December
20, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',--
Massoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region,
on Wednesday told a delegation from the Kurdistan
Journalists Syndicate (KJS) that he would ask
Kurdistan’s parliament to reconsider a new media law
that it recently approved. He pledged to send it
back to parliament for revision.
President Barzani also met representatives of the
media centres of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).He told
them that he supports the media’s role and its right
to give the government constructive criticism.
He said, “Kurds have sacrificed their lives for
freedom, and I fully support the media’s right to
criticise the government. I reject any law that is
against the journalists’ fundamental rights. But
criticism should be constructive and there needs to
be a balance between freedom of expression and
restricting harmful defamation of individuals.” |
Massoud Barzani, the President of the autonomous Regional
Government of Kurdistan 'Iraq' |
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