Hezbollah blasts Egypt’s NileSat over banning Al Manar

Share:

al manarHezbollah blasted on Wednesday a decision by a leading Arab satellite operator to drop transmission of its al-Manar television channel, and urged it to reverse its decision

“Hezbollah sees a blatant violation of freedom of opinion and freedom of expression in the unjust decision that was taken by the Egyptian Satellite Company (NileSat),” the party said in a statement.

The decision “is very far from what was hoped from Egypt during this period and from the role that Cairo can play to rectify the course of events in the region,” Hezbollah added.

“It shows full compliance with the onslaught that some Arab regimes are waging against the resistance and all its sectors, including the journalistic field,” the party added.

It also called on NileSat’s administration to “immediately reverse the decision, in line with the right to freedom of expression and with the laws that regulate the relations between the company and the media firms that deal with it.”

Al-Manar was taken off NileSat on Tuesday and officials at both the TV network and the Cairo-based NileSat confirmed Wednesday that the transmission had been cut over accusations the channel violated its contract by airing programs promoting “sectarian” divisions.

“This is a political decision, not an industry decision. Al-Manar has nothing to do with sectarian strife,” the channel’s general manager Ibrahim Farhat told AFP, calling the move “unjust and arbitrary.”

“This is part of the political problem in the region, that they’re taking out on the media,” Farhat said.

Asked about the decision to cut al-Manar’s transmission, a senior NileSat official said channels “must abide by not airing any violent or racist content, or provoking sectarian strife.”

“No other channels have violated the contract,” he told AFP, in response to a question on whether any other Lebanese channels would be affected.

The cut came ahead of an expected visit this week by Saudi King Salman to Egypt, which operates the NileSat satellite.

Last month, Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia blacklisted the Iranian backed Hezbollah as a “terrorist” organization.

Earlier this year, the kingdom halted a $3 billion program of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was “the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the State.”

It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling there.

Al-Manar said on Twitter that it could still be watched via a Russian satellite or online.

The moves against Hezbollah come amid a spike in tensions between its backer Tehran and Riyadh this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom’s missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a pro Iran Shiite dissident cleric.

The kingdom cut diplomatic ties with Iran and led Arab allies in a series of retaliatory measures against it.

Share:

Comments

12 responses to “Hezbollah blasts Egypt’s NileSat over banning Al Manar”

  1. The chutzpah of these Egyptian slaves to Zionism! How dare they ban the Holy Voice of Resistance! It’s a violation of the Resistance’s human rights (which were invented by those Satanic Masonic Zioimperialists, by the way)!

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      If you think you hear ‘Holy Voices’ on any TV, you need some real help. Seriously.

      1. Sometimes pausing to think for a second before sending a post can do wonders to its quality. Seriously.

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          (PAUSE) ….. (An inventor of everything under the sun is speaking … trying to be facetious, more than likely.)
          (Nope … still only hear voices of humans using words they claim to be about ‘Holy’ …)

          1. So many words, so little sense. And yet so eminently likeable. What’s your secret? Seriously. 🙂

          2. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Age.

          3. Nah. Humans – as opposed to wine, scotch and art – rarely get better with age. 🙂

  2. Matrix Avatar

    The same rhetoric we have heard earlier when Press TV was removed from EBU (THE EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION) satellites…..

    Press TV complained at that time that it played into the hands of Israel and against the freedom of speech (propaganda news).

    “EBU Deplores Middle East Satellite Jamming – The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has described recent interruptions to news delivered by satellite into parts of the Middle East as “an attack on media independence.” – The targeted jamming cut off radio and television content by broadcasters including the BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America. European satellite operator Eutelsat reports that the “deliberate and intermittent interference,” originated from Syria and Iran.”

    (Published on 22 Oct 2012)

  3. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    “Lebanese Information Minister Ramzi Joreige was quoted as saying, by local media….
    “The Nilesat’s administration says that it was because the license given to them was not renewed. We informed them that we are in the process of renewing it, but because the cabinet did not meet, it could not be renewed,””
    WELL NASTYRALLAH … WHO’S FAULT IS IT THERE’S NO GOVERNMENT?? :-))))
    You didn’t pay the BILL since sometime in 2015. Probably got too much ‘extra time’ on airways as it was.
    If you don’t look after the business very well, it’s YOUR problem … aside from starting all that ‘sectarian’ stuff in 1400AD. ;-)))

  4. … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 55175 more Info on that Topic: yalibnan.com/2016/04/06/hezbollah-blasts-egypts-nilesat-over-banning-al-manar/ […]

  5. … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here on that Topic: yalibnan.com/2016/04/06/hezbollah-blasts-egypts-nilesat-over-banning-al-manar/ […]

  6. … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: yalibnan.com/2016/04/06/hezbollah-blasts-egypts-nilesat-over-banning-al-manar/ […]

Leave a Reply