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 The Doha Centre for Media Freedom is fighting for survival after its sponsors lose patience, suggests a report in The National.
Its head Robert Ménard has come under fire for speaking his mind, and has been accused of insulting Islam and other such offences – on the whole, not a good thing for the boss of a Qatar-based organisation under the patronage of the country’s royal family.
He revealed in the article that the centre is awaiting a decision on future funding and sponsorship from Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the ruler of Qatar, and his wife Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Misnned.
“I don’t know what will happen but we are waiting and it depends on the next few days. We’re seeing huge difficulties with the Qatari government. I am disappointed,” said Ménard, quoted in The National.
The aim of the Doha Centre was not just to speak out against perceived affronts to press freedom around the world, but also to support and even house journalists that have had to fled regimes that, presumably, didn’t like what they had to say.
On the face of it, Qatar – which despite its modernising rulers, remains a conservative Muslim country, not particularly comfortable with controversy or absolute freedom of speech (eg, flag-burning, insulting cartoons) – would not seem to be a natural home for such an organisation.
It now seems Ménard’s outspoken ways have indeed caught up with him, and may be threatening the ongoing existence of his project.
The National’s piece
gives some nice background on the Doha Centre’s origins; in a nutshell, Sheikha Mozah and Ménard had something of a meeting of minds a number of years ago, which eventually culminated in her funding his vision for the centre.
But he now suggests that while Sheikha Mozah may have been on board, her country was not: “I came to realise Sheikha Mozah’s vision was not shared by many Qataris and concluded that maybe it is too early for Qatar or the Arab world to have this centre.”
The National also states that the numbers of journalists coming through the centre have been low, and – even though they are settled outside of Qatar – the Qatari government has been very slow to issue visas for fleeing reporters, possibly out of fears of a diplomatic fall-out.
We have criticised the Doha Centre
for sloppy work in the recent past, but this doesn’t detract from the important work it and other organisations like it are doing.
However, this sort of venture in a country like Qatar will always have to tread carefully – and if Ménard is unable or unwilling to deal with this, then there may be few courses left open to his venture, whether or not it gets a new round of funding and patronage this time.
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