Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly protests the Iraqi
interim government's closure of the Iraq offices of the Qatar-based
satellite news channel Al-Jazeera.
On August 7, the interim government barred Al-Jazeera from working in
Iraq for 30 days, accusing the station of incitement to violence and
hatred, according to news reports. Your Excellency announced the decision
at a press conference, noting that an Iraqi media monitoring body had
produced a report "on the issues of incitement and the problems Al-Jazeera
has been causing." You also said the ban was implemented to "protect
the people of Iraq and the interests of Iraq."
In justifying the government's decision, Your Excellency asserted that
Al-Jazeera's reporting on kidnappings in Iraq had encouraged Iraqi militants.
Other Iraqi officials accused the station of being a mouthpiece for
terrorist groups; depicting criminal activity; creating a negative picture
of events in Iraq; and contributing to instability in Iraq.
To CPJ's knowledge, the station was banned without any due process,
and the media commission's report has not been made public. Iraqi officials
have also failed to provide further details to support their allegations.
The closure of Al-Jazeera is a serious blow to press freedom in Iraq.
While we appreciate Iraqi government concerns about the security situation
in Iraq, we believe this action is unjustified. The Iraqi government
may be unhappy with Al-Jazeera's coverage but has presented no evidence
that the channel's reporting constitutes a deliberate attempt to incite
violence in Iraq, nor that it is likely to do so. This closure appears
to be an attempt to sanction a news organization for negative coverage
of events inside Iraq.
Governments should be free to criticize news coverage, and there should
be an open debate about professionalism and ethics in media coverage.
The Iraqi government should be encouraged to engage with news organizations,
such as Al-Jazeera, with which it disagrees. But by adopting crude censorship
methods, Iraqi authorities have damaged their credibility as a government
that supports the internationally guaranteed right to freedom of the
press.
One month ago, following your decision to re-open Al-Hawza newspaper—which
was shuttered by the U.S.-backed Coalition Provisional Authority in
March—you expressed your "absolute belief in the freedom of the
press." As an organization of journalists dedicated to defending our
colleagues worldwide, CPJ calls on you to demonstrate this commitment
by ensuring that Al-Jazeera is allowed to resume its work in Iraq immediately
and without further harassment. We further call on you to ensure that
media in Iraq are free to conduct their professional work without further
government interference.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward
to your reply.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
