Press freedom in the Arab region, on the whole, declined last year, according to Reporters Without Borders’ tenth annual index.
Out of the 18 Arab countries included in the poll, 11 posted a drop from last year.
Syria, Bahrain and Yemen achieved their worst ever rankings in the yearly report.
In the list released January 25, the press-freedom organisation said although the Arab world was the motor of history in 2011, the Arab uprisings have had contrasting political outcomes so far.
Syria was ranked 176 out of 179 countries, beating only Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, which landed last place in terms of press freedom. Bahrain was 173rd while Yemen came in at 171st place.
Last year, Syria was 173, Bahrain came in at 144 and Yemen was 170.
“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.”
Elsewhere in the region, Libya moved higher to 154 from 160 last year and Egypt moved lower to 166 from 127. Tunisia moved higher to 134 from 164, the biggest jump higher across the Arab nations.
“Bahrain fell 29 places because of its relentless crackdown on pro-democracy movements, its trials of human rights defenders and its suppression of all space for freedom,” explained the report. “While Libya turned the page on the Gaddafi era, Yemen succumbed to violence between President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s opponents and supporters and languished in 171st position.
“The future of both of these countries remains uncertain, and the place they will allow the media is undecided. The same goes for Egypt, which fell 39 places to 166th because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in power since February, dashed the hopes of democrats by continuing the Mubarak dictatorship’s practices. There were three periods of exceptional violence for journalists: in February, November and December.”
Mauritania took first place for its press freedom record in the Arab region, moving 28 places to 67th position from 95th
The Gulf
Kuwait was the leading Gulf nation, reaching 78th place from 88th last year.
Qatar moved higher for the first time in four years, moving up to 114th place from 121st a year earlier.
Speaking to The Peninsula newspaper in Qatar, DCMF director Jan Keulen highlighted there were two major issues keeping Qatar towards the end of the scale including self censorship and the lack of media regulation.
“Though there are no imprisoned journalists and no prior censorship here, self-censorship (in the local media) is widespread,” he said. “The media sector is still awaiting a media legislation which guarantees press freedom and which is up to international standards and up to the new technological developments.”
The United Arab Emirates, moved lower to 112st place from 87th place last year.
Saudi Arabia made 158th place from 157th, Oman moved higher to 119th from 124th.
Ranking of Arab countries in order
The full global report included 179 countries. Countries which moved higher are in green, while those that fell are in red.
Mauritania 67 (from 95 last year)
Kuwait 78 (from 88 last year)
Lebanon 93 (from 78 last year)
United Arab Emirates 112 (from 87 last year)
Qatar 114 (from 121 last year)
Oman 119 (from 124 last year)
Algeria 122 (from 133 last year)
Jordan 128 (from 120 last year)
Tunisia 134 (from 164 last year -- biggest jump higher among Arab nations)
Morocco 138 (from 135 last year)
Iraq 152 (from 130 last year)
Palestinian Territories 153 (from150 last year)
Libya 154 (from 160 last year)
Saudi Arabia 158 (from 157 last year)
Egypt 166 (from 127 last year)
Yemen 171 (from 170 last year)
Bahrain 173 (from 144 last year)
Syria 176 (from 173 last year)
To vote on whether you think Qatar's press freedom has improved recently, visit DCMF's poll on Facebook.
