Inside Thirteen blogger: Mohammed Al-Kassim, Associate Producer for Worldfocus

Earlier this month, an Egyptian court sentenced an independent newspaper editor to prison for two months. The editor, Ibrahim Eissa, of Al Dustour, a newspaper critical of Egypt president Hosni Mubarak’s government, published an article in August 2007, in it Mr. Eissa reported that President Mubarak was ill and he and his aides were keeping it under wraps. Mr. Eissa was charged with publishing false information intended to harm national interest. He was prosecuted and sentenced last March to six months in prison, reduced to two after an appeal.

Ironically, as Mr. Eissa was getting ready to surrender to prison authority, President Mubarak issued a decree pardoning Mr. Eissa. This week marks President Mubarak’s 27th anniversary as president of Egypt.

I grew up in the Middle East, where the flow of information was controlled by an ever-watchful government.
I remember watching the nightly newscasts anchored by serious men with thick mustaches, scowling brows and grave voices. Most news shows were 30 minutes, leading with the daily handshakes of the president, king or emir. Ribbon cuttings and new infrastructure projects were also common highlights of the broadcast.

But no mention of the projects’ corruption — sometimes involving the president or his kin — ever squeezed into the newscast.

It turned out that the ubiquitous newscasts were mere extensions of government control. The news was pre-approved by government — or by news directors on the government payrolls. Word by word, sentence after sentence, the news was carefully-scripted and strategically placed.

Where I lived (and watched TV) in Jerusalem, Kuwait City or Amman, criticizing the policy of any leader or government official was simply not tolerated. Those in charge kept a close eye on journalists. Those regimes knew that in order to stay in power, they had to control the flow of information.

The few journalists that dared to ask probing questions were punished, imprisoned, tortured or executed.

That’s why during the coup attempts I witnessed growing up, print, radio waves and TV broadcasts were blockaded with tanks and heavy weaponry. The governments knew that the “pen is mightier than the sword.”

Information is power, and when people are informed, then they have the necessary power needed to make sure that unscrupulous leaders like the ones I grew up with are never in charge.

Worldfocus airs every weeknight at 6:00 pm on Thirteen.