Wattan TV, the award-winning Palestinian network, will soon begin broadcasting The Doha Debates with Arabic subtitles. Wattan TV has been operating in the occupied Palestinian Territories for the past 16 years. It is the second Arabic language TV network in the past month to announce that it will carry the award-winning debate programme, following a similar deal reached with Egypt’s Al Nahar TV.
The Doha Debates [televised eight times a year by BBC World News] are chaired by the award-winning former BBC correspondent and interviewer Tim Sebastian, who founded them in 2004 and secured their editorial independence. Commenting on the broadcast agreement, Tim Sebastian, said: “I’m delighted that we have signed an agreement with Wattan TV. I hope our new audience will appreciate that debates can often increase understanding among people of different opinions and convictions. They are a chance, also, to challenge accepted wisdom and search for new answers. I hope they will prove both illuminating and surprising.”
Mu’amar Orabi, Wattan TV General Manager, maintained that this is the perfect time to begin screening the controversial show. “We are greatly interested in broadcasting ‘The Doha Debates,’” he said, “particularly at this period in time when media is playing a crucial role in shaping the future of the Middle East. Wattan has and will always be a free platform for expressing different opinions and for debate,” he added. “I believe such debates will encourage the public to think outside the box.”
Wattan TV will also promote ‘The Doha Debates’ through its website.
(Source: The Peninsula)
