Information ministry denies ban on CNN journalists

The information ministry dismissed on 26 October as "groundless" a report on CNN's website the previous day that its Baghdad staff were about to be expelled from the country. The ministry added that a group of foreign journalists was expected in Iraq for the Baghdad International Fair, which will run between 1 and 10 November. ------------------------------------ 25.10.2002 - CNN office shut down and staff expelled from country Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned the Iraqi government's decision today to shut down the office of the US TV network CNN in Baghdad and expel its six journalists, including bureau chief Jane Arraf. "This discrimination is unacceptable," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard. "Today it is CNN, tomorrow it will be other journalists. When President Saddam Hussein needs publicity, as during his recent farcical referendum, foreign reporters were given visas to enter the country and be driven around in buses by information ministry officials. "The rest of the time, the regime refuses to grant visas or bans journalists from moving about. Now it is deporting them because it cannot throw them in jail like it does with Iraqi journalists." Arraf, who is Canadian, and the other five journalists were ordered to leave the country by next Monday. She is the only Western chief correspondent in Baghdad, where CNN has had an office for the past 12 years. The Iraqi information ministry said it had also decided to issue only 10-day visas to foreign reporters, saying that the foreign press centre in Baghdad could only serve a limited number of journalists at any one time. In July, the correspondent in Baghdad of the Qatar-based TV station Al-Jazeera was banned from working for 10 days (later reduced to four) by the regime. Iraq comes 130th in Reporters Without Borders' index of world press freedom and is one of the 10 countries most hostile to journalists and independent media. The Iraqi regime uses every means to control the press and silence dissenting voices. President Saddam and his eldest son Uday hold complete sway over the local media, which is assigned the single task of putting out government propaganda.