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Al-qusifi
Captain Al-Qossaify began the meeting with a speech in which he welcomed “a dear guest in these difficult and complex conditions the country is going through. While the Corona pandemic has paralyzed the economic and social life cycle , and the production movement has been reduced to minimum levels, the pandemic that affected the Lebanese press and the media in its various forms is more severe and worse. ” It warns of catastrophes that can lead to the fall of this sector or at least to its transformation into a marginal paralytic sector that has no effect or active presence.
He added: “In the middle of the workshop that I started to organize to organize the media sector, the Association of Trade Unions of Lebanese Press Editors invited him, on his visit to the Ministry of Information, to congratulate him on the occasion of taking on his duties on his head, to leave a fingerprint that indicates that his passage in it will not be transit, expressing his willingness for all sincere cooperation and dedicated to saving the sector, which suffers problems and faces challenges. “
He continued: “However, the main crossroads for this cooperation is to accelerate the approval of the bill that modifies the law that establishes the Editors’ Union, which has been in the inclusion of the Council of Ministers since 2017, and is a major project This is important because it allows media workers in the audiovisual and electronic press sectors to join the union, which is expanding its base, renewing its cells and allowing it to better protect its members. Aladdin take “sesame” out of the “bottle”, and will you be this debt so high that it will open the doors that are closed for this project?
He said: “We want to refer you also to the following: Why is the information law sewn into the negligence of the interested parties and the interested parties, as if it were a secret of secrets? In short, we are not concerned with anything related to what that is cooked at the press and media level, without our having a society and an opinion. ” The people of Mecca know their reefs better.
He added: “Where is the state of media problems? Do you intend to move from the official media to the public media? Pending the promised modern legislation, where is the role of the state in providing the attention and the care needed for the public and private media sector, similar to other national productive sectors, and was For decades, it has been a pillar of prosperity, a magnet for investment and an economic support for thousands of families.
And Al-Qossaifi added: “Based on the above, we demand a national fund to support the press and finance mutual funds and pension funds for journalists, which will be created from the public and private sectors, according to a system special established by experts and specialists, and that their assistance will not be conditional and restricted in a way that is not in accordance with the mission of the profession based on freedom and democracy. “
He affirmed the refusal of the publishers union “to bring any colleague and colleague in case any of them pursues a violation of the publication, except before the Publications Court, and that the judges, not the judicial police, investigate them. union also demands that the labor court speed up the resolution of the cases of colleagues who spend in their institutions, in a spirit of justice. And it is not fair for the solutions, to call the newspaper departments and other institutions that have closed, to pay what they owe to these people, as well as to pay the back wages of workers in troubled institutions and stop deducting high rates from their monthly pensions.
He concluded: “We renew your welcome, and we look forward to achievements that satisfy the aspirations of journalists and media professionals who will not be satisfied with a law or a project that does not achieve what they aspire to, and does not consolidate their authority and role in the configuration. of the policies that regulate this sector. The union can only be in the first line of defense of press freedom. The media, along with people in the profession, take some of them, looking for their unity, represented by the saying of the poet: the fingers of the hand count five, but they are in the handle of a sword.
Abdul Samad
Minister Abdel Samad replied with a word in which she said: “I thank you for your invitation, dear colleagues, especially since we consider that the role of the Press Editors Union is an essential role because it preserves and guarantees the rights of media professionals. and all of its affiliates. Unfortunately, under current law, it may not cover all media professionals. This requires amendments to the laws that address this issue. “
And he continued: “Captain Al-Qussefi spoke in his speech about Sesame coming out of the bottle. And that the bill related to the Editors’ Union that is in the Cabinet has tabled our amendments and, of course, we will take our opinion of the union and the opinion of those involved in this sector, to see if these amendments are compatible with the union’s demands that all media professionals described in the media law must be affiliated and, of course, I do not I refer to the current law that we are in the process of amending and that it is a law currently proposed in the Committee of Justice and Parliamentary Administration that knows clearly and explicitly who the media or the journalist is. In light of this, it will comply with the conditions that You have the right to join the union, which must be a unified union and includes all means under one roof. “
He explained that “the proposed law that Captain Al-Qussefi spoke about is being discussed today in light of a notable change in media work around the world. We must have a media law in Lebanon to accompany this global development and at the same time make us think about the roles that the media can play The private and public media of our time. I don’t mean the public media, the official and government media. The public media are the ones that satisfy all the needs and requirements of the people, and that constitutes a communication and communication link between the state and the people, and it is necessary that the law notices this matter. “
She said: “I must thank all concerned, the Administration and Justice Committee and the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communication with which we cooperate to express our observations on the proposed law to keep pace with all the developments that took place and that they follow the strategic plan prepared by the Ministry of Information, and is in the process of being fully presented to Cabinet soon to begin. Their observations and insights are within the law that we are working to be a single law. “
As for the media professionals and the decisions against them, we confirm that the media is not criminal and that his rights are protected and that he has freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed in the constitution, and therefore we have our suggestions regarding this issue in terms of the nature of the sanctions imposed on the media, as well as investigating the prison sentence that should not be. It is in an expanded framework, taking into account some of the controls that protect the state, its prestige and its pillars “.
She added: “With regard to the material rights of the media, when requesting his speech as captain, we work not only on the legal rights of the media, but also on the physical aspect, which is an urgent need for the stability of the media, especially in light of the crisis that the media sector has reached, which was reflected directly in the media. Your livelihood, and here we have a vision of how to preserve your rights. We call for the establishment of a fund of mutual support for media professionals to protect their rights through the existence of a pension system. This needs a detailed mechanism that takes into account the great financial crisis that the Lebanese state is going through. We must carefully investigate this issue to take all The holder of his right to his right, Without causing any harm to anyone or to the state treasury, this problem is one of our prio rities. “
Regarding financial guarantees and arbitrary exchange, Abdul Samad said: “We will take this into account and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor for workers in the media sector, and we hope to achieve all these demands in cooperation with everyone, especially because this issue is at the service of society. We consider that the media is a high message that must be defended. “
Minister Abdel Samad concluded, thanking the union for hosting, and awaited the progress of the media sector “because I consider him the face of the country, whether in Lebanon or the world. The media show the beautiful image that can give an impression of our country and give back to the investors and trust the state and all the sectors that operate in Lebanon. Our responsibility is great and we hope to be all responsible for this responsibility and to cooperate is strength “.
Being alone
A retreat was then held between Minister Abdel Samad and the Council of Trade Unions, during which the following projects were discussed:
1- A bill establishing the Lebanese Press Publishers Union (Journalists) and the proposed amendments to it.
2- The holders of the plan of the Minister of Information for new and modern media.
3- The media bill, which is being studied by parliamentary committees.
4- The arrears and rights of the late annual union.
The atmosphere of the meeting was positive and fruitful, and a series of meetings was agreed between the Ministry and the union, to continue the investigation on the issues raised until reaching its conclusion.
