KurdistanObserver.com
President To Reject Press Law
Kurdish leader pledges to dismiss proposed legislation that
would introduce prison terms for journalists.
By Azeez Mahmood in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 241, 21-Dec-07)
Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, president Massoud Barzani says he will not
sign a proposed press law under which journalists and newspapers could face
severe penalties.
His spokesman Fuad Hussein told IWPR that the president has decided not to sign
the bill "because it has many shortcomings and creates many problems for
journalists”.
While the proposed law has not been made public, members of parliament are
reported to have said that if it is passed, journalists could have to pay heavy
fines, publications shut down for vague offences, and reporters and editors
jailed for breaking its controversial provisions.
Journalists from party and independent media have pressed Barzani to reject the
bill, which was approved by the Kurdish parliament last week. But at a meeting
with the the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate earlier this week, Barzani pledged
to reject the law.
If he does so, it will be sent back to parliament for review, after which MPs
can redraft the legislation or pass the original draft, which would then become
law, according to the KRG’s constitution.
However, it is unlikely that MPs loyal to Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party
would oppose the president.
Parliament’s decision to submit the bill to Barzani shocked journalists,
political observers and politicians in Iraq’s Kurdish north, as well as
international journalism rights advocates.
In a rare sign of unity, the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate - which is loyal
to Iraqi Kurdistan’s two dominant parties - and independent journalists both
spoke out against the bill after parliament approved it on December 11.
Journalists of nearly every political stripe in Iraqi Kurdistan have complained
that the proposed legislation is too harsh on the media, and reporters and
editors in several Kurdish cities and towns rallied to protest against the bill
last week.
"The press bill is the worst piece of legislation that the parliament has
passed,” said Mem Burhan Qani', a journalist who has researched Iraqi media
laws. “It violates liberties and freedom of expression.”
Ghafoor Makhmoori, an MP from the Democratic National Union of Kurdistan party,
who voted against the draft law, said that if it was introduced, journalists
would face fines of up to 10 million Iraqi dinars (8,200 US dollars) and
newspapers 20 million dinars for breaking the law.
The planned legislation is said to make it illegal to publish articles that
create instability or spread fear, provoke sectarianism, oppose social customs
or incite terrorism, among other prohibitions.
Journalists could reportedly face jail terms of up to 15 years and newspapers
shut down for six months if they break the law.
Editors-in-chief would also be forced to join the Kurdistan Journalists’
Syndicate, even though the Iraqi constitution prohibits mandatory membership of
any party or society.
Makhmoori speculated that parliament passed the bill to “handcuff” journalists
who have been highly critical of the Kurdish government.
“The press has freedom, but cannot violate other people’s freedoms,” said Kareem
Bahree, head of parliament’s legal committee who supported the bill.
“Journalists should not be able to disrespect people in any way they choose.”
Bahree said the reason the government had not made the bill public was because
parliament’s secretary had left for the Eid al-Adha holiday before producing a
final copy.
And earlier press bill included the same publishing prohibitions as those in the
approved draft, but the penalties were less severe.
The earlier bill protected journalists from prison, fined journalists and
newspapers a maximum of 2 million dinars and did not stipulate that
editor-in-chiefs be members of the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate.
Despite some reservations, many independent journalists had expressed support
for this proposed law, which never made it to the floor of parliament.
Instead, parliament’s legal committee decided to draft the current bill, which
has caused divisions among legislators, with a number of MPs boycotting the vote
on it.
In a statement, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists executive
director Joel Simon praised Barzani’s decision to reject the law, encouraging
the KRG “to enact model legislation for the region” that “conforms to
international press freedom standards”.
Makhmoori said he believes that the parliament will make changes to the bill.
Following the outcry against its restrictions, parliament "is under a lot of
public pressure" to make changes, he said.
