Annas [Archives:2004/741/Press Review]

17 May 2004
Main headlines
– Theatrical artist Fahad al-Qarani seeks help from the minister of culture
– More than 50 thousand students join the army of unemployment
– Abortive suicide attempts in Hudedah
– In Hudeidah, 10 thousand citizens without water and electricity
– Soufan: The government failed in non-oil sectors
– Hameed al-Ahmer: Tourism among the more important development industries, tourism infrastructure in need of building

Columnist Abdulaziz Awadha wonders in an article where the boundaries of information and press freedom, the opinion and the other opinion under a real democratic system or even if it claims as representing the truth.
What has appeared in the Yemeni media arena lately of judicial rulings against journalists and newspapers and the stop of others are factors arousing such questions, especially about the future of press in an emerging democracy country.
I think these developments in the media arena have submitted the necessity of founding a legislation organizing the satisfactorily the freedom of press in a manner harmonious with the spirit and essence and requirements of democracy. It is necessary that against the former law there must be a supporting law obliging all sides to facilitate the journalist's obtaining the requested information and those two legislatives, if applied acceptably, the situation would be better. I believe that first of all we are in need of personal conviction more than legislations on paper.
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