Questioning the Wisdom of Eliminating Al Jazeera TV
HIRAYAMA Kentaro / Journalist
September 14, 2017
US President Donald Trump is seen kicking a wrestler attached with the CNN logo off the ring and punching away – this video, reportedly created by Mr. Trump himself, was broadcast by news organizations including CNN itself, inviting scorn and indignation from those in the media.
That same Mr. Trump toured the Middle East to spur a grand alliance among Sunni nations in the region and the Gulf Coast, including Saudi Arabia, against the terrorist organization ISIS. He singled out the oil-producing country of Qatar for criticism, and immediately following his visit, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, which was also slapped with sanctions including a freeze on its assets. One of the conditions for ending the sanctions was the dissolution of Qatar’s national satellite TV broadcaster Al Jazeera, and this has become the focus of a fracas on par with Mr. Trump’s animosity towards CNN.
In 1996, the BBC was forced to close its Arabic news service due to pressure from the Saudi government and others. Many of the staff laid off by the BBC, including British and other non-Arab nationals, were hired by Al Jazeera, which began broadcasting with full financial backing from the government of Qatar. In the past, TV broadcasters in conservative oil-producing countries had reported only on members of the royal family or heads of state, while ignoring events in neighboring countries and inconvenient news. It was the determination of Sheikh Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who was seeking change in pursuit of a unique brand of modernization for his country, which was behind the launch of Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera caught the world’s attention at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Three weeks after the incident, Al Jazeera was the first to broadcast a video recorded in the mountainous region of Afghanistan, in which Osama Bin Laden and those who were considered the masterminds virtually claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Shortly afterwards, the US administration under President George Bush launched a military intervention in Afghanistan, and Al Jazeera’s bureau in Kabul was bombed by US Forces. Yet, despite suffering casualties among its staff, the bureau held out and continued reporting. And though it was criticized as a “mouthpiece for terrorists,” there were many who commended its efforts to dig up information in areas that were not easily accessible for Western media.
Two years later in 2003, during the war in Iraq that was started by the same Bush administration, Al Jazeera again lost staff in its Baghdad office to US artillery fire, yet continued to report from the ground. Incidentally, among the online war games sold in the United States, there was even one where the player uses overwhelming force to defeat an Islamic terrorist group and capture its base, which was shown to be none other than Al Jazeera’s broadcasting station.
The hostility with which Saudi Arabia and others in the alliance against ISIS view the Qatari government and Al Jazeera is said to be due to their sympathetic attitude towards terrorist groups, as well as concern that they might incite the masses against conservative Arab states. During the Arab Spring of 2011, Al Jazeera supported the Muslim Brotherhood and the Morsi government that toppled President Mubarak’s regime in Egypt, and criticized the subsequent coup d’état by General el-Sisi (currently President).
Within the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council of oil producing Arab nations in the region, Kuwait and Oman have not severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, and are currently working to mediate a reconciliation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As for Al Jazeera, it has bureaus not only in Iran, which is regarded as an enemy by the Gulf States, but in Israel as well, and though imperfect, aspires to providing objective reporting that emphasizes human rights including the freedom of expression, and democracy. Al Jazeera has been playing its role in communicating the diverse opinions and views in the Arab world, and is a bud that should not be crushed. I hope the United States, which is responsible for instigating the latest fracas, will show some good judgment.
Kentaro Hirano is a former Executive Commentator of the NHK.
That same Mr. Trump toured the Middle East to spur a grand alliance among Sunni nations in the region and the Gulf Coast, including Saudi Arabia, against the terrorist organization ISIS. He singled out the oil-producing country of Qatar for criticism, and immediately following his visit, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, which was also slapped with sanctions including a freeze on its assets. One of the conditions for ending the sanctions was the dissolution of Qatar’s national satellite TV broadcaster Al Jazeera, and this has become the focus of a fracas on par with Mr. Trump’s animosity towards CNN.
In 1996, the BBC was forced to close its Arabic news service due to pressure from the Saudi government and others. Many of the staff laid off by the BBC, including British and other non-Arab nationals, were hired by Al Jazeera, which began broadcasting with full financial backing from the government of Qatar. In the past, TV broadcasters in conservative oil-producing countries had reported only on members of the royal family or heads of state, while ignoring events in neighboring countries and inconvenient news. It was the determination of Sheikh Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who was seeking change in pursuit of a unique brand of modernization for his country, which was behind the launch of Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera caught the world’s attention at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Three weeks after the incident, Al Jazeera was the first to broadcast a video recorded in the mountainous region of Afghanistan, in which Osama Bin Laden and those who were considered the masterminds virtually claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Shortly afterwards, the US administration under President George Bush launched a military intervention in Afghanistan, and Al Jazeera’s bureau in Kabul was bombed by US Forces. Yet, despite suffering casualties among its staff, the bureau held out and continued reporting. And though it was criticized as a “mouthpiece for terrorists,” there were many who commended its efforts to dig up information in areas that were not easily accessible for Western media.
Two years later in 2003, during the war in Iraq that was started by the same Bush administration, Al Jazeera again lost staff in its Baghdad office to US artillery fire, yet continued to report from the ground. Incidentally, among the online war games sold in the United States, there was even one where the player uses overwhelming force to defeat an Islamic terrorist group and capture its base, which was shown to be none other than Al Jazeera’s broadcasting station.
The hostility with which Saudi Arabia and others in the alliance against ISIS view the Qatari government and Al Jazeera is said to be due to their sympathetic attitude towards terrorist groups, as well as concern that they might incite the masses against conservative Arab states. During the Arab Spring of 2011, Al Jazeera supported the Muslim Brotherhood and the Morsi government that toppled President Mubarak’s regime in Egypt, and criticized the subsequent coup d’état by General el-Sisi (currently President).
Within the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council of oil producing Arab nations in the region, Kuwait and Oman have not severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, and are currently working to mediate a reconciliation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As for Al Jazeera, it has bureaus not only in Iran, which is regarded as an enemy by the Gulf States, but in Israel as well, and though imperfect, aspires to providing objective reporting that emphasizes human rights including the freedom of expression, and democracy. Al Jazeera has been playing its role in communicating the diverse opinions and views in the Arab world, and is a bud that should not be crushed. I hope the United States, which is responsible for instigating the latest fracas, will show some good judgment.
Kentaro Hirano is a former Executive Commentator of the NHK.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
アルジャジーラTV排除への疑問
平山健太郎 / ジャーナリスト
2017年 9月 14日
トランプ米大統領がＣＮＮのマークを付けた格闘の相手をリングの外に蹴り落として殴り続ける、トランプ氏自作といわれる動画が、当のＣＮＮを含むテレビニュースに流れ、メディア側からの失笑や憤激を招いている。
そのトランプ氏が、テロ組織ＩＳＩＳに対抗するサウジアラビアなど中東・湾岸のスンニ派諸国の大同盟に拍車をかける旅で、名指しで非難した産油国カタールは、その直後からサウジアラビア、バーレーン、アラブ所長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）、エジプトなどによる国交断絶、資金の凍結などの制裁を受けた。制裁解除の条件の一つに、同国の国営衛星テレビ局アルジャジーラの解体があり、トランプ氏のＣＮＮへの敵意とも見合った騒ぎの目玉になっている。
アルジャジーラは英国ＢＢＣのアラビア語放送が、サウジアラビア政府などの圧力で放送を中止した後の１９９６年、英国人など非アラブ人を含む解雇されたスタッフの多くを吸収し、カタール政府の全額出資で放送を始めた。保守的な産油国の従来のテレビ放送は、自国の王族や首長の動向ばかり伝え、近隣諸国の出来事や都合の悪いニュースは黙殺してきた。これに飽き足らない、個性的な近代化を志向したカタールのアル・サーニー首長の決意がアルジャジーラ設立の背景にあった。
アルジャジーラが世界の注目を集めたのは、米国での9・11同時多発テロ事件だった。アフガニスタンの山間部で収録されたオサマ・ビンラデンら「首謀者」とみられていた人々の「犯行声明」のビデオを、事件の３週間後、世界に初めて伝えた。
この直後、ブッシュ米政権のアフガニスタンへの軍事介入で、カブールのアルジャジーラ支局は米軍の爆撃を受けた。しかしスタッフに死傷者を出しながら同局は頑張り続けた。「テロリストの広報機関」と、しばしば非難されながらも欧米メディアが近づきにくい領域の情報を発掘する仕事ぶりを評価する声も多かった。
２年後の２００３年、同じブッシュ政権が始めたイラク戦争でも、アルジャジーラのバグダッド事務所は米軍の銃砲撃で死傷者を出しながらも報道を続けた。ちなみに米国内で商品として作られたネット用の戦争ゲームの中には、プレイヤーがイスラム系のテロ集団を圧倒的な武力でなぎ倒して占領するテロ集団の本拠が他ならぬアルジャジーラ放送局という代物さえあった。
サウジアラビアなどＩＳＩＳに対抗する同盟諸国が、カタール政府やアルジャジーラを敵視するのは、テロ集団への「同情的な態度」に加え、保守的なアラブの体制に対する民衆扇動への懸念からとされている。同局は２０１１年の「アラブの春」でムバラク・エジプト体制を打倒したムスリム同胞団やモルシ政権を評価し、シシ将軍（現大統領）による、クーデターを非難している。
現在、湾岸のアラブ産油国で構成するＧＣＣ(湾岸協力機構）６カ国のうち、カタールと断交していないクウエートとオマーンが、カタールとサウジアラビアの和解の調停工作に当たっている。アルジャジーラについては、湾岸諸国が敵視するイランはもとより、イスラエルにも取材拠点を持ち、客観報道に努め、言論の自由を含む人権や民主化を重んじる報道を曲がりなりにも志向している。アラブの多様な意見や見方を伝える上でアルジャジーラはそれなりの役割を果たしており、この芽をつぶすべきではない。騒ぎの火付け役になった米国にも良識のある対応を望みたい。
筆者は元NHK解説主幹（FORMER NHK EXECUTIVE COMMENTATOR）
そのトランプ氏が、テロ組織ＩＳＩＳに対抗するサウジアラビアなど中東・湾岸のスンニ派諸国の大同盟に拍車をかける旅で、名指しで非難した産油国カタールは、その直後からサウジアラビア、バーレーン、アラブ所長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）、エジプトなどによる国交断絶、資金の凍結などの制裁を受けた。制裁解除の条件の一つに、同国の国営衛星テレビ局アルジャジーラの解体があり、トランプ氏のＣＮＮへの敵意とも見合った騒ぎの目玉になっている。
アルジャジーラは英国ＢＢＣのアラビア語放送が、サウジアラビア政府などの圧力で放送を中止した後の１９９６年、英国人など非アラブ人を含む解雇されたスタッフの多くを吸収し、カタール政府の全額出資で放送を始めた。保守的な産油国の従来のテレビ放送は、自国の王族や首長の動向ばかり伝え、近隣諸国の出来事や都合の悪いニュースは黙殺してきた。これに飽き足らない、個性的な近代化を志向したカタールのアル・サーニー首長の決意がアルジャジーラ設立の背景にあった。
アルジャジーラが世界の注目を集めたのは、米国での9・11同時多発テロ事件だった。アフガニスタンの山間部で収録されたオサマ・ビンラデンら「首謀者」とみられていた人々の「犯行声明」のビデオを、事件の３週間後、世界に初めて伝えた。
この直後、ブッシュ米政権のアフガニスタンへの軍事介入で、カブールのアルジャジーラ支局は米軍の爆撃を受けた。しかしスタッフに死傷者を出しながら同局は頑張り続けた。「テロリストの広報機関」と、しばしば非難されながらも欧米メディアが近づきにくい領域の情報を発掘する仕事ぶりを評価する声も多かった。
２年後の２００３年、同じブッシュ政権が始めたイラク戦争でも、アルジャジーラのバグダッド事務所は米軍の銃砲撃で死傷者を出しながらも報道を続けた。ちなみに米国内で商品として作られたネット用の戦争ゲームの中には、プレイヤーがイスラム系のテロ集団を圧倒的な武力でなぎ倒して占領するテロ集団の本拠が他ならぬアルジャジーラ放送局という代物さえあった。
サウジアラビアなどＩＳＩＳに対抗する同盟諸国が、カタール政府やアルジャジーラを敵視するのは、テロ集団への「同情的な態度」に加え、保守的なアラブの体制に対する民衆扇動への懸念からとされている。同局は２０１１年の「アラブの春」でムバラク・エジプト体制を打倒したムスリム同胞団やモルシ政権を評価し、シシ将軍（現大統領）による、クーデターを非難している。
現在、湾岸のアラブ産油国で構成するＧＣＣ(湾岸協力機構）６カ国のうち、カタールと断交していないクウエートとオマーンが、カタールとサウジアラビアの和解の調停工作に当たっている。アルジャジーラについては、湾岸諸国が敵視するイランはもとより、イスラエルにも取材拠点を持ち、客観報道に努め、言論の自由を含む人権や民主化を重んじる報道を曲がりなりにも志向している。アラブの多様な意見や見方を伝える上でアルジャジーラはそれなりの役割を果たしており、この芽をつぶすべきではない。騒ぎの火付け役になった米国にも良識のある対応を望みたい。
筆者は元NHK解説主幹（FORMER NHK EXECUTIVE COMMENTATOR）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟