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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2004)
Troops shut down Iraqi newspaper U.S. authorities claim an extremist Shiite cleric’s newspaper promoted violence and misinformation By Ken Dilanian Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S.-led occupation authority dispatched sol diers to shut down the newspaper of an extremist Shiite cleric Sunday, charging that the paper repeatedly published misinformation designed to incite violence against U S. Uoops. The closure prompted as many as 3,000 of followers of the cleric, Moq tadr Sadr, to assemble for an angry demonsuation that blocked Uafhc on a main Baghdad thoroughfare. The protesters chanted "Long live Sadr" and "America is just infidels," and some burned an American flag. Iraqi police were nowhere to be seen, and U.S. troops looked on from a distance. The newspaper closure and the protest illustrated the coalition's dilemma as it tries to promote dem ocratic values in Iraq while also combating what it sees as dangerous extremism. Alaa-eldin Elsadr, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said he accom panied about 50 U.S. Uoops to the of fices of the Sadr organization's weekly al Hauza newspaper. The soldiers or dered employees out of the building and sealed it. The paper will be closed for at least 60 days, Elsadr said. Elsadr gave newspaper officials a letter from LI.S. Ambassador L. Paul Bremer that said the paper pub lished misinformation, including ar ticles blaming terrorist attacks on coalition forces. "These false articles not only mis lead readers but constitute a real threat of violence against coalition forces and Iraqi citizens who cooper ate with the coalition in the recon struction of Iraq," the letter said. I Sheik Mahmood al Sawdani, a Sadr spokesman, denied that the newspa per had incited violence and said it was shut down because it "rejects the occupation." "This is a contradiction to the new constitution," said Juma Khanjar, 44, a taxi driver who came for the protest. "The Americans said there is freedom of the press. Where is the freedom of the press?" Iraq's interim constitution, which takes effect July 1, provides for free dom of the press and freedom of speech. It does not discuss when speech becomes incitement to vio lence. The coalition is setting up a news media commission that will come up with rules about such issues. In the United States, courts have al lowed state laws against incitement to violence. But the language has to be far more explicit than anything the Sadr newspaper said, according to coalition officials' translations of the offending passages. On Feb. 26, an article claimed that a suicide bombing that targeted a Shi ite town south of Baghdad, killing 53, was a rocket "fired by an (American) Apache helicopter and not a car bomb," Elsadr said. Another article was headlined "Bremer follows the steps of Sad dam, " and criticized coalition work in Iraq. Elsadr acknowledged that such a shutdown would not happen in the United States, but added, "Iraq is not America. Iraq is going through a very sensitive time right now, and, while there is freedom of the press, that free dom must be used responsibly." Most of the protesters arrived after hearing about the closure on mosque loudspeakers in Sadr City, a poor Shi ite enclave of Baghdad named after Sadr's father, who was killed by Sad dam Hussein. (c) 2004, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Dilanian reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nation & World News MJiddlefielD 942-8730 484-1927 STUDENT SPECIAL . GOLF 9 HOLES $10 § Students Onfy. Must show ID. (Monday - Friday) Today's crossword solution 016893 Our Mistake, YOUR Pi ICE BREAK! ” WE ARE $69 TWIN SET 3P'*r**T $109 ^ QUEEN SET AMERICAN MATTRESS will not be undersold KING KOIL FIRM SUPPORT TWIN SET $19900 FULL SET s26900 QUEEN SET s29900 10-Year Warranty KING KOIL SUPER PLUSH TWIN SET $25900 FULL SET $29900 QUEEN SET s35900 KING SET $459°° 10-Year Warranty AMERICAN MATTRESS MANUFACTURING KING KOIL PILLOW TOP TWIN SET s29900 FULL SET $35900 QUEEN SET $39900 KING SET $59900 10-Year Warranty 4075 w. 1 nh • 343-2690 Monday - Saturday 9-6 • Sunday 11 - 5 JF% Campus » m Precision i^uts & TANNING Don't want to lose that spring break feeling? Come check out our high performance tanning beds. Tanning Specials Sale all day Monday & Tuesday, March 29th & 30th 6091.13th Ave. * 484-3143 • hours: Mon-Fri 9-8, Saturday 9-7, Sunday 11-5 mm PRULMHl 11 minute ;o Uuok'>lurt . .
