“Lebanon Debate”
The passage of the media law in the House of Representatives did not bring down the curtain on the debate surrounding it, but rather opened the door to a new round entitled amending the most objectionable articles. From Baabda Palace, Information Minister Paul Morcos announced that he would continue working to drop paragraphs he had previously objected to, stressing that protecting media freedoms remains at the heart of any anticipated amendment.
Morcos confirmed, after his meeting with the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, at Baabda Palace, that the new media law constitutes a “basic foundation” in the sector, pointing out that it had been awaited for many years, in light of the fact that media work in Lebanon is based on legislation, some of which goes back decades.
Morcos said that the adoption of the law represents an important achievement, but this achievement “is still incomplete,” in light of the presence of necessary amendments that must continue to be worked on, stressing two basic points that relate directly to the future of the law and its implementation mechanisms.
He explained that “the first point relates to public freedoms and media freedoms guaranteed in the constitution,” stressing that “the law must complement this guarantee, not detract from it, and it may not detract from it in any way.”
The second point, according to Morcos, is “the necessity of introducing additional amendments to the law to meet legitimate and necessary media and union needs,” declaring that he will continue working to communicate these amendments and push for their approval.
He pointed out that “the President of the Republic is always aware of the course of the discussion on the law and the proposed amendments,” pointing out that “all laws are subject to amendment, especially when the required amendments are based on legitimate and necessary media and union demands and needs.”
Morcos revealed that his meeting with President Aoun also dealt with “continuing the advancement of Lebanon Television and discussing its conditions and how to address them.”
In his response to the criticism of some articles of the law and fears of the possibility of imposing penalties on journalists, Morcos explained: “As Minister of Information, I previously objected in the minutes of the joint committees to this addition made by one of the representatives, and I recorded my objection in the minutes.”
He added: “I went back and repeated this objection, and tried to amend the law in the direction of deleting paragraphs (B) and (C), which stipulate the possibility of criminalization in the event of fabrication of misinformation and lies of this kind.”
He explained that this attempt did not succeed, because “the will of the House of Representatives focused on approving the version as it came from the joint parliamentary committees, and not taking into account the amendments that I proposed in parallel with this text.”
Morcos, on the other hand, confirmed that he would not stop at this result, saying: “I will work to provide the necessary text in order to include, first, the deletion of the two aforementioned paragraphs, and also meet the union and media demands.”
He pointed out that he put President Aoun in the context of this particular issue, explaining that the expected amendments “deal with removing these two paragraphs that were added in the joint committees, and address all the other union and media demands that I tried to pass.”
Morcos stressed that he will move forward “toward passing it quickly, God willing,” noting that he will also work to coordinate with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, because “this matter requires coordination in the Council of Ministers in any future step, in order to ensure reaching this desired result.”
He added that the goal is “to make the joy complete and no longer incomplete,” referring to completing the approval of the law by introducing the amendments he considers necessary.
Regarding fears of political or partisan discretion in implementing the law, Morcos stressed that “any law will be implemented with the necessary objectivity and principles,” stressing the necessity of good implementation away from political and partisan considerations.
He added, “Any law, like any other, is subject to amendment, and sometimes it must be amended in light of experience.”
