Published on July 16, 2005

The Thaksin administration can hardly be faulted for a lack of expertise when it comes to spin doctoring. However, if the government’s latest attempt to polish its international image, particularly in the eyes of the Muslim world, is any indication, it may be taking its PR campaign too far and the government may be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The idea is a little simplistic and may not have been properly thought through but the government looks set to invite the Qatar-based controversial news network Al-Jazeera to provide news coverage – hopefully positive– of the three restive southern provinces.

The move seems to be an attempt to restore the country’s imagefor treating its Muslim majority well, which was shattered by tragic incidents at Krue Se mosque and Tak Bai last year.

Be that as it may, Thailand is rather brave planning to invite Al-Jazeera to look into the Muslim majority-south, which has been transformed into a war-zone where over 800 people have been killed since 2004.

As the situation in the deep South escalates, the government is not only doing everything to win the hearts and minds of moderate Muslim Thais, but also wants the world, especially Arab Muslims, to see Thailand as a country that handles its domestic affairs with justice.

It is clear the government has high expectation of what Al-Jazeera can do to put Thailand in more positive light internationally. But it must first get to know what Al-Jazeera is all about.

Depending on who you talk to, Al-Jazeera is different things to different people. Al-Jazeera has been accused of as being a mouthpiece for countries or groups with such diverse ideologies as Iraq, Israel, and stateless Islamic militant groups. Al-Jazeera has always been warmly welcomed by al-Qaeda. Why? Perhaps, it is because of Al-Jazeera’s unique characteristics, which the Thai authorities roughly grasp, though they remain unaware of the unpredictable consequences.

Al-Jazeera, which means “the island” in Arabic, is believed to be the most reliable and free media outlet in the Middle East today. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, established Al-Jazeera in 1996 as a part of reforms to make Qatar a more liberal and modernised nation.

The Emir was helped by the failure of the BBC-Saudi partnership which left 250 BBC-trained journalists and auxiliary staff members unemployed. Approximately 120 members signed on with the Emir and Al-Jazeera was born. The Emir provided US$137 million (Bt5.7 billion) as a five-year start-up fund.

Thus, not only does Al-Jazeera consist of professionals who are mostly Western educated Arab journalists, but it also has a very wealthy financial supporter who fully advocates freedom of press.

Within the region it has become the first source of news for many viewers whereas its bureau, in Iraq for instance, has been shut down due to its bold reporting. Interestingly, 75 per cent of Palestinians in the occupied territories relied on Al-Jazeera even though the station shocked them by allowing the Israelis to express their opinions – something an Arab news station would never have dared do to.

For outside viewers, Al-Jazeera offers a new perspective on the Middle East. During the second Palestinian uprising, Al-Jazeera showed an Israeli operation firing missiles into the centre of Ramallah – Israel could no longer claim that it used “reasonable force” to suppress the Palestinians. More importantly, the Americans questioned Israel: Why is the most democratic and trusted US ally in the Middle East acting like a bully? Americans are used to seeing only pictures of Palestinian suicide bombers killing Israelis.

Outraged by the station’s style of reporting and its provocative talk shows, offended powers have attempted to eliminate the network. Saudi Arabia claimed that Al-Jazeera threatened Pan Arabism so it banned the station from covering Hajj festivities. The US accused Al-Jazeera of being an anti-America network after the station refused to stop broadcasting Osama Bin Laden’s tapes. The US banned the network’s correspondents and footage, created competing media, accidentally fired a missile into the station’s headquarters, etc.

Despite this pressure, Al-Jazeera has more than 50 million viewers around the world today. This does not mean that Al-Jazeera is always objective and accurate. Ironically, the network fails to criticise its financial supporter, Sheikh Hamad, and it can be biased towards the Arabs because most of the correspondents are of Arab descent. Moreover, the station might pay more attention to stories relating to the region.

The reason why Al-Jazeera is widely watched is its controversial style of reporting. Al-Jazeera is an outlet giving out the facts while the audience is left to decide whether to believe or not. Arguably, Al-Jazeera introduces democracy, a new form that originated from the Middle East, not only to the region, but also the world.

Thai authorities’ must begin by respecting Al-Jazeera and the judgement of its viewers. Undoubtedly, Al-Jazeera will exercise freedom of the press, which it will fortunately have more of than any other mainstream news networks when visiting Thailand. Thai authorities can present whatever it wants, but the network will also allow the opposite side to have its say, following its “the opinion and the other opinion” motto.

It is actually questionable in the first place whether the authorities should have had a role in inviting a certain press: What is the judgement in selecting Al-Jazeera?

After all, government spin doctors may not realise that giving Al-Jazeera exclusive access to high government officials to help it put together a nice news package on the problem in southern Thailand does not mean the news network will forego its editorial independence, journalistic objectivity or its sensationalistic tendencies.

Instead of flying to Qatar, authorities here would be better off clarifying ambiguities about the past, not only to a certain media outlet, but to everyone.

The ultimate question is whether the Thai government is ready for the outcome.

Thanavon Pamaranon

Thanavon Pamaranon is a senior majoring in Middle East Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Post your comment to this story here