The other day I noted that Jordanian opposition journalist Fahd Rimawi had been released from prison. His "crime", you'll recall, was publishing an article which the state security services deemed hostile to Saudi Arabia - which, in "liberal" Jordan's draconian press law is criminal. Rimawi was released from jail after widespread interventions on his behalf, and it seemed that al Majd would return to the sidewalks and newsstands.
But not so fast! Part of the deal, it turns out, was that Rimawi was to publish an article in the next issue of al Majd apologizing to Saudi Arabia and assuring his readers how wonderful the Saudis had been to Jordan. Rimawi has refused to publish such an apology, and has now shut down al Majd himself in protest. This is exactly the kind of principled - and ornery - stance I'd expect from Rimawi, who doesn't appear the least bit cowed by his arrest. Let's hope that Rimawi's boldness can be a model for independent journalists.
At the same time, let's hope that the United States can impress upon its Jordanian ally the importance America places on a free press. Not likely with this administration, to be sure, which has amply proven that it prefers to pressure and shut down the Arab media. Indeed, with Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell openly calling on Qatar to "rein in" al Jazeera, it's just hard to imagine where the Jordanian security services might have gotten the idea to close down al Majd. Not that Arab regimes need any advice on repressing the media, of course, but wouldn't it be nice if the United States worked against such practices rather than endorsing them?
UPDATE: Chris at Explananda suggests that "Fahd Rimawi's case is exactly the sort of thing most of us should be able to get behind. If you're a neo-con slavishly following the administration's line in all things Middle Eastern, tell yourself that pressuring Jordan on Rimawi would be in keeping with Bush's Forward Strategy of Freedom. If you're a wild-eyed lefty, you can back the same move as exactly the sort of peaceful democracy promoting initiative that you wanted all along as an alternative to war."
That sounds right, except I wouldn't want anyone to get buyer's remorse here. Fahd Rimawi isn't a nice, liberal, "let's build a modern civil society" type like Saad Eddin Ibrahim in Egypt. He's a hard core opposition journalist, with good ties to Syria, and his paper has been a leading platform for opposition to peace with Israel and criticism of the United States. Not a warm and fuzzy guy. He is, for that very reason, an excellent case for demonstrating a genuine commitment to free speech and political liberalization even for those that the United States disagrees with. But I just wouldn't want anyone to, you know, buy a "Fahd Rimawi" expecting to get a "Saad Eddin Ibrahim" and then come complaining to the aardvark!
Hey, what's this about King Abdullah saying Iraq now needs a military strongman? Whaaaa?
A bit ot, but if Bush lied about WMD but Saddam was telling the truth, should there be a penalty to Bush?
Posted by: paper tigress | May 18, 2004 at 10:59 PM