CAAS Expresses Serious Concern Over HR 2278 Targeting Arab Media

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Center for American and Arab Studies

Mar 15, 2010, 01:59 ET

Join Us for an Exciting Discussion: Monday, March 22, 2010, National Press Club -- Holeman Lounge, 12:00 Noon

'Yes We Can: Stop the Media Ban'

WASHINGTON, March 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Congress is currently debating a bill oddly designed to suffocate freedom of expression throughout the Arab World. The bill, H.R. 2278, passed the House with three dissenting votes, and is aimed at certain satellite television outlets and 19 Arab countries, with a global audience of over 300 million viewers. One of the two affected satellite carriers is owned and operated by the Government of Egypt.

While the bill remarkably originated outside the halls of Congress, its sponsors deceptively maintain that the intention is not to suppress freedom of expression. Its broad language, however, is an infringement on the First Amendment guarantee. Consequently, this bill and its sponsors are setting an alarming precedent to erode the fundamental right of free speech.

The sponsors rush to pass into law a repressive measure is disturbing and may lead to legitimizing further acts of containing a vibrant freedom of expression. We urge our colleagues in the various outlets of U.S. media to expose this exclusive narrative and affirm everyone's inherent right to free speech.

CNN's resident journalist, Fareed Zakaria, eloquently argued on his show broadcast on Sunday, February 21, 2010, saying "...freedom of speech... competition of ideas... and the exporting of these ideas have historically been the cornerstone" of U.S. foreign policy. Those values are under profound attack.

The Center for American and Arab Studies -- Think Tank Monitor (CAAS), a Washington-based organization, is sponsoring a symposium to discuss the bill's threat to the freedom of the press. The event is scheduled for Monday, March 22, 2010, at the National Press Club -- Holman Lounge, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. The list of invited speakers features academic, legal and media experts. Among them are: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General; Seymour Hersh, the legendary investigative journalist; Amy Goodman, host, Democracynow.org; Clothilde Le Coz, Reporters Without Borders; Prof. Seif Dana, Sociology Asst. Prof. at University of Wisconsin -- Parkside; Amb. Hussein Hassouna, International Lawyer and Amb. of the Arab League; Waddah Khanfar, Director General, Al Jazeera Satellite Channel; and others.