Fatah-loyal media taking Hamas to task

[barb162]

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 · Last updated 10:15 a.m. PT

Fatah-loyal media taking Hamas to task

By SARAH EL DEEB AND MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Never mind the icy winds blowing from the West. The Hamas government's toughest detractors have popped up at home, criticizing the Islamic militant rulers in Palestinian newspaper cartoons, TV commentaries and radio talk shows.

Most of the Palestinian media are loyal to the Fatah Party, defeated in January parliament elections, and Hamas is getting increasingly upset about the unflattering coverage. Such friction between the government and the media is rare for the Arab world.

The Hamas government has proven an easy target. It's broke and internationally isolated because of its refusal to moderate its hard-line views, and has been unable to pay the salaries of tens of thousands of government employees.

Hamas remains defiant, claiming it'll be able to govern without Western aid by persuading Arab and Muslim countries to step in - an assertion ridiculed in the Palestinian media.

snip
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Palestinians_Media_Vs_Hamas.html

[Andromeda]

1. Interesting.

Maybe the people are doing a little "Monday morning quarterbacking" right about now.

I'm just wondering what they thought they were getting when they elected the party of Hamas.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. Not really...

The 'they' the article was talking about is the media, and they didn't vote for Hamas. Which is why the article said: 'Most of the Palestinian media are loyal to the Fatah Party'...

Violet...

[pelsar]

3. I love it...

The Al Ayyam cartoonist, Baha al Bokhari, said he's just expressing the concerns of Palestinians. "I used to draw cartoons against the previous (Fatah) government," he said. "I am doing the same now. The only difference is that in the past, the newspaper used to refuse to publish some of my drawings, and now it doesn't.

and this is good....and i hope it continues, being able to criticize, make fun of ones own govt is the minimum for a free society. (dont care whos in power....)