Chavez and Fidel Inspire Commitment to Latin America: Ben Jeddou

The presentation on Thursday of the Spanish-language website of the Arab cannel Al-Mayadeen TV results from a strong commitment to Latin America and the examples of leaders like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, said its chairman, Ghassan Ben Jeddou.

• Cuba Pays Tribute to Hugo Chavez

On the second anniversary of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death on March 5, Ben Jeddou told Prensa Latina that the TV station is the first in the Arab world to join the causes of the Latin American peoples and to launch its second website in a language other than English.

He mentioned the processes in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and "all the countries where there is a patriotic or progressive government" as the objects of the news broadcast by that satellite TV station to a large audience but focusing on viewers in more than 20 countries.

With the new website in Spanish, launched today to pay tribute to Chavez, Al-Mayadeen TV plans to expand and attract Spanish-speaking viewers from Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Arab Diaspora.

Ben Jeddou referred to the coverage of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in September 2014 at the United Nations Security Council, with promotions and videos in support of the dignified stances that she has always taken in favor of her people and those from the rest of the world.

He added that every day, Al-Mayadeen TV broadcasts materials on the Cuban Revolution to highlight its teachings and the legacy of its historic leader, Fidel Castro, as well as that of the legendary guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara.

"And that is every day, repeated, to have it recorded in the conscience and on the mind of the Arab peoples. We have made many videos on Chavez and that remains in the people due to repetitions, noted Ben Jeddou, adding that he has disregarded criticisms of and observations about such an open alignment by Arab friends.

A similar treatment was granted to the denunciation of a coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "We condemned it since the first moment and we have made videos to support Maduro, in addition that it has been the main topic in our main news programs at night," he pointed out.

Even when they learned that Telesur was one of the tactic targets of the coup attempt and that there were plans to bomb the building, they prepared a very clear campaign of solidarity with that Latin American TV station.

"This means that we are encouraging Arab citizens to be more interested in what hurts the peoples of Latin America, because it is not a program and it just ends, it is a strategy and ongoing teaching," Ben Jeddou noted.

"Latin America is a challenge that we have assumed and we will continue to assume it," he pointed out when explaining that the Spanish-language website launched today aims to be a referral in the effort to illustrate Arab and Latin American audiences on the social, political, economic and cultural diversity of their respective regions.