Al-Balagh [Archives:2004/734/Press Review]

27 Apr 2004
Main headlines
– Conflict on land still claiming lives while security bodies in deep sleep
– America practices inroad against Saudi Arabia
– The president says the slogans America raised in its war on Iraq have fallen, calling coalition forces for immediate withdrawal from Iraq
– Dr Mansour al-Zindani accuses government and opposition of not understanding democracy correctly
– Shoura council prevents journalists from meeting delegations participating in the 1st conference of Senates and shoura councils
– In the wake of clashes with security, An armed group blocks the main street in Qa'taba
– Ending the issue of vengeance between the two tribes of Ahzoum and Akroub in Dhalie
– Hood rejects the commercial department ruling in the case of Fuad al-Shahari, deeming it a judicial precedence
The newspaper's editor in chief writes saying last Sunday in Sana'a the first conference of the Senates, Shoura and equivalent councils league in Arab countries and Africa commenced its meetings. Here we would like to call the attention of the people supervising the conference and other similar ones to some points that concern us as media men.
The confining of presence to editors in chief of newspapers to attend opening and closing sessions of conferences is something positive but as media people we are concerned with media presence in such conferences, in other words we are interested in conducting necessary media coverage through interviews and dialogues with members of participant delegations regarding the conferences held on our territories and also concerning regional and international issues.
Unfortunately most of the people entrusted with conducting such conferences in our country are obsessed by the security premonition without observing the media aspect and such a stand can be a cause for depriving our country of the positive privilege in the field of pluralism and freedom of the press.
The second point is the usual differentiation practiced by the organizing sides between media men representing foreign press and agencies and their local colleagues. The differentiation also includes journalists representing government press and those affiliated to private sector.
We hope that in future there would be a role by the ministry of information to overcome such negatives.
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