It seems Aljazeera has upset the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan yet again, though this time the event involves HRH Prince Hassan. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported the following yesterday:
The Committee to Protect Journalists protests the Jordanian government’s seizure of a taped Al-Jazeera interview with former crown prince Hassan bin Talal last week. Ghassan Benjeddou, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Beirut, told CPJ that Jordanian intelligence officers stopped his producer at Amman’s Queen Alia Airport on Wednesday, shortly after the interview. They proceeded to confiscate the videotape of the interview, as well as several photographs taken of Prince Hassan during the interview.
In the interview conducted by Benjeddou, Hassan spoke critically of Saudi Arabia and U.S. policies in the Middle East, the journalist told CPJ. Citing a U.S. report, the prince said a Saudi official was financing Sunni militants to confront the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Al-Jazeera identified the official as Prince Bandar bin Sultan, secretary-general of Saudi Arabia’s National Security Council, The Associated Press reported. Hassan also criticized Saudi Arabia for holding political negotiations in the holy city of Mecca, home to Islam’s holiest site, Masjid al-Haram.
The Committee to Protect Journalists protests the Jordanian government’s seizure of a taped Al-Jazeera interview with former crown prince Hassan bin Talal last week. Ghassan Benjeddou, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Beirut, told CPJ that Jordanian intelligence officers stopped his producer at Amman’s Queen Alia Airport on Wednesday, shortly after the interview. They proceeded to confiscate the videotape of the interview, as well as several photographs taken of Prince Hassan during the interview. And the Jordanian response:
On Saturday, Benjeddou used his program to discuss press freedom in the Arab world and discuss what happened to him. He invited Nasser Judeh, the chief Jordanian government spokesman, to comment. The Jordan Times reported that Judeh told Al-Jazeera that Prince Hassan is "an intellectual whose views are respected the world over," but "there are national interests that should be protected."
The Jordan Times quoted Judeh saying "we cannot afford to have any misinterpretation of Jordan’s stand at this delicate stage," adding, "after all, remember that we live in the Middle East where media outlets are sometimes employed to serve political purposes."
I can see how HRH Prince Hassan’s comments could be controversial but at the same time I’m someone who believes in the total freedom of the press. In my humble opinion, I believe harassing journalists in this fashion and confiscating their work should not occur in a country that strives to be "democratic ." But then again, many would argue that things are not so black and white in the Middle East, and that sometimes there are exceptions. Ah well, I will agree to disagree!
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I think it’s more disrespectful to Prince Hassan than it is to anyone else. If he wasn’t a member of the royal family he would be thrown in jail for what he said.
IT’s ironic how Americans themselves criticize their government very harshly but we don’t dare to.
Many readers here know prince Hassan and his intellectual prowess and ambition. He often provides interesting and studied punditry for issues both Middle East and global. And he generally freely speaks his mind. While the Royal Court was likely involved in his acceptance of the interview, I’d bet they weren’t really allowed any oversight. That’s generally not a problem. The prince is a very smart man and knows which side both his and the kingdom’s bread is buttered.
But the current circumstances and their impact on Jordan just got the better of him. Surely, he should be allowed to speak. And his comments, as they were, should have been aired on Aljazeera. But you can bet there were many very worried — and perhaps quite rightly so — that negative comments about the House of Saud might cause real problems for the country’s economy. If Saudi was offended by the prince’s comments and decided to end any preferential pricing for its oil exports to Jordan the impact would be real and quite severe.
Yes, Jordan should eventually move into a place where it can pay market prices for oil so its politics are not influenced by such issues – so should many others. But it’s a reality former king Hussein knew well. Hate the dictator next door, but the oil he supplies and its price (free?) is vital to your national interests. When the security of the nation is at stake, there is really only one choice. I’m not suggesting this is of the same severity here. But I’d bet that mindset is still quite prevalent in the royal court and the security services.
As mentioned, it really isn’t a black and white issue. The prince really should be given a more pivotal role in the diplomacy of the kingdom. He is a tremendous resource wasted. Likely were he involved as he should be, a rant like this wouldn’t occur. What he said could have negative consequences for the kingdom. But censorship of this nature is an absolute no-no for a country trying to pave the way to a full-fledged democracy.
Those making such choices must realize that in this modern era this is not something they would be able to cover up. It would have gotten out one way or another — and it did. While they might be right in their fears of economic fallout with Saudi over such comments, they also must remain mindful of political fallout over press censorship. Prince Hassan has maintained a fairly good degree of autonomy from the workings of the government. It doesn’t seem that it would have been too hard a dance for the government to separate itself from his opinions.
But then, old habits die hard.
It’s funny really when you think about it, but in this case I don’t blame it on mal-intent, only short sightedness.
Al Jazeera ended up reporting Prince Hassan’s statements anyway, so so much for succeeding in protecting Jordan’s “national interests” LOL. How about the national interest of gaining more steps on the road to political reform and freedom of expression? How about the national interest of not appearing to be a country that says one thing (reform reform, hallelujah!!) and then does another? Oops.
It looks like by trying to prevent certain damage (which ended up not being prevented at all), the “smart” decision makers have managed to invite yet more damage.
It’s not even about corruption anymore, that’s just incompetence :<
I thinks it’s absolutely absurd that the reporter’s interview documentations were confiscated
if they didn’t approve it, they should have disagreed (whoever is responsible) to do the interview in the same place…