Yemen’s Al-Masirah Network is Blocked! Don’t be Happy, Crimes will always be Uncovered…

Zeinab Daher

In the battle between good and bad, surprises are not much surprising!

On Wednesday morning, Yemen’s al-Masirah TV, the voice of resistance amid the ongoing Saudi war on Yemen, was noticed by the company hosting its frequency on the NileSat satellite’s orbit that it submitted to the many political pressures by the US-Saudi aggression block the channel.

An hour and a half later, the measure went into effect. It happened for the second time in less than a month.

Commenting on the latest development, Mr. Hamed Rizq, Head of Political Programs at al-Masirah TV, told al-Ahed News:

“Targeting and banning al-Masirah TV off its audience in Yemen and the Arab world is not new; it is very much related to the field failure of the US-Saudi coalition countries in their aggression in Yemen, especially in the Western Coast battle in which they were inflicted heavy military failure. They were also exposed on the media level because they were promoting their ‘victories’ saying that they controlled al-Hudaydah, while al-Massirah TV and the Military Media was proving the opposite of all such rumors.”

He went on to list the reasons behind the measure as saying: “They also wanted to ban al-Masirah because of its educational role among the Yemeni people, which was clearly witnessed through the success in massive commemoration of the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]. This made them rise against the channel that proved influential among the people as well as in raising their morale, in addition to rising against the aggression in all forms and domains.”

While the opposite media proved its failure in the face of the Yemeni media, especially al-Masirah, they were obliged to deal with this failure by covering the truth of al-Masirah TV, the mirror that reflects the true situation, Rizq added.

“Moreover, the massacres committed by the aggression forces, and the escalating humanitarian situation that has been exposed and criticized by the world represent one of the reasons behind this practice.” The man stressed that al-Masirah plays a significant role in uncovering the “coalition’s” massacres and crimes.

A reason added is the Arab people’s solidarity with Yemen. The Yemeni media, al-Masirah in particular, play a key role in delivering injustice happening in Yemen to the world. Now in Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon and many other countries, there are popular movements standing in solidarity with Yemen and denouncing the Saudi crimes there, the Yemeni journalist said.

The previous causes are related to the meantime; but what about the coming days?

According to Mr. Rizq, targeting the channel would signal to an upcoming military escalation. It is an attempt to cover up more crimes the coalition is tending to commit against civilians in Yemen. It is also an early announcement of the failure of political path and negotiations being discussed, especially by UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths.

Anyhow, al-Masirah considers that this step is a testimony by the enemy about its effectiveness. We are not the first channel to be banned, which if it means something, then it is the bankruptcy of the opposite side, as well as the influence the channel is making among the public. This happens with al-Manar TV, the number one channel in the fight against the “Israeli” enemy. Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza was also banned.

“The battle of words between us and them will continue, and we will certainly prevail,” Rizq stressed.

Indeed, in the time of open media, they cannot hide the truth or blind the people’s eyes from following up the updates in Yemen and in any other place.

Al-Masirah channel noted that its broadcast can be followed instead on the Russian satellite AM 44, at frequency 11177 vertical, coding rate 3000.

It is also possible for people inside Yemen to follow the broadcast via radio, online and live streaming, in addition to the social media networks that will continue to operate as usual.

In the same respect, al-Masirah considered that act is a legal breach under the signed agreements, and that the network has the full legal right to continue broadcasting.

Source: Al-Ahed News, Lebanon