Jihad TV Shut Down in Iraq (For Now)
An AP piece notes that the “The Iraqi government closed the Iraqi offices of the Arab television station Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing it Saturday of inciting violence.”
A spokesman for Al-Jazeera called the closure “unwise” and said it restrained freedom of the press…Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said the government convened an independent commission a month ago to monitor Al-Jazeera’s daily coverage “to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting hatred and problems and racial tension.”
Based on the commission’s finding, the National Security Committee ordered the month long closure, Allawi said. Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said the closure was intended to give the station “a chance to readjust their policy against Iraq.” “They have been showing a lot of crimes and criminals on TV, and they transfer a bad picture about Iraq and about Iraqis and encourage criminals to increase their activities,” he said.
“We want to protect our people.” [“Iraqi Government Shuts Al-Jazeera Station”]