Speak up, report, spread awareness, criticize, put forth opinions, question, analyze and be killed- The basic policy of the Iraqi Government towards the media of/in Iraq. Iraq, termed as the deadliest country in the world for journalists every year from 2003 to 2008, the third deadliest in 2009, and the second deadliest in 2010 and 2011 by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has not witnessed much change after Saddam Hussein’s stringent rule.
According to a report by Reporters Without Borders, titled The Iraqi Media: 25years of relentless repression, The media of Iraq was initially one of the freest in entire Middle East. Through the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, to the English Monarchy, the media of Iraq has undertaken fair reportage without any political intervention. Prior to the Ba’athist revolution in 1968, the Iraqi media experienced freedom. However after the revolution, due to the constant political turmoil and violence, the press suffered great civil unrest. The press succumbed to political pressures and shifted their allegiance with each regime that took control. From the Islamic regime, to the Democrats, to the Kurds, to the Ba’athists, and the Communist, the freedom of press became more and more limited.
The control of the media was non-violent at first, however by the 1970’s it changed for the worst. By the end of the 1970’s the methods used to control and intimidate journalists became extreme. Judicial harassments, arrests, death threats, prolonged detentions, incidents of torture, and executions increased dramatically.
When Saddam Hussein took over Iraq’s presidency in 1979, he brought with him major censorships and restrictions on the media. His motive lay in crushing the few political opponents and independent media voices that were still running. By the mid-1980’s, the ruling Ba’ath party, and the family of Saddam Hussein had established a complete monopoly on the media. It was in 1986, where in the Iraqi’s ruling Revolutionary Command Council issued Order Number 840 which imposed a death penalty on anyone who criticized or insulted the president. Authorities’ began to use brute force which even included cuttings tongues of journalists who strayed from official political propaganda.
Uday Hussein, the son of the president, was the head of the Iraqi Journalist Union, a mandatory union for all Iraqi journalists. Assuming this leadership position in 1992, he exercised complete control over television and radio stations, and managed numerous newspapers, including Babel which had the largest distribution in Iraq.
During the Iran-Iraq war from 1980-1988, the media of Iraq grew increasingly insular, and the country lost out on the information revolution that was then sweeping most parts of the globe. Satellite dishes were banned, and violators were punished with fines as well as imprisonment up to six months. The regime also made sure to jam signals from broadcasts who offered alternative views and information outside the country.
When the commercialization of the Internet began in the late 1980’s, Iraq was the last country to gain access to the internet. Internet was finally introduced in the late 1990’s; even then the government controlled all the internet servers in Iraq. The Iraq’s ministry of information blocked access to many websites and permitted e-mails only from Iraq-based servers that copied messages to the government. Foreign newspapers were prohibited inside Iraq, and the government kept a close check on foreign journalists. They limited their access to the public, therefore blocking out the atrocities performed by Saddam Hussein’s regime in reports to the outside world.
The Iraqi media finally enjoyed an unprecedented boom in the months that followed the downfall of the Hussein regime, which was overthrown by the U.S. invasion. During the time of Saddam Hussein in 1990, there were only two TV channels, two radio stations, and two daily newspapers that operated in the evening only. However in 2003, after the regime had ended, there was a spike in the number of satellite dishes, number of people with access to the internet, and many more independent media outlets. It has been estimated that over 200 newspapers and magazines appeared in Iraq, although according to BBC reports not even half of them survived the first year with the economic imbalance. The new media outlets ensured that they reflected a broad perspective of opinions and views that were previously crushed by the political regime of Saddam.
Even though scores of newspapers and media outlets blossomed following the removal of Saddam, the new found freedom of the media posed a threat to the new government, and the attacks on both local as well as international journalists continue till this day. It has been reported that since the invasion, 341 Iraqi journalists and media workers have been killed.
On 8th January 2011, Iraqi Journalists, parliamentarians, and government officials united to call for the promotion and protection of a free and pluralistic media. The media conference was held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris. During the conference, participants agreed that journalists should hold a civilian status during conflict, as stated in the Geneva Convention. They even spoke of creating a national fund to support the families of slain journalists.
Nour-al-Maliki, the current Prime Minister of Iraq, sworn in for his second term in 2010, launched an attack on freedom of speech and expression when he arrested tens of journalists and activists after the beginning of anti- political demonstrations in Baghdad. However three days later the Iraq’s Society for Defending Press Freedom filed an appeal with Iraq’s federal court against the government and its ‘Journalist Right Laws,’ which the group argued had contradicted four articles from Iraq’s constitution.
In another report written in 2012, by ‘Reporters Without Borders’ it has been stated that the threat to the Iraqi media staff comes from the authorities and political figures who block them from accessing certain areas. Legal proceedings against newspapers for ‘defamation,’ as well as abusive measures, have become commonplace. Armed groups, Iraqi police and authorities who are responsible for law and order, are themselves committing acts of violence against journalists.
Blogging has become a way to publish what traditional media does not run, and bloggers in Iraq see it as a ‘way to breathe.’ However the popularity of Blogging has not been able to reach far into the interiors of the country due to frequent power cuts, poor infrastructure, and the dire security situation. Internet penetration is at a mere 2.8% out of a population of 30million. Bloggers mention that they have to be extremely cautious while blogging and have to be very aware of when to use their real names and when to take on an alias.
The lack of an independent judiciary system, the financial challenges, and security threats faced by independent media houses, the cultural conservatism of the government, and the lack of laws protecting freedom of speech have ensured that the media is a suppressed force in Iraq. If the only true mass voice that reaches the people is influenced, then one can only wonder whether the country’s form of ‘justice’ will ever let truth prevail.
ZAHRA AMIRUDDIN-3742
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