Al Jazeera has been banned from operating in Bahrain.
According to a posting on Al Jazeera’s web site, an official Bahrain government statement accuses the channel of, “flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing” in the country.
“The freeze will continue until a memorandum of understanding outlining the relations between the ministry and the channel, which preserves the rights of both parties in accordance with the principal of reciprocity in practice of journalism and media, is reached between the two countries,” the statement said.
According to Al Jazeera, Bahraini authorities prevented an Al Jazeera team from entering the country on Tuesday to interview Yvo De Boer, who recently resigned as the UN climate chief.
The channel also claims that the ban was issued soon after Al Jazeera aired a report on poverty in Bahrain on Monday.
Al Jazeera says it remains committed to its official tagline of: “Equal opportunity for opinions and counter opinions”.
Qatar and Bahrain are currently in dispute over the naming of a new secretary general for the GCC. Clashes have also been reported on the maritime border between the two countries.
