GEO TV, an independent news channel in Pakistan, has been censored again. From Reporters Without Borders:
Reporters Without Borders calls on the governments of Pakistan and United Arab Emirates to explain how GEO News, a Pakistani privately-owned TV station that broadcasts by satellite from Dubai, was forced to drop two very popular talk shows under threat of losing its licence to operate in Dubai.
GEO TV president Imran Aslam told Reporters Without Borders that the Dubai authorities informed him last night that the station would lose its licence if "Capital Talk," a show hosted by Hamid Mir, and "Meray Mutabek" (According to me), hosted by Shalid Masood, were not taken off the air.
Officials at Dubai Media City, where the GEO TV group is based, said these programmes threatened UAE's relations with a friendly country.
Full RWB press release below. See similar rebuke from the International Federation of Journalists. Post your comments, updates, links, etc, below, please.
Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières
Press release
12 June 2008
PAKISTAN-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Dubai-based satellite TV station GEO News censored again
Reporters Without Borders calls on the governments of Pakistan and United Arab Emirates to explain how GEO News, a Pakistani privately-owned TV station that broadcasts by satellite from Dubai, was forced to drop two very popular talk shows under threat of losing its licence to operate in Dubai.
GEO TV president Imran Aslam told Reporters Without Borders that the Dubai authorities informed him last night that the station would lose its licence if "Capital Talk," a show hosted by Hamid Mir, and "Meray Mutabek" (According to me), hosted by Shalid Masood, were not taken off the air.
Officials at Dubai Media City, where the GEO TV group is based, said these programmes threatened UAE's relations with a friendly country.
The Pakistani information minister said her government was not involved in the decision. But GEO TV journalists suspect that President Pervez Musharraf applied pressure for the two programmes to be withdrawn. Masood recently interviewed a former general who was very critical of Musharraf.
The two shows also had also given a lot of coverage to efforts by lawyers to obtain the reinstatement of judges dismissed by Musharraf last year. In November, Musharraf pressured the Dubai government to suspend GEO TV's operations altogether.
-------------
PAKISTAN - EMIRATS ARABES UNIS
La chaîne indépendante GEO News de nouveau censurée
Reporters sans frontières souhaite des explications des gouvernements d'Islamabad et de Dubaï à propos des pressions exercées sur la direction de la chaîne pakistanaise privée GEO News. Sous la menace d'un nouvel arrêt de sa retransmission, la chaîne diffusée par satellite a été contrainte de suspendre deux talk shows très populaires, "Capital Talk" et "Meray Mutabek" (Selon moi), respectivement animés par Hamid Mir et Shalid Masood.
Imran Aslam, président du groupe GEO TV, a confirmé à Reporters sans frontières que les autorités de Dubaï l'avaient informé le 11 juin 2008 dans la soirée que la chaîne ne serait plus autorisée à émettre si ces deux programmes n'étaient pas retirés de la grille. Selon des responsables du Dubaï Media City, où est installé GEO TV, ces émissions portent atteinte aux bonnes relations entre les Emirats arabes unis et un pays ami, le Pakistan.
Par la voix de sa ministre de l'Information, le gouvernement pakistanais a nié toute implication dans cette décision. En revanche des journalistes de GEO TV soupçonnent le président Pervez Musharraf d'avoir exercé des pressions. Récemment, Shalid Masood avait interviewé un ancien général critique envers Pervez Musharraf.
Ces talk shows de GEO News accordent également une large couverture à la marche entamée par des avocats pour la restauration des juges écartés par le général Pervez Musharraf en 2007. Ce dernier avait déjà fait pression en novembre 2007 sur le gouvernement de Dubaï pour que GEO TV soit suspendue.
--
--
Vincent Brossel
Asia - Pacific Desk
Reporters Sans Frontières
47 rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 70
33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax)
asia@rsf.org
www.rsf.org
