"Unacceptable" allegations against Al-Jazeera by defence minister

Comments by Iraqi defence minister Hazem Shaalan in a interview for an Arabic-language newspaper accusing the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera of being a "terrorist TV station" were "unacceptable," Reporters Without Borders said today. Noting that it has often criticised the Iraqi interim government's decision more than three months ago to close Al-Jazeera's bureaux, Reporters Without Borders said: "The authorities have a right to disapprove of this station's editorial choices, but recourse to a ban and verbal threats hark back to the past and violate the promises to establish a democracy in Iraq." In an interview published on 23 November in the daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Shaalan accused the pan-Arab TV news station of continuing to operate "secretly, in violation of the law" in Iraq. "Al-Jazeera is a terrorist TV station," he said. "That is clear, and we say it openly and without hesitation, Al-Jazeera is a terrorist TV station." The minister threatened: "May God curse all those who terrorise Iraqi citizens and Iraq's children, whether they are journalists or others. The day will come when we deal with Al-Jazeera in other ways than with words." Shaalan's "irresponsible" allegations and the "incredibly bellicose tone" of his remarks exceed all limits, Reporters Without Borders said. "They are very alarming because they unfortunately indicate a growing hostility on the part of the authorities towards the media." The press freedom organisation noted that, before the the US and Iraqi forces began their offensive against the Sunni rebel city of Fallujah on 8 November, the authorities instructed the media to present the government's position and banned "patriotic" treatment of the "murderers and criminals." Media were threatened with unspecified "sanctions" if they did not comply. Shaalan alleged in the interview that Omar Hadid, "a terrorist... with links to Al-Qaeda," was the brother of Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Iraq, Hamed Hadid, to whom "he sent videos showing the beheading of citizens in Fallujah." This has been denied by Al-Jazeera, which said its Baghdad bureau chief "affirms that he has no family ties with the alleged Omar Hadid."