Iraq suspended licenses of 10 satellite channel for promoting sectarianism
Baghdad: After five days of violence, which killed more than 215 people in Iraq, the country’s media regulator has suspended licences of 10 satellite TV channels for promoting “sectarianism”..
“We took a decision to suspend the licence of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” Mujahid Abu al-Hail, a top official in the Communications and Media Commission said.
“It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around,” Hail said.
The suspensions include Al-Jazeera, the main broadcaster in the Arab world, and Sharqiya, a leading channel in Iraq.
Maliki called in a statement for anti-government protesters to “expel the criminals who targeted Iraqi army and police forces,” after five soldiers were killed near a protest site close to Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
And Iraqiya state television quoted Sahwa chief Sheikh Wissam al-Hardan as saying that if those who have killed soldiers are not handed over, “the Sahwa will take the requested procedures and do what it did in 2006.”
Sahwa militiamen fought pitched battles against Sunni militants from 2006, helping to turn the tide of the Iraq war.
Hardan set a 24-hour deadline for the demand to be met, but on Sunday those who killed the five soldiers had still not been turned in.
