Thursday, December 6, 2012

Qatar, (sorry) Al Jazeera, asks Egyptians: "So why doth thou protest?”

"... During the days of the January revolutional-Jazeera’s coverage was indispensable. Now, Qatar’s support for Egyptian President Mursi has skewed the channel’s coverage of popular protests, prompting many to tune in to private Egyptian channels... Last Tuesday, however, the picture began to change. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched from all over Cairo to al-Ittihadiya presidential palace in Heliopolis north of Cairo. They wanted their voice to reach Mursi in his own home after he refused to listen to their demands from Tahrir Square.
Al-Jazeera decided to cover the protests in a detached manner, relying mostly on in-studio discussions. It wasn’t interested in the protesters or broadcasting their positions on air. This would have meant that Mursi would have to listen to what he did not want to hear. His detractors, sheltering under Tahrir’s legitimacy, are still very angry at his political decisions.
Moreover, an al-Jazeera correspondent decided to play the devil’s advocate in his interviews with some protesters. He asked, “Did you read the constitution?” Of course, the answer was, “No.” The correspondent replied, “So why doth thou protest?”..."

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