Hezbollah threats force rival party's news media to close
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 9 May 2008 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Hezbollah threats force rival party's news media to close, 9 May 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/482959bec.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Reporters Without Borders condemns Hezbollah's armed attacks and threats against four news media owned by the family of Saad Hariri, the head of Future Movement, the anti-Syrian majority party in the Lebanese parliament.
All four news media - the terrestrial and satellite TV station Future TV, satellite TV news channel Future News, the daily newspaper Al-Mustakbal and Radio Orient - were forced to stop operating today.
"Lebanon is undergoing a serious political crisis and the situation is very disturbing," the press freedom organisation said. "We hope the gagging of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority's news media is not a harbinger of even greater violence. The aggressiveness displayed by Hezbollah militants poses an additional danger for the many journalists covering the clashes on the streets of Beirut. We urge Hezbollah to refrain from attacks on the press."
Rockets were fired early this morning at Al-Mustakbal's headquarters, starting a fire on one of its floors. Soon afterwards, gunmen surrounded the offices of Future TV, Future News and Radio Orient and threatened to open fire if they did not stop broadcasting. Witnesses said Hezbollah militiamen disabled their video surveillance systems and then disconnected their broadcast cables. Lebanese army soldiers protected employees as they left they buildings to go home.
There have been clashes between Hezbollah militiamen and supporters of the anti-Syrian majority for more than 24 hours in several west Beirut neighbourhoods.
