Iraqi Kurdistan president Nechirvan Barzani, Erbil, 2019. Photo: Rudaw
BRUSSELS,— The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Thursday that they have urged Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani to prevent the murder of journalists in the Kurdish region.
Dozens of journalists, trade unionists and researchers from the Arab world and the Middle East, but also from Belgium and France, took part in an international conference on journalism ethics in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, on 17 and 18 December.
More than 400 journalists have been killed since 2003 on the Iraqi territory. Many of them lost their lives fulfilling their duty to inform on the front line in the face of terrorism, but many have also been killed on the street or on their doorstep because their reports were considered embarrassing.
Despite contacts with the governments of Baghdad and Erbil in recent years, the figures for impunity for murderers of journalists remain scandalously high: less than one in 10 murders are still being investigated today. This is particularly true in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the north of the country.
Anthony Bellanger, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reminded the President of the Kurdish region, Nechirvan Barzani, of this fact during a meeting at the presidential palace in Erbil. “Despite our efforts, despite our alerts, Iraq is one of the worst places for journalists in the world. We need strong actions today, a real political stand so that impunity is no longer the gangrene of our profession in your country.”
Barzani said that he was “a strong defender of freedom of the press and freedom of expression and that he would continue his actions and work with Azad H. Amin, the President of the KJS, the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, an IFJ affiliate”.
The IFJ General Secretary took the opportunity of this meeting to remind the Kurdish President that the IFJ encourages the creation of a regulatory body within the profession, as stipulated in Article 16 of the IFJ Global Charter of Ethics LINK , and welcomed the fact that this debate had taken place at an international conference in Erbil. “It is not possible, here and everywhere, that a Press Council or Supreme Media Council – including a press council, a press card commission etc – allows members of the government in its composition. These bodies must be independent, open to the public, with the participation of journalists and employers. No more, no less.”
To illustrate the different practices in the Arab world and the Middle East, but also in Belgium and France, a large delegation of foreign journalists, trade unionists and researchers shared their rich experiences this week in Erbil, in order to provide serious guidelines for the future Iraqi Kurdish body.
Barzani has said he is open to any proposal on this subject and also relies on the KJS, which will have to work on its draft proposal in the coming weeks.
In November 2019 the Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights and Advocacy said that they want the Journalism Law of 2007 to be implemented in Iraqi Kurdistan and warned against rushing to support a proposed Media High Council Law.
Iraqi Kurdistan region remains a dangerous place for journalists according to international and local watchdogs.
Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have arrested journalists, sought criminal defamation suits against critical outlets, and raided news stations in recent months, according to Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ research.
Iraq, including the Kurdistan region, ranks 156 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
In 2019 CPJ has documented detentions, harassment, assaults and attacks perpetrated by both Iraqi Kurdistan ruling parties of Kurdistan Democratic Party of the Barzani family and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK. And killings like that of Kawa Garmyani, who was murdered in retaliation for his work in 2013, and Duhok reporter Wedat Hussein remain unsolved.
Kamal Chomani, a Hamburg-based freelance journalist and non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told CPJ that independent media in Kurdistan is fading under the grip of the ruling political parties. He left Iraqi Kurdistan following death threats and an attempt to arrest him in March 2018.
Zardasht Osman, a young Kurdish journalist and a vocal activist for Kurdish democracy, was never afraid of criticising the Barzanis in his articles. He criticised Massoud Barzani, Nechirvan’s uncle, and his family for running a monopoly on business and politics in Kurdistan. He sarcastically suggested that he wished that he was married to Massoud Barzani’s daughter so that he can be corrupt and benefit from the position.
Osman was killed in 2010 after writing the poem “I am in love with Massoud Barzani’s daughter”
Soran Mama Hama, a Kurdish journalist was assassinated on July 21, 2008 in front of his house in Kirkuk.
Read more about Freedom of Expression, Human Rights and Journalism in Iraqi Kurdistan
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