DUTCH SUPPORT FRENCH AL MANAR BAN; FOCUS NOW ON AL

S E C R E T THE HAGUE 000267 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UBI, EUR/ERA, EUR/PGI, S/CT(TKUSHNER),EB/ESC/TFS, NEA/ELA(SBERAN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC EFIN ANET PREL LE NL SUBJECT: DUTCH SUPPORT FRENCH AL MANAR BAN; FOCUS NOW ON AL ALAM, AND ART IQRAA BROADCASTS REF: A. 05 STATE 216186 ¶B. 05 STATE 216191 ¶C. 05 PARIS 6933 ¶D. 04 PARIS 8944 Classified By: ECONOMIC COUNSELOR RICHARD HUFF, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (S) On January 27, the Dutch press reported that Minister of Justice Donner had informed parliament that the French, at Donner's request, had agreed to block the transmission to the Netherlands of Lebanese Al Manar and Iranian Sahar TV1 satellite broadcasters after their programs were found to be inciting hatred, anti-Semitism, and violence. In follow-up conversations with Econoff, however, Joost van Ettro, Policy Officer, Terrorism and New Threats Unit, Political Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the press had misquoted Minister Donner. While the Minister had discussed the need to take action against hate-inciting broadcasters, his remarks were directed at foreign broadcasters Iranian Al Alam and Saudi Arabian Art Iqraa, which have aired anti-Semitic statements and radical opinions in the past. Van Ettro said the Dutch Office of the Commissioner for Media (Commissariaat voor de Media) was in close touch with its French counterpart (the Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel) about these and other channels, which could face blocking actions if they were found to be broadcasting programs inciting hatred, anti-Semitism, and violence. (Econoff had previously shared with van Ettro points in refs A and B on Al Manar broadcasts.) ¶2. (S) Van Ettro explained that the Dutch parliament had first raised questions about such broadcasts in December 2004, and, at that time, had specifically targeted Al Manar broadcasts transmitted through the Dutch-based company New Skies Satellites (NSS). Donner had indicated GONL support for the French December 2004 decision to ban Al Manar broadcasts through Eutelsat (refs C and D). The Office of the National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism (NCTb) subsequently initiated an investigation into the content of such broadcasts. The issue was addressed again in April 2005, when Donner informed parliament that the Office of the Commissioner for Media had informed NSS that Al Manar lacked the necessary license to broadcast in the Netherlands. NSS responded by ordering Globecast, the distributor of Al Manar broadcasts, to cease transmitting Al Manar programs into the Netherlands. However, the Dutch public can still view these channels via Internet. ¶3. (U) NOTE: Dutch criminal law, which complies with the EU Directive on "Television without Borders," specifically forbids the broadcasting of programs that incite hate and allows for investigations of any broadcasters that are found to be broadcasting such programs. While there is no provision under this law to remove a channel from the airways, the law does allow for the blocking of certain programs. In the case of Al Manar, however, an independent decision by the NSS satellite company resulted in the removal of Al Manar programs from Dutch airways after Al Manar's broadcasting license was questioned. END NOTE. BLAKEMAN