Restructuring Syrian Media: Policies and Press Freedom Concerns
October 23, 2024, 12:31 pm

Restructuring Syrian Media: Policies and Press Freedom Concerns

النظام السوري / ليفانت نيوز

The President of the Council of Ministers in the Syrian regime, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, has directed the Ministry of Information to study the restructuring of media institutions and resolve the issues related to human resources within them. This came during a session of the Council of Ministers, where the Ministry of Information's vision for developing national media policies was discussed, based on the directives of the regime's president.

Discussions focused on the importance of establishing a comprehensive media policy that enhances the role of government media and facilitates access to information through the media offices of public entities. The Ministry of Information's memorandum was referred to the Human Development Committee for study in preparation for its submission to the council for a final decision.

The regime's Minister of Information, Ziad Ghosn, confirmed to the pro-regime newspaper "Al-Watan" that this vision aims to lay the "foundation for a new media policy by organizing dialogue sessions that include all media activities, both public and private." He also pointed to the efforts being made to amend the media law in cooperation with journalists and relevant media outlets.

Despite the Syrian regime's statements about developing and restructuring the media, the reality indicates a further tightening of media freedom, as evident from the new media law approved by the People's Assembly last March. This law raised widespread concerns among journalists working in regime-held areas, as they accused the media draft of marginalizing their views and distorting them in its formulation, increasing fears of censorship pressures and the regime's control over media production.

Ironically, Ziad Ghosn criticized the new law before assuming the position of Minister of Information, noting that it represents a significant regression compared to the previous law. He clarified at the time that Article 15 of the draft allows for the suspension of journalists for allegedly circulating or publishing unreliable or prohibited information, which he considered a response to external pressures, and called for more comprehensive clarifications and a genuine media code of ethics.

Ghosn also expressed his objection to the law’s neglect of the rights of independent journalists, as it restricts their work to using cards issued by the union or the Ministry of Information, thus hindering their professional independence. He also raised concerns about the amendment that grants the Minister of Information the authority to form a special committee to penalize violators, indicating that this measure shifts judicial authority to a committee within the ministry, raising questions about the constitutionality of this decision.

Syria continues to rank at the bottom of press freedom indicators, occupying the last place in the Arab world and 175th globally in 2023, according to the "Reporters Without Borders" report, which confirmed that the Syrian regime uses social media to monitor and arrest critics, even among its supporters, based on their online writings.

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