Another TV channel shut down for 'inciting sectarianism'

Baghdad: The Iraqi government ordered the closure of a popular independent television channel yesterday for inciting sectarianism, two days after the hanging of Saddam Hussain sparked anger among his fellow Sunni Arabs.

Sharkiya is owned by a London-based Iraqi businessman and says it takes an independent editorial line, though many viewers see it as leaning toward a minority Sunni Arab viewpoint.

The channel was still showing programming yesterday, as it broadcasts from Dubai, and it was not immediately clear what impact the government's order would have.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf said the government had ordered the channel to close indefinitely.

"We have warned them many times not to broadcast any false news that would increase tension in Iraq," Khalaf told Reuters, declining to specify which particular reports were false.

The order comes two days after Saddam's execution. The execution, which was rushed through by Iraq's Shiite-led government at the start of a religious holiday, and video of the hanging that showed Shiite officials taunting Saddam before his death, have raised fears of a backlash.

Asked if the move was prompted by Sharkiya's coverage of the execution, Khalaf said: "In the last three days if you watch their channel you can see they are leading people to violence and increasing the sectarian tension."

An employee of Sharkiya in Baghdad who declined to be identified said the channel had very few staff left in Baghdad and nearly all programming was done from Dubai.

The Interior Ministry had earlier ordered two television stations off the air in November when Saddam was convicted on the grounds they were inciting violence.

One of those channels was controlled by a prominent Sunni Arab politician and the other is based in Saddam's Sunni home region. The government already bans Al Jazeera and forced its main rival, Al Arabiya, to shut its Baghdad bureau for a month in September. Al Jazeera's new English-language service has started reporting from Baghdad recently.

Sharkiya is owned by businessman Sa'ad Al Bazaz, who also owns a widely read daily newspaper, Azzaman.

As with other media, several journalists and employees of Sharkiya have been killed, including one of Iraq's best known satirists, Waleed Hassan.