Jordan Times
Monday, November 2, 1998
Press department urges newspapers to meet law's
requirements by deadline
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — The Press and Publications Department has asked all local papers to rectify their situation in accordance with the 1998 press law.
In an announcement issued last weekend, PPD Director Iyad Qattan said all periodicals had until Nov. 30 to present the department with necessary documents in accordance with the law.
“The government has no intention of prolonging the given grace period, nor does it have any intention of amending or changing any article in the recently passed law,” Qattan said.
The 1998 Press and Publications Law went into effect Sept. 1, despite hopes of amendments by journalists, editors, and human rights organisations.
The press body described the new law as a “penal code” for journalists, and human rights organisations said that if the law were not amended it would endanger Jordan's press freedoms.
Several analysts and human rights advocates claimed that many articles in the law contradict both the Constitution and international conventions to which Jordan is a signatory. They also asserted that ambiguous language coupled with exacting penalties, including a legal mechanism to close down newspapers found in violation of the law, would be used to “harass” journalists and force a regime of self-censorship at newspapers.
But the government has reiterated on several occasions after the law went into effect that it would adopt a “soft” approach in implementing the law and would pursue a peaceful dialogue with the entire press body. the government, however, made no mention of further amendments to the law.
In a statement to the Arabic daily Al Ra'i, Qattan said the announcement reiterating the Nov. 30 deadline was merely a reminder to periodicals so that the department and the press body would not find themselves in a “bottle neck” in the last few days of November.
He said many editors have been avoiding full implementation of the law in hope of further amendments.
In its announcement to around 25 publications, the PPD called on dailies to submit banknotes certifying a capital of no less than JD500,000 and a memo by the Jordan Press Association certifying that the paper's chief editor is a journalist, defined by the JPA as a Jordanian resident who has worked in the profession for a minimum of eight years, has been a member of the association for at least three years, and has never been convicted of a crime that forced him/her to stop writing.
It also called for the editor to be proficient in the printed language of the publication, both in reading and writing.
Weekly publications were asked to submit the same memo regarding their chief editors, but with banknotes of a minimum capital of JD100,000.
Specialised publications were demanded to produce a capital of JD5,000 and a chief editor with a minimum relevant experience of five years.
According to Qattan, none of the dailies or weeklies have so far presented their credentials to the department, while around six specialised publications have.
Al Ra'i editorial staff said they have not presented their credentials yet because “bureaucratic obstacles” have hampered them from obtaining the needed papers and delivering them to the department.
They said they were keen on cooperating with the PPD in a “civilised and open manner” despite reservations about the law.
Jamal Shawaheen, chief editor of Al Bilad weekly, told the Jordan Times that the weekly had also not presented the PPD with the required documents.
He said the weekly had amended its situation in accordance with the 1997 temporary press law and raised its capital to JD300,000, JD200,000 higher than the current requirement. “We still don't know if the PPD wants us to present them with a new banknote of our capital,” he said, adding that the paper will inquire.
As for chief editor requirements, he said that he met all the qualifications and that the weekly plans to present its credentials within the next couple of days.
Al Dustour's chief editor, Nabil Sherif, said his daily had no problem with the requirements of the PPD in terms of its financial status and its chief editor.
“We are in the process of accumulating the needed documents to present them to the department before the given deadline,” Sherif said. “However, we think that such a request by the department from a daily that has been in the business for more than 30 years to show compliance with the law is somewhat unusual.”
He added that he expected the newspaper to submit its paperwork soon.
Other periodicals also said they will present the department with their credentials soon.