If you don't get MER, you just don't
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U.S. Boots ALJAZEERA FROM IRAQ
Mid-East
Realities - MER - www.MiddleEast.Org - 7 August 2004:
Trying still harder to keep the bloody occupation pictures from clear
view, as well as to keep spokesmen for 'the other side' from having too
much of a say, the Americans and their puppet regime in Baghdad have
now booted Aljazeera from Iraq.
It's
obviously meant to be a pointed warning to everyone to play ball with
the
Americans and their newly reconstituted Governing Council (now known as
the 'interim Iraqi government') or risk growing problems....or worse.
It should be remembered that some Aljazeera journalists, and others,
have already paid with their lives under circumstances that suggested
purposeful intimidation, bombing, and sniper fire. As for the 30
days part of this, who knows what will be a month from now.
Meant as another warning to conform or else, what today's police
shut-down of Aljazeera really is is another desperation move showing
how insecure and not very smart those in charge are. For Aljazeera it
will cause more problems; but more than that it's a major windfall of
publicity and credibility that will help more than hurt. It will be
more difficult but in today's world, one way or another, Aljazeera and
others will find ways to continue to broadcast graphic pictures of what
is happening and interviews with those in the know.
To 'win' by force of arms, death, and intimidation the Americans will
have to kill,
repress and frighten more and more. But the catch-22 of their
policies is
that in pursuing them they increase still further the level of hatred,
they act
as a recruiter for more Muslim fighters to sign up for the 'jihad', and
they discredit themselves and their regime even more from much of the
world -- the same world they
are still desperately trying to convince to come on over and help out
with training, money, and 'foreign fighters' (better known as 'the
coalition').
Oh yes, the headline..."U.S. boots AlJazeera..." Let's not get
confused by all the technical details and propaganda tricks. The
regime in Baghdad was selected by the Americans and empowered by the
Americans. It is financed by the Americans and the American military
and CIA keep it in power. What it does is what the Americans want it
to do. And the responsibility for what it does is American as well.
Iraqi Government Shuts Al-Jazeera Station
By Rawya Rageh
Saturday 07 August 2004
- AP:Baghdad - The Iraqi government closed
the Iraqi offices of the
Arab television station Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing it Saturday of
inciting violence.
A spokesman for Al-Jazeera
called the closure "unwise" and said it restrained freedom of the
press.
It is a regrettable
decision, but Al-Jazeera will endeavor to
cover the situation in Iraq as best as we can within the constraints,"
spokesman Jihad Ballout said.
Interim Prime Minister Ayad
Allawi said the government convened an
independent commission a month ago to monitor Al-Jazeera's daily
coverage "to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting
hatred and problems and racial tension."
Based on the commission's
finding, the National Security Committee ordered the month long
closure, Allawi said.
Iraqi Interior Minister
Falah al-Naqib said the closure was
intended to give the station "a chance to readjust their policy against
Iraq."
"They have been showing a
lot of crimes and criminals on TV, and
they transfer a bad picture about Iraq and about Iraqis and encourage
criminals to increase their activities," he said.
"We want to protect our
people."
Senior U.S. officials also
have criticized Al-Jazeera's coverage
of the Iraq war, calling the network an outlet for the al-Qaida terror
network, broadcasting videotapes and audiotapes purportedly from Osama
bin Laden or his aides. Al-Jazeera denied the allegations.
Al-Jazeera's Ballout said
the network was not given a reason for
the closure. He said the closure inhibits the "right of the Arab people
around the world to see a comprehensive picture about what's going on
in an important region like Iraq."
During a July 25 interview
with Al-Jazeera in Moscow, interim
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari accused the channel of biased
reporting and implied its journalists could be barred from the country.
"We do not tolerate those
who exploit the freedom of the media,"
Zebari said then. "These channels have become channels for provocation
against the interest, security and safety of the Iraqi people and the
Iraqi government will not be lenient toward such behavior."
Al-Jazeera occasionally has
encountered problems with authorities
in other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain,
Jordan and the former Iraqi regime. Unlike Arab state-run media, the
station often airs views of local opposition figures and their
criticisms of their countries' rulers.
The following from Aljazeera
Aljazeera vows to cover Iraq despite closure
Saturday 07 August 2004, 21:39 Makka Time, 18:39 GMT
Iraqi officials announced the closure of Aljazeera's office
Aljazeera
has vowed to continue its Iraq coverage despite the one-month closure
of its Baghdad office announced by the Iraqi interim government on
Saturday.
In
a statement Aljazeera expressed regret for the unjustified move, and
said it was contrary to pledges made by the Iraqi Government to start a
new era of free speech and openness.
Aljazeera made it clear in the statement they
hold the Iraqi authorities responsible for the safety of Aljazeera
staff in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Aljazeera's Baghdad office staff said the decision to close the office had been expected for some time.
They said they had been facing difficulties covering
the news from Baghdad and that Iraqi officials had been reacting
negatively to requests submitted by the channel.
Change the policy?
Iraqi
police officers arrived in the early evening at the Aljazeera office in
Baghdad to implement the closure decision without providing legal
document from an Iraqi court.
They carried an order from the interior ministry addressed "to whom it may concern", ordering the closure of the office.
Aljazeera lawyers in Baghdad said police officers did
not carry an order from an Iraqi court as Iraqi law requires in such
a case.
Lawyers said they were given a document stating
Aljazeera has to promise to change its policy in terms of covering
Iraq, if they want the office to be re-opened after the one-month
punishment.
Aljazeera lawyers in Baghdad refused to sign the document.
Under scrutiny
Aljazeera's staff in Baghdad said the closure order was expected
While
Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib announced the closure at a
Baghdad news conference after an order from the national security
committee, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said, "We
asked an independent commitee to monitor Aljazeera for the last four
weeks ... to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting
hatred and problems and racial tensions,"
"This is a decision taken by the national security
committee to protect the people of Iraq, in the interests of the Iraqi
people," he said.
Channels criticised
The development followed reports that US Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had accused Aljazeera and the other main Arab
news channel, Al-Arabiya, of harming the image of the US in the Arab
world.
Rumsfeld made the remarks at the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Aljazeera said.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hushyar
Zibari criticised Aljazeera, the Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya and other Arab
and Iranian stations for their coverage of Iraq, and threatened to
close their Baghdad offices.
Zibari said Aljazeera, Al-Arabiya, the Lebanese Hizb
Allah's Al-Manar television and Iran's Al-Alam were "channels of
incitement working against the interests, security and stability of the
Iraqi people".
He said, "We will no longer tolerate this in the future."
It is a disappointing move. Aljazeera is the sincerest channel, although it does not report the whole truth."
Muhammad Bashar al-Faidhi, AMS's spokesman
Aljazeera has frequently been accused
by US and Iraqi authorities of inciting violence by screening
"exclusive" videotapes from Iraqi resistance and alleged
al-Qaida-linked groups.
Reactions
Muhammad Bashar al-Faidhi, a spokesman
for the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), has criticised the
closure, saying Iraqis are disappointed to learn that they are not
experiencing freedom of speech yet.
"It is a disappointing move. Aljazeera is the sincerest channel, although it does not report the whole truth.
"There are a lot of tragedies that
have gone unreported. We used to wonder why Aljazeera had not been
reporting those facts, and we were annoyed at it, but when we learned
about the American pressure on this channel, we understood," said
al-Fadhi.
Saaid al-Burini, a candidate for the US Congress, said the US did not want an Arab source of news.
"The US is not happy with the idea that an Arab media organisation is on the ground and reporting independently," he said.
Aljazeera 'outraged' at Iraq criticism
Monday 26 July 2004, 11:04 Makka Time, 8:04 GMT
Zibari said Aljazeera was 'inciting' the situation in Iraq
Aljazeera
has expressed outrage after the interim Iraqi foreign minister attacked
its coverage of events in Iraq saying the interim government is
considering closing down the channel's Baghdad bureau.
Hoshyar Zibari accused Aljazeera, along with other Arabic language satellite channels, of "incitement" and hiding behind media freedoms.
Zibari said the channel's coverage of Iraq was "one-sided" and "distorted".
He made the comments in an interview with an Aljazeera correspondent during an offcial visit to Moscow on Sunday.
"They [Aljazeera and other Arabic channels] have all
become incitement channels which are against the interests of security,
the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people," Zibari said.
He added "the new Iraqi government will not tolerate these kinds of intentional breaches and violations".
Aljazeera condemnation
However, shortly after the interview Aljazeera issued a statement condemning Zibari's comments, calling them "tantamount to incitement against the channel and its staff working in Iraq".
"Aljazeera would have hoped that the Iraqi government
would embark on its new term with initiatives to lift media
restrictions, not add new ones that would certainly not be conducive to
freedom of the press and expression."
"Aljazeera would
have hoped that the Iraqi government would embark on its new term with
initiatives to lift media restrictions, not add new ones that would
certainly not be conducive to freedom of the press and expression"
Aljazeera statement
The
statement added "these kind of allegations will not prevent the channel
from pursuing its long cherished editorial independence, and
it reiterates its adherence to its professional principles and
internationallly recognised media practises."
Aljazeera has been regularly criticised for its coverage of Iraq by foreign occupation forces as well as different Iraqi groups.
They have been particulalry upset by its coverage of anti-occupation violence and Iraqi resistance groups.
But Aljazeera, which is perhaps the most influential
media organisation among Iraqis, says the fact it is being attacked
from all sides proves its commitment to editorial balance and fairness.
Aljazeera under fire in Falluja
Saturday 10 April 2004, 18:44 Makka Time, 15:44 GMT
Journalists have been shot at inside the besieged town
Aljazeera journalists have come under fire in the flashpoint Iraqi town, Falluja.
The
only television crew reporting from inside the besieged town, Aljazeera
crew members on Friday complained they had been fired at twice during
the day.
The staffers have since been forced to move to a
safer location within the restive town, transformed into a ferocious
battleground between US soldiers and Iraqi resistance fighters.
Aljazeera correspondent in Falluja, Ahmad Mansur said
US F16 planes also bombed places disconcertingly close to the news
channel's office.
Target
Aljazeera journalists have found themselves at the receiving end of US-aggression often in the past.
The only
television crew reporting from inside the besieged town, Aljazeera crew
members on Friday complained they had been fired at twice.
During the war in Afghanistan, Aljazeera's office in capital Kabul was bombed.
Aljazeera correspondent, Tariq Ayyoub, was killed in
capital Baghdad by US-tank fire as he prepared to broadcast during last
year's Iraq war.
Reporting from Falluja, Mansur said the situation inside the besieged town was grim.
Surrounded on all sides by the US occupation soldiers, residents inside have run out of supplies.
Public appeals were being made from the local mosques
for shrouds to wrap the many dead. A local doctor put the Iraqi toll
in the town at 450.
Ambulances arriving from Baghdad to evacuate the seriously injured had difficulty in gaining access to the town.
US soldiers opened fire, forcing six of the ambulances to retreat as they attempted to reach the Talib al-Janabi clinic.
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