Al-Manar TV

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)

Special Information Bulletin

October 2004

Marketing of terrorism: Hezbollah’s use of the Al-Manar TV station to spread incitement and hatred across the globe

“Now… The Al-Manar station is coming to you… Wherever you are, anywhere in the world” [from a promo clip broadcast on Al-Manar, June 10, 2004]

General characteristics

The Hezbollah organization places a great deal of importance on the campaign over the public mind, viewing it as a key component in its struggle against Israel. The organization operates an extensive network of propaganda that spans magazines, a TV station, a radio station and Internet websites. Hezbollah makes widespread use of communication infrastructures in order to disseminate its vision, doctrine and messages to diverse target audiences in Lebanon , the Middle East, and elsewhere across the globe.

Foremost among the means of propaganda used by the organization is the Al-Manar TV station, broadcasting worldwide from Lebanon via a multi-national satellite system. Hezbollah attributes major importance to television broadcasting¹. It can be safely established, in fact, that Hezbollah—owing to generous financial support from Iran —is the world’s number one terrorist organization when it comes to its ability to make such extensive and diverse use of a TV station under its control.

1. “Al-Manar was a central component of the campaign [against Israel in Lebanon] and the enemy is aware of that…” [a speech given by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as broadcast by Al-Manar, November 24, 2000, about 6 months after the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon.]

The satellites used by Hezbollah to deliver its doctrine and messages are operated by Arab and Western companies and corporations, including American and European companies . This is yet another example of the use terrorist organizations make of Western technologies to deliver messages of hatred and preaching to terrorism. Such messages are directed more than once at the very countries that provide the terrorist organizations with communications infrastructures.

Thus, broadcasts preaching to terrorism and anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incitement are exported from the Middle East to the US and to European countries where, with the assistance of Arab and Western companies and corporations, they are spread to Arab and Muslim communities.

The method of distribution

Based on the information we possess, we can attempt to illustrate the method used by Hezbollah to market Al-Manar’s programming worldwide:

The international satellite companies and corporations lease out broadcasting frequencies to any interested parties, on a commercial basis.

Two satellite companies— Arabsat (an inter-Arab company whose major shareholder is Saudi Arabia ) and GlobeCast (a subsidiary of a French-based company²) buy the broadcasting frequencies from these international companies and corporations.

2. GlobeCast is a subsidiary of France Telecom ( France’s largest communications company). Its Chairman and CEO is Christian Pinon, and the CEO of GlobeCast America is David Sprechman .

The Arabsat and GlobeCast companies put together Arabic channel packages,including the Al-Manar TV station, which are marketed abroad and transmitted on leased frequencies on various satellites by the international companies and corporations.

Thus, for example, Abdallah Quseir, a Hezbollah deputy in the Lebanese parliament, claimed that the broadcasting of Al-Manar in France was based on an agreement between Arabsat and European satellite provider Eutelsat, broadcasting a package of 10 Arabic channels, including Al-Manar ( Ad-Diyar, Lebanon, August 12, 2004). At that time, it was stated that the Al-Manar station and Arabsat had an agreement according to which Arabsat was to “plug” Al-Manar into all of its channel packages, on all satellites where these packages were broadcast.

The distribution of Hezbollah’s Al-Manar programming worldwide—an estimated flowchart

Note: Arabsat and Nilesat (see details below) broadcast Al-Manar programming independently, without relying on third-party agents.

3. The company’s major shareholder is Saudi Arabia .
4. A subsidiary of a French-based company.

Conclusion

The main conclusion that arises from the above analysis is that Arab and Western countries (the US included) are allowing satellite companies and corporations under their control or influence to provide communications infrastructures for the global spread of Hezbollah’s messages of hatred and terrorism via the Al-Manar channel. The key countries in this marketing system, on the different levels of the distribution, are:

First and foremost Syriaand Lebanon , the two countries that make it possible for Hezbollah’s TV station to exist on Lebanese soil and provide it with inter-Arab legitimization, portraying it as a completely “civilian” TV station when, in practice, it is operated by a terrorist organization and dedicated to the purpose of furthering its aims and ideology. All this is part of the strategic assistance and backing provided by these two countries to Hezbollah⁵..

5. The financial support provided by Iran to Hezbollah allows the organization to maintain a system of marketing and distribution unparalleled in any other terrorist organization. Furthermore, Iran wields significant influence on the contents of the messages of hatred and terrorism spread by Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia and France are the two countries who hold influence over Arabsat ( Saudi Arabia) and GlobeCast (France). Through these two companies, channel packages of Arabic programming, including the Al-Manar station, are distributed to satellite companies and corporations. Terminating these companies’ distribution of Al-Manar programming might have been a severe blow to the station’s global marketing network.

The US and a long list of Western (and other) countries who hold influence over the satellite companies and corporations that distribute Al-Manar’s broadcasts. That influence is not translated into an effective effort to put an end to the worldwide distribution of Al-Manar’sbroadcasts via the satellite system. This in spite of the fact that as of 1997 Hezbollah features on the US State Department list of international terrorist organizations and despite the anti-American incitement, preaching to terrorism and radical Islamic messages disseminated through Al-Manar’s broadcasts⁶.

6. It is worth mentioning that American companies also provide Internet services to Hezbollah websites (see article by Avi Jorich, recently distributed by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center).

Countries worldwide where Al-Manar’s broadcasts are distributed via the companies’ and corporations’ satellite system are not making substantial efforts to prevent the reception of the broadcasts. The broadcasts, that include blatant anti-Semitic incitement (such as the movie The Diaspora—Al-Shatat) are received, among else, by Arab and Muslim communities in Western countries and fuel the flames of anti-Semitism already prevalent in those communities (the results of the proceedings currently under way against Al-Manar in France might serve as an important test case for the level of willingness of the various Western countries to combat the phenomenon).

Appendix

Characteristics of the satellite companies and corporations that distribute the Al-Manar channels (as at September 19, 2004)

The Intelsat company distributes Al-Manar to North America (US and Canada).The company has taken over Telestar, owned by Sky Net.Intelsatis the world’s largest global satellite corporation. After its privatization, the corporation was registered in Bermuda and is currently operating branches worldwide. The corporation’s head office is located in Washington. The company’s CEO is Conny L. Kullman. The president of the company’s staff in Bermuda is Ramu V. Potaraz. The Al-Manar station is broadcast on the Intelsat Americas 5 satellite (97W),on GlobeCast’s Arabic channels package.

The Eutelsat company distributes Al-Manar to Europe and North Africa. It is a satellite company formed by the European Space Agency. It was privatized and turned into a private company, registered in France and bound by the French broadcasting regulations¹ . The chairman and CEO of the company is Giuliano Berretta, and its Deputy CEO is Jean Paul Brillaud. This company broadcasts a package of 10 Arabic channels (under agreement with Arabsat ) including, as mentioned above, the Al-Manar station.

1. 7 As mentioned above, legal proceedings are currently under way in France to ban Al-Manar’s broadcasting.

The New Skies Satellites (NSS) company distributes Al-Manar to North Africa and parts of Europe (Nss 803). It is a company formed after the privatization of Intelsat. It is registered as a company in the US ; however, its members are representative communications companies from various countries. The company’s head office is located in the Hague , Holland; it also operates a branch in Washington . The company’s CEO is Daniel S. Goldberg.

The Nilesat company broadcasts to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe. It is an Egyptian satellite company. There are 11 members on the company’s board of directors, 5 of whom are representatives of the Egyptian Broadcasting Corporation. The Al-Manar station is broadcast on the Nilesat 102 satellite (7w), as part of the Lebanese channel package.

The Arabsat company, broadcasting Al-Manar programming to the Middle East, North Africa and several European countries. It is an inter-Arab satellite company, comprised of Arab League countries. The countries’ representatives on company conventions are the Arab information ministers. The company’s major shareholder is Saudi Arabia .

The Asiasat company, broadcasting Al-Manar to Asian countries. It is an Asian satellite company registered in Bermuda . The Ses Global company, registered in Luxembourg and holding several satellite companies, holds 34% of the company’s shares. The chairman of the board of Ses Global is René Steichen, and his deputy is Jean Paul Vens. The Al-Manar station is broadcast on the Asiasat satellite (405.5E 35) as part of Arabsat’s Arabic channels package.

The Hispasat company, broadcasting Al-Manar to South American countries, belongs to a privatized satellite company currently held by Spanish companies ReteVision Telefonia and BBVA. One of the company’s primary shareholders is Eutelsat. The company’s president is Pedro Antonio Martin.