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Il bavaglio alla stampa
Il governo minaccia la libertà di stampa
6 gennaio 2010
Con l'avvicinarsi delle elezioni fissate per il 7 marzo, per il governo iracheno anche la stampa diventa un problema di sicurezza. L'allarme è stato lanciato dall'Osservatorio della libertà di stampa in Iraq (jfoiraq.org, una associazione indipendente di giornalisti) che è venuto in possesso di un documento del governo che impone forti limitazioni ai media che d'ora in poi, per poter lavorare, dovranno ottenere un'autorizzazione dai servizi di sicurezza.
«L'agenzia nazionale per l'informazione e l'investigazione del ministero degli interni ha inviato a tutti gli organi di stampa una lettera (che si definisce «per l'approvazione temporanea dell'attività di radio, tv e trasmissioni satellitari») con un allegato che contiene 16 condizioni per l'esercizio dell'attività giornalistica. Condizioni che, per la maggior parte, sono una «minaccia alla libertà di stampa», sostiene l'Osservatorio.
Gli organi di stampa dovranno denunciare alle autorità tutte le apparecchiature di cui sono in possesso comprese quelle per la diffusione delle informazioni, la lista degli impiegati con i loro documenti. Il tempo concesso per espletare queste denunce è di 4 mesi, altrimenti tutte le apparecchiature saranno sequestrate. Nella lettera, in netto contrasto con la costituzione, non si fa nessun riferimento a leggi o order in vigore su cui si baserebbero le nuove decisioni. Al punto 11 vengono indicate le modalità per la concessione delle autorizzazioni. «La concessione delle licenze avverrà in base alla valutazione delle maggiori agenzie di sicurezza per garantire il rispetto dei termini e il controllo delle licenze stesse in accordo con regolamenti, order, direttive e altre istruzioni».
Le questioni di sicurezza vengono sempre utilizzate per restringere la libertà di stampa. Era già successo in giugno quando si richiedeva ai giornalisti un'autorizzazione per fare riprese o interviste per strada. Successivamente era stato vietato alla stampa di recarsi sui luoghi degli attentati. Non sono solo le autorità governative a minacciare la libertà di stampa, molti giornalisti denunciano ostacoli, minacce provenienti da varie parti. Minacce che a volte giungono alle estreme conseguenze con assassinii.
Del resto l'Iraq è uno dei paesi dove i giornalisti hanno dovuto affrontare i maggiori rischi, le vittime sono state numerose. Recentemente l'attacco ai giornalisti sembrava diminuito, ma non è mai cessato. Lo scorso 23 dicembre Imad Abadi, conduttore di al Diyar, un canale di notizie satellitare, è stato ferito gravemente in un agguato a Baghdad. Ora si trova in Germania dove è stato operato al cervello. Un altro giornalista, Arsalan Mahmood, del giornale kurdo Rumal era sparito in Kurdistan mentre si stava recando da Erbil a Salahdin per un servizio il 5 dicembre. Si è poi scoperto che era stato trattenuto dal Partito democratico per un «interrogatorio».
Queste immagini sono in netto contrasto con l'immagine di libertà di espressione descritta dal ministro degli esteri iracheno Hoshyar Zebari in visita in Italia a metà dicembre. Visita in occasione della quale si è riunita la commissione mista italo-irachena che ha permesso di rafforzare i legami di affari tra i due paesi senza mettere in discussione la estrema precarietà (da tutti i punti di vista) delle condizioni di vita degli iracheni.
Giuliana Sgrena
Babylon city council, investigating journalist published a public meeting proceedings
10 january 2010
Media employee at the Babylon city council, Mr. Muhey Al-Mas’oodey, was referred to investigation after he published the proceedings of one of the "open" session proceedings of a public meeting of the council. This session has seen accusations between services committee chairman, Hassan Al-Toofan, and the president of the council, Kazem Toman, because of non-official employments.
Al-Mas’oodey has published the proceedings of this meeting at the website (Kitabat), last week, but he was surprised next day of summons for investigation.
Al-Mas’oodey told the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, that the president of the council, Kazem Majeed Toman, and the chairman of the energy committee, Mansour Medawar, attacked him during the recent meeting of the council considering his publication on (Kitabat) website is a violation for the privacy of the session, although it was a public session in which many issues were discussed, including the new employments issue.
Al-Mas’oodey quoted from Toman and Medawar: “raising the issue in the media does not serve the interests of the council the fact that some of its members are candidates in the parliamentary elections, which could hurt their reputation and affect their political future.”
Sources from within the provincial council, explained to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory that the governor of Babylon, Salman Al-Zergany, warned members of the Babylon province council from talking to reporters and in public.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory to finds that the provincial council’s procedure have serious consequences for freedom of expression and the press in Iraq in general, and Babylon in particular. And warns of going too far in using the official authorizations to crack down on journalists and restricting their freedoms and hinder their access to information.
At the same time, The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory asks Babylon city council to take measures to stop these abuses and prevent its negative impact on media freedom.
The report was prepared by Haidar Al-Badri,
Representative of the JFO / Middle Euphrates region
Turkmen Ele satellite channel team
is under attack in Kirkuk
10 january 2010
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory condemns the aggressive behavior of a police officer against the (Turkmen Ele) satellite channel team in Kirkuk.
Ali Al-Qassab, news section chief in (Turkmen Ele) satellite channel, told the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory that the work team consists of: Sami Ez Al-Deen, (reporter) and Esam Omar, (cameraman); headed on Saturday morning, to the headquarters of the Police Academy to cover the ceremony, which will be held on the occasion of Iraqi police day, when they were stopped by police officer, captain Samad Mustafa Abdullah, who pushed the cameraman, Esam Omar, with his hands, hardly.
Al-Qassab added, “The cameraman did not react violently on the captain’s assault, but he only talked to him in a way that failed in calming the situation. But things turned nasty when the ceremony began; the captain was looking angrily towards the cameraman, the thing that made the cameraman worried and uncomfortable. Then the captain went to the cameraman and threatened him by saying: why are you looking towards me? If you look again, I will behead you and disconnect it at the courtyard of the academy.”
“The cameraman did not respond but he filed complain to Maj.Gen. Jamal Taher, general director of the province’s police”.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory expresses regret for such unjustified violations and threats against journalists by people who are supposed to be protectors of journalists and calls the authorities of Kirkuk province to keep the journalists away from political competition and sectarian or ethnical tensions.
Authorities prevents the access
of a cultural magazine into Iraq
14 february 2010
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory condemns the Iraqi security authorities’ [stationed in Port Al-Walid (Iraqi-Syrian borders)] prevention for “Nathr” Iraqi Magazine from entering the country which is printed in Damascus and distributed in Baghdad, Basrah, Damascus and Beirut.
The editor of the magazine, journalist Safaa Khalaf, told the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory that "officials of the Iraqi side in Port Al-Walid have prevented the magazine from entering Iraq for more than three weeks with the excuse that it contains" very serious political file, "they said.
Khalaf added:"the magazine staff in Baghdad were surprised by the no arrival of the magazine on the scheduled time, after the inquiry, they found out that officials of the Iraqi side in Port Al-Walid have prevented the magazine from entering Iraq in addition to confiscation of all the recent issues of it without a reason or legal explanation for this action."
“Nathr” is quarter monthly magazine, ran by an Iraqi specialized crew in Baghdad and the Iraqi poet (Omar Jaffal) in Damascus. The magazine concerned with the Iraqi creative cultural issues and do not have any political purpose and it is the first Iraqi quarterly publication distributed in the Arab countries after 2003.
The Iraqi Ministry of Culture issued an order last year, which imposes monitoring on the prints, and it said, then, that the purpose for such order is the protection of the community from the outputs which stoke up ethnic and sectarian divides.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory condemns the prevention of the entrance of “Nathr” magazine to Iraq, and calls upon the Ministry of Culture to take responsibility and undo what it had announced in earlier times that it would impose controls on entry of prints to the country with the excuse of urging sectarian violence (which was applied in this case).
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory considers the prevention is an indication of a serious threat to freedom of the press and the media in Iraq and a clear violation of the constitution and violates the spirit of Article 38 of the Iraqi Constitution, which stated that freedom of the press, printing, advertising, media and publishing is guaranteed.
A government official takes over a radio station and expels the staff
Journalistic Freedoms Observatory shows deep regret and astonishment for the illegal action practiced by a government official against a media organization in Diyala province, when he shut down a radio station in the district of Baladruz, east of Baquba, took it over and expelled the staff.
Majid Mohammed, head of (Al-Noor) radio station which broadcasts from Baladruz, told the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory that a security force related to Mr. Mohammed Ma’aroof, governor of Baladruz, stormed the radio station building in July 2009, seized it and expelled the staff, without any legal justification.
The station manager explained that the radio has outraged some local officials because of some on air broadcasts for complaints by citizens, he also warned of attempts to restrict the free media in the province.
Mohammed said that the closure came after a request by the governor of Baladruz to become a partner in the station just after the station’s receiving of support from (Iraq reconstruction team) and constructing new buildings.
Mohammed showed astonishment because of the absence of any reaction from the judicial institutions in Diyala for this act, and the city council did nothing but forming committees that did not play its role in investigating and settling the problem.
Al-Noor radio station, owned by media man, Majid Mohammed, was founded in 2006 and broadcasts political and variety materials from the center for Baladruz of the city of Baquba, and covers the entire province.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory believes that these attacks on media institutions and try to seize some of them, raise serious concerns about the future of media in the country and demands an end to these illegal abuses, and also demands for evacuation for the building and hand it back to its original owner and warns of taking legal action if the situation continues.
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