Iraq Imposes Tight Law On Press

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31881, 8 January 1969, Page 11

Iraq Imposes Tight Law On Press

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) BAGDAD, January 7. Iraq has cancelled the permits of all foreign press and news agency journalists in the country and announced that they must apply for new permits from today.

A press law published inp the official gazette also can- 1 celled the licences of all peri-,] odicals except Government 1 , newspapers. The law warned news ag- ' ency and newspaper correspondents that their permits would be withdrawn if they published news about Iraqi which was exaggerated, unfounded. or misleading. The new law, which re-1 places one issued in 1964, ati-; pulates local correspondents of non-lraqi papers and news agencies should be university graduates or hold press effici-

ency certificates issued by the Iraqi Journalists’ Association

land endorsed by the Government. The law prohibits the publication of anything derogatory to the President of the Republic, members of the Revolution Command Council", or the Prime Minister, or anything harmful to Iraq’s relations with Arab and friendly I countries. It also bans the publication of material “harmful to the revolution or which helps the propagation of imperialist, , separationist, reactionary, rei gional, Zionist, or racial ideo- ■ logy or which undermines • State security.”

The law provides for banning publications from Iraq.