BAGHDAD,
September 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Claiming incitement
against the U.S.-led occupation forces and Iraqis cooperating with them,
the U.S.-sanctioned interim Governing Council banned on Tuesday,
September 23, the Arab TV stations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya from
covering official activities for two weeks, a statement said.
It
added the action was taken as a warning to them and other broadcasters
for allegedly inciting anti-U.S. violence, but stopped short of closing
their bureaus as announced earlier by a council spokesman, reported
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Al-Jazeera
and Al-Arabiya will temporarily be excluded from any coverage of
Governing Council activities or official press conferences, and
correspondents of the two channels will not be allowed to enter
ministries or government offices for two weeks," said the
statement.
Signed
by the head of the council’s security committee Ayad Allawi, the
statement is effective Tuesday.
"The
Governing Council is very worried about the irresponsible behavior of
some media, especially Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya," it said.
It
claimed that the two stations are "considered to have violated the
rules and criteria that the media should respect to continue to work in
Iraq."
Leading
Iraqi officials have complained for several weeks about the tone of the
coverage on the Arabic networks, particularly their decisions to air
recorded messages from ousted president Saddam Hussein and threats
against the 25 Iraqis who were appointed to the governing council by
occupation authority.
Samir
Shakir Mahmoud al-Sumaidy, head of the council's media committee, told
the Guardian Monday: "The council has discussed the problem
of incitement to violence in which al-Jazeera and al-Arabia have
persisted and has resolved to take firm action."
The
ban statement fell short of a vow by Entefadh Qanbar, a spokesman for
the body's current rotating head Ahmad Chalabi, to shut down the two
channels their offices temporarily.
It
came after a meeting of council officials and an aide to U.S. civilian
administrator Paul Bremer on the legalities of action against the
broadcasters.
U.S.
officials have been critical of the two satellite channels, saying they
give too much prominence to anti-U.S. attacks and provide a forum for
members of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.
