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Al-Manar

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Al-Manar
TypeSatellite television network
Country
Lebanon
AvailabilityMiddle East, Europe, Internet
OwnerHezbollah, founder
Key people
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah
Launch date
1991
Official website
www.almanar.com.lb

Al Manar (المنار; Arabic for The Beacon) is a major Lebanese radio and television [1] news organization. Al-Manar is surrounded with controversy due to its self-proclaimed ties to Hezbollah. In the United States, Al-Manar was categorized as a terrorist organization by a decision [2] made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order 13224, prohibiting their access to American news outlets. Many European countries have also prohibited Al-Manar broadcasts.

Content

File:Nasrallah on al-Manar television.jpg
Hassan Nasrallah on al-Manar

Al-Manar the TV channel often dedicates its news programming to promoting Hezbollah's views and interests. Frequently it serves to convey official statements by Hezbollah and broadcasts Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah's speeches.

In addition to news, speeches and religious viewing, Al-Manar became famous for its broadcasts of battles between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon. The withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2000, while hailed by the station as a great success, left a gap in its programming.

Al-Manar TV (Lebanon) Broadcasts

(Click Link to View Video Clip [3])

  • 2/18/2005 Nasrallah Speach to tens of thousands: "Death to Israel... Death to America (Crowd) Death to America! Death to America! .... I must clarify that when I say 'America' I do not mean the American people, .... [t]his American administration is an enemy."
  • 7/16/2006 Nasrallah: We are waging the battle of the Ummah, whether we like it or not, whether the Lebanese like it or not.

Israeli Air Force Strike

The Israeli Air Force struck Al Manar on Thursday, July 13, 2006 as part of its retaliation to the killing of eight Israeli soldiers, and capture of two by Hezbollah operatives in a cross-border attack on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. The attack on Al Manar shortly followed a strike against the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut in a campaign against Hezbollah launched earlier that morning. Despite the attack the station is still on air.

The IDF bombed Al Manar's Beirut complex again on July 16 causing fire in the complex and surrounding buildings.[4] The station's signal disappeared briefly several times before returning.

As of July 16, Al Manar has been targeted (by Israel) five times.[citation needed]

Criticism of Bombing

The bombing of media outlets violates international law when these are not being used for military purposes ("it is unlawful to attack facilities that merely shape civilian opinion; neither directly contributes to military operations")[5], according to Human Rights Watch.

This incident has been been condemned by the International Federation of Journalists[6]. The Israel Association of Journalists withdrew from the federation due to this criticism, claiming that Al-Manar employees "are not journalists, they are terrorists". [7][8]

The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists, has also expressed alarm over the incident as "it does not appear based on a monitoring of its broadcasts today to be serving any discernible military function, according to CPJ’s analysis."[9]

Banning of Broadcasts

Al-Manar's broadcasts have been banned by the U.S., France[10], Germany[citation needed], Sweden[citation needed], Spain[11] and Australia.[12]

After the US Department of State placed Al-Manar on the Terrorist Exclusion List on December 17, 2004, transmissions to North America via Intelsat's satellites were blocked.[13][14] This had the effect of making Al-Manar unavailable in Canada, which some have interpreted as a "ban".[15]. While Al-Manar is not approved for distribution in Canada[16], there is no record of application for approval having been made.[17]

The Dutch Media Authority "discovered that a satellite owned by New Skies Satellites was carrying Al-Manar and has ordered the company to stop doing so, because the channel did not have the required Dutch licence."[18][19] Many, including Radio Netherlands Worldwide Media Network[20][21] consider this to be a ban.

"The Spanish authorities banned the retransmission of Al Manar by Hispasat on Wednesday, 30 June 2005 (which effectively prevents its reception not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in South America)".[22]

It has been claimed by Trish Schuh that these actions were due to the influence of groups like the "Anti-Defamation League, CAMERA.org, American Jewish Congress and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies allied with AIPAC... The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)."[23]

Designation as Terrorist Organization

Al-Manar is classified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization [24][25][26]

Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Farid Abboud, protested : "If you want simply to demonize or eliminate one side, you're not going to advance the issue. If you are going to focus on one side simply because of the political message, it's unacceptable and it's a grave breach of the freedom of speech.".[27]

Claims of Anti-Semitic Programming

"If you do not expel the Jews from your land, they will enslave you and turn you into slaves in your own lands"

Childrens TV Jews turn to Apes and Pigs

Youth incites murder of Jews on Television

"The Muslims' War is with the Jews"

"The most despicable of Allah's creations, the Jews, and by the garbage of all nations – the American"s.

"Zionism Is Behind London Bombings and 9/11 and Has Been Forging Holy Books Since the Protocols of the Elders of Zion"(Anti-semetic Book)

"Those responsible for all civil strife and other problems throughout history were the Jews"

One of the satellite providers which have transmitted Al Manar has been the French satellite Hot Bird 4, owned by the Eutelsat Satellite organisation. On 13 December 2004, the French Conseil d'État, the highest administrative Court in France, ordered the French-based Eutelsat Company to shut down Al Manar broadcasts following accusations that its programmes were anti-Semitic and could incite hatred.[28][29].

Al-Manar claims the French decision was political and not legal, influenced by Israel and Jewish lobbies.[30][31]

Satellite Transmission

According to the BBC[32] on July 26, 2006, Al-Manar had three satellite signals:

  • ArabSat 2B at 30.5 degrees east
  • Badr 3 at 26 degrees east
  • NileSat 102 at 7 degrees west

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Elise Labott and Henry Schuster (2006). "U.S. brands Hezbollah-linked TV, radio as terrorist entities Terrorist Entity". cnn.com.
  2. ^ U.S. Department of the Treasury (2006). "U.S. Designates Al-Manar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity". U.S. Department of the Treasury.
  3. ^ http://www.Memri.org
  4. ^ Hizbollah rockets hit Haifa
  5. ^ Can Israel attack Hezbollah radio and television stations?
  6. ^ The International Federation of Journalists condemned bombing of Al-Manar
  7. ^ Jerusalem Post, July 16, 2006, Israel threatens to leave World Press Federation Note that this article refers to the "World Press Federation" in an apparent error
  8. ^ Jerusalem Post, July 20, 2006, Israeli journalists pull out of IFJ Accessed July 27, 2006
  9. ^ Lebanon: Israeli forces strike Al-Manar TV facilities
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ Commission of the European Communities Commission document SEC(2006) 160 Accessed July 31, 2006
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ Reuters, December 18, 2004 U.S. designates al-Manar TV as 'terrorist' Accessed August 1, 2006
  14. ^ The Washington Times, December 19, 2004 Hezbollah's TV loses U.S. feed Accessed August 1, 2006
  15. ^ [3]
  16. ^ CRTC July 28, 2006 Revised lists of eligible satellite services Accessed August 3, 2006
  17. ^ CRTC CRTC Search page Accessed August 3, 2006
  18. ^ Aljazeera.net, March 17, 2005 Al-Manar TV to go off Dutch platform Accessed July 30, 2006
  19. ^ Haaretz, March 18, 2005 EU blocks Hezbollah TV broadcasts in Europe Accessed July 30, 2006
  20. ^ Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blog Iranian commentator reacts to Dutch ban on two satellite TV stations Accessed July 30, 2006
  21. ^ Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blog Two Islamic TV stations banned in the Netherlands Accessed July 30, 2006
  22. ^ Commission of the European Communities Commission document SEC(2006) 160 Accessed July 31, 2006
  23. ^ Free Speech "Marked for Death": Lebanon's Al Manar TV Targeted
  24. ^ U.S. Treasury List of Organizations sanctioned under Executive Order 13224
  25. ^ Elise Labott and Henry Schuster (2006). "U.S. brands Hezbollah-linked TV, radio as terrorist entities Terrorist Entity". cnn.com.
  26. ^ U.S. Department of the Treasury (2006). "U.S. Designates Al-Manar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity". U.S. Department of the Treasury.
  27. ^ Reuters, December 18, 2004 U.S. designates al-Manar TV as 'terrorist' Accessed August 1, 2006
  28. ^ (full text of the decision, press release, in French; BBC report)
  29. ^ EU, Brussels, 17 March 2005 EU Rules and Principles on Hate Broadcasts: Frequently Asked Questions Accessed July 27, 2006
  30. ^ Reuters, December 18, 2004 U.S. designates al-Manar TV as 'terrorist' Accessed August 1, 2006
  31. ^ Aljazeera.net, December 17, 2004 US designates al-Manar TV 'terrorist' Accessed August 1, 2006
  32. ^ BBC News, July 26, 2006 Israel steps up "psy-ops" in Lebanon Accessed August 1, 2006

References

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