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Kurdish journalists under assault in Iraqi
Kurdistan
27.8.2008
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August 27, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
Iraq's northern Kurdish enclave may be a haven of
relative peace and serenity but independent
journalists there say challenges to the political
establishment are being met with intimidation and
threats.
In the largely autonomous territory, streets are
swept clean and people walk without fear -- a stark
contrast to the concrete walls and barbed wire that
have defined life for most Iraqis in more than five
years of war.
Still, about 60 Kurdish journalists were killed,
threatened, attacked, or taken to court in the first
half of 2008, says the New York-based Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ). |
Reporters in Erbil, Kurdistan |
Last month, Soran Mama hama, a 23-year-old writer
for Livin magazine,www.ekurd.net
published in the Kurdish
town of Sulaimaniyah, was
gunned down
outside his home in Kirkuk, a week after his report
linking security officials to prostitution rings.
In the past few years, many other Kurdish
journalists have been beaten, jailed, threatened
with death or simply hassled by the authorities
while doing their job.
"In Kurdistan there is no freedom for journalists. I
have proof of that -- the most recent proof was
Soran," says Hemen Mamand, a young radio reporter in
Erbil who wears a small likeness of Che Guevara
around his neck.
"We don't know who killed him, but we do know that
the government didn't care," said Mamand, who
himself was threatened when he wrote a story about
an alleged case of corruption linked to Kurdish
President Massoud Barzani's powerful KDP party.
While the rest of Iraq was mired in chaotic, bloody
civil strife following the U.S.-led invasion in
2003, the Kurdish north aggressively promoted its
image as "the other Iraq" -- a place of stability,
prosperity and above all, security.
The last decade has seen a scrappy independent press
emerge to challenge the region's two dominant
political parties. But that has coincided with a
"marked deterioration in press freedom" and spates
of attacks, said Joel Campagna, who headed a CPJ
mission to Kurdistan last year.
"NO PROBLEMS HERE"
CPJ and Amnesty International have launched
campaigns to draw attention to such events and
pressure Kurdish authorities to hold those who are
threatening journalists to account.
"The recent incidents have really stripped off the
veneer and revealed it's not much different than
other parts of Iraq," Campagna said.
Although violence has dropped sharply, Iraq remains
the world's most dangerous place for the press, with
more than 130 journalists killed working there since
2003.
Many reporters in Kurdistan see themselves as most
at risk when they report critically about Kurdish
security forces, government officials or political
parties.
They say Barzani's KDP party, based in Erbil, and
the PUK, its historic rival,www.ekurd.net
controlled by Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani and based in Sulaimaniyah,
wield near-total control of their respective Kurdish
domains.
"In Kurdistan, there isn't really a political
opposition. So the government thinks that
journalists are the opposition," said Rebin Rasul
Esmail, who until 2004 was a senior editor for
Hawlati, a leading independent newspaper.
In 2006, men tried to abduct his wife, fellow
journalist Azhen Abdul Khaleq, off the street. The
couple believed the attack was related to Abdul
Khaleq's reporting on officials' attempts to
sexually assault female journalists.
Kurdish officials categorically reject suggestions
they strong-arm the press or look the other way when
violence occurs.
They paint a picture of a feckless, ill-trained
media that traffics in unsubstantiated reports and
personal attacks.
"The problem, you know, with our journalists, they
think they are free to say anything and do
anything," State Interior Minister Karim Sinjari
said in an interview. "Somebody tells them
something, and they make a story."
Asked about attacks or intimidation of the press,
Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi Mawlood said only: "No
problems here."
Sinjari pledges to protect reporters and investigate
crimes, but says he can do nothing if journalists
fail to report them.
"NO RED LINES"
Reporters acknowledge the Kurdish media often fails
to properly source reports or back up assertions.
It's also an open secret that many reporters are on
government and party payrolls.
"Journalists are a big part of the problem," the
former editor Rasul Esmail said.
Others blame the government for starving the press
of information, leaving reporters little choice but
to cast about for leads or trust disgruntled
insiders.
Kurdistan's parliament may soon resume debate on a
new press law some hope will encourage a more
mature, thriving press.
An earlier version of the law laid down fines of up
to $8,400 for reports about people's private lives
that "insult" them -- even if true -- or "stain
common customs and morals".
Facing a widespread outcry, President Barzani
rejected the draft law.
A U.S. official in Erbil said the draft caused
concern because it "could be used to stifle free
expression". "A free and independent press will make
an important contribution to democratic development"
in Kurdistan, he said.
Ahmed Mira, editor of Livin magazine, is awaiting
the results of a probe into his colleague Mamahama's
death.
Mira is no stranger to intimidation. In 2007, he was
seized from his home and thrown into solitary
confinement after he wrote an article calling into
question Talabani's health. Talabani is in his 70s
and had heart surgery this month.
Still, Mira promises his magazine will not be cowed.
"There are no red lines. There is no censorship for
any subject published in Livin," he said.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, Reuters
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