Nahas calls for turning Beirut into Arab broadcasters' center |
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09 February 2010
BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahas pledged on Monday to provide all the facilities required to make Lebanon and especially Beirut a city center for all broadcasters’ studios which have the capacity of providing the best technologies and most modern techniques. “Lebanon will make every effort in order to transform Beirut to an open city for broadcasters and an example to follow for all Arabs. Lebanon aspires to attract the Arab competence and talents on the academic and professional levels to be a major broadcasting platform for political, sports, entertainment, cultural, and educational programs,” he said.
As a founding member, he added, Lebanon puts everything it has at the disposal of ArabsatArabsat
to achieve more progress to succeed in the different projects, and continue the new hub station that will be established because there is a lot of demand on the ArabsatArabsat satellites for TV broadcasters.
to achieve more progress to succeed in the different projects, and continue the new hub station that will be established because there is a lot of demand on the ArabsatArabsat satellites for TV broadcasters. “Even if Lebanon is a bit lagging behind because of the transitional period it has witnessed due to the legislative elections in June 2009, and the formation of the new government in November 2009, the draft law is now in the parliament under examination to be adopted and approved very soon,” he said.
“We are confident that our cooperation with ArabsatArabsat will be a successful one in order to give hope of prosperity to our population,” he added.
will be a successful one in order to give hope of prosperity to our population,” he added. His remarks came during the ARABSAT 5th Annual Broadcasters’ Forum held at Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut to discuss the latest developments in the Arab satellite business and the challenges that they have been lately facing.
Founded in 1976 by the 21 member-states of the Arab League, ArabsatArabsat has been serving the growing needs of the Arab world for over 30 years. Now one of the world’s top satellite operators, and by far the leading satellite services provider in the Arab world, it carries 350+ TV channels and 160+ Radio stations, reaching tens of millions of homes in over 100 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, including an audience of more than 164 million viewers within the 21 Arab countries alone, and delivering hundreds of thousands of vital telecommunication.
has been serving the growing needs of the Arab world for over 30 years. Now one of the world’s top satellite operators, and by far the leading satellite services provider in the Arab world, it carries 350+ TV channels and 160+ Radio stations, reaching tens of millions of homes in over 100 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, including an audience of more than 164 million viewers within the 21 Arab countries alone, and delivering hundreds of thousands of vital telecommunication. Politicians, journalists and leading Arab satellite operators at the conference united to criticize harshly the US Congress bill passed in December that imposes sanctions on satellite channels deemed hostile to the United States.
“The last decision made by the US Congress wanted to penalize creative people in the Arab world, in ArabsatArabsat or other broadcasters. Here I would like to express my best wishes to ArabsatArabsat, the Arab organizations broadcasters and to the Arab league that has faced with a lot of courage this American decision,” said Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Al Aridi.
or other broadcasters. Here I would like to express my best wishes to ArabsatArabsat, the Arab organizations broadcasters and to the Arab league that has faced with a lot of courage this American decision,” said Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Al Aridi. “Our spaces should never be violated by Americans who are already supporting those who are violate other people’s rights and attack their lives not just through images and broadcasting,” he added.
Aridi praised the success of Arab satellites in providing more space to enlighten the minds of Arab people and creating an opportunity to show the ideas of these people to the outside world.
“We have done so with a lot of success and diversity and because of that some want to terrorize our minds and undermine our efforts. Satellites exist to give us more spaces to enlighten our minds and to give us the opportunity to show our ideas to the world so that we do not remain under the yoke of efforts to undermine the capacities and intellect of Arab people,” he said.
Arab information ministers two weeks ago slammed a US Congress bill passed in December that imposes sanctions on satellite channels deemed hostile to the United States. After a six-hour meeting in Cairo, the ministers issued a communiqué that said the bill was “considered an interference in the internal affairs of Arab states who regulate their media affairs according to national legislation.”
The bill, adopted by a massive 395-3 majority, calls for punitive measures against television networks in the Middle East seen as fueling anti-American hatred. It asks President Barack Obama to report in six months “on anti-American incitement to violence in the Middle East, and for other purposes.”
Minister of information Tarek Mitri attended the conference as well to represent Prime Minister Saad Hariri and said that the freedom of media is very essential in Lebanon. “We defend this freedom very strongly and we reject any effort to undermine this freedom,” he said.
This Lebanese position, he continued, is very similar to the Arab position that was announced in the last meeting of the Arab ministers of information. “Our laws and legislations do not call for terrorism for xenophobia and it is our national duty and right to respect our national laws and legislation from any external intervention or threat of sanctions,” he added. “You all know that such interventions and threats do not serve dialogue, mutual respect between the different religions but on the contrary it undermines such dialogue and leads to more hatred between the different populations in the world.”
“Brothers, terrorists, technicians and media presenters,” Egyptian journalist Hamdi Kandil said when addresing the audience in the conference to express his disapproval of the accusation and the decision issued by the US Congress against the satellite institutions.
“We are against the US policies because of the Congress bill itself which shows once again that the US denied its principles by threatening the plea that it always supported. It wants to put constraints on us while it doesn’t speak about other channels that support terrorism and do not recognize the resistance,” he said.
Kandil praised Minister Mitri’s honest campaign in the last meeting in Cairo against the bill issued by the US Congress. “Minister Mitri voiced the Lebanese people who always defended the freedom of expression,” he said. “I say that this is an honest campaign because there was another false and fake campaign in the council meeting, and it was clear that some people were against that bill while indeed they shared the opinion of the US Congress in its vision toward the Arab satellite business, he added. “If they have the capacities they want to remove such satellites but they were against the decision because what they want is to exterminate such channels by their hands and not by the hands of the US because this is considered as a violation to the national sovereignty.”
From his side, ArabsatArabsat CEO Khaled Belkhayour presented the successes of ArabsatArabsat and said that it has launched the generation of satellites Badr 4 and Badr 6 and it is a preparing itself to launch its fifth generation of satellite Badr5 and 5a which will be launched in April and May this year respectively. “ArabsatArabsat will also conclude agreements and contracts for the manufacturing and launching of the satellites 5C and Badr 7 that will be launched at the end of 2011 and mid 2012 respectively. The investments of these contracts are around $1.6 billion being part of biggest contracts signed by the organization since its establishment,” he said.
CEO Khaled Belkhayour presented the successes of ArabsatArabsat and said that it has launched the generation of satellites Badr 4 and Badr 6 and it is a preparing itself to launch its fifth generation of satellite Badr5 and 5a which will be launched in April and May this year respectively. “ArabsatArabsat will also conclude agreements and contracts for the manufacturing and launching of the satellites 5C and Badr 7 that will be launched at the end of 2011 and mid 2012 respectively. The investments of these contracts are around $1.6 billion being part of biggest contracts signed by the organization since its establishment,” he said. He said that ArabsatArabsat was able to raise its growth rate and revenues and to also increase its share in the market despite the difficult economic situation and circumstances. “Our main indicators have continued to grow in the last 4 years with a percentage reaching 21 percent in 2009 contributing to the funding of the current projects,” he said.
© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
was able to raise its growth rate and revenues and to also increase its share in the market despite the difficult economic situation and circumstances. “Our main indicators have continued to grow in the last 4 years with a percentage reaching 21 percent in 2009 contributing to the funding of the current projects,” he said.
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