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Press ReleasesInternews Launches Media Project in Lebanon Just Days Before Conflict Erupts
(May 16, 2008) Despite the dramatic events that took place in Lebanon in a major escalation of a long-running political crisis between pro- and anti-government supporters, Internews Network is launching a new media development project in Lebanon. Just days after Internews opened an office in Beirut early this month, the country erupted into its worst sectarian violence in 15 years, following months of political tensions between the opposition Hezbollah and the ruling coalition. Hezbollah-led opposition supporters blocked roads in the capital, forced Lebanon’s only international airport to close and consolidated their hold in the western areas of the city after fierce street battles. Hezbollah attacked and bombed pro-government and independent media outlets including the offices of the March 14-aligned Future newspaper and Future News television station offices, Al-Shiraa magazine, Lebanese radio stations Radio Orient and Armenian station Van. They were forced to shut down for several days. “Now more than ever, the Lebanese people need strong and professional independent media to provide them with accurate news,” said Nadia Alami, Internews Network’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “We condemn all attacks on the media and call for excluding media from any confrontations and violence to protect and preserve civil freedoms.” Through a grant from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), Internews will support Lebanese media and local NGOs working on media-related issues both inside and outside Beirut. The project will include a series of trainings for media professionals on business management and a small grants fund for local civil society organizations to use the media as a tool for reconciliation. The project aims to strengthen Lebanon’s local media sector by using training and mentoring as tools for enhancing media sustainability. Additionally, the small grants fund is intended to foster cooperation between media and civil society groups to enhance reconciliation efforts at the local level. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Internews also currently has media development projects in Egypt, Jordan and West Bank/Gaza. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Internews MENA web site (in Arabic) Internews Network in Beirut Telephone: +961-1349601 |
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