing now,” Janardhan said.

In fact, the Dubai government set up the Dubai Media City in 2001 to enable media organisations to work in a free and open atmosphere without fear of restrictions. ”Freedom of the press is measured by political openness and since there is limited political freedom, the other areas of openness get overlooked. Yes, there are instances of people being reprimanded for writing ‘objectionable’ and ‘sensitive’ pieces, but censorship could be more self-imposed than government enforced,” Janardhan added. In an interview to ‘Time Out’ magazine in Dubai, senior Reuters journalist Rawhi Abeidoh says, ”Journalists are always afraid that writing something will get them in trouble, so they start ignoring facts and figures because they’re worried about upsetting someone high up.” However, the UAE Printing and Publishing Law, 1980, is cited as a handicap by many journalists. Article 81 states that news that causes harm to the national currency or causes damage to the national economy is prohibited, and has the provision to treat cases relating to defamation in both criminal and civil ways. ”This criminal aspect of this law has never been used,” said Ibrahim al-Abed. ”Moreover, the information and culture minister has asked the Press Association to examine the law and come up with suggestions for change. Hence, it will be the journalists themselves and not the authorities who will ensure the revamping of the law,” he said.

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