Iraqi Officials ban Al Jazeera

[45th Med]

Sunday 01 February 2004, 9:42 Makka Time, 6:42 GMT

Iraq's US-installed interim Governing Council has prohibited Aljazeera from covering its activities for one month.

"Aljazeera was forbidden from covering from January 28 to February 27," the channel's Baghdad bureau chief, Abd al-Haq Saddah said on Saturday.

Iraqi Officials ban Al Jazeera

[Must_B_Free]

1. Sounds like W and Helen Thomas

[Jacobin]

2. Free speech? Naaaah.

Headline very misleading. The IGC is not the Iraqi people. Its the puppets installed by Bush* to pretend to be the iraq government

[renegade000]

3. wow democracy in action...

:wtf:

what happened to freedom of the press...i mean aljazeera is a pretty mainstream news organization...thats like banning CNN here

[icymist]

5. Makes you wonder

what they're up yo!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. No wonder. Free speech shouldn't apply to anyone critical to a governmet.

I understand that the Governing council is to consider changing the name Iraq to Bushopotamia.

<snip>
"The decision was then faxed to our headquarters in Doha," Saddah said, adding that the Governing Council took its decision based on the station's programme "Opposite Direction", which it said had criticised the interim government.
<snip>

[daleo]

6. Could be related to Chalabi's nephew setting up the Saddam trial

The timing seems convenient. Al Jazeera is probably one news outlet that would point out the inherent contradictions involved in letting the new, foreign appointed leader's nephew try the old, foreign deposed leader. Even if you feel the invasion was justified, this is still a bad idea from the fundamental principles of justice - Chalabi has too much to gain personally from his uncle's success to be seen as objective in the trial of his uncle's opponent.

[Sandpiper]

7. Al Jazeera

Is an actual news agency that reports events as they happen, without a pro American spin. Small wonder the unelected puppet regime doesn't like them.

[bluestateguy]

8. Bringing democracy to Iraq

Let's see:

Random house to house searches, without warrants.

Confiscation of privately owned firearms.

Suppression of free speech.

This administration would support a new dictatorship in Iraq so long as the cabal skipped to the US tune.