Sunday, August 08, 2004
Extended quote from the SF Chronicle story on Allawi shutting down Al Jazeera in Iraq:
Senior Iraqi police officials arrived at the station's central Baghdad office Saturday evening and, in an extraordinary scene broadcast live on the network, sat at a table drinking soft drinks with senior staff as they calmly explained the order.
Al-Mullah said the closure decision was unclear and objected to its phrasing. The police said they had to execute the order anyway, asking al-Mullah to take his complaints to the Interior Ministry.
The police refused to leave the office before locking the newsroom and ordering employees to go home. Crossing his wrists as if handcuffed, a police officer warned al-Mullah against violating the decision.
``It is a regrettable decision, but Al-Jazeera will endeavor to cover the situation in Iraq as best as we can within the constraints,'' Jihad Ballout, the network's spokesman, said.
Senior Iraqi police officials arrived at the station's central Baghdad office Saturday evening and, in an extraordinary scene broadcast live on the network, sat at a table drinking soft drinks with senior staff as they calmly explained the order.
Al-Mullah said the closure decision was unclear and objected to its phrasing. The police said they had to execute the order anyway, asking al-Mullah to take his complaints to the Interior Ministry.
The police refused to leave the office before locking the newsroom and ordering employees to go home. Crossing his wrists as if handcuffed, a police officer warned al-Mullah against violating the decision.
``It is a regrettable decision, but Al-Jazeera will endeavor to cover the situation in Iraq as best as we can within the constraints,'' Jihad Ballout, the network's spokesman, said.
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