Iraq Closes Al-Jazeera Office Indefinitely

Middle East - AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government said it will extend the closure of the offices of the Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera indefinitely, authorities said.

The Iraq's Ministerial Committee for National Security in Iraq said in an e-mail statement sent to The Associated Press that it had decided "to extend the suspension of the channel's activities from Iraq until the station comes forward with a written explanation specifying the motives behind its policy toward Iraq."

On Aug. 5, the Iraqi government closed the Iraqi offices of Al-Jazeera for 30 days accusing the station of inciting violence. ..

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

is go after the press. There is not much of a market place of ideas here.

Aaah, "free" enterprise!

In effect "they" will hand our opinions to us when we need them

I hope we know how they were hushed someday.

Got a minute?

otherwise corporate press would be closed down, too.

Agence France Press is more of a problem for our repressive regime in Iraq. AFP is also a thorn here in the states. They just won't take orders from the bush regime like AP and Reuters.

they are able to get the news out anyway..just may take alittle longer. the rest of the foreign press will get them video and news reports...

This interview with Phil Robertson was excellent. God bless
him...we need more, not fewer reporters to really let us
know what's going on. He said American journalists are in
great danger there, so have to pretend to be from other
countries....this is amerika.

snip-
Republican speakers have made a case for war in many of this week's speeches. But, few people could give us better insight into the war in Iraq than journalist Phillip Robertson, who has been on the frontlines since April. Just a couple of weeks ago, Robertson was one of the first Western journalists to make it into Najaf during heavy fighting between the insurgent forces of Moktada al-Sadr and the U.S. Bill Moyers interviews Robertson via satellite to get the view from Baghdad and find out what he's been experiencing on the ground.

Too bad that the majority of America isn't tune in to Bill Moyers. They'd certainly learn something.

It's entertaining and informative and no
one yells....

Don't they understand the government has to shut it down to establish liberties like freedom of the press?

eom

------a written explanation specifying the motives behind its policy toward Iraq."------

WTF does this mean?

I bet that US taxpayer funded propaganda channel is still on the air. No question this channel is destined to be the voice of an independent IRQ.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040628-9.html
<p>

<img src=>
<p>
President George W. Bush receives confirmation of Iraqi sovereignty, then wrote, "Let Freedom Reign!" during the opening session of the NATO Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, June 28, 2004.

legibly.

What a stupid little stunt that was.

that it was much too radical and pessimistic. Now it seems prophetic.

"Welcome to the club Mr Allawi! — Farish A Noor

<...>

The news that the new ‘democratic’ Iraq will have all the institutions and laws of a police state should not surprise anyone above the age of 40. We have all seen this before. But for the young ones who grew up on a steady diet of Michael Jackson, Madonna and MTV, the reality of Iraq reads like a crash course in realpolitik-101. Iraq’s new ‘leader’, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, has signed the country’s first National Safety Law which allows the prime minister, among other things, to assign governors to take over the running of certain ‘problem areas’; declare a state of national emergency; impose curfews; order arrest of those suspected of terrorism and the tapping of phones and other modes of communication.

<...>

Mr Allawi would not be wasting his time if he spent an evening or two reading some history books and studying the decline and fall of democracy in the Third World. (If he wants, he can fly me there and I will give a private tutorial for free.) In nearly all these cases, the ruling elite as well as its western colonial patrons failed to notice a simple fact: Democracy cannot be controlled, guided or limited. It thrives in a climate of openness and pluralism and where institutions and constitutional safeguards are in place to ensure a system of checks and balances, representation and transparency. A free society is not created by tapping phones, closing down newspapers or denying people their freedom of assembly, association and/or expression.

Instead it would appear that Mr Allawi has taken more than a page out of the Democracy for Under-Achievers that has to be bedtime reading at the White House. To claim that Iraq needs a National Safety Law that allows for curfews, phone-tapping and arrests; and to base this on the grounds that the US has a similar law — the notorious Patriot Act — strikes one as a case of a leadership bankrupt in imagination. This is not to deny that Iraq is in crisis and that serious measures have to be taken to tackle the breakdown of law and order in the country. But more importantly the new leaders of Iraq have to address the needs, wants and aspirations of their own people and allow them to have a say in the birth of the new nation-state. <...> Barely a month after the so-called ‘transfer of power’, the seeds of authoritarianism have already been sown. Historians like myself often talk about history repeating itself. For once I sincerely hope that I am wrong.

Dr Farish A Noor is a Malaysian political scientist and human rights activist

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-7-2004_pg3_3

It's just not good democracy to have a rogue news group wandering around out there bein' so darn independent, huh?

:puke:

Democracy is spreading like wildfire!

Just don't watch the progress we make /sarcasm

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040904/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_media_jazeera_ban&cid=1514&ncid=1480


DOHA (AFP) - Iraqi security forces broke into Al-Jazeera's office in Baghdad and sealed it with red wax after the interim government extended a ban on the Qatar-based news channel, a spokesman for the station said.

"Iraqi security authorities stormed Al-Jazeera's office in Baghdad, photographed our equipment and sealed the place with red wax, stationing a 14-strong police unit outside," Jihad Ballout told AFP.


They did so on grounds that Al-Jazeera continues to cover Iraq (news - web sites) despite the month-long ban clamped on August 5, Ballout said.


Denouncing the move, Ballout said Al-Jazeera had complied with the ban and "has been receiving footage from news agencies, as do many media institutions operating in Iraq."

how many? 20,000 US, Coalition and Iraqi people? i mean SO FAR.

Everytime I check in with it's web site, I am impressed by the level of coverage, and the honesty offered there. They hide nothing. Everything is open for review, including their viewpoints.

The translation is a bit sketchy, but the point is made.

Freedom of speech is the history?
http://www.chechentimes.org/en/comments/?id=21077

"...
Having found out about the hostage taking crisis in Beslan, Politkovskaya and Babitsky decided to go to North Ossetia to see everything with their own eyes. To all appearance, the plan of Russia’s secret services for further development of the situation does not presuppose presence of independent sources of information. As a result – a special sniff-dog in a Moscow airport “reacted” to an explosive substance when Andrei Babitsky was examined. Of course, he had no dynamite on him. this way or another, “an investigation” took some time and the plane bound for the North Caucasus took off. To suppress his desire to take the next plane, a fight was “organized” for Babitsky – two young men “suddenly” attacked the journalist provoking a fight. Police was unusually quick to interfere and Babitsky was suggested a medical examination although the journalists said he was fine. Now all the participants of the incident will face a semi-Basman trial which is going to consider the case of hooliganism. But the major goal is achieved – Babitsky failed to go to the North Caucasus.

As for Anna Politkovskaya – the situation is more difficult. No fight was organized for her. She was not allowed to a special flight with doctor Roshal heading to Beslan to conduct negotiations with the hostage takers. Also she was not barred from taking another civil flight. However, a pilot who recognized the journalist and helped her to take the flight to Rostov-on-Don. Having reached Rostov Politkovskaya could not continue her trip. She was taken to an UCI in a grave condition. Unconscious, with signs of a severe poisoning (remember Yuri Schekochikhin!), recently she has been moved to Moscow. Doctors say her condition is grave but stable.

..."

IMO, and undivided Iraq will have to be under perpetual martial law. Maybe Israel can take over while we shock and awe Iran.

n/t