Bahrain: Online code of ethics for Bahrain

By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Bloggers in Bahrain will sign a code of honour that will unite them against all forms of sectarianism and discrimination.

The campaign, spearheaded by Mahmoud Al Yousuf, Bahrain's best-known blogger, will be launched a few weeks after more than 220 journalists publicly engaged in a drive to "resist and defeat" sectarianism, a phenomenon that over the last three years has reached ominous proportions here.

Al Yousuf in 2006 launched a campaign to focus on national identity. The "No Shiite, No Sunni, Just Bahraini" campaign sought to increase awareness of the dangers of sectarianism and promote national unity.

But Al Yousuf now believes more efforts should be exerted to help tackle a situation where blogs and websites are often seen as guilty of fuelling discord.

"I believe in the current circumstances it is time ... as bloggers, to stand united against sectarianism and discrimination in all forms," Al Yousuf said.

"Therefore, I propose that a code be adopted and signed by all electronic publishers, be they bloggers, webmasters, forum moderators or anyone else," he said.

The code will be approved by the bloggers before they sign it "physically and electronically" on International Blog Day on August 31.

In the Website Code of Ethics, the managers, supervisors, controllers, participants and stakeholders of websites, forums, and blogs pledge to promote responsible freedom and maintain the social fabric.

They will also seek to raise the level of dialogue and discussion and to refuse suggestions or writings that include sectarian concepts, incitement to hatred or abuse of the freedom of religion, doctrine or belief, according to the code.

"We will ... serve the country with all its categories, currents and trends under a pluralist freedom and based on the understanding, negotiation, and exchange of points of view without any sectarian, doctrinal, or family allusions," the code states.

Points of honour

- Managers, supervisors, controllers, participants and stakeholders of websites, forums, and blogs pledge to promote responsible freedom and maintain the social fabric.

- They will seek to raise the level of dialogue and discussion and to refuse suggestions or writings that include sectarian concepts, incitements to hatred or abuse of the freedom of religion, doctrine or belief.

- The code will be approved by the bloggers before they sign it "physically and electronically" on International Blog Day on August 31.

- The participants will "serve the country with all its categories, currents and trends under a pluralist freedom" without sectarian allusions.

---Gulf News