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Iraq
A masked Iraqi demonstrator uses a slingshot to fire objects at security forces in the central city of Karbala on November 28, 2019. Photo: Mohammed Sawaf/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US embassy in Baghdad has called for the “reversal” of Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) decision to suspend nine television channels covering the Iraqi protests.
The US embassy released a statement on Thursday condemning the recent closure and suspension of media agencies in Iraq, and called on the Iraqi government to uphold the right to freedom of expression.
“The US embassy in Baghdad denounces actions that threaten freedom of press in Iraq, particularly the Communications and Media Commission’s (CMC) recent decision to suspend the operating license of nine television channels and the warning of others that they may face a similar fate,” the statement reads.
US-based channel Al Hurra, pro-Sunni outlet Sharqiya, Rashid, Diyala and Al-Arabiya were just some of the outlets suspended on November 21.
Rudaw also received a warning regarding its coverage of the protests.
It also condemned the recent attacks on Iraqi Dijla TV’s office in Baghdad and it’s correspondents, and reminded the Iraqi government that “these actions are not consistent with the Iraqi government’s duty to uphold the right of freedom of expression.”
“Media censorship based on allegations of bias or spreading misinformation, the harassment of journalists and the blocking of the internet are tactics used to compromise, threaten, dismiss, or even eliminate a free press,” the statement added.
Last month masked gunmen attacked the offices of Kurdish media agency NRT in Baghdad, while news channel Al-Hadath released CCTV footage of the Baghdad office it shares with fellow Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya being ransacked by gunmen.
Since the start of the protests in Iraq, Internet services have been routinely cut across Iraq’s central and southern provinces.
Since the outbreak of unrest – the worst violence Iraq has seen since the defeat of the Islamic State group (ISIS) – the international community has called for dialogue and restraint.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Iraqi government has detained people for simply supporting the protests on social media.
HRW also reported that Iraqi security forces have used excessive and unnecessary lethal force against protesters, which has left hundreds dead.
Protests demanding jobs, basic services, and action against corruption began in Baghdad on October 1 before spreading nationwide.
At least 320 protesters and security force personnel have died and 15,000 have been wounded since the protests began, according to Iraq’s parliamentary human rights committee.
Daily reports from the independent Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights put the number of dead at 340.
Iraq’s security forces have been widely condemned for their use of military-grade tear gas canisters fired directly into crowds of protesters, causing fatalities and catastrophic head injuries.
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