By Lauranne Provenzano
The pornographic film shown the first Saturday of every month on Canal+ has become the target of “terrorist” threats for some weeks now. The author of these threats claims to be “muslim” and demands that Canal+ puts a stop to the transmission of porn movies or else drastic action (attack) will be taken against the encrypted television network and its employees.
“if you do not stop showing those [pornographic] films, we will attack your employees”, says a message received last week by employees of Canal+. Apart from claiming that he is “muslim” the sender of the letter chose to remain anonymous. The story released last Monday by RTL (another broadcasting network) has still got the media running amok with hot debates.
Canal+ is accessible in North Africa and the Middle East via the Hotbird satellite.
Meanwhile, the management of the encrypted network is not taking the threat lightly, although they insist that they will not succumb to any blackmail whatsoever. The french anti-terrorist brigade has already started investigations.
The threats which started some weeks ago [during the month of June], did not escape the attention of the Parisian investigative bureau when it evoked bombing the headquarters of the satellite and cable television in Paris.
The investigation – supported by the french foreign ministry — is to determine if the bomb threat is an isolated case or whether Canal+ has really ignited the wrath of an islamic terrorist goup.
Hypocrisy
The threat, apparently provoked by the transmission of pornographic films on North African and Middle East satellite television, has been widely criticised. In fact, many have suggested that those who criticise these encrypted films transmitted once per month should simply not watch them.
Comments posted on a forum dedicated to the issue has also attracted a huge participation from muslims. One participant suggested that, “that muslim guy should learn to resist temptation and not hit the OK button on his remote control when the film is being shown... a sort of personal Jihad to help him fight his very own demons”.
Another took a more logical approach; “if Canal+ shows pornographic films in Middle Eastern and North African countries (including islamic countries), it is simply because there is demand. So why don’t those guys just give us some breathing space to live our own lives. Porn actors are consenting adults and so are those who watch them”.
Others have condemned the hypocritical nature of the threats coming from countries with a rather thriving porn industry. Morocco, for example, is a popular location for unauthorised film and photo shoots as indicated by the newspaper “La Gazette du Maroc”. Pornographic film directors and photographers usually apply for licences with the pretext of shooting commercials, fashion or even documentaries related to tourism. The actors are themselves sometimes fooled into believing that the shoots are for something else when in fact they are edited to incorporate more explicit scenes from other places, while others are filmed without their knowing.
Finally, these threats are expected to wane due to the fact that TPS, another major cable and satellite network group that recently merged with Canal+, will soon stop transmitting via Hotbird. Subscribers will receive their channels through the Astra satellite which covers neither North Africa nor the Middle East. But other numerous piratable channels which broadcast erotic and pornographic films will still remain accessible ...