25, July 2017 Al Jazeera
Buoyed by President Trump’s unconcern for human rights, Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrainis and Egyptians are subjecting tiny Qatar to a heavy-handed blockade. In a move reeking of irony, Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN’s committee on women’s rights. This is our bosom ally, where women are forbidden to drive without the written permission of a male guardian. This is the country that censors political dissent even risqué Rubens paintings. A courageous blogger, Raif Badawi, was sentenced to 1,000 public flogging and ten years in jail. Why are multiple Goliaths trying to silence tiny ‘David’? In a word – Al Jazeera, the highly popular broadcaster that exposes misdeeds and corruption in the Arab world.
Unlike other state owned radio and television stations that spew boring news items fawning over their rulers, Al-Jazeera cuts through the chase and educates listeners what is happening in the Arab world. Autocratic Arab rulers detest the audacious station that speaks truth to power. The West has also felt threatened and has tried to shut down the broadcaster when it exposed the war crimes of President Bush. Its Bagdad office was closed for a month during the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
In 2016 the station was closed again for a year. If Saudi Arabia succeeds in shutting down Al Jazeera this will be a fatal blow to free speech. This would also be another example of America’s declining influence in the Arab world in large part because of the morally bankrupt polices of President DJT.
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