Reports

While most of the Wikileaks debate is focused on the protection of journalists and freedom of expression, a similar debate is underway here – but in a rather different environment.An environment, where an important prerequisite of freedom of press and protection of journalists is missing – the right to information or freedom of information.In...
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SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’, — The recent election in Iraqi Kurdistan ushered in a new era for the region’s media, posing fresh challenges for news organisations, the government and the parliament.In the past, the ruling parties were the driving force in the political process. But a formidable opposition emerged on election day, and the...
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In the absence of a permanent United States presence in Kurdistan–something that would be welcomed by almost every Kurd–the Iraq that the Kurds and most Iraqis want when US troops withdraw is one that is at peace with itself and the world. They want a federal democracy with a good democratic government that upholds...
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The Iraqi PM’s recent move to restore order in Basra may have been successful, but extending that success to Mosul will prove difficult.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s recent crackdown on militias in Basra has opened a fresh chapter in Iraqi politics, given the army new impetus, and restored a degree of public confidence in the...
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The twenty fifth Turkish military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan to root out the PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party) and the way it ended proved that that there can be no military solution to this issue. It has been tried 25 times, with and without the help of the Iraqi Kurds and the United States, and...
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The 60-wheel trailer was carrying a giant power generator on the highway to Musayyib, 30-odd miles south of Baghdad, last week. Guarded by six cars carrying police and the Iraqi National Guard, the convoy was passing along the notorious Baghdad road near Lutifiyah, a hotbed of insurgent activity where many kidnappings and attacks on...
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