Iraq unrest prompts TV channel suspension

Iraq has suspended the licenses of 10 satellite television channels, claiming that they promote violence and sectarianism

By: Amani Soliman

“We took a decision to suspend the license of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” said Mujahid Abu al-Hail of the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) on Sunday 28 April. “It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around,” he added.

The suspension of the licences comes at a time of increased sectarian unrest in northern and western Iraq. More than 170 people have been killed in less than a week and Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has spoken of a “wave of sectarianism” in Iraq, according to the BBC.

‘Misleading’ coverage

The CMC said it believes that “the rhetoric and substance coverage” by the 10 channels, which include Al-Jazeera TV and Sharqiya were “provocative, misleading and exaggerated with the objective of disturbing the civil and democratic process”.

IMS’ partner in Iraq, the Baghdad based media freedom watchdog Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) issued a statement demanding the CMC to clarify the reasons behind the decision to suspend the channels’ licenses as well as to define the criteria of “incitement”.

Most of the 10 channels are Sunni-owned while Qatar-based al-Jazeera is perceived as more pro-Sunni in its Arabic-language reporting in Iraq, says the BBC Baghdad correspondent Rafid Jaboori.

Protesters have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and criticized authorities for allegedly targeting their community, including what they say are wrongful detentions and accusations of involvement in terrorism.

IMS has been actively supporting the Iraqi media since 2005. An important dimension of the IMS Iraq programme is conflict resolution, uniting political adversaries in the media sector. Other focus areas include providing media outlets with business models to strengthen their financial sustainability, promoting investigative reporting to strengthen media’s role as a watchdog in society, boosting the safety of journalists and providing them with legal support, and strengthening the journalistic capacity of both traditional and social media.