BEIRUT: Censorship has no place in the Lebanese cultural milieu, Culture Minister Raymond Areiji told The Daily Star Monday. I am against any censorship on cultural events, and I mean movies, songs or anything else. In a country where politicians can say everything they want, insulting each other and harming national unity, it is not logical or healthy to have censorship on cultural products. <\/p>\n
Controversial scenes in Western movies should no longer be edited out for Lebanese audiences, he added. Its been done for 30 years. But today when you cut a scene, you can find it immediately on YouTube. And when you cut a scene, you make people want to watch it even more. You emphasize it in a way the director didnt intend. <\/p>\n
Reassessing censorship in the cultural sphere is just one of many projects Areiji hopes to tackle before a new president is elected and his mandate expires. <\/p>\n
The Zghorta native revealed that his ministry was working on an ambitious new website that would feature more than 1,000 works by Lebanese grand masters. <\/p>\n
These works are all held in the three official palaces to which the public have little access, he said. In collaboration with ALBA [Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts] were creating a virtual museum where we can expose our collection. <\/p>\n
Areiji is applying his 25-year career in law to his new post as minister. The cultural arena lacks a clear and modern legal framework, he said. <\/p>\n
Im working on a new law for the protection of archaeological sites, he explained, and many other regulations that are lacking in this ministry. <\/p>\n
As Lebanon has no dedicated Antiquities Ministry, questions of archaeology and preservation fall under Areijis mandate. Arbitrating between developers seeking to build glossy high-rises and conservationists hoping to protect ancient ruins has been one of the main issues his ministry faces, he said. <\/p>\n
His predecessor, Gaby Layoun, sided with construction companies in a series of hotly disputed cases and drew particularly sharp criticism when he permitted the destruction of a Roman Hippodrome to make way for an exclusive new development. <\/p>\n
We must find a balance between protecting our heritage and progress in the economy and real estate sectors, Areiji said. <\/p>\n
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Read the original here: BEIRUT: Censorship has no place in the Lebanese cultural milieu, Culture Minister Raymond Areiji told The Daily Star Monday. I am against any censorship on cultural events, and I mean movies, songs or anything else Continue reading
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