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Freedoms of speech and
of the press in Iraqi Kurdistan are being called
into question following the arrests of several
journalists and intellectuals in recent months. As
independent Kurdish media outlets push for greater
press freedoms, Kurdish government officials blame
outdated laws for the arrests.
Justice Minister Hadi Ali has said that part of the
problem is that many Kurdish judges are beholden to
security and intelligence agencies of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP), latimes.com reported on
March 27. Ali, a member of the Kurdistan Islamic
Union, a political party that clashed with the KDP
last year, said the regional judiciary is open to
abuse because there aren't adequate laws to
guarantee civil liberties.
Bad Laws Or Bad Parties?
"Because of the problems between the two parties,
the parliament has not been able to make laws to
help justice work as it should," said Ali. "We
canceled Saddam Hussein's revolutionary court, but
in Kurdistan we are still using the old Iraqi
judicial system that we used 80 years ago."
Several journalists said they were beaten, arrested,
and had their equipment confiscated on March 16
following a government crackdown on demonstrators
who violently interrupted a ceremony marking the
18th anniversary of the Hussein regime's chemical
attack on the Kurdish town of Halabjah.
A Controversial Demonstration
Some 500 Kurds had planned a sit-in during the
ceremony to protest the lack of services and
compensation for the victims of Halabjah, the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
reported a day before the demonstration. Protesters
claimed the two leading Kurdish parties -- the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the KDP --
had kept the town in a dilapidated state for
publicity purposes, IWPR reported. The government
brought in security forces to confront the 2,000
demonstrators on March 16, and violence broke out.
Some demonstrators charged the memorial museum,
burning down the Halabjah monument to the martyrs.
Immediately television channels owned by the two
parties identified the attackers as "outsiders" and
implied the perpetrators were linked to Islamist
terrorist groups.
Journalists caught up in the melee reported being
beaten by both security forces and demonstrators.
Several journalists working for independent Kurdish
media outlets said security forces destroyed or
confiscated their cameras and video recorders. The
journalists claimed no similar action was taken
against party-owned media, implying that the PUK and
KDP would prevent their own press from broadcasting
footage of the incident.
Other journalists said their equipment and film were
confiscated at checkpoints outside the town.
Stiff Penalties For Destruction Of State Property
Later, investigative judge Karwan Wrya Ali told
iwpr.net that the 42 demonstrators taken into
custody could face the death penalty if convicted.
Ali said the punishment for destroying government
property is life in prison or death by hanging.
Deputy Prime Minister Emad Ahmad (PUK), who earlier
labeled the incident an "act of sabotage," told the
website: "I don't think those convicted will be
executed if the charges are proven."
IWPR reported on March 23 that Kurdish authorities
had demanded that journalists cooperate with the
investigation by turning over any notes,
photographs, and footage taken at the demonstration.
The Kurdish Journalists' Syndicate, widely seen as
an arm of the government, supported the demand, IWPR
reported.
Independent Weekly Stands Up To The Government
Twana Osman, editor in chief of the independent
weekly newspaper "Hawlati," refused the request,
saying the government was making undemocratic
demands.
"Hawlati" called the March 16 demonstration "a form
of expression that reveals people's discontent and
anger against the policies of the two Kurdish
governing parties" in a March 22 editorial. The
newspaper also contended that the government does
not tolerate independent Kurdish media.
The newspaper refuted claims by both parties that
the demonstration was carried out by "outsiders."
"For over 13 years, no demonstrations have been
staged for which the hand of sabotage has not been
found on which to peg all the shameful deeds and
scandals of the two party-led regional governments,"
the weekly wrote.
Other Arrests
A day after the Halabjah incident, PUK security
forces arrested Hawez Hawezi, a teacher and
journalist working for "Hawlati," on the grounds
that he had criticized the two parties in the press.
Citing corruption and cronyism within both
administrations, Hawezi called on Kurdish officials
to step down in a March 15 article published in
"Hawlati."
"Today, a history of nightmares is about to be
repeated, but it enters our daily lives in different
images and forms which are not different from those
Ba'athist policies which had killed our souls,"
wrote Hawezi, adding: "the complacence and
indifference of Kurdish officials over the daily
crises of the lives of people have reached the
degree of blindness. Therefore, I ask the
officials...either leave this country and go into
exile or give up power now."
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
said in a March 22 press release that Hawezi was
released on bail on March 19 after appearing before
an investigating judge. "The judge told the
journalist he faced unspecified defamation charges,"
the organization reported.
"We oppose the imprisonment of journalists for what
they write or for expressing their opinions. But
there is writing, and there is insult," PUK
spokesman Azad Jundyany told CPJ. "There is a
difference between the two."
"Hawlati" criticized Hawezi's arrest in a March 22
editorial. "The detention of a journalist for
expressing his views and charging him with 'going
too far against public rights' and 'inciting an
uprising' is nothing but a sign of the unsettlement
and cracking up of a force that is afraid that an
article, a criticism, or a boo would lead to its
downfall," the weekly wrote.
The Case Of Kamal Sayyid Qadir
Hawezi's arrest follows the arrest and subsequent
conviction of Kurdish-born Austrian Kamal Sayyid
Qadir by KDP security forces last year. Qadir had
criticized KDP head Mas'ud Barzani and his party of
corruption in a series of Internet articles. He was
arrested in October upon entering Kurdistan. In
December, he was sentenced to 30 years in Kurdish
prison for "defamation of the Kurdish leadership."
That conviction was overturned and Qadir was
sentenced to 18 months in prison on lesser charges
on March 26.
At the time of his initial conviction, the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) defended its action,
saying Qadir was charged according to the Kurdish
2003 law No. 21, Article 1, on the defamation of
public institutions.
Judge Faridun Abdallah called the most recent
sentence "fair" and "proportionate to the charges
against" Qadir, Reuters reported on March 27. "We
helped him," Abdallah said. "We took into
consideration that he is an academic and has served
in the education field. So we sentenced him to a
year and a half. Otherwise we would have sentenced
him to five years."
Irbil provincial Governor Nawzad Hadi Mawlud told
latimes.com that Qadir's writings endangered Kurds.
"Kamal wrote that we sold Kurdish land to Israel --
that kind of talk is very dangerous to us," said
Mawlud. "Our neighbors -- Turkey, Iran, the Arabs --
nobody would accept this, and the fact that a Kurd
is writing these accusations makes them more
credible. These writings could lead them to try to
destroy us, to attack us."
Meanwhile, PUK representative to Washington Qubad
Talabani told CNN on March 26 that Barzani might
pardon Qadir. "Maybe it's time to revise certain
laws. We are an emerging democracy. We need to
improve our institutions," Talabani said.
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