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Al Jazeera (English)
    Baghdad Burning Blog (by Riverbend, an Iraqi civilian girl)
            Dahr Jamail's Blog from Baghdad
                Imad Khadduri's blog "Free Iraq" (scroll down for English version)

Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

Al-Jazeera closure 'a blow to freedom' in Iraq
(Lisa O'Carroll, The Guardian, August 9, 2004)
The Iraq prime minister's decision to throw al-Jazeera out of Baghdad and ban it from operating for 30 days is "a serious blow to press freedom", Reporters Sans Frontières has said. . . . The Paris-based media watchdog demanded "an immediate explanation" for the move on Saturday, saying it was "extremely concerned about persistent episodes of censorship in Iraq". . . . Police ordered al-Jazeera's employees out of their newsroom and locked the door on Saturday night after the prime minister accused the pan-Arab satellite channel of inciting violence. . . . The prime minister, who spent years in exile in Britain, also said that he had asked an "independent panel" to "to see what kind of violence they [al-Jazeera] are advocating, inciting hatred and problems and racial tension." . . . Al-Jazeera officials said the decision was an ominous violation of freedom of the press. Haider al-Mulla, a lawyer for al-Jazeera, said the channel would respect the closure decision but it would study legal options. . . . Mr al-Mullah said it had been asked to change its policy once the ban expired, but he indicated that this was unlikely to happen. "We said we have a firm principle and one policy that doesn't change," he said. . . . This is the second time the channel has been banned from operating in Iraq. In February, its Baghdad offices were closed for a month by the then transitional Iraqi governing council because it had reportedly shown disrespect toward prominent Iraqis. . . . The Saudi Arabian channel al-Arabya was also ordered out of Baghdad in November and not allowed to resume operations until it promised in writing not to encourage terrorism. . . . A spokesman for the channel, Jihad Ballout, said today that it would seek to challenge the ban if there was "any legal recourse available" but it would not be signing any statement that it didn't support terrorism. . . . "We don't need to give anything in writing because we don't support terrorism, that is a given. Gagging the media is not the way to deal with the media. If the request is that al Jazeera will compromise its independence, that is a request that will not be entertained," said Mr Billout. . . . "We will always cover a story and our independence is sacrosanct. We will not jeopardise or compromise that," he added. . . . The al-Jazeera English-language website today described the move as "regrettable" and said it "was contrary to pledges made by the Iraqi government to start a new era of free speech and openness". . . . In an Arab world rife with conspiracy theories, the decision to close the offices could reinforce the perception that decisions by Iraq's interim government are influenced by the Americans, who have long complained about the channel's coverage. . . . [COMMENT: Closing down al-Jazeera in Iraq is most likely a prelude to some more atrocities that the Americans hope will go unnoticed.]

posted by LoZo 4:10 PM