France: Hizbullah TV allowed to stay on air

[Erikl]

France: Hizbullah TV allowed to stay on air

By JOSEPH NASR

In a move that angered French Jews, the French broadcasting authority (CSA) announced on its Web site Friday that it has finalized an agreement with Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, allowing the controversial anti-Israel broadcaster to stay on the airwaves in France.

The CSA had threatened to ban Al-Manar from broadcasting in France following an advisory sent by the French Interior Ministry on July 12 recommending that Al-Manar's transmission via the Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat be "immediately terminated" because of its anti-Semitic content.

The French government made the recommendation after members of the Council of Jewish Organization in France (CRIF) expressed outrage at a series of anti-Semitic programs broadcast through Europe by the Beirut-based television channel.

On Tuesday representatives of Al-Manar in France were given a license they had requested to continue broadcasting in France and other parts of Europe.

In January 2003, over Ramadan, Al-Manar broadcast Al-Shatat ("The Diaspora"), which portrayed the history of Jews and Zionism from 1812 to 1948.

Based on the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Syrian-produced program alludes to a Talmud-inspired Jewish conspiracy for world domination, and shows, among other incitement-charged scenes, a group of Jews, acting on the orders of a rabbi, killing a Christian toddler to use his blood in baking matzot for Pessah.

CSA director Dominique Baudis, in a letter issued with the license, warned that the license will be considered violated if Al-Manar broadcasts hate messages as it has in the past.

Baudis noted that some Al-Manar programming "depicts violence toward civilian populations in a favorable light" and could incite hatred among religious or national groups and "bring trouble to the public order."

Some scenes broadcast by Al-Manar "make use of children to serve political propaganda which violates article 2-4" of the license, read Baudis letter.

"Your signature of this license implies, therefore, that you will formally renounce the broadcast of programs of this nature on the satellite, which comes under French law," he said.

Al-Manar, which signed the license Friday, issued a statement saying "it has no problem with French laws and is ready to abide by the legal requirements to broadcast on French airwaves."

In the statement Al-Manar accused the "Zionist entity" of unsuccessfully attempting to silence the "voice of the Lebanese resistance" and provoke the French and other Europeans against Al-Manar.

Representatives of Jewish organizations in France were outraged by the agreement.

"This is very serious for France's Jewish community... these terrorists are used to the worst kind of lies," said Roger Cukierman, CRIF president. "These are people we should not be dealing with."

"I feel that the attitude of the French government in this affair is distressing," he added.

"We are scandalized by the total redirection in the position of the CSA."

AP contributed to this report.

SOURCE

France's support for terrorist jihadist organizations will eventually fire back... but for now, when the jihadists harresing jews, they don't mind... with a 10-15% of it's population muslim, France should watch out... for they day that they will let go of the Jews and start hurting non-Jewish french is near.

Like the old saying goes:

"First they came for the Jews

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me

and there was no one left

to speak out for me."

[Guest Lottie]

I am dismayed that France have allowed this to continue, the mind boggles! However Erikl I am suprised at you for saying:

France should watch out... for they day that they will let go of the Jews and start hurting non-Jewish french is near.

You sound nearly as bad as them.

Edited November 22, 2004 by Lottie

[Talon]

France should watch out... for they day that they will let go of the Jews and start hurting non-Jewish french is near.

You sound nearly as bad as them.

Scary isn't it

[Erikl]

Lottie, I'm afraid you misunderstood me.

I was merely saying that if the French won't take care of their radical muslims now, when they are harrasing Jews (which are a minority in France), when the muslim population will grow (and it will) to some 30% of the population, they will stop harrasing Jews alone and start harrasing non-Jewish french as well.

Look at the Netherlands for a present example - the radical muslims there harrased Jews for some years now, but now that they've become large enough portion of the dutch population, the radicals among them have declared Jihad against the non-muslim Dutch population.

It is very easy to harras a minortiy, but France should see this as a sign - fanatcs who harras a minority will later harras the entire population.

[Babs]

They don't choose to see Erikl. It is easier to hold your head in the sand.

[wunarmdscissor]

Erikl.

Whilst i understand your opinion , it is a free democratic country.

Freedom of speech .

NOw as long as their channel is moderated and they dont cross the line they are allowed their say.

Wether we agree or not is irrelevant.

[Babs]

The statement that stands out to me is:

"Baundis noted that some Al-Manor programming "depicts violence toward civilian populations in a favorable light" and could incite hatred among religious or national groups and "bring trouble to the to the public order".

This is the agenda.

[wunarmdscissor]

Like i said if its moderated then and doesnt cross the line then they have freedom of speech

plus the sentence you quoted doesnt actually say that the channel condones it.

[Erikl]

Wun, racism should be banned, especially when we know what happened so recently when racism against Jews was enabled in Europe.

I see no real difference between radical muslims who attack Jews and Neo-Nazis who attack them. The only difference is that the Nazis had much more power and so were able to do much more damage. Why should immigrants be able to start harrasing long-term dwellers of the country they chose to immigrate to?

Is there a french word for "Chuzpa"?

[Talon]

Wun, racism should be banned, especially when we know what happened so recently when racism against Jews was enabled in Europe.

Some would claim what you said in the other thread about fear of France bcoming a Muslim state is racist though.

[wunarmdscissor]

erikl when you start removing free speech , your country no longer becomes a democracy.

Like i said , you remove their free speech and they win.

There should be limits to what they can and cant say hoever.

As much as i dont like the BNP they have a right to spout their illeducated rants.

[Erikl]

I don't think so Talon, because:

A. This is a fact if you take into account the demographics and lack of integration of the muslim immigrants.

B. I did say that Germany and UK, even though both have a big muslim population, are in a better position because their muslims aren't as radical as French muslims, thus rendering my critcism to radical muslims, not muslim in general.

C. If the muslim immigratns would have integrated into French population, there would have been no problem. But the fact is that they don't integrate and thus they do comprise a different "nation" inside the french one, thus making a bi-national France a feasible and unescapable futue.

[Talon]

Doesn't matter how you reached your conclusion, there are still some who would claim its racist.

[Erikl]

Wun, there is also the principle of democracy in defense.

Democracy can and should defend on itself from non-democratic forces who try to undermine it.

Like Germany bans Nazis and all that is related to them. Would you consider Germany to be a democracy?

[Babs]

I don't know, Talon, that's a pretty far stretch. I understand what you're saying and I understand what wun is saying and normally I would, completely, agree...but these aren't normal times and I see this thing getting completely out of hand. War starts in men's minds.

[Erikl]

Talon, the ones who will would be demagogue if they'll do so, as there is no base for their claim.

You can't just go around claiming racism if you have no root for youre claims.

Such claims would not hold in court.

[Erikl]

Babs, the fact is that both wun and Talon talk like that about their own immigrants

[wunarmdscissor]

erikl your opinions are based on poor reporting that your receiving.

You know i went to school with hundreds of muslims and they integrated perfectly for the mots part

IN fact when i was in town the other day i commented to my g/f that you hardly even see asian women wearing a headress anymore.

Its like when the mongols destroyed the islamic empire , in the end they just became muslims themselves.

In the end the immigrant populations will live with the already in existence immigrant population who are already starting to convert to westernism in turn converting the newcomers.

In about 10 -15 years i see a totally different future than u do , i see one weher islam inthe west becomes more and more moderate just as christianity has.

I see why you believe what you do becuase of what you experience in the middle east but its completley different here.

Edited November 22, 2004 by wunarmdscissor

[Talon]

Talon, the ones who will would be demagogue if they'll do so, as there is no base for their claim.

You can't just go around claiming racism if you have no root for youre claims.

Such claims would not hold in court.

Doesn't matter, there are still those who would claim its racist

[Erikl]

Wun, I actually came to the conclusion that muslims in the UK don't integrate from what Talon and Sera wrote some time ago .

As I said, muslims in the UK and Germany are more moderate.

They are also of different origin then the muslims of France.

Most British muslims are Pakistanis, and most German muslims are Turks.

Those two do not come from the ME (Turkey is a European country in culture, Pakistani culture is more close to Hindu culture then middle-eastern one).

The only way I see youre future comming into reality is if the EU will enable Turkey in. As long as they won't, the muslims of Europe will be influenced by the middle-eastern immigrants who some of them are radical. European muslims will look at the French muslims as their model, because that where the largest muslim population will be.

If Turkey will join, they will look at Turkey as their model, and will accept Turkey's moderate form of Islam.

[Erikl]

Well then, Talon, they can claim it as long as they want.

They have no air in their claims.

They can also claim that they are the kings of the world too, for all I care.

It will have the same legitimacy.

[Talon]

Wun, I actually came to the conclusion that muslims in the UK don't integrate from what Talon and Sera wrote some time ago .

Depends, some do, some don't. The most vocal of them don't.

Well then, Talon, they can claim it as long as they want.

They have no air in their claims.

They can also claim that they are the kings of the world too, for all I care.

It will have the same legitimacy.

Doesn't matter, they'll still claim it. And they wouldlikely win, because under political correctness anything counts as racism now-a-days. And since you want to ban racism, that means that what your saying will be banned, when in fact all it was was an attempt to tell of possible events of the future.

Mills wrote that no society can be Liberial if it bans the right of speach, because in amongst all the rubbish people say their are statements of truth. But if society bans those words because it beleives them to be rubbish, then they will be lost, and their meaning never heard.

[Babs]

Erikl you have good points. I am learning alot.

Talon...Interesting... what Mills has to say....what era did he live in?

Edited November 22, 2004 by Babs

[Talon]

I think I died in the early 1900s, but most of his writing was writen around 1880 including the one on Liberialism which I'm refering too ('Essay's on Liberialism').

[Talon]

Correction, he died 1873, so it must have been written around the 1860s/ 70s