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Iraq council âto ban Arab networksâ
The US-appointed Governing Council in Iraq has decided to ban two leading Arabic news channels from the country for allegedly inciting violence. CNN & the BBC? Member Samir al-Sumaidy said the council had discussed "abuses by certain Arabic media, particularly al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya" and "tough and dissuasive measures" would be taken against them", French news agency AFP reported. Oh, them. The news channels have angered Iraqi officials in recent weeks by broadcasting pictures of masked men calling for attacks against US-led occupation forces. The US civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, must approve such a move before any action can be taken, and both networks said they had received no official notification about a ban. "We have not been advised officially of such a decision. Our office is still open, our people are still working. Itâs business as usual," said al-Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout. Pack your bags. Media reports say the Governing Council voted to expel reporters from both channels for a month. The UKâs Times newspaper quoted council member Mudhar Shawkat as saying: "Inciting violence is what these channels proclaim. They show men in masks carrying guns and call them âresistanceâ. Theyâre not resistance, theyâre thugs and criminals." Mr Shawkat said the councilâs attitude towards the broadcasters hardened after the attempted assassination of council member Aqila al-Hashimi at the weekend. I can see how that might do it. Qatar-based al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, which is based in Dubai, have a large team of The arab world will bitch and moan, but they will do that anyway. Back the council. Al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya have defended themselves against charges of bias, saying they present the views of all sides. Al-Quaedaâs side, Hamasâs side, Iranâs side, Syriaâs side..... Posted by: Steve 2003-09-23 |
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