Disappointed journalists [Archives:2002/43/Viewpoint]

The recent attack against the French oil tanker Limburg has led to foreign journalists coming to Yemen from all over the world. I met with a large number of them and learned they were quite disappointed; not in the country or Yemeni people (in fact they all expressed admiration of the beauty of the country and the hospitality of the people), but in how the authorities treated them, especially the Ministry of Information.
I have received complaints in the past. But the latest complaint from two journalists last week was outrageous. The journalists, who requested not to mention their names, told me they were told to pay accommodation and pocket expenses for officials of the Ministry of Information who usually accompany foreign journalists on their visits.
“The escort of the ministry threatened that unless we pay him all their expenses for hotel, food, etc. he will not give us the authorization letter to work. This has prevented us from even leaving the hotel,” they said.
I was shocked and amazed at such behavior of some of the ‘escorts’ of the Ministry of Information. I know the minister will not agree with those acts and will possibly launch an investigation. At least that is what I hope he will do, because this damages our image and reputation abroad.
Imagine how journalists will portray the obstacles and difficulties faced when in Yemen. Even though we wish they would not be discouraged by such acts, we are also responsible for removing future obstacles facing foreign journalists.
The other disappointment expressed by foreign journalists was the difficulty in getting the truth. “All that we wanted was to have a Yemeni official deliver a press conference on a daily basis providing us with all the developments in the attack against the French tanker. This would prevent rumors and false information to be circulated,” the journalists said.
I would like to tell our foreign counterparts that journalists in Yemen face similar obstacles. It is true that we do not walk with ‘observers’ of the Ministry of Information, but we face tremendous difficulty in learning the truth because there is no mechanism providing the public with fresh and accurate information from authorities.
Holding press conferences and sending press releases are not evident here in Yemen, at least until today. This is slowly changing especially as the Yemeni government is pressured by international media to be more aware of the need of the world to know what is going on from a reliable governmental source.
The people in Yemen are starting to realize the inefficiency in our government’s dealings with news events in Yemen. The public gets breaking news from global and regional networks before it gets it from their own authorities.
Change is coming, but very slowly. Unless we speed up change to cope with the worldwide media revolution, our authorities will lose credibility not only a local level, but on an international level as well. How embarrassing.

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