The head of al-Jazeera has launched a scathing attack on Middle East governments, accusing them of framing new laws giving them powers to close down the Arabic-language news channel and other broadcasters.

Wadah Khanfar, al-Jazeera's director general, said a charter published last week by the Arab League, which represents 22 states in the Middle East, is the most serious threat to media freedom in the region for more than a decade.

The charter calls on broadcasters to avoid insulting Arab leaders, respect Muslim values and uphold the cultural and social traditions of Muslim states, stipulating that satellite TV channels "should not damage social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values".

It adds that programming should also "conform with the religious and ethical values of Arab society and take account of its family structure".

The charter was adopted by 21 information ministers in a summit last Tuesday in Cairo, with Qatar the only Arab League country to vote against it. The Arab League's council of minsters also approved the document.

Al-Jazeera is based in the Qatari capital Doha and bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar, the kingdom's ruler.

"The document is aimed at the free press in the Arab world," Khanfar said. "It contains very general and ambiguous statements that could be used at any time to close a channel down or take if off air."

In the past, Arab governments have arrested correspondents, closed down bureaux or pursued al-Jazeera and rival broadcasters through the courts.

However, the new document goes much further, according to Khanfar. "Our concern is it puts certain rules and conditions in place," he said.

"Who is going to decide if a leader in a particular country has been 'insulted'? In this region, regimes have never been in favour of a free press or freedom of expression, so to hand over to them the right to decide [who broadcasts what] is very dangerous," Khanfar added.

Most seriously, al-Jazeera believes the charter could give Middle East governments the power to switch off satellite signals and force broadcasters off air. All satellite broadcasters rely on just two groups; Arabsat, based in Saudi Arabia, and Egypt's NileSat.

The Arab League does not have legislative or executive power, but member states are expected to act on last week's document.

"There is no mechanism of implementation but the league is saying it will introduce one in two or three months' time," said Khanfar.

"We are going back in time. We thought we'd left this behind us. Satellite TV has transformed the region into a much more democratic place. We might have expected this 10 years ago but not now after it has become an entrenched reality."

Khanfar said al-Jazeera was considering legal action. "Our lawyers are looking at it and many satellite companies are working to coordinate a position and a response," he added.

In an interview with Mena, the official Egyptian news agency yesterday, Egyptian information minister Anas al-Fiqi defended the charter, saying it was "not aimed at restricting freedom of the media but rather to organise it at a time when satellite channels are spreading ignorant [messages] and illegitimate religious edicts".

Al-Jazeera rose to international prominence after 9/11 when it began broadcasting videos by Osama bin Laden, and is widely criticised in the west, where many politicians and opinion formers regard it as a mouthpiece for al-Qaida, or an apologist for Islamic fundamentalism.

However, al-Jazeera has rarely enjoyed good relations with Middle East governments, many of whom dislike its stated editorial ambition to reflect the views and mood of the "Arab street".

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