BAGHDAD: The Iraqi authorities announced yesterday that they had revoked the operating licences of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera and nine other satellite TV channels, alleging that they are promoting a sectarian agenda, as the country grapples with a wave of violence.
The move, effective immediately, comes as Baghdad tries to quell rising unrest in the country after clashes at a protest camp last week.
More than 180 people have been killed in gun battles with security forces and other attacks since the unrest began on Tuesday. The violence follows more than four months of largely peaceful protests by Iraq’s Sunni minority against the Shia-dominated government.
“We took a decision to suspend the licence of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” Mujahid Abu Al Hail, a top official in the Communications and Media Commission, said.
“It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around,” Hail said.
“The fact that so many channels have been hit all at once ... suggests this is an indiscriminate decision,” an Al Jazeera spokesman said. “We urge the authorities to uphold freedom for the media to report the important stories taking place in Iraq,” the spokesman said.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said on Saturday that sectarian strife “came back to Iraq, because it began in another place in this region,” in an apparent reference to Syria.
The civil war in neighbouring Syria pitting mainly Sunni rebels against the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, a member of the Alawite offshoot of Shia, has killed more than 70,000 people.
Agencies
