Lebanonwire, December 31, 2002

The Daily Star

Sabine Darrous
Daily Star staff

The Qornet Shehwan Gathering bid farewell to  2002 on Monday with a fresh attack against the authorities, especially the judiciary, and a pledge to fight the closure of Murr Television.
In a short but firm statement, the opposition group decried the “assassination of the judiciary” and said it would defend public freedoms in the coming year.
The statement came after the group held an extraordinary meeting at the Antelias Maronite Diocese to respond to the Publications Court of Cassation’s irreversible decision last week to maintain the closure of MTV and Radio Mount Liban (RML).
The statement said the closure of MTV was a “political decision endorsed with a judicial cover.” Continued furor over the decision is a threat to the authorities, the group said, adding that people will not stay silent in the face of legal violations “no matter how much time passes.”
MTV and RML were closed in September under a court order that charged the two stations with election propaganda during the Metn by-election in June, violating Article 68 of the election law. The poll saw opposition candidate and minority MTV shareholder Gabriel Murr win the Orthodox parliamentary seat, but his victory was later overturned by the Constitutional Council.
The statement warned the authorities of the dangers of its “continuous blows” to the judiciary and called on the Lebanese to support what it described as the “many still courageous judges (who) were hurt when watching what was happening.”
It added that these judges should not accept the “continued deterioration” of the judiciary, because this decline threatened the whole country.”
“Less than four days separated the attempt of an individual to assassinate one judge and the attempt of authorities to assassinate the judicial body as a whole,” the statement said, in reference to the attempted murder of Judge Fadi Nashar at Beirut’s Justice Palace last week.
“This happened through endorsing a political decision with a judicial cover to tarnish liberties and justice, which are the aims of Lebanon’s existence,” the statement added.
Warning that a “judgment day” will come, the group said: “People are planning to held authorities accountable in a democratic way, no matter how much time passes.The judicial decision to continue the closure of MTV and RML was expected by everybody, because it was a decision taken by authorities, and nobody believes the excuses given to cover up for the affair.”
The opposition said that Lebanese were “astonished” when watching the fall of their country’s constitutional institutions, and called on them to “put aside their personal disputes and unite their efforts for the defense of principles and for the salvation of their country.”
Elsewhere, the Progressive Socialist Party warned that the verdict to keep MTV shut meant that the future of media freedoms in Lebanon was in danger.
The PSP said it was aware of the “political background” to the closure decision but had opted to see the matter sorted out via judicial channels.
But the decision to keep MTV off the air “did not treat the problem, but only opened new wounds, and raised questions about the future of media freedoms, the role of the judiciary and its independence.”
Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush said he “found Scotch whiskey, French cheese, Italian pasta and Ceylonese tea in the judicial ruling, but not even a trace of justice, the law, or fairness.”
Fattoush said the judiciary had misinterpreted Article 68, and took judges to task for failing to allow MTV to defend itself in the original, closed-door session in September.
l The seven lawyers MTV on Monday challenged the Publications Court of Cassation’s decision to keep the station and RML closed permanently.
The lawyers called for a speedy decision to halt the court’s ruling last week until a final decision is issued.
They asked the court to accept the new appeal, annul the decision of the Publications Court on Sept. 4 to close the stations and reverse all measures against the two stations. They also asked the court to limit the closure of both stations to a period of time not exceeding the time elapsed between Sept. 4 and the date of this latest appeal.
The lawyers cited anger over the continued closure among legal professionals and from public opinion and local media as evidence of the seriousness of the situation.

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