(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ Calls on Iraq to “Open Doors” and Not to Expel 69 Journalists The International Federation of Journalists today strongly condemned the decision of Iraqi authorities to expel 69 foreign journalists from the country. “The situation in Iraq requires scrutiny and people are hungry for information,” […]
(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release:
IFJ Calls on Iraq to “Open Doors” and Not to Expel 69 Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists today strongly condemned the decision of Iraqi authorities to expel 69 foreign journalists from the country. “The situation in Iraq requires scrutiny and people are hungry for information,” said Aidan White, General Secretary of the IFJ. “Attempts to limit the rights of journalists to report from Iraq will not create a better understanding of the current crisis.”
One journalist, Knut Magnus Berge, a reporter for the Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK, reports that he returned to Baghdad on Monday afternoon after a trip to the southern part of the country to find a list on the wall of the foreign ministry, declaring him and 68 colleagues no longer wanted in the country. They were first allowed 72 hours to leave the country, and were later told they only had 48 hours.
The journalists were given no explanation as to why they are expelled, and their visas expire at different times.
According to the IFJ’s information from Iraq, the authorities limit the number of foreign journalists present in the country, as they are not allowed to work and travel on their own. Before new visitors are allowed into the country, other journalists are sent home, regardless of their visa arrangements.
“This is an arbitrary and unsatisfactory arrangement that fails to understand the need for world-wide access to information about the conditions and circumstances of the people of Iraq,” said Aidan White.
White said journalists should be allowed to travel and work in Iraq freely without supervision and that the decision to expel the foreign journalists should be revoked. “This is a time for opening doors, not closing down the capacity of media to report freely.”
The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries.
