Press Freedom and the 'Red Line'
The political arena in Kuwait is currently playing host to a heated debate between MPs and some local newspapers. The dispute is over a most revealing characteristic of Kuwaiti life; freedom of the press.
Some newspapers have given their writers and columnists carte blanche to criticize whoever they desire in the most verbally brutal way possible short of actual slander. The targets of these condemnations have mostly been members of Parliament, much to the parliamentarians' disdain. MPs are quite upset at this behavior and have started a political campaign against some newspapers and accused them of being either propaganda tools for wealthy business families or "paid for" from the government's coffers.
MPs have continuously used the term "red line" to illustrate their belief that their job performance should be immune from vicious criticism. They have declared that quality newspapers should not cross the "red line" and should maintain a sense of respect when speaking about elected officials.
The only issue is that there is no "red line" in the Kuwaiti Constitution regarding criticism of MPs. Freedom of speech in Kuwait is a right for both Kuwaitis and residents, and the only three entities that cannot be criticized in writing are God, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and His Highness the Amir. Everyone else is fair game.
Furthermore, recent amendments in press legislation have paved the way for a multitude of newspapers to come into existence. Kuwait now has more than fifteen Arabic daily newspapers in print. This means that competition in the Arabic newspaper market is quite tough. Newspapers have to compete with enticing content for a relatively small readership.
Some newspapers have resorted to heavy reliance on advertising sales to stay afloat and others have resorted to borderline yellow journalism pieces to keep the readers interested. There have been many shocking columns written recently, with topics ranging from editors-in-chief of other newspapers to a condemnation of Hamas' role in the recent Gaza massacre to MPs and their political affiliations.
None of the above is illegal. I have read almost all the columns that have caused a frenzy in the Arabic media, and to be completely honest, some of these pieces were cheap insults directed at MPs whom the columnist did not fancy while others were an embarrassing display of xenophobia and ignorance. In short, they were awful examples of writing, written by awful, mean-spirited writers. But they are not illegal.
In fact, they stand as perfect testament to the freedom of speech we have in Kuwait. Even men with substantial political clout are not immune to public criticism, and Kuwaiti newspapers continue to show that this country has the greatest freedom of speech of record in the Gulf region.
There is no "red line" regarding freedom of speech, and MPs, as ambassadors of our democracy, should be the last people in Kuwait to claim that there are individuals or institutions that cannot be criticized in public. Just as voters chose to vote for a certain MP, so too do they have the right to criticize the MP's performance and to do so in the manner that they choose, provided that they do not perpetrate slander. This is the price of leadership through public office, and MPs should have been well aware
of that before they chose to step into the political arena.
If we start to self-censor because politicians and elected officials should not be criticized, then we have given our ourselves limitations on how to communicate with our elected officials and we have taken away our own right to audit their job performance through Op-Eds (since the country has not implemented the concept of opinion polls just yet).
There are very few things going well in Kuwait at present, but our freedom of the press is one characteristic of Kuwaiti life that we, the people, are unwilling to surrender. MPs must learn to accept criticism and to respond to it with action. If they cannot do that, then they would be doing us all a favor by staying away from public offices and keeping their imaginary "red lines" to mark the borders of their diwaniyas!
Email: shamael@kuwaittimes.net
Very little to add, but 'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen' does come to mind (even though that expression is often used for expats who say anything negative about Kuwait!). If MPs object to what's written about them, they can always write in and put across their side of the story... I'm sure none of the newspapers would mind that.
