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CPJ welcomes Kurdistan president's
decision to reject the new press law
18.12.2007
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KRG
President Barzani opposes new press bill
December
18, 2007
New York, -- The president of Iraq’s
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Moday
that he will
reject a
restrictive new press bill that was
approved by the
regional parliament on December 11.
President Massoud Barzani told a delegation from the
Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) on Monday that
he would not sign the bill once it reached his desk,
pledging instead to send it back to parliament for
revision, KJS head Farhad Awni told CPJ.
Awni, who led a KJS delegation that met with Barzani
on Monday morning, expressed concern about the press
bill, particularly several restrictions that were
added prior to its approval last week. In rejecting
the measure, Barzani stated “his full support for
press freedom,” a statement from the KJS said. It
was unclear when debate would resume on the measure;
Awni said it could take at least another 10 days
before Barzani receives and vetoes the recently
approved measure. |
Massoud Barzani, the President of the autonomous Regional
Government of Kurdistan 'Iraq' |
Parliament’s approval of the new press bill on
Tuesday triggered a
storm of criticism
among Iraqi Kurdish journalists. They objected to
increased financial penalties and restrictive
provisions that were added to a draft version of the
bill that had been under discussion among
journalists and members of parliament for several
months.
The approved bill reportedly stipulates fines of up
to 10 million Iraqi dinars (US$8,200) for
journalists found guilty of a number of vague
offenses such disturbing security, spreading fear,
or encouraging terrorism.www.ekurd.net
(Some news reports said
that fines could reach 20 million Iraqi dinars for
newspapers.) The earlier version of the bill
prescribed much lower fines for similarly vague
offenses.
The bill passed by parliament contained other
restrictive provisions not included in the early
draft, including amendments that would allow the
government to suspend newspapers and a requirement
that editors-in-chief be members of the KJS,
according to journalists who watched the
parliamentary vote live on local television.
Journalists also said the law would allow members of
the press to be tried for criminal offenses under
other Iraqi laws that allow for imprisonment.
“We welcome President Barzani’s decision to reject
this oppressive law, and we still believe that the
KRG has a chance to enact model legislation for the
region” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “But
much more needs to be done. Any legislation must
conform to international press freedom standards and
do away with vague prohibitions and other needless,
restrictive provisions.”
In meetings with KRG officials in Erbil in November,
CPJ expressed concern about the early draft of the
bill, noting that even those lower penalties could
be used to debilitate newspapers. The 14-article
draft, though minimally restrictive when compared
with draconian media laws that prevail throughout
the Middle East,www.ekurd.net
subjected journalists to
fines of between 1 and 2 million dinars (US$800 and
1,600) for publishing news that “disturbs security,
spreads fear, or causes harm to people,” or that
“encourages terrorism and sows hatred, ”or that runs
counter to “public morals.”
Article 7 prescribed the same fines for newspapers
that do not provide corrections for publishing
“untrue information.” It is unclear who would decide
what constitutes incorrect news; the provision is
open to abuse in a climate where party officials
frequently condemn newspapers for what they
publish.Given the tenuous financial situation of
independent papers—several operate at losses or
barely break even—the elastic language of such
articles could be exploited by pro-party judges to
put critical newspapers out of business.
cpj org
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