Qatar's ministers warns of indecent channels

‘Indecent TV channels threat to GCC’

DOHA, Nov 3, (KUNA): Secretary General of Qatar’s Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Khalifa said in Doha on Sunday that the indecent materials aired by some satellite TV channels undermined the ethical systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Addressing the opening session of the international forum of “Satellite TV Channels and Their Impact on the Youth in Gulf States,” Al-Khalifa said the boom and the advanced technologies of satellite channels attract growing numbers of young viewers and impact their morality badly. “The improper products of the entertainment industry aired by such channels pose grave risks to the moral and ethical systems of the Gulf countries,” he underscored. Al-Khalifa accused the companies working in the entertainment sector profiteering as they “seek material gains regardless of any moral considerations.” In statements to the press on the sidelines of the forum, Qatari Minister of Culture Dr Hamad bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Kawari highlighted the role of families in minimizing the impact of improper TV material on the young generation. “Such negative social impact also affects grown-ups,” the minister warned. “New satellite TV channels are emerging every now and then without having a specific aim or positive message,” he noted, asserting the importance of the current forum in controlling the this dangerous phenomenon. For his part, GCC Secretary General Abdul-Rahman Al-Atiyyah urged offering all possible support to the TV channels that provide useful material and programs. “We are in need of TV programs that could direct youths to useful values and noble targets,” the GCC chief underscored. He voiced hope that the forum would yield results conducive to combat the negative impacts of offensive channels, calling on the participants to develop common stances and crystallize a common GCC media strategy. Meanwhile, legal experts, taking part in the forum, suggested international legislation to protect societies against indecent materials of TVs. Secretary General of the Kuwaiti National Anti-Narcotics Commission Dr Ahmad Dha’en Al-Samdan said in a paper tabled to the forum such legislations should serve as a media code of conduct in organizing the operation of satellite TV channels. The Arab world faces the danger of losing its identity amidst the current global revolution of information technology, he warned. The Arab world, which is involved in this revolution wily-nilly, has to cope with the revolution through modern legislation and toughened controls, Al-Samdan underlined. He outlined some suggestions on protection of young generation against the psychological impacts of globalization and negative impact of IT. In a similar paper to the forum Justice of Lebanon’s Juvenile Court and Member of Child Care Association Ghassan Rabah highlighted the role of TVs in spreading juvenile delinquencies. He held mass media, specially the TVs, responsible for the cultural and moral degeneration in the Arab world. For his part, Director of North Africa Studies Center of Cambridge University Dr Saad Jabbar pointed out in his paper that many of the offensive TV channels were broadcasting from Arab countries or financed by Arabs. The Arab region is in need of a penal code that incriminates all infringements on public order and ethics, he asserted. Liberalism and the freedom of the press have not to go counter to ethics or infringe on the morality of the young generation, he said, urging tackling the legal, political, cultural aspects of the problem in an objective way. Dr Patrick Truman, a US legal expert, noted that some TV programs promoted violence, hostility, sex and fierceness among teenagers. He urged for more efforts by governments and parents to control the obscene and offensive broadcasts and minimize their impacts on the young generation. Dr Mohammad Lutfi, professor of law at Bani-Suef University, Egypt, deemed the sponsorship of families as the most effective way for controlling “the flood of broadcasts.”  “Globalization has no mercy on the cultural identity of any community. To the contrary it works against the cultural diversification of world,” Lutfi pointed out. The two-day forum, being held under patronage of Sheikha Mozah Bint-Nasser Al-Missned, wife of Qatari Amir and SCFA Chairperson, seeks to develop a media strategy at the Gulf states-level, raise awareness among the youth and parents about the dangers of some satellite TVs, and highlight the ethical challenges posed by the new wave of the satellite TVs during the last few years. http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=24360&ccid=9