STATE OF FREEDOM OF PRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003585 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2018 TAGS: PHUM KJUS IZ SUBJECT: STATE OF FREEDOM OF PRESS REF: A. BAGHDAD 3210 ¶B. BAGHDAD 2815 Classified By: A/DCM Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Journalists and freedom of press organizations in Baghdad raised concerns during recent meetings about the decreasing independence of the media and continued violations against the press. They said a lack of freedom of press hinders journalists' ability to report independently. They said most news agencies and press organizations were now under the control of political parties and alleged Iranian influence. Our contacts perceived growing Iranian influence in Iraqi media and accused Iran of bribing journalists, making payments to media organizations, and implementing a strategy to infiltrate all news agencies. They praised a recent GOI effort to protect journalists and questioned the effectiveness of the recent KRG press law. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Ibrahim al-Saraji, head of the Iraqi Journalist Rights Defending Association (IRJDA),Ziad al-Ajili, head of the Journalists Freedoms Observatory (JFO),Firas al-Hamdani, journalist and member of the JFO, Hashim Hassan, journalist and media professor at Baghdad University and Muyyad Lami, head of the Iraqi Journalist Syndicate (IJS) described the current situation facing journalists and news organizations in discussions with POLOFF during October. (Note: In general, there is a strong rivalry between these organizations and they often accuse each other of being partisan, especially being tied to Iranian interests. End Note.) -------------- VIOLATIONS AGAINST JOURNALISTS -------------- ¶3. (U) According to these organizations, killings of journalists decreased in 2008. There have been 12 killings as of October, compared to 55 killings last year. However, other violations, such as threats against and arrests of journalists have risen, and JFO reported that violations of press freedom rose by 60 percent between May 2007 and May ¶2008. According to Saraji, whose organization sends lawyers to defend journalists around the country, there has been an increase of trial cases against journalists for reports they have written. Saraji added that while these arrests usually only last a few days, or in some occasions only a few hours, they are pressuring journalists to practice self-censorship. Saraji said that harassment and intimidation of journalists had markedly increased in the Kurdistan Region during the year. He said however that the IRJDA offices in the Kurdistan Region are hesitant to raise the issue with KRG officials due to fear of reprisal. ¶4. (C) JFO reported that there were no arrests after the killing of Lvin writer Soran Hama in Kirkuk. (Note: Aso newspaper reported on November 3 that three people were arrested in connection with the case. End Note.) However, JFO believes the KDP intelligence service was behind the attack in an attempt to gain more power in Kirkuk. After the September 13 killing of four Sharqiyah news reporters in Mosul, the police accused Al-Qa'ida of the attack and arrested 48 suspects, according to IRJDA. JFO reported that only six suspects are still being held; the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has publicly reported the arrest of one al-Qa'ida member. On October 9, 35 journalists were detained inside the parliament for one hour without access to phones. Their tapes of the session and press conference were confiscated after journalists filmed an argument between parliamentarians about minority representation in the provincial elections law. ¶5. (U) Muyyad Lami survived a bomb attack outside IJS headquarters on September 20, seven months after the former head of the IJS, Shihab al-Tamimi, was killed by unknown gunmen. Lami said there had been no arrests in the two cases although investigations were still ongoing. He doubted whether the MoI would arrest any suspects. Lami guessed that the attacks were conducted by rival members of the IJS. ¶6. (U) According to IRJDA and JFO, the rise in pressure against journalists has caused the level of fear to rise among the press. Journalists are scared to report from the field, especially in the run-up to provincial elections. Saraji said that even Al-Iraqiyya, the largest news organization in Iraq, features fewer reports from the field. Hassan said the fear of reprisals is forcing journalists to self-censor their reports, causing a lack of independent reporting in the media. -------------- GOI ACTIONS BAGHDAD 00003585 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶7. (U) JFO identified one of the problems causing violations against journalists is a lack of physical protection by the government. The organization lobbied the MoI to begin a program to provide greater protections for journalists, and the MoI agreed to establish a special police unit to investigate killings and attacks of journalists. At the end of September, the MoI signed an agreement with JFO, which said that the MoI would facilitate movement of journalists, ensure protection of journalists in the field, and provide security information on any potential threats. The MoI has reported that there are 50 ongoing investigations into attacks and killings of journalists (Note: A DRL-funded project with the Institute of War and Peace Reporting contains a component on security training and provision of protective gear for journalists. DRL grantee IREX has proposed a USD 50,000 sub-grant to JFO to expand their project. End Note.) ¶8. (U) In October, the MoI created a hotline for journalists in danger to report threats directly to the MoI media unit. JFO said this collaboration has been a positive sign that the GOI is willing to focus on protecting journalists and said that the MoI arrested a person threatening two journalists in Basrah after they called the MoI hotline. Ziad said the MoI media and operations section had been very cooperative and willing to help JFO. -------------- KRG PRESS LAW -------------- ¶9. (C) The Kurdish National Assembly passed a new press law on September 22 that replaced a previous press bill that was vetoed earlier in the year by KRG President Masoud Barzani after journalists and NGOs complained it was too restrictive. Contradicting the views of top independent media editors in the Kurdistan Region (ref A),the Baghdad-based journalist organizations say that while passage of the law is a positive development, it will likely not be very effective in protecting the rights of the press. In their view, journalists in the KRG are afraid that the law was only passed to make the KRG look good and will not actually be implemented. Saraji said there are not many independent media outlets in the KRG since the majority of the press is owned by political parties. (Note: There are five nominally independent print media outlets and one independent radio station in the Kurdistan Region. End Note.) He said the law will only be effective if implemented properly, and he urged the USG to keep pressuring KRG officials to implement the law and ensure the rights of journalists. Muyyad Lami agreed that the law was good but would not be implemented by the KRG since the KRG wanted to control all aspects of media. JFO had a more negative view of the law and said it would result in greater restrictions on journalists than was the case before the law. (Comment: The views of Saraji and the JFO contrast sharply with the views of top independent media editors in the KRG, who view the new press law as a major improvement over the previous version. Independent media leaders have stressed to RRT Erbil that the new law caps defamation damages and prohibits the closure of media outlets. They are concerned, however, that the law remains too vague about what constitutes "national security information" that cannot be reported. End Comment.) -------------- IRANIAN INFLUENCE -------------- ¶10. (C) The organizations perceived growing Iranian influence in Iraqi media and accused Iran of bribing journalists, making payments to media organizations, and implementing a strategy to infiltrate all news agencies. Ziad al-Ajili accused Bayna al-Jadida and Rose news agencies of being completely infiltrated by an Iranian agenda. Ziad also said that Iran, as well as ISCI, had much influence over the IJS, a competing press organization. Hassan warned that the rising Iranian influence in many news agencies and press NGOs is causing a bias in reporting and a lack of independent views. He added that there is even an Iranian bias within Baghdad University, accusing the deans of being associated with Iran and Special Groups. Last year Hassan received threats, but he insisted he still teaches what he wants. ¶11. (C) Muyyad Lami, director of the IJS countered that the IJS was the only independent NGO, and the others, including JFO, IRJDA, and IREX (another DRL-funded grantee) were not only all influenced by Iran and political parties, but were illegal organizations. (Lami claimed the organizations were illegal because they were founded after 2003 and received funding from international sources.) IJS on the other hand, he claimed, was the oldest press establishment in Iraq and BAGHDAD 00003585 003 OF 003 relied only on self-funding. Lami did admit, however, IJS had worked with the International Committee to Protect Journalists, "but just one time," and would be working with UNAMI in upcoming press workshops. Lami asked for all the contact information for those working in organizations funded by the USG, so that IJS could screen the names for those influenced by parties or Iran. He listed some names of journalists and organization heads who worked directly with the Iranian Embassy or other parties. (Note: All names mentioned by Lami are listed in this cable and had met with PolOff the week before. End Note.) Lami refused to give contact information for other members of the IJS as it is a "rule for the IJS not to deal directly with the U.S. Embassy." -------------- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USG -------------- ¶12. (U) Saraji said the most effective step the USG can take to improve the state of freedom of press is to pressure the GOI and parliamentarians to focus on the problems and implement policies and legislation to protect the media. He also suggested that the USG, through its grantees IREX or IWPR, continue teaching journalists about their legal rights in order to lessen the fear about reporting freely in Iraq. The JFO members similarly placed importance on high-level USG pressure on the GOI and KRG to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists and pass and implement media legislation. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (C) Media freedom is still a relatively new concept in Iraq, and it is hardly surprisingly that some government officials and even parliamentarians are not particularly sympathetic to the concept. Changing mentalities takes a very long time. We want to try to anchor the concept as widely as possible among journalists, officials and Iraqi civil society before old habits completely reassert themselves. Post will, therefore, continue to monitor reports of violations against journalists and work with these organizations, particularly JFO, in an effort to continue pressuring the GOI and KRG to take real action. However, it is important to note that journalists are not paid well and are often targets of bribery. ¶14. (C) DRL-funded media projects including IREX and IWPR will continue providing journalists with professional, legal, and security training. PAS will begin training journalists in issues such as press legislation and the rights of journalists. The program will likely start at the end of the year and will initially include 25-30 participants. CROCKER