Carry Al Jazeera on American Cable News

Al-Jazeera English (AJE) channel remains virtually banned in the US , as cable operators refuse to carry the channel. We, the undersigned, believe that AJE should be made available to the public in the US by the cable operators.

We believe that this decision by the cable operators is an affront to free speech in this country.

We are aware that AJE has been accused of bias. However, all the news channels have at some point or another been accused of bias. All of these channels are nevertheless important, because they present different perspectives. As for the claim that there is pro-terrorism news, this simply is false. There are anchors and journalists working for AJE from UK, USA, India and Canada. Many of them, for example Sir David Frost, are renowned journalists. In it's brief existence, AJE has earned respect among many Western critics, as can be seen in these articles listed below:

- Why the world needs al-Jazeera English ( http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dilip_hiro/2006/11/post_662.html )
- Mission Al Jazeera: From US Marine Officer To Foreign Correspondent (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/17/3903/ )
- The battle for al-Jazeera (http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/faisal_bodi/2006/05/aljazeera_international_back_o.html)


In fact, the US is not the focus of AJE at all. It covers the whole world, and US is covered as just one of the important countries. Nor is AJE hostile to the US. Apart from news, AJE reports about different cultures and people in different parts of the world, including the United States.

Even if some think AJE is excessively critical of the US (which it isn't) there is nothing to be afraid of. Americans are mature enough to handle different perspectives and make informed decisions for themselves. We live in a free country and nobody is forced to watch anything. In the same spirit, nor should anybody be barred from watching something perfectly legitimate.

We believe that the cable operators have no right to decide what is appropriate for the entire American audience. We believe that it is up to the viewers to decide what they want to watch.

In summary, we urge that AJE be made available in the US. Failure to do so will amount to hindering free speech by censorship. An attitude not in tune with the spirit of democracy.