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July 28, 2004
Press Freedom in Iraq
Here's another example of the "freedom" the U.S. government has brought to Iraq:
Iyad Allawi, Iraq's prime minister, has established a media committee to impose restrictions on print and broadcast media, a government official announced yesterday. The step underlines an aggressive new attitude towards press freedoms, in spite of US efforts to nurture independent media.
Ibrahim Janabi, appointed to head the new Higher Media Commission, told the FT the restrictions - known as "red lines" - had yet to be finalised, but would include unwarranted criticism of the prime minister.
How does the Iraqi puppet government justify this?
"In a difficult security situation, we need to fight the terrorists by all means, and one of the main means is the media. We need them all to co-operate, even the private sector. It's for national security," said Mr Janabi, a former Iraqi intelligence officer who for a decade served as Mr Allawi's eyes and ears in neighbouring Jordan, but has never worked as a journalist. "The red lines must be very clear. Whenever we find someone endangering national security, we will give notes to our legal committee that they are breaking the rules," he said.
They have learned from their American masters well.
Posted by Mike Tennant at July 28, 2004 02:40 PM