Zeibari threatens to close al-Jazeera office in Baghdad
Iraq-Qatar, Politics, 7/27/2004

The Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zeibari criticized the Doha based al-Jazeera TV and described its coverage of events in Iraq as biased and deviated.

Zeibari added in an interview with al-Jazeera correspondent in Moscow, which he is currently visiting, that the Iraqi sides concerned discuss the closure of al-Jazeera office in Baghdad.

The Iraqi minister said " we will not be tolerant with this unilateral coverage of the situation in Iraq and we will not permit those who hide before the freedom of the media.. This provocation is not only in al-Jazeera, rather in the Arab TV channels, al Manar and the world.. became channels of provocation against the interest, security and safety of the people of Iraq and the Iraqi government will not be easy with these behaviors." In an official statement al-Jazeera deplored the statements made by Zeibari in which he described " a bias in dealing with incidents in Iraq," threatening to close al-Jazeera office there.

Al-Jazeera, however, "held the Interim Iraqi government responsible for the security and life of its correspondents and working for its in Iraq, and stresses that such accusations will not violate its policy in the media, renewing its commitment to professional principles and rules of the world media conduct."

Previous Stories:
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  One worker at al-Jazeera TV team in Iraq killed by the American forces   (5/22/2004)
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