Iraqis Imitating Their Fascist Hosts: Maliki Closes Another Media Outlet

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Iraq Closes Down Al-Arabiya in Baghdad

09.07.2006, 11:48 AM

The Iraqi government on Thursday ordered Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya to shut down its Baghdad operations for one month, state television reported. Al-Arabiya said Iraqi police later arrived at its offices to enforce the order.

The other pan-Arab satellite network, Al-Jazeera, had its office in the capital closed two years ago.

Al-Arabiya, which is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at first said its headquarters had not yet been informed of a ban, but later said on live television that police had arrived at its Baghdad offices to close its operations down.

In July, al-Maliki warned television stations against broadcasting video that could undermine Iraq's stability.

A statement by al-Maliki's office cited news reports that "capitalize on the footage of victims of terrorist attacks." He called on media outlets to "respect the dignity of human beings and not to fall in the trap set up by terrorist groups who want to petrify the Iraqi people."

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/09/07/ap3000323.html