By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - The editors-in-chief of Al Rai, Ad Dustour, Al Arab Al Yawm and Al Ghad dailies decided on Monday to resume news coverage of the Lower House, ending a four-day boycott, according to a statement issued by the chief editors.

The boycott was sparked by negative remarks made against journalists by deputies as the House debated and upheld a tax on advertising revenues that media figures say would seriously harm the industry.

"The decision to end the boycott was made out of respect for a request by Senate President Zeid Rifai during a meeting with members of the council of the Jordan Press Association," Al Arab Al Yawm's Editor-in-Chief Taher Odwan told The Jordan Times yesterday, stressing that the crisis between the media and those who attacked journalists is not over yet.

During Wednesday's session, 51 out of 76 attending deputies rejected a modification to the Culture Law intended to annul a 5 per cent tax on media outlets’ advertising revenues, despite expectations that the amendment would pass, especially since the majority of lawmakers had actually called for the change.

Last April, 58 MPs signed a petition calling on the government to annul this tax, with a request by the same deputies to discuss this amendment in the extraordinary session that is ongoing.

Odwan stressed that the decision to end the boycott was not the result of a deal between the media and those who mediated between the two sides, but rather "was based on the fact that the public has the right to be informed of deliberations under the Dome regarding the important laws discussed by the legislature".

He added, however, that news coverage will not give prominence to deputies, especially those who used accusatory language against the press.

Odwan stressed that the crisis will not end until the press receives an official apology from the deputies who attacked the media, adding that efforts are being exerted to bring the two sides to meet together in Parliament. However, the JPA insists that such a meeting must be held at its premises.

The editors' statement stressed that "the press will continue to exercise its role as a monitor of the House performance”.

Meanwhile, the JPA council, during its Monday session, instructed its legal chancellor to study the possibility of filing a lawsuit against those MPs who insulted the media during Wednesday's session.