ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER 10 November 2012 25 Dhul-Hijja 1433 - Volume 17 Number 5514 Price: QR2 ON SATURDAY Syrian rebels pick president; 11,000 flee fighting DOHA: Veteran dissident George Sabra, a Christian former communist, was elected president of the Syrian National Council opposition bloc at a meeting here yesterday. The SNC’s 41-member general secretariat, itself newly elected, chose Sabra, who gar- nered 28 votes, as part of efforts to revamp the group working to oust President Bashar Al Assad. Sabra, in his first statement as SNC chief, vowed to “work with other com- ponents of the Syrian opposition to accel- erate the fall of the (president’s) criminal regime”. The umbrella group also elected 11 members to sit on its executive committee, including Sabra. Four members are new and three others are Islamists. Heavy fighting sent thousands fleeing across the border into Turkey, as Assad said his future could only be decided at the ballot box. The UN said more than 11,000 Syrians had fled in the previous 24 hours alone, including 9,000 into Turkey, bringing to more than 408,000 the number of registered Syrian refugees in the region. At least 114 people were killed nation- wide, including 53 soldiers and 47 civilians. See also page 8 Kuwait arrests two royals over tweets CENSORED KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait has arrested two members of the Al Sabah ruling family for tweets deemed critical of the government and supportive of the opposition, a human rights group and a lawyer said yesterday. Sheikh Abdullah Salem Al Sabah and Sheikh Nawaf Malek Al Sabah were arrested for expressing political views on Twitter, the independent Kuwait Human Rights News Centre said. The two royals have written tweets sympathetic to the Kuwaiti opposi- tion, which has been organising protests against an amendment to the electoral law seen as designed to produce a pro-govern- ment parliament in a snap December 1 gen- THE ISSUE eral election. CIA Director David One of the many positive fallouts at the conference in France, he met cartoon- The situation in the GCC region is described Abraham Augusthy ists from various parts of the world, including worse as political caricatures are unthinkable Petraeus resigns of Arab Spring has been that WASHINGTON: the west, and when he told some of them that and what at best can be published — that too, Design: CIA Director David the Arab world is witnessing a in Arab world you can be jailed for drawing a with much difficulty — are caricatures that por- Petraeus has submitted a letter of resigna- gradual surge in caricatures that caricature that angers the leaders, they were tray some social evil or economic woe. tion to President Barack Obama, Director lampoon politicians and make sa- in for a shock. Newspapers and magazines in the GCC have of National Intelligence James Clapper said “They nearly ran out of their breath when no specialists or set criteria to select cartoons, yesterday. “Dave’s decision to step down rep- tirical references to contemporary I told them this. They didn’t believe a carica- and caricatures lampooning the Gulf leaders resents the loss of one of our nation’s most political, social and economic turist can be jailed for his work,” said Albaih. are literally unheard of as they are a taboo. respected public servants,” Clapper said. “Things are, however, changing but the Arab However, these same publications happily — and Petraeus said in a message to the CIA work- realities — something considered world lags far behind the rest of the world in hypocritically — give prominent space to car- force that he was resigning because of an impossible in the pre-revolution the art.” Interestingly, the conference in France toons that depict and lampoon political leaders extramarital affair. “After being married for era barely two years ago. was devoted to discussing whether cartoonists from other countries. over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judg- in Arab world would have more freedom after These publications, as a result, rely heavily ment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Arab Spring. on foreign agencies for the supply of carica- Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a ublications in the Arab world, whether “Caricaturists like me have taken to the tures and that explains why western cartoons husband and as the leader of an organisation newspapers or magazines, still follow social media because publications don’t dominate the GCC publications. “This is double such as ours,” Petraeus said. self-censorship as they don’t want to encourage us. They are not willing to accom- standards and has to do with the GCC culture of Prisk inviting the wrath of powers that modate our works even if we don’t’ ask for any fear and a lack of free expression,” said a critic. be. But the social media, which is credited with payment,” said Albaih. The tendency, however, reflects negatively on Protests in Bahrain igniting the Arab Spring, has come to the res- Drawing cartoons can also be dangerous. the situation in the region as regards freedom MANAMA: Police in Bahrain fired teargas cue of Arab caricaturists who are using the “Look at what happened to our Syrian friend, Ali of expression. and blocked roads yesterday to stop thou- medium freely to give expression to their art Fazat!. He was quite close to (Syrian President) Also, unlike in the west where drawing cari- sands of Shia Muslims joining prayers led and intellect. Bashar Al Assad but when he began drawing catures is a profession and can assure its prac- by one of their spiritual leaders Sheikh Issa “If it were not for the social media where satirical cartoons of him and his regime, he was titioner a full-time job with handsome pay and Qassim in his village of Diraz, west of the I regularly display my works, I wouldn’t have attacked and his hands were brutally injured,” perks, in the Arab world it is a ‘hobby’ for those capital Manama. A 16-year-old Bahraini was been invited to a prestigious international said Albaih. It is also a well-known fact that who are fond of the art and are passionate about killed on a highway not far from Diraz in what PAGEcartoonists’ conference 6 in France last year,” the Syrian regime has put behind the bars a it. But cartoonists like Albaih are hopeful that the Interior Ministry said was a traffic acci- confesses Doha-based Khalid Albaih, a cari- prominent cartoonist, Akram Arsalan, for his things will change in future as public awareness dent. Opposition and human rights activists caturist of repute who earns his livelihood by bold caricatures. However, it is true that after grows, and the day wouldn’t be far when ‘paid’ said he had ran onto a busy road while being doing another job. Arab Spring there has been a surge in political cartoonists have both respect and money. chased by police. Albaih told this newspaper yesterday that caricatures in the Arab world, he added. See also page 2 AGENCIES www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 NOVEMBER 10, 2012 ON SATURDAY 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home (From Left) Nidal Hashem from Jordan, Abdul Aziz Sadeq from Qatar and Khalid Al Cherradi from Morocco, who are leading cartoonists and panellist members of the Arabic cartoon competition organised by Dar Al Sharq, receiving mementos from Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani during the 25th anniversary celebrations of Al Sharq newspaper at the Diplomatic Club recently. Also seen is Khalid Al Sayed, Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula. Pics: Abdul Basit Arab cartoonists yet to win freedom BY AZMAT HAROON as a freelancer but I primarily use social media sites for expressing my n 1987, Naji Salim Al Ali, an iconic thoughts,” said Khalid Cherradi, a figure of the Palestinian strug- Moroccan cartoonist, who has not had gle for independence, was shot a contract with a newspaper to date. Iin the face by Mossad agents in Albaih, who has over 20,000 follow- London. He succumbed to his injuries ers on his Facebook page “Kharoon!”, five weeks later. says that Internet is a more potent Naji was neither a politician nor medium for cartoonists in this region. a military man. He was, in fact, a “Instead of going through news- cartoonist who used his characters paper and magazine editors, my fans to portray the intense agony and have become my editors. Based on the estrangement of the life of a refugee. number of ‘likes’ my cartoon gets, I can Even after his death, Naji contin- newspapers here are used to the old determine the quality and popularity ues to live through his works and has formats. “They (editors) look for of my work,” he said. inspired hundreds of Arabs to choose sketches with speech bubbles, and Currently, there is no platform that art over arms, though the political texts that would make people laugh,” brings together cartoonists in the controversy surrounding his assassi- he added. Mena region. Although there are asso- nation too continues to rage. The modern format is more graphic ciations in countries such as Egypt, “When I was about 18 years, I and digitally altered, which makes car- Iraq and Sudan, there is a dire need to planned to leave home and go to icatures very appealing, insists Albaih. form an organization that would unite Lebanon without telling anyone in the He also believes that Arab cartoon- cartoonists in the region. family. There were many Palestinian ists are more likely to get attention and “Because there is no institution organisations at the time fight- praise from the international media where cartoonists receive training, we ing against Israel,” Nidal Hashem, a than from people from their own depend on each other for learning new cartoonist based in Jordan, told The region.