Report by Reporters Without Borders - November 2011

A year after the start of democratic uprisings in the Arab world, Reporters Without Borders takes stock of censorship and violations of free speech during the “Arab Spring”. Journalists, especially photographers, have paid a heavy price.
Eleven media workers have been killed in the performance of their duty, among them several internationally known photojournalists. However, most of the victims were local journalists.
Reporters Without Borders takes a look at the methods used by the authorities to strangle the flow of information during the popular uprisings in six countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen) up to mid-November 2011.
It all began in Tunisia on 17 December last year when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of the offices of the Sidi Bouzid governorate. His death set off a wave of demonstrations calling for democratic change which forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali out of office on 14 January and quickly spread to other countries in the region.

After Tunisia, it was the turn of Egyptians to get rid of their president, Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power for nearly 30 years. In Bahrain, young people took to the streets on 14 February, launching a protest movement which would later be taken up by the Shi’ite opposition.
Libyans and Yemenis began their own revolutions in mid-February. Syrians began to make their demands in mid-March.
The Sultanate of Oman has also seen large-scale social protests. In Iraq, anti-corruption slogans are the theme of weekly demonstrations. The democratic aspirations of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan were violently suppressed in February. Even the Palestinians gathered in Gaza City’s Square of the Unknown Soldier to call for an end to the divisions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were the scenes of historic demonstrations urging the government to give priority to social programs over security policy. More recently, Kuwait and Jordan have also witnessed a wave of protests.
Fearing a knock-on effect, leaders of neighbouring Arab countries launched reforms. In Algeria, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced political changes on 15 April.
In Morocco, King Mohammed adopted constitutional reforms approved in a referendum. Monarchs in the Gulf also made proposals to head off popular discontent.
The media played a critical role in these revolutions, reporting on the protests and their suppression, and maintaining momentum. In most cases new media such as Facebook and Twitter were used to spread information, as a substitute for a traditional press at the beck and call of the ruling powers. Despite the variability of its coverage, especially in Bahrain, Al-Jazeera played an important part in allowing opposition voices to be heard.
The main international media, when and where they were able to send in crews, had a mitigating effect on the crackdowns. In Egypt, Al-Jazeera and CNN provided realtime coverage of the clashes for an international audience.
For this reason, the authorities in several countries sought to keep out such troublesome observers. Ruling authorities have tried to impose total censorship, with media staff, bloggers and netizens bearing the cost of brutal and murderous repression. Every country developed its own ways of blocking or inhibiting the flow of information, such as Internet monitoring, cutting off access to the Internet and mobile phone networks, jamming satellite television stations, seizure of newspapers, assaults and arrests of media workers, bloggers and Internet users, kidnappings and murders, expulsions of foreign reporters, visa refusals, etc.

Soazig Dollet with the participation of Hélène and Henri
Middle East - Northern Africa desk / Reporters Without Borders

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