Special Information
Bulletin

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)
May 18, 2005
   
 

French Culture Minister calls upon members of the European Union
to join France in banning Al-Manar broadcasts

 

When will the European Union join France and cease broadcasting Al-Manar?

“Now…Al-Manar reaches you…all over the world”
(from the lead-in to Al-Manar's broadcasts, June 10, 2004)
   
 

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the French Culture Minister, called upon other European Union countries to join France in banning the broadcasts of Al-Manar , Hezbollah's satellite TV station. Al-Manar broadcasts around the globe from Lebanon .

 

A meeting of European Union culture ministers was held in Brussels on May 23-24, 2005, at which de Vabres asked other EU countries to follow the lead of France, which ceased broadcasting Al-Manar on December 13, 2004, after a Conseil d'Etat (France's highest administrative court) ruling. 1 The reason given was Al-Manar's repeated violations of treaties banning the broadcasting of anti-Semitic programs and failure to comply with requests to stop distributing anti-Semitic pronouncements . De Vabres strongly suggested enacting new European legislation relating to television. 2

 

In response to the discussions held by the ministers, de Vabres noted that he was pleased because it was the first time the issue had been raised in such a forum. It was his opinion that the discussion was a milestone in European measures taken to prevent inciting broadcasts. He proposed that the EU use its own methods to prevent other satellite companies from broadcasting Al-Manar to the rest of Europe . When asked if he was optimistic about getting Al-Manar banned in other EU countries, he said that no country had opposed the French proposal. However, the official version of the decision, made public after the discussions, mentioned only a general call to EU countries to join the initiative to fight anti-Semitism and racism . 3
 

It should be remembered that so far, with the exception of Holland, other European countries have not followed France's lead in banning Al-Manar, which is broadcast by the satellite company Eutelsat . 4 In addition, Al-Manar broadcasts via other companies, particularly in the southern European countries. 5 The discussion held by the culture ministers may lead to Al-Manar's being banned in additional countries.

 
Appendix
 

The following satellite companies have ceased broadcasting Al-Manar: 6

  1. Eutelsat : A French owned company; stopped broadcasting Al-Manar to Europe in December 2004.

  2. Intelsat : A company registered in Barbados ; stopped broadcasting Al-Manar to North America in December 2004.

  3. New Skies Satellite : A Dutch company; stopped broadcasting Al-Manar to the European Union in March 2005.

  4. TARBS : An Australian company; stopped broadcasting Al-Manar to Southeast Asia and Australia in November 2003.

Satellite companies which still enable their European subscribers to receive Al-Manar :

  1. Arabsat : A Saudi Arabian company; broadcasts mainly to southern Europe .

  2. Nilesat : An Egyptian company; broadcasts mainly to southern Europe

 
1 In accordance with the court ruling, France removed Al-Manar from the Arabic package broadcast by Eutelstat. The reason given was that the station broadcast programs which violated the French law against incitement, thereby endangering public order
2 From the Beirut Daily Star , May 25, 2005; and the CRIF (the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France) , May 25, 2005, the organization of the French Jewish community.
3 In the original, “Initiatives en matiere de lutte contre l'antisémitisme et le racisme.”
4 On May 17, 2005, Holland joined France and banned Al-Manar from being broadcast.
5 Using two Arab satellite companies, Arabsat and Nilesat .
6 Data from the Coalition Against Terrorist Media ( www.stopterroristmedia.org ), May 17, 2005.

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