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Al-Jazeera link to Saddam
Wow, you coulda fooled me...The director-general of the controversial Arab satellite television Al-Jazeera had been sacked, Qatari sources said last night, amid allegations he worked with Saddam Hussein's intelligence services. Ya don't say! Mohammed Jassem al-Ali had held the top job at the Doha-based station since it launched the Arabic-language channel in 1996. Al-Jazeera and Mr Ali have been accused by Western media of collaborating with the former regime in Baghdad. Mr Ali visited Iraq before the US-led war and met Hussein during an hour-long interview. Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the American-backed Iraqi National Congress, has accused several Al-Jazeera journalists of working for Iraqi agencies, based on documents found in state archives in Baghdad. Mr Ali, who has denied the charges, could not be contacted last night. This isn't a huge shock. Hey, you gotta root-root-root for the home team. Wonder what they've got in the state archives on CNN? Inquiring minds want to know. Al-Jazeera enjoyed a special status in pre-war Iraq, being allowed to work independently of the Information Ministry, which controlled foreign media. Hey, why not, when one of their boys is already in charge... The US and Britain criticised Al-Jazeera after it carried footage from Iraqi television of dead coalition soldiers and prisoners of war. The 24-hour network has emerged as a rival to international media giants, notably after its groundbreaking coverage of the Afghan conflict, but its no-holds-barred coverage has also sparked rows between Qatar and several Arab governments. If this is true, it should just do wonders for the independent media in the Arab world. Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-28 |
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