Australia acts to stop Hizbollah TV station

Australia is taking action to close down a controversial satellite television station which broadcasts anti-Israeli programmes.

The Al-Manar channel is run by Lebanon’s Hizbollah movement and is received in Australia via Indonesia’s Indosat satellite.

Al-Manar, which means ‘the beacon’, describes itself as a station championing resistance to Israel and the United States. Programmes include anti-Israeli series, with titles such as MyBlood and the Gun, which call on people to support the fight against Israel.

The Australian authorities are threatening to take action against the Indosat company, arguing that al-Manar openly supports terrorism. 

The satellite firm has a three-year contract with al-Manar, and says it is a purely a business deal and that it does not interest itself in what the station broadcasts.

Source: Media Network, RNW News