QATAR: MÉNARD CALLS IT QUITS AT DOHA CENTRE
Former head of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Robert Ménard and his team
have left the Doha Centre for Media Freedom, a relatively new international
press freedom organisation based in Qatar, reports RSF.
Ménard stepped down on 19 June, saying that the Qatari authorities
"suffocated" the centre. He protested Qatar's refusal to reform repressive
press laws and the authorities' refusal to give visas to Iranian and other
journalists whom he said were at risk of persecution.
"Certain Qatari officials never wanted an independent centre, one that was
free to express its views without being limited by political or diplomatic
considerations, one that was free to criticise Qatar itself. But how can you
be credible if you say nothing about the problems in the country in which
you are based?" Ménard said in a statement.
"I was ready to make compromises as long as what was essential - the ability
to distribute aid and express our views - was safe. This was no longer the
case," he added.
Since its inception in December 2007, the centre has provided assistance to
250 endangered journalists and media organisations worldwide, often with
funding, legal aid and money for medical treatment. The centre also offered
advice for those facing lawsuits, including how best to defend themselves at
the regional and international level.
Other achievements include supporting the creation of an independent Somali
news agency, distributing bulletproof vests to journalists in Somalia, Iraq,
Pakistan and Gaza, and supplying newsprint to newspapers in Guinea-Bissau
that had stopped publishing because of a shortage.
The Doha Centre was set up by a decree of Qatar's Emir, H.H Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa al-Thani, and is under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Mozah bint
Nasser al-Missned, the Emir's wife, whom Ménard praised for her support of
media freedom. Ménard was the director general since 1 April 2008.
More on the web:
- Robert Ménard and staff leave Doha Centre for Media Freedom (RSF):
http://www.rsf.org/Robert-Menard-and-staff-leave-Doha.html
- Robert Ménard leaves Doha Centre (Doha Centre):
http://www.dohacentre.org/Robert-Menard-leaves-Doha-Centre,1931.html
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Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info
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