NEW YORK (Reuters) - Suppression of journalists in the in the Middle East popular uprisings and the North Africa has been unprecedented, experts say, with more than 500 attacks - some of them fatal - documented by a media rights watchdog.
While the Committee to protect journalists said the freedom of the press has improved in Egypt and Tunisia since evicted demonstrators the Presidents of the two countries this year, he described the situation as only a graduate "horrible bad."
But if unrest to the Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, the Libya and Saudi Arabia leads to greater democracy in the region, experts say that access to social networking like Twitter and Facebook tools would help counteract the traditionally tight censorship.
"It is not possible to stuff a sock in that mouth many," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Coordinator of program for the Committee to protect journalists in the Middle East and North Africa.
"There were once at a time where the number of mouths was limited and (Governments) could close all places all the time.". This model is unsustainable, "he says.
Dayem said of 14 journalists were killed in the world this year with 10 of these deaths in the Middle East and North Africa. Hundreds of other attacks on the media in the region included detentions, destruction of material and death threats.
Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch of the North Africa division, said that the uprising had led to a "net gain" for the freedom of the media in the region.
"It is possible to disseminate information in places such as the Syria or Bahrain, in a manner that was not possible 10 years ago. "It's just the day and night comparison", said stork.
"On balance, certainly, there is a free exchange of information but not because Governments are allowing - because they have not understood how to control,"he says. ".
CENSORSHIP LESS EFFECTIVE
Limits on the media would be much more difficult to maintain in the future, in part because of access to mobile phones and Internet, said Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
"It is also because the revolts of Arab legitimacy censorship even more, just as they have legitimacy have stolen elections and have stolen public funds," said Abrams.
"Many Governments continue to try to intimidate journalists physically or through phony prosecutions... but it will be less effective," said.
However, Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International Director for the Middle East and the North Africa, said that some protesters have been demanding more freedom for journalists, it was too early to say what progress could be made.
"We have seen the emergence of the blogger, the citizen journalist broken...,"he says. ".
Stork said while Egypt appears if moving in a positive sense, freedom of the press had been laid a coup when the military Council of the decision of the country demanded last month that Egyptian newspapers coverage had to be approved by the Direction of the Affairs of moral and military intelligence.
"It is clear that the military like not critical or critical discussion and they asked the media not to engage in the it and certainly the main points of sale were respected," Stork said.
Dayem warned that if no there was no change of Government, in some countries it may result in the more severe treatment of the media, referring to an unsuccessful uprising in Iran in 2009.
He said "Certainly did not leading to a more open media,". "In fact, it resulted in a more severe climate for the media in Iran and led almost directly in Iran being worst jailer of journalists in 2010 in the world."
(Edited by Mark Egan and Bill Trott)
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