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Iraqi journalists caught in political
crossfire
10.2.2006
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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Under Saddam Hussein, Iraqi
journalists were threatened, detained, tortured and
killed -- victims of a system that tightly
controlled what was written about the country's
Baathist leader.
The destruction of the Information Ministry -- one
of the main instruments of Saddam-era censorship --
during the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Iraqi
leader in March 2003 symbolically ended decades of
zero press freedom.
But journalists' initial optimism that they would
finally be able to report freely has been eroded. In
today's democratic Iraq, they face many of the same
dangers, as well as new threats.
Journalists are under intense pressure from
political, ethnic and religious groups and there is
a risk that interference could intensify as parties
jostle for power during talks to form a new
government. Reporters are also targeted by Sunni
Arab insurgents and militias tied to political
factions.
"Our journalists have been intimidated and harmed in
many ways. They fear being killed, detained or
dismissed if they criticise a party or even the
government itself," said Moayad al-Lami, secretary
general of the Iraqi Journalists Association.
Muntaha al-Qaisy, editor-in-chief and owner of al-Diyar
newspaper in Baghdad, was targeted after she wrote
about alleged random detentions by Interior Ministry
forces -- allegations the ministry denies.
"Two masked men visited my offices and told me to
stop writing about it. They warned me that I was
endangering my son and daughter," she told Reuters.
When Qaisy ignored the threat another man visited
her home and gave her what he called a final
warning. "I was totally afraid, not for myself, but
for my children," said Qaisy, who has since shut
down her newspaper.
FLOURISHING MEDIA
Under Saddam, there were four official newspapers in
Iraq. Today there are more than 160, showing the
hunger for uncensored, independent news. But
journalists say they increasingly find themselves
caught in political crossfire.
Before, censorship was enforced by the Information
Ministry. Now, there are many more players trying to
control the news -- insurgents, ethnic and political
factions, and the government.
Along with the U.S.-funded Iraqi Media Network,
which owns al-Sabah newspaper and the public
broadcaster al-Iraqiya -- seen by many Iraqis as a
mouthpiece for the government of Prime Minister
Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- there are also the newspapers
controlled by the various political factions.
The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRI), the most powerful party in the ruling
Islamist Shi'ite Alliance, has al-Bayna daily as
well as al-Forat television; Jaafari's Dawa party
has al-Dawa; and former prime minister Iyad Allawi
has the daily Baghdad.
"There are huge pressures on Iraqi journalists from
the parties' militias, which don't like being
written about," said Satar Jabbar, editor-in-chief
of New Bayna, another newspaper.
"The problem is how to be independent when there are
these pressures. We can't stand up against any party
in the government, or any powerful party, because we
might be harmed or banned from working any more."
Iraq is the most dangerous place in the world for
journalists. Since the March 2003 invasion, some 60
have been killed, according to the New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists media watchdog.
More than 40 were Iraqi.
Sunni militants frequently target Iraqi journalists
working for U.S.-backed or other foreign news
outlets. As a result, many have quit their work or
take great precautions not to be identified with
their employers.
But journalists say they also face arrest and
intimidation when they write about the government,
whose ministries are controlled by different
political factions.
"Many Iraqi journalists have been randomly arrested
because of what they published ... We have succeeded
in releasing many of our journalists through
contacts with the prime minister, president or
Interior Ministry," said the Iraqi Journalists
Association's Lami.
WORTH THE RISK?
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has
expressed concern at the arrests of local
journalists by Iraqi authorities and U.S. military,
often without proof of wrongdoing.
Some journalists have subsequently been tried and
convicted on charges stemming from their work.
Two journalists in the city of Kut, southeast of
Baghdad, face more than 10 years in prison on
defamation charges linked to articles criticising
the police and local government officials.
In the Kurdish-ruled north (Kurdistan), writer Kamal
Sayid Qadir, who also has Austrian citizenship, was
sentenced to 30 years in jail in December after he
was convicted of defaming Kurdistan President Masoud
Barzani. His trial lasted just over an hour.
After an outcry by rights groups and the Austrian
government, Kurdish officials said Qadir would be
retried.
"Democracy will not work without free media,"
International Federation of Journalists General
Secretary Aidan White told a gathering of Iraqi
journalists in neighbouring Jordan last year.
Ismael Zair, editor-in-chief of New Sabah newspaper
in Baghdad, knows that too, but he is no longer sure
that getting the story out is worth the risk to his
reporters.
"Working for the press now is a very tiresome
business. Iraqi journalists work in really dangerous
situations. I'm really thinking of closing this
newspaper and leaving."
Reuters
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