Drawing the line where the right to representation ends

Given that the public relations industry in the Middle East is worth an estimated US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) annually, it is not surprising that executives are keen to highlight the incontrovertible right of their clients to representation.

But there is some debate over whether this would extend to, for example, sending out press releases on behalf of the Libyan leader Col Muammar Qaddafi.

Public relations is already big business in the region. Mazen Nahawi, a board member at the Middle East Public Relations Association (Mepra), says PR agencies have current billings of $250 million in the Middle East.

When you factor in the public sector - including spending by Arab, US and European governments - as well as in-house work in the private sector, the figure is much higher.

"It's easily over $1bn including government and in-house practitioners," says Mr Nahawi. And this business is expected to grow.

"I think you're going to find a boom among Arab government on PR spending in the near future," he says.

On what terms will this business be conducted? Many top international PR firms have existing contracts with Arab governments, although few have been publicly linked to the uprisings.

After the protests some international PR firms have been quick to sever ties with regimes in countries such as those of Tunisia and Libya.

But one UK firm, Bell Pottinger, has continued to work with the Bahraini government during the protests.

Bell Pottinger is ostensibly engaged by Bahrain's Economic Development board. But in recent weeks it has sent out communications quoting Bahrain's crown prince, offering, for example, "condolences to the people of Bahrain for the painful days they are living".

Bell Pottinger's involvement with the government reportedly sparked a small protest outside the firm's London headquarters.

Tom Mollo, the chief executive of Bell Pottinger Middle East, says the firm's "policy is not to comment on the work we conduct for our clients".

Bell Pottinger is also working for Muhammad Al Senussi, the exiled "crown prince" of Libya who has been living in London since 1988. Mr Al Senussi is related to King Idris, who was overthrown by Col Qaddafi in the coup of 1969.

While the actions of the Bahrain government cannot be compared with the human rights abuses in Libya, the fact that Bell Pottinger is working for both an Arab regime, and an anti-regime exile, evokes an ethical dilemma within the PR industry.

As one senior public relations executive based in the Middle East puts it: "Everyone has the right to representation." But does that imply that PR firms, like lawyers, should take on clients regardless of their political standing, ethics and behaviour?

"I guess their allegiance is to whoever is giving them a paycheque," says Dr Matt Duffy, an assistant professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi who specialises in new media and journalism.

"I don't think that's ethically questionable either. They're paid to represent the interests of their clients, as long as the PR companies are not telling outright falsehoods."

Dr Alma Kadragic, the academic programme developer at the University of Wollongong in Dubai who specialises in media and PR, broadly agrees with the notion that everybody has the right to representation.

"You have a right to tell your story," Dr Kadragic says. "If you don't tell your story, you're leaving the forum to the people saying the negative things you don't like."

But while she says there is a "valid case" in Bell Pottinger representing the Bahraini government, she adds the "right to representation" would not apply to Col Qaddafi, given the entirely different situation in Libya.

Others dispute the very concept of likening the role of PR practitioners to that of lawyers. Mr Nahawi says this is "not an accurate comparison".

"In a court of law, we have a duty to represent criminals and we do that in the interest of justice," says Mr Nahawi, who is also the founder and president of News Group International. "[In PR] I think they should choose all work that is clear, straightforward and grounded in ethics."

Such issues become all the more relevant in the immediate fallout of the uprisings. Some Arab governments will soon have to find a more long-term, sustainable and cheaper way to keep their people on side.

Mr Nahawi likens the distribution of "social benefits" packages by Arab states to public relations exercise. Saudi Arabia, for example, is giving out $37bn to nationals.

"Arab governments are trying to fund public happiness," he says. "I have counted well over $55bn in terms of Arab governments promising a better life for their people. The spend itself is not PR, but the exercise is PR-based."

Amid handouts like this, a mere $1bn in PR billings seems trifling. And so, in the medium-to-long term, PR and lobby groups are likely to be given more business from Arab governments.

Whether this leads to protests outside their headquarters remains to be seen.

bflanagan@thenational.ae