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Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, LebanonTel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org

Beirut, 26 March 2010

Press release

The Jordanian Monarch calls on government officials to show more

openness to the press, and on the journalists to adhere to professional

standards

Amman-SKeyes

During an interview conducted with Jordans King Abdullah II by the

editors of daily newspapers in Jordan, published on Thursday March 25,

2010, Jordan's King Abdullah II called on government officials to showmore openness to the press and to guarantee the latters right to freelyoperate and access information, while reiterating his call on the journalists to

adhere to professional and ethical standards.

In response to a question regarding his assessment of the current status of

media freedoms in Jordan, the King said: you are aware of my position

which you have heard more than once. What we want is a free, independent

and professional press that plays its part fully and without any hurdles. A

press that writers and criticizes freely and professionally, and which

subsequently contributes to our march towards development andmodernization. I have directed the government in an authorization letter to

take all steps to ensure that the press remains free and professional and to

contribute to the development of the media industry.

He continued: While the officials are required to be more open to the press,

guarantee the flow of information and respect the presss right to freely

operate and access information, I think you agree with me that it is also

required of the press to adhere to the ethics of profession and its professional

standards.The King called on the journalists to keep unprofessional practices in check,

saying: You in the press have declaredly rejected the unprofessional andunethical practices by certain groups, and which do harm to journalism,

society, the nation and the citizens. Therefore, you have a role to play in

protecting your profession and the people from blackmail by the group that

abuses journalism and violates the rights of the citizens as it distorts their

reputation without any regard to the truth and the ethics of the profession.

8/9/2019 The Jordanian Monarch Calls on Government Officials 26-3-201

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Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, LebanonTel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org

He added: The government has adopted a code of conduct to regulate the

relationship with the press, whereby you will be able to exercise your role in

absolute freedom. The law disallows the arrest of journalists. Currently, thelaw is also being amended so that the cases related to press issues can only

be considered by the Court of First Instance, as part of our vision that aims

at creating a clear legislative environment that protects journalism and the

freedom of the press. The King then stressed that the unethical practices in

the press have stopped and said: frankly, there used to be unacceptable

practices in the past, practices of appeasement and compromise at the

expense of freedom and professionalism, and at the expense of the country

and the citizens. However, all of this has stopped now, and the code of

conduct obliges the officials to adhere to clear professional, ethical and legal

standards in dealing with the press. You, in the syndicate and the mediainstitutions must ensure that everyone in the profession adhere to the Code

of Conduct that was devised for you, in accordance with the professional

standards that you adopt.The King also stressed the need to enact legislations that guarantee the right

of litigation for the citizens in case their reputation comes under harm,

pointing out that a free, independent and professional press is important for

the country. But at the same time, there should be a transparent legal

mechanism that is consistent with the best international standards in order to

protect the peoples rights and reputations, wherein their right of litigationagainst any false accusations and allegations that harm their reputations is

maintained.

The SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom commends the position

of King Abdullah in support of press freedom and its right to access

information, and his statement that the law disallows arrests against

journalists. SKeyes considers his statement that the unethical practices in the

press have ended, to be a testimony in favour of every Jordanian journalist.

For this reason, SKeyes calls on the officials in the Hashemite Kingdom of

Jordan to strictly apply the Kings directives and to abolish trials andsentences issued against journalists and writers against the backdrop of

freedom of expression cases, and not to file any similar cases in the future

against them, whatever the reasons and justifications may be.