Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets issued over the weekend an apology for its coverage of news in Bahrain during a meeting of the Arab States Broadcasting Union, vowing to remain objective in future reporting.
The Bahrain News Agency published what it said was the original copy of the apology which was issued by the Lebanese Communication Group, the mother company of both Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television and Al-Nour radio station.
“The Lebanese Communication Group issued ... an official apology to the Information Affairs Committee of the Bahraini Kingdom over its coverage of news in the kingdom in the last period,” BNA said.
The statement was read by the ASBU Director Salaheddine Maaoui during the union’s 90th General Assembly meeting which took place on Saturday.
The Lebanese Communication Group also confirmed its commitment to adopt objectivity in future coverage of news in the Arab world as well as ongoing events and respect to professional standards.
It also said it would reevaluate its editorial policies to ensure its compliance with international agreements and vowed to work on maintaining good relations with Arab countries particularly Bahrain.
ABSU director tasked the union's general manager to follow up on the implementation of the Lebanese group's decision and take the necessary measures in case of violations.
Bahrain has requested the union cancels the Lebanese group’s membership over its coverage of the sporadic Shiite-led demonstrations seeking wider representation in the government.
Some of the demonstrations which began in mid-2011 and left the country in a political deadlock have turned violent as a result of clashes between protesters and the police force.
Hezbollah has been an outspoken critic of Bahrain’s policy in crushing the demonstrations while Manama has accused the resistance group of interfering in its internal affairs.
Earlier this year, Bahrain sought to halt the broadcast of Al-Manar and Al-Nour from the Arabsat and Nilesat satellites but the Lebanese government successfully managed to block such demand.
