US shuts down anti-occupation Iraqi newspaper
By James Conachy
30 March 2004
Thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad on Sunday to demonstrate against the US shutdown of Al Hawza, a weekly journal published under Sadr’s editorial influence. A tense standoff ensued outside the newspaper’s offices between nervous American troops and crowds of angry Iraqis chanting “Where is democracy now?”
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In fact, in accusing the US of replicating the methods of Saddam Hussein, Al Hawza was simply reflecting the views and experiences of many Iraqis. The Iraqi people have no rights under the occupation. Hundreds of civilians have been gunned down during raids, at checkpoints or during demonstrations. Thousands of men have been dragged from their homes by US troops and flung into prison camps. The years of economic sanctions and war have left the country in ruin, with immense social problems that the US is making little attempt to address.
The US authority is so sensitive to the potential for a social explosion that it instinctively responds to criticism and opposition with repression. Journalists, particularly those trying to report objectively on the real state of affairs, work under extremely difficult conditions. Thirteen journalists were killed in Iraq last year—most by American bullets. On two occasions, the US has sought to hinder the operations of Arab television broadcasters Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, also accusing them of “inciting violence.”
Referring to the shutdown of Sadr’s newspaper, freelance Iraqi journalist Omar Jassem told the Washington Post: “I guess this is the Bush edition of democracy.”
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/mar2004/sadr-m30.shtml
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