Hizbullah's TV channel on Friday condemned a decision taken the day before at a meeting of EU national regulators to ban its broadcasting in Europe as an "aggression" on press freedom. "The decision taken by EU censorship officials to ban the Al-Manar TV channel from broadcasting via European satellites is not based on a legal warrant and violates the simplest legal principles," the management of the channel said in a statement, cited by AFP.
It said the move "represents a flagrant aggression against the freedom of (the) press and contradicts the simplest principles of the human rights charter and the principles that Europe claims to promote."
Regulators from the 25-member European Union agreed Thursday to coordinate efforts against broadcasts deemed "to incite racial hatred in Europe." "This means that reception of Al-Manar will no longer be possible in most of the European Union," a commission spokesman said.
The Al-Manar statement here charged that Thursday's move was part of "a massive Israeli campaign" and was aimed at "besieging the channel worldwide."
