Reports: Al-Manar Director General Resigns after Bahrain Apology Controversy
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Abdullah Qassir, the director general of Hizbullah's al-Manar television, has submitted his resignation, media reports said on Wednesday, in the wake of the latest controversy over the TV network's “apology” to Bahrain.
“Qassir left for Iran after his resignation was accepted,” As Safir newspaper said in a terse report on its website.
Meanwhile, LBCI television said the man had submitted his resignation a week ago, adding that it was accepted on Wednesday and denying reports that he was “sacked” over his move.
On December 8, Qassir confirmed to LBCI that the Hizbullah-owned TV network had apologized to Bahrain over its coverage of the Shiite-led protests in the Gulf kingdom.
“The Lebanese Communication Group (parent company of al-Manar and al-Nour) has officially apologized to the Information Affairs Authority in the kingdom of Bahrain over its coverage of news related to the kingdom in the previous period,” Bahrain's state news agency BNA reported on Dec. 7.
“In its statement which was published and announced during the 90th general assembly of the Arab States Broadcasting Union's executive council … (LCG) extended its apology to the kingdom of Bahrain and stressed its commitment to objectivity in covering the news of Arab countries in the future,” BNA said.
The agency said Bahrain had submitted to the Arab League's general-secretariat a request to revoke LCG's membership in the ASBU, adding that the request was referred to the union's general assembly since it is the highest authority concerned with looking into the issue and ruling on it.
Hizbullah, however, has distanced itself from LCG's apology, describing the move as the delegation's “own evaluation” of things and noting that al-Manar's representatives did not consult with Hizbullah's leadership before making the decision.
"Our stance which supports the cause of the aggrieved Bahraini people has not changed at all and we consider that the injustice practiced by Bahrain's authorities against their people is still enormous and ongoing,” the party said in a statement.
Shiite-majority Bahrain has blacklisted Hizbullah and banned Bahraini opposition groups from having contact with the Lebanese party over allegations it was interfering in the kingdom's internal affairs.
The opposition, which is battling for democratization, insists that its political agenda is Bahraini and not linked to Iran or other Shiite sides.
Despite the March 2011 deadly crackdown on protests, Shiites continue to demonstrate in their villages, triggering frequent clashes with police. A total of 80 people have been killed since the protests erupted, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Hizbullah and its media outlets had voiced strong support for the protest movement in Bahrain and criticized the heavy-handed crackdown on the Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations.
25 December 2013, 21:46
611
“Qassir left for Iran after his resignation was accepted,” As Safir newspaper said in a terse report on its website.
That is where he calls home.
26 December 2013, 10:24
11
well we should give the guy some credit; he was sacked because he dared to stand against the divine instructions and apologized for something he did, gesture rarely seen in Iranian hezballa ideology.
26 December 2013, 12:57
21
Actually mr blackk Saad hariri was born in saudi arabia so him being there isn't unusual but where was nasrollah born and he represents other countries one which is not lebanon
26 December 2013, 14:04
22
One of those Lebanese TV stations whose sole role is the brainwashing of people. The very opposite of Al Jazzera in ideology.
26 December 2013, 14:39
02
Be wary of any media outlet that has an overweight Gulf(y) running the show.
26 December 2013, 15:02
31
God bless the Bahraini revolution! Down with the illegitimate, criminal, terrorist Bahraini regime and freedom to the oppressed Bahraini revolutionaries!
26 December 2013, 15:31
11
down with khomeynist terrorists claiming to be peaceful protestors but attacking sunnis and their mosques.
28 December 2013, 01:19
00
Why??
When it happens in Bahrain, it is a terrorist attack prevailed by the Iranians and Hizbullah.
But when it happens in Syria, it is the right of people against their oppressor…
When it happens in Egypt, it is the peoples' right against the corrupt goventment,
and if it ever happens in the Gulf region, it is a movement against the Walyyul Amr: i.e. you have to be killed.
28 December 2013, 01:19
00
Please ppl be just and clear for your own sake. We all know that a lot of ppl hate Iran, and for that they hate Hizbullah, Bahraini revolution, Iraq, as well as any Shias. But regardless of all, please be just. Go bask to basics. A human being asking for the basic rights and the rights to live like a human being, not like a dog! Bottom line, this is the foundation of the revolution in Bahrain. For those who haven't visited Bahrain, you would be shocked to see, if you park in one of the shopping malls, that the person who comes to clean your car is a Bahraini guy, who speaks perfect English. Simply, he is actually a doctor, not offered a job or house or money or bread, so he has to clean ppls cars to get some cash and feed his family. A scene, I never observed either in Egypt or in Syria, having visited both.
Take home message: be clear, fair, and just to all humans, regardless of their religious attributes...
28 January 2014, 13:08
00
We all have rights, but with rights come responsibility. If you are the main breadwinner of a family and work in a industry with low skill and education requirements, say, like a taxi driver, have two wives and 8 children, while selfishly saving money to see tombs abroad, all the while disregarding your children and wives, then this does not become an issue of basic rights anymore, its a family and upbringing issue.
I am from Bahrain and the only locals who offer to clean cars are kids and teens, who are most likely neglected by their family as their parents selfishly save up money to visit tombs in Iraq and Iran. Parental neglect leads to these children to being susceptible to other sources of income and potential abuse. Go to Dubai and you will see many Egyptian taxi drivers who hold PhDs and engineering degrees, but drive taxis in the UAE because the wages they get from there is much higher than their home country. This, my sympathy building friend is called underemployment.
