Last night, U.S. occupation forces in Baghdad padlocked the offices of a popular Shiite weekly newspaper, Al Hawza for printing alleged lies that incited violence. Three months to Iraqi sovereignity and democracy is not exactly flourishing.
From Jeffrey Gettleman’s New York Times report:
“Many newspapers and television stations have sprouted in Iraq since the fall of the Hussein government. But under a law passed by the occupying authorities in June, a news media organization must be licensed, and that license can be revoked if the organization publishes or broadcasts material that incites violence or civil disorder or ‘advocates alterations to Iraq’s borders by violent means.’
“But the letter outlining the reasons for taking action against Al Hawza did not cite any material that directly advocated violence. Several Iraqi journalists said that meant there was no basis to shut Al Hawza down.”
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