A bloody year for freedom of the press - AYMAn mhanna - now.

Did the founders of the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom expect in 2007 that a year would come when the Center would count 91 journalists, intellectuals, artists, and citizen journalists killed in the Arab Levant?

 

Unfortunately, the number of journalists, intellectuals, and artists killed this year overshadows the relative improvement of most press and cultural freedom indicators, which include a decrease in cases of physical assaults, arrests, and censorship decisions. However, the number of those killed is more than five times the death toll of 2011. Every four days in 2012 a journalist, an intellectual, an artist, or a citizen journalist was killed. Ninety-six percent of this year’s deaths occurred within Syrian territory.

 

The following trends and developments affected press and cultural freedom in 2012:

 

First and foremost, in Syria the regime launched a systematic campaign to silence journalists, human rights activists, and cultural figures who did not abide by the official discourse. The regime used all available techniques, including arrests, kidnappings, torture, and assassination, to eliminate oppositional voices. Across the country, regime snipers regularly targeted citizen journalists. On the other side of the conflict, opposition factions began attacking pro-regime journalists, reporters, and media outlets, especially in the last four months of the year. As a result, media professionals have become easy prey and scapegoats for Syria’s feuding camps.

 

Additionally, the increasing number of foreign journalists entering Syria to cover the conflict and tell the story of the Syrian people’s suffering was an important phenomenon in 2012. While correspondents working for large international media groups receive some training to operate in conflict zones and can count on support and a follow-up network in case of danger, this was not the case for the many freelancers who rushed to Syria, seeing this as a golden opportunity to stand out and build a name for themselves. Most of them lack the experience and the preparation needed to overcome the complex dangers they will likely face on the ground, which include bombardments by the regime’s army, kidnappings by pro-regime militias and intelligence services, kidnappings by fundamentalist Islamist groups, and the risk of dealing with some local, inexperienced fixers who would put them in further danger or willingly push them into harm’s way in hopes of financial gain. While some international journalists wrote or shot groundbreaking reports in Syria that will become landmark references in the future, it is vital to conduct a thorough assessment of the overall work of reporters in Syria in order to provide those who go there with the best possible protection.

 

Comparatively, Lebanon’s experience with media and cultural freedom was more of a mixed picture. On the one hand, cultural liberties improved slightly in 2012. The number of censorship decisions decreased, although not enough, and the judiciary ruled in favor of artists in all cases related to freedom of expression this year. On the other hand, journalists, reporters, and photographers were – more than anywhere else in the region – treated violently by both official security services and non-state actors. Most importantly, no action was taken to hold the perpetrators of such attacks accountable. The government’s failure to act allowed political, religious, confessional, and tribal groups to freely break all legal and moral standards with regards to media and cultural freedoms. These groups imposed their own censorship on many cultural performances, detained and interrogated journalists and even resorted to torture and physical violence in numerous cases.

 

Unfortunately, impunity for non-state actors and political factions has become an expected trait characterizing most sectors in Lebanon, including media and culture. Impunity is now the most dangerous challenge facing public liberties and the reason for Lebanon’s consistent downgrading in freedom rankings compiled by specialized international organizations.

 

While Jordan had the lowest number of direct violations recorded on paper, media and cultural freedoms in the Hashemite Kingdom were in fact far from protected. The level of public interference in the media, most notably by the intelligence services, has led to a high level of self-censorship among journalists and artists in an attempt to avoid trouble. The restrictive amendment of the Press and Publications Law, and provisions related to the Internet in particular, are yet further evidence of the government’s decision to curtail freedom of expression under the disguise of regulations, norms, and standards.

 

Within the regional picture, Palestine appeared as the only place where the space for media and cultural freedom actually increased. The reconciliation – although incomplete – between Fatah and Hamas led to a decrease in the number of journalists summoned by government authorities and in the number of media professionals arrested. However, these practices did not disappear altogether. The Palestinian Authority showed little tolerance for articles denouncing the frequent cases of corruption within its administration or for posts on social networks criticizing President Mahmoud Abbas. Additionally, artistic creativity still faces insurmountable obstacles imposed by Hamas on religious grounds in the Gaza Strip.

 

The only consistent feature in Palestine was the relentlessness of Israeli violations. Journalists paid a heavy toll during the November 2012 attack on Gaza. Three of them lost their lives and many others saw their offices and homes destroyed. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers targeted journalists systematically during protests denouncing settlements and the occupation. In the 1948 Territories, the frequency of physical assaults on journalists was only matched by the number of racist regulations directed against Arab citizens’ cultural and linguistic heritage.

 

All these harsh developments prove by the day how crucial the existence of the SKeyes Center is in order to give a voice to the region’s journalists and intellectuals and provide them with protection and a framework for support.

 

Ayman Mhanna is the executive director of the Samir Kassir Foundation's SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom.

 

This commentary was originially published as the foreward to SKeyes 2012 Press Freedom Annual Report.