Freedom at it's best: Iraqi outcry as US bans newspaper
 

" Operation Iraqi Freedom " ... lol

That's because the occupation is a farce.

You're an idiot. Do us a favor and go to your local movie theater on Friday when it's packed. Wait until everybody shuffles into the theater and the lights turn off then yell at the top of your lungs FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!. Let's see how long your freedom lasts.

Just another example of how fucked up America is.

dude, don't dismiss people as idiots that quickly....

It's not called an occupation for nothing.

Heck that's really the least of there problems right now. Did you see those anti-occupation protestors who where being shot at? Now that's bad.

????

visit this, you need it: http://www.iqtest.com/test.html?PHPS...f2d7538091 ad

In this special war time situation you have a newspaper directly ADVOCATING violence against US Soldiers. Its published by people who are opposed to democratic reforms and who are using it not as a true newspaper but as a propoganda tool to incite violence.

In my book it is that bogus newspaper that is a farce and needed to be shut down.

Remember this is a war and during a war all the rules change.

Can't even comprehend a little analogy? What makes you think you can comprehend a whole article? Let me help you -> you yelling fire utilizing your free speech -> people packed in the theater panic and rush for the limited number of doorways -> people end up being crushed and die. Who's at fault? Freedom of Speech would land you in jail in this instance, wouldn't it? That newspaper is inciting violence against coalition troops, period. What does Freedom have to do with anything if they're using it to create chaos?

Ooops, thought it was a " liberation " ...

My mistake :1orglaugh

Nice signature ... lol....

PS : let's padlock the theaters.

Freedom? If the publication encourages more war instead of peace against the US, I guess its just right for the coalition forces to protects its soldiers from such violent threats. everything is just fucked up.

you know, the jews had newspapers that promoted anti-nazi sentiments, can't you see the correlation between this and back then? the people should have the RIGHT to print this, regardless of who is in control.

Iraq is currently being ruled by the US armed forces. This is a warzone, not a democracy.

Here in the US we have "freedom of the press". However, if I start printing a weekly newspaper that says our local police cheif is a mass murderer with no supporting facts I'm pretty sure I'd be shut down as well.

so much wasted energy on the wrong issues.

To compare what is going on in Iraq to what the Nazis did to the jews and other people they considered undesirables does a disservice to the victims of the nazis and their surviving family members.

You just cheapened their lives.

i agree the paper is being miss used and was shut down with just cause. as for justifying the occupation..... thats another thread all together:winkwink: :helpme

What is your point?
That Iraq is now America and they should allow every fanatical newspaper to be published to the so very educated crowd that can distinguish right from wrong 4 months after looting every corner of Iraq in a moment of anarchy? :)
Aren't you a bit naive?

Yeah. What did the newspaper expect? The US would sit by and let their paper print out garbage encouraging people to attack the troops? I remember reading that the newspaper was outraged they got shut down. Dumbasses.

shh... this kind of logical thought is not allowed on GFY...

pretty soon you'll be labled a right wing bible thumping neo-nazi rush limbaugh wanna-be.

All over the US news papers printed anti-france stories. So many americans swollowed it up.

And you wonder why the whole world wishes you'd vaporize. :321GFY

Funny, he's probably already labelled people that dont agree with him as pussy liberal lefties that have nothing to go on but progoganda.

Americans (not all of them) are like the germans during ww2. They can be whipped into a frenzy over something at the drop of a hat. France is wrong? Fuck that, they dont need any evidence, FUCK FRANCE!

They began the occupation by arresting streetcorner prophets like the kind you find on many American streetcorners.

This will get far worse before it gets better.

You sir have SERIOUS ISSUES :321GFY

There IS a big problem in Iraq. The US is appointing the religious fundamentalists into power. The civilized people in the cities have a major problem. They have marriage between people of different sects of islam, etc. The people in power now oppose all of that.

Giving power to religious fundamentalists makes no sense. They're better off under Saddams secular regime.

Paper closed for inciting violence

March 29, 2004 - 10:05AM

"Hundreds of followers of a firebrand Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric burned an American flag in an angry protest in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday after the US-led coalition shut down his newspaper for 60 days for inciting violence.

A spokesman for the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority confirmed that the shutdown order, signed by US overseer Paul Bremer, was delivered to the offices of Moqtada Sadr's weekly Al-Hawza Al-Natiqar.

"The newspaper has been closed for 60 days because it has violated order 14, which prohibits newspapers from creating instability through inciting violence against the coalition forces," a spokesman told AFP.

"If anyone prints anything during the closure period he will be liable to go to jail for up to one year and will be fined up to $US1,000 ($A1,360)," the spokesman added.

Responding to a call from Sadr's office, his supporters converged in cars, pick-up trucks, buses and on foot for an open-ended sit-in in al-Hurriyah square in southern Baghdad, where the newspaper is located.

Three hours later, the crowd had swollen to several hundreds and as many as 1,500 clerics, men and boys stood shoulder-to-shoulder outside the building to vent their fury against the US-led occupation.

Sadr spokesman Sheikh Mahmud Sudani said the protest would be "peaceful", in line with the instructions of the radical Shi'ite leader.

"We will not break the lock because we want to prove to the world that we are peace-loving people. We are opposed to violence," he said as he stood outside the padlocked one-story building. "We are determined to pursue our protest until they reopen our newspaper."

He acknowledged that Al-Hawza (Shi'ite authority in Arabic) Al-Natiqa was opposed to the occupation, but denied it was inciting violence against US forces.

Sudani suggested that Bremer was angered by the weekly's harsh condemnation of Israel's assassination last Monday of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

On March 25, the paper carried on its front page, pictures of Yassin, as well as of Moqtada's father and great uncle, Mohammad Sadek al-Sadr and Mohammad Baqr al-Sadr, who were killed by Saddam Hussein in 1999 and 1980 respectively.

But Bremer's order imposing the closure referred to two "inaccurate" reports published by the weekly in its February 26 edition, including one that compared the US overseer to Saddam and his oppressive regime.

"They tried to close down our paper but we still have our weapons: our noble pens," the weekly's deputy chief editor, Ali al-Yasser, said as the protesters chanted anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans."

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