Major developments for the media in Iraq occurred in the aftermath of the fall of the Ba’athist regime in April 2003, as a result of conflict from the western allied forces. The historical events which followed, in Iraq, led to the cancellation of all restrictions and
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institutions affecting the media in Iraq, especially in terms of the Ministry of Media. Furthermore, the international economic embargo, which was imposed over Iraq from 1990, as a result of its occupation of Kuwait, was finally lifted. Hence, the Iraqi markets were opened and fundamental advanced instruments and technologies were imported for the operating of satellite television and radio stations as well as print mediums. As such, modern printing presses, broadcasting sets and other necessities were imported into the Kurdistan region. As a consequence, a rapid increase in media activities occurred; many daily and weekly newspapers and magazines appeared, many radio and television stations were established and foreign media channel reporters and representatives were allowed to enter into Iraq, which became a hot international spot for events (To be discussed in more detail in chapter 4). Hlidkova argues that the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime brought a significant prosperity to the Iraqi media:
In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, Iraq underwent a media boom. Hundreds of new publications, television and radio stations sprang up across the country, and Iraqis gained access to satellite dishes and the Internet (Hlidkova, 2011).
Meanwhile various editorial trends and media policies for the publication and broadcasting channels emerged (El-Salḧ 2009) (this will be discussed further in chapter 4). More importantly, many Internet companies such as Al-Madar, Earth Link, Rawafid Dijla, Al-Salami, Zain, HalaSat and Al-Zil established or flowed into Iraq, which resulted in an evolution in the media field (Ikhnews, 2011). It should be noted that prior to 2003, all television and radio stations, as well as the periodicals produced, belonged to the Ba’athist regime. In terms of the Internet, the situation was even worse. As the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (2006) reported, Internet services in Iraq were restricted and only one government Internet company existed, called
Uruklink (Iraq State Company for Internet Services), to provide a service to some
ministries and some public Internet cafes. All of which were subject to censorship by the government and Internet use was prohibited in private homes. Nonetheless, the new situation allowed for the introduction of overt political activities and the emergence of many new political parties, which helped to also create a better atmosphere for the political parties, to contribute to, as the media situation significantly evolved in Iraq.
For the Kurds, who had enjoyed freedom since 1991 in the Kurdistan region, the situation was different, to some extent, when compared to the other parts of Iraq; in
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particular, for some areas the Kurds already had media diversity. This new era for the Kurdish media was characterised by the emergence of new media trends. On the one hand, the independent media flourished and many new independent outlets appeared, such as the Awêne newspaper and livîn and so on. However, on the other hand, when the opposition parties became active in the Kurdistan region, they launched their own media channels, which included KNN TV, Peyam TV, the Rojname newspaper, Dengî Gorran Radio, and many others. One of the most prominent policies of these channels of the time was that they criticised the local government and the ruling parties for their defects whilst also un-veiling corruption.
More importantly, the internet became an essential tool for the media especially for non-partisan organizations and activists. As Sheyholislami states:
Although the major Kurdish political organizations have a strong presence on the Internet, the vast majority of websites belong to smaller Kurdish organizations (i.e. those that do not own satellite television channels or other major media outlets), different groups of individuals and Kurdish intelligentsia (e.g. women activists, human rights groups) and ordinary individuals (Sheyholislami, 2010, p. 301).
With the global evolution of communication technology, the Kurdish press interacted with it and was influenced by the information evolution, which was brought mainly by the internet. This led to the emergence of a new Kurdish form of journalism where numerous online websites were founded, some of them were online versions of the newspapers and others were online news sites, and this online journalism became an important form of media in the region. This online journalism, which exceeded many restrictions and censorship that existed in the printed press and is still present in the partisan press, is believed to have had significant impact on freedom of speech and media work (this will be discussed in detail in chapter 8). Overall, following the fall of the Ba’athist regime, the media situation was improved in the Kurdistan region; however, concerns of freedom of expression and access to information for journalists were still deemed to be a major problem impeding media developments in the autonomous region. More importantly, journalists faced the fear of being insulted or detained by the security forces, as Hlidkova (2011, p1) states:
Increasingly, journalists and media advocates find themselves threatened, arrested and physically assaulted by security forces linked to government institutions and political parties.
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Several assassination cases against journalists have occurred since 2007. For example, in July 2008, gunmen in Kirkuk city assassinated Soran Mame Ḧeme, a 23 year-old journalist from independent Lvîn magazine, after he had published many reports unveiling corruption and criticising local authorities of the city (HRW, 2011; UNPO, 2008b). Two years later, in an indistinct condition, the Kurdish freelance journalist Serdeşt Osman, also 23 years of age, was kidnapped in front of the college where he was studying and was later found dead (Mawlood, 2011). It is believed that his assassination was in response to articles that he had written which criticised Kurdish authority; however, the formal investigations conducted by the government denied this allegation. Furthermore, there have been several attempts to silence publications and to stop journalists through detaining and threatening them. According to the Human Rights Watch report (HRW, 2011), in many cities in the region, journalists are regularly detained or insulted physically by the government or the ruling parties’ private forces (this notion will be discussed in more detail in chapter 5).
This situation, despite the development and expansion of the media in the Kurdistan region, has made the regulation of this field necessary. Thus, in 2007 attempts were made to draft a special law for the press of the region. Media organisations, independent outlets, journalists and specialists all actively contributed to the drafting of a law that would guide appropriate standards for the freedom of the media freedom in order to guarantee the rights of the journalists. As a result, and after months of debates and controversies, in September 2008, the Kurdish parliament approved the law, which took effect once a presidential decree was issued (KRP, 2013) (again, this will be discussed in more detail in chapter 5).