Harb urges probe into Tele-Liban, Future TV
MP accuses stations of bias
Batroun lawmaker wants state to treat pair just as it did recently closed MTV which
was referred to Publications Court Maha Al-Azar
Daily Star staff
Batroun MP Butros Harb lodged a request Monday with the
State Prosecutor’s office for an inquiry into possible violations of Article 68 of
the Audio-visual Media Law by the state-run Tele-Liban and Future Television.
Arguing that the statute of limitations had not run out on alleged violations committed by
both stations during the 2000 elections, Harb called on the state prosecutor’s office
to refer the stations to the Publications Court, “just as Murr Television (MTV)”
was dealt with.
State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum declined to comment on Harb’s request, saying that he
had to read it first.
“I will be examining it Jan. 2,” he told The Daily Star.
“We will follow the same procedures we adopted while dealing with MTV,” he
added.
MTV was shut down by a court order on Sept. 4 for broadcasting propaganda during the
controversial Metn by-election in June. The poll saw Gabriel Murr, a minority stakeholder
in MTV and member of the opposition, capture the Orthodox parliamentary seat. But his
victory was later overturned by the Constitutional Council, which awarded the seat to
third-place finisher Ghassan Mokheiber.
Many legal experts and politicians considered Murr’s loss of both his parliamentary
seat and his station as political, questioning the judiciary’s objectivity in the
affair. Murr has long been at odds with his brother, Metn MP Michel Murr.
In his request for an inquiry on Monday, Harb said that ahead of the 2000 elections,
Tele-Liban had launched a campaign against then-candidate for prime minister, Rafik
Hariri, while the Hariri-owned Future TV ran propaganda promoting his election.
“The conflict between the authorities and the current prime minister back then, via
Tele-Liban and Future TV, was evident and continuous throughout the 2000 elections,”
Harb said in his request. Future TV chairman Nadim Mounla denied the station had committed
violations, mocking Harb for his interest in an issue from over two years ago.
“I just have a question for Mr. Harb: Did he just wake up to this issue?”
Mounla queried Harb’s motives, saying: “Did he know about this and not taken any
measures about it all this time? If so, we should prosecute him for his (lacking)
citizenship. And if he didn’t know about it and just found out, then we are sorry
that a person of his stature should miss out on something like that.”
Harb said he and Tripoli MP Mohammed Safadi questioned the Cabinet in September, hinting
that the “moods” of state officials and the affiliations of those being
prosecuted played a role in the “discriminatory manner in which the law was
implemented … as was the case with MTV.” He said the Cabinet responded that
while the State Prosecutor’s office had been tipped off on MTV’s violations, it
had not received complaints about Tele-Liban and Future TV. But Harb said the state
prosecutor’s office “is not confined to taking action only if it receives a
tip-off but should do so as soon as it learns of any criminal act.”
Information Minister Ghazi Aridi, who oversees Tele-Liban affairs, said he was “the
first one to turn attention toward violations made in 2000” by the two, but added
that he “was not responsible then.” Asked if he would endorse legal action
against the two, Aridi said: “Either they should apply the law on everyone or not at
all.”
Aridi declined to comment on whether permanently shutting MTV was the proper
implementation of the law. “I already took a stance on this issue,” he said,
referring to his earlier criticism of the ruling, followed by a call to let the judiciary
decide.
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