[Peace-discuss] freedom of the press?

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

"Dozens of U.S. soldiers arrived at the Al-Hawza newspaper offices Sunday 
morning and closed its doors with chains and locks, sheik Abdel-Hadi Darraja said 
in front of the one-story house."

and so much for freedom of the press- U.S. soldiers now enforce censorship- 
ain't lif grand....  





U.S. - Led Coalition Shuts Down Iraq Paper
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Filed at 2:16 p.m. ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S.-led coalition on Sunday shut down a weekly 
newspaper run by followers of a hardline Shiite Muslim cleric, saying its 
articles were increasing the threat of violence against occupation forces.

Hours after the closure of Al-Hawza, more than 1,000 supporters of cleric 
Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated peacefully in front of the newspaper's offices, 
decrying what they called a crackdown on freedom of expression.

Dozens of U.S. soldiers arrived at the Al-Hawza newspaper offices Sunday 
morning and closed its doors with chains and locks, sheik Abdel-Hadi Darraja said 
in front of the one-story house.

Darraja is a representative of al-Sadr, who lives in the southern holy city 
of Najaf and has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led occupation, but has 
not called for armed attacks.

A coalition letter in Arabic, signed by top U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer 
and handed to employees at the newspaper, said the paper's articles ``form a 
serious threat of violence against coalition forces and Iraqi citizens who 
cooperate with coalition authorities in rebuilding Iraq.''

The paper will close for 60 days, the statement said.

A coalition spokesman confirmed the 60-day closure, saying several articles 
``were designed to incite violence against coalition forces and incite 
instability'' in Iraq.

The spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said any violation of the 
closure could lead to the imprisonment of newspaper employees for up to one 
year and a fine of up to $1,000.

On Feb. 26, an article in Al-Hawza claimed that a suicide bombing two weeks 
earlier that targeted the mostly Shiite town of Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad, 
was a rocket ``fired by an (American) Apache helicopter and not a car bomb.'' 
The attack killed 53 people.

In the same edition an article was titled ``Bremer follows the steps of 
Saddam,'' and criticized coalition work in Iraq.

``This is what happens when an Iraqi journalist expresses his opinion,'' said 
the white-turbaned Darraja.

``What is happening now is what used to happen during the days of Saddam. No 
freedom of opinion. It is like the days of the Baath,'' said Hussam 
Abdel-Kadhim, 25, a vendor who took part in the demonstration, referring to the Baath 
Party that ruled Iraq for 35 years until Saddam Hussein was ousted a year ago.

In July, the coalition announced the closure of a Baghdad newspaper and the 
arrest of its office manager. The statement said Al-Mustaqila, which means 
``The Independent'' in Arabic, published an article on July 13 calling for ``death 
to all spies and those who cooperate with the U.S.'' It said killing them was 
a religious duty.