A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, August 7, 2017
Israel moves to shut down local operations of Al Jazeera
FILE
PHOTO - An employee walks inside an office of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera
network in Jerusalem June 13, 2017. Picture taken June 13, 2017.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel plans to revoke the media credentials of Al
Jazeera TV journalists, close its Jerusalem bureau and pull the
Qatar-based station's broadcasts from local cable and satellite
providers, Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said on Sunday.
The closure did not appear imminent, however, and an Israeli official
said a legal process was still required to implement most of the
proposed steps.
Kara said the measures were intended to bolster Israel's secuity and "to
bring a situation that channels based in Israel will report
objectively".
There was no immediate comment from Al Jazeera headquarters in Qatar but
journalists working for the station in Israel said they did not expect
imminent moves against them.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would work
to shut the network's offices in Israel, accusing it of inciting
violence in Jerusalem, including over an Old City site that is holy to
both Muslims and Jews.
Kara said he would ask the Government Press Office to revoke the
accreditation of Al Jazeera's journalists in Israel, where it has about
30 staff. Cable and satellite providers have expressed their willingness
to turn off its broadcasts, he said.
Kara added that he had asked Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan to
use his powers to close the station's offices in Israel, although a
spokesman for Erdan said he doubted the minister had the authority to do
so.
"Our ministry is not the address. Try the police," spokesman Daniel Bar said.
Asked if shutting down Al Jazeera's operations would make Israel appear
to oppose freedom of the press, an official close to the prime minister
said the country accepted diverse opinions but not incitement.
The
logo of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network is seen in one of their offices
in Jerusalem June 13, 2017. Picture taken June 13, 2017.
"The prime minister is not too pleased with the constant incitement that
you see and hear on Al Jazeera, a lot of it in Arabic. There is a lot
being broadcast on that channel that is frankly dangerous," the official
said.
"There is no shortage of free speech in this country. There are plenty
of dissenting voices. In democratic countries there are also things that
are unacceptable, and a lot of what Al Jazeera is saying and
broadcasting falls into that category."
In his news conference, to which Al Jazeera was not invited, Kara said
steps had to be taken against "media, which has been determined by
almost all Arab countries to actually be a supporter of terror, and we
know this for certain."
"We have identified media outlets that do not serve freedom of speech
but endanger the security of Israel's citizens, and the main instrument
has been Al Jazeera," Kara said.
He was referring to recent violence in and around a Jerusalem site that
is revered by Muslims and Jews in which six Palestinians and five
Israelis, including two policemen, were killed.
Al Jazeera said in July it would take all necessary legal measures if
Israel acts on its threat. It said Israel was aligning itself with four
Arab states that have severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel criticised the planned moves.
"Changing the law in order to shut down a media organisation for
political reasons is a slippery slope," association executive secretary
Glenys Sugarman said.
Writing by Ori Lewis, Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Luke Baker, editing by Angus MacSwan