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The question of democracy and press
freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan
25.8.2010
By Delovan Barwari
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August 25, 2010
The question of freedom of the press has become one
of the most continuous issues debated in
Iraqi-Kurdistan, catching the attention of
international media, and raising questions on the
practice and tolerance of democracy, the level of
professionalisms within the journalistic community,
and the real intentions of opposition groups.
The revelation of the murder of
Sardasht Osman on May 6th incited
several fiery protests on the streets of
Iraqi-Kurdistan, as the opposition groups and
various newspapers instantly blamed the ruling
parties for the murder. In no time, the incident
gained the attention of some of the most prominent
journalists and a New York based watchdog, the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): prompting
them to write a letter to the president of Kurdistan
Regional Government KRG, Massoud Barzani with
mounting concerns about threats to freedom of press.
Without a doubt, various fundamental issues, common
corruption practices and nepotism, have contributed
to the exasperation of the psyche of Kurdish
society. As a result, the Kurdish opposition groups
have utilized these shortcomings as propaganda to
expand their influence within the Kurdish society;
moreover, on many occasions, a number of independent
Kurdish news papers have written provocative
articles attacking political parties and politicians
with no evidence – violating some of the fundamental
principles and ethics of journalism.
The most recent article published by Rozhnama, an
opposition group (Gorran) affiliated newspaper,
accused Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of smuggling
hundreds of millions of dollars in crude oil to
Iran; furthermore, it accused the officials of
splitting and pocketing the oil revenues. Both KDP
and PUK instantly denied the accusations as
baseless. Fazil Mirani, a member of KDP politburo,
filed a one billion dollar defamation lawsuit, and
it has been reported by Rudaw, a prominent Kurdish
newspaper, that Jalal Talabani, the leader of PUK,
will also file a lawsuit against Rozhnama.
Democracy is an ancient political theory where the
government is carried out either directly by the
people or by the elected representatives of the
people. Today, democracy as an ideology and in
practice has evolved vastly, transcending into a
liberal form practiced by the great majority of the
western and civilized world. In order for a
government to become a true democracy, it is
required to uphold and respect a common set of
principles: Freedom of speech and press, the rule of
law, political liberty, religious freedom, equality,
and equal protection of its citizens. Nevertheless,
democracy is not achieved over night; it is a long
journey full of obstacles in which it requires
institution development and educating society.
By examining the political system and practices in
Iraqi-Kurdistan, it can be stated that KRG is a
young democracy in its development stages: It has a
popularly elected president, prime minister, and
parliamentarians. Furthermore, the existence of
numerous political parties, independent newspapers,
television stations, political representation of
women, and religious groups, validates the notion
that democracy exits.
As mentioned, one of the key principals in democracy
is freedom of the press. However, this freedom
(journalism) has a set of principles attached. The
foundation of journalism is objectivity – viewing
issues impartially, and being honest and fair about
it. As journalists, their first obligation is to the
truth: the information that they deliver must be
well researched, valid, non-bias, and as transparent
as possible, and they must rely on the customary
guidelines in their discipline for verifying
information.
Although, a free press is one of the most
significant elements of a democracy, it can also be
a great danger if not well regulated, especially in
the case of Iraqi-Kurdistan: intelligence agencies
of the regional hostile regimes (Turkey, Iraq, Iran,
and Syria) and perhaps other global intelligence
agencies can easily penetrate into the media outlets
to cause instability and chaos in order to achieve
their interest. A prime example is CIA’s penetration
into the Iranian media in the early 1950s, in which
it successfully undermined and overthrew the
government of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad
Mossadegh. It has been reported that many of the
articles published in the Iranian media were
directly written by the CIA, translated into Farsi,
and then published by the agents in Iranian press.
New York Times reported, “Despite the doubts, the
agency's Tehran station began disseminating "gray
propaganda," passing out anti-Mossadegh cartoons in
the streets and planting unflattering articles in
the local press.” With that in mind, one must
realize that Kurdistan is surrounded by traditional
enemies (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria) that are
determined to eradicate the gains Kurds have made in
recent years. Among many other means, the enemies’
intelligence agencies can exploit the press to cause
havoc in Kurdistan.
It is obvious that many factors have contributed to
volatile conditions on the ground. On the one hand,
the ruling parties must be amenable and genuinely
connect to society to better understand the divisive
issues that has exasperated a significant segment of
the public opinion. Moreover, it is their sole
responsibility to transform the dichotomy in Kurdish
society caused by the shortcomings. Ignoring the
contentious issues will further nurture public’s
antipathy, which will only strengthen the opposition
groups. KRG must be able to divert the negative
energy by systematically examining the problems and
generating a viable and permanent solution for
resolving the deficiencies. On the other hand, the
opposition groups and the press community must be
more responsible and professional, as their actions
will play in the hands of the enemy and will
endanger the stability in Kurdistan. It is their
sole responsibility to uphold the core principles in
journalism: Following the professional discipline of
reporting based on accurate and reliable
information, remaining non-biased and basing
arguments on valid facts.
To transform a traditionally feudal nation that has
experienced decades of oppression and genocide into
a modern and democratic society is an intricate
task. It is an obligation for all of the components
of Kurdish society (ruling parties, opposition
groups, press community, and citizens) to rationally
defuse the escalated tensions and work hand-in-hand
to achieve the ultimate goal. Moreover, it requires
pragmatic thoughts with clear mindsets to help
positively transform Kurdistan, as the success of
such achievement requires collective and
constructive contributions from all sectors of
society.
You may reach the author via email at: Delovan (at)
yahoo.com
Copyright © 2009 ekurd.net,
Delovan Barwari. All
rights reserved
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