Bahrain Will have the First Independent Journalists Association in the Gulf

Manama - November 15, 2002 The Bahrain Labour Ministry has approved the Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA) to set up the first journalist union in the Gulf region, an official statement said yesterday. BJA is a government supported journalists association. Another independent group of journalists is also trying to set up a parallel union, claiming that the BJA, established two years ago under the sponsorship of the information ministry, does not represent all the 150 local journalists in Bahrain and has failed many times to stand for its members. Recently Bahrain was in the news for allowing the first indepdent trade union for workers.

According to the Gulf News, a statement issued yesterday by the president of the Bahrain Journalists Association, Isa Al Shaiji, who is also the editor-in-chief of the semi-government Arabic daily Al Ayyam, said the new Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Dr Majeed Al Alawi has agreed to allow the association to become a union. The GN quoted the BJA president saying that the Information Ministry had approved the request four months ago. The move was seen by the rival group of journalists as an attempt to block its quest for sa similar recognition since the law allows only one elected body for a specific profession.

The independent group, led by Mohammed Fadhel, the Bahraini correspondent for Agence France Presse, held a meeting . Fadhel told Gulf News that around 90 journalists were expected to attended the meeting. The meeting is expected to further divide the two camps despite an earlier call by BJA president Al Shaiji for a "constructive dialogue".He insisted, however, that the BJA, with 130 registered members, was the only legal body representing journalists in Bahrain. Calling on the other group to join his association, he said the Bahrain Journalists Association was "keen to preserve the unity of the journalists' body."

Fadhel says the BJA didn't listen to them two years ago when it was first established and will not listen to them now. "They are too attached to the Information Ministry to be independent and take their own decisions," he complained, "Many of their members work in the ministry; how can you stand against the government when you work for it?" Earlier this year, Fadhel's group accused the Bahrain Journalists Association of failing to defend columnist Hafedh Al Sheikh, who was suspended by the ministry late last year for allegedly causing sectarian discord by ridiculing Bahrainis of Iranian origin. He fought the decision in the court. The court annulled the suspension and reinstated him.

Bahrain and the UAE are the only two Gulf countries which have a relatively free media . The UAE has got a press club meant for the expatriate and Arab journalists. In many other Gulf countries, the expatriate journalists who represent the major chuk of the editorial staff do not have access to press club or journalists associations. The Gulf countries are reportedly trying to reduce the presence of expatriates in journalism, because of its crucial role in molding public opinion. The Governments are also in a predicament due to the lack of local trained manpower. On the one hand they want more newspapers and media to come up as part of the long term democratisation process. -keralamonitor.com