Freedom is allegedly “on the march” in Iraq, but freedom of the press isn’t exactly going in the right direction.
Iraq’s media regulator warned news organizations Thursday to stick to the government line on the U.S.-led offensive in Fallouja or face legal action.
Invoking a 60-day state of emergency declared by Iraq’s interim government ahead of the assault that began Monday, Iraq’s Media High Commission said media should distinguish between insurgents and ordinary residents of the Sunni Muslim city.
The commission, set up by the former U.S. governor of Iraq, was intended to be independent of the government and to encourage investment in the media and deter state meddling after decades of strict control under President Saddam Hussein.
The commission statement bore the letterhead of the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
News accounts are not just supposed to be sympathetic to the government’s position; they’re supposed to literally save room for official propaganda … or else.
[The warning to news outlets] also asked media to “set aside space in your news coverage to make the position of the Iraqi government, which expresses the aspirations of most Iraqis, clear.”
“We hope you comply … otherwise we regret we will be forced to take all the legal measures to guarantee higher national interests,” the statement said. It did not elaborate.
And, yes, that was Bush noting that the Iraqi people suffered before the war because there was “no free press.”