IWPR Comes to Aid of Ex-Kurdish Fighter

An elderly former guerrilla in Iraqi Kurdistan has received financial assistance from a top official in the region's government as a result of an IWPR story that described his struggle to earn a living.

The story, Kurdish Fighter's Bittersweet "Retirement", followed Abdulla Mohammed on his daily rounds selling sweets on the streets of the regional capital, Erbil.

Mohammed said he was forced to work for money, despite being nearly 70 years old and stricken with painful illnesses. The veteran of the Kurds' armed struggle against Baghdad also said he was disqualified from the pension enjoyed by former comrades because he had already chosen a less valuable government pension.

Following the publication of the story, the office of Masrour Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Region Security Protection Agency, contacted IWPR asking for a meeting with Mohammed.

"We owe what we have today to the sacrifice made by people like him," a representative from the office told IWPR, referring to the extensive autonomy secured by the Kurds of northern Iraq after decades of resistance against Arab-dominated governments in Baghdad.

"I will spend some of the money on my family and use the rest to get medical treatment."
Abdulla Mohammed

During a meeting with Mohammed arranged by IWPR, the official, who asked not to be named, took note of his pension arrangements, health problems and his record as a guerrilla, or peshmerga, who had fought Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime.

The representative later said Masrour Barzani's office had given Mohammed enough financial help to "cover his needs for the next five years". He added that the office expected Mohammed to seek medical attention for his ailments and would consider assisting with further treatment, should it be required.

Mohammed said he was delighted with the assistance.

"I'm very thankful, I feel very happy that they remembered me at last," he said. "I will spend some of the money on my family and use the rest to get medical treatment."

Also in Iraq, IWPR has trained nearly 240 reporters, editors and media lawyers in Iraq's press laws, enabling members of the country's press corps to better protect themselves against libel and defamation lawsuits.

Media law specialists working for IWPR Iraq held training sessions on the subject in Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah from June to November 2009. The legal protection courses helped students understand Iraq's media laws - a first for many who said they had little awareness of crucial issues such as libel and journalists' rights under the law prior to the IWPR events.

"This was my first training, and it was quite different than the journalism courses I studied [at university] because we received more concrete information," said Bassam Shibil Khatter, a reporter with Sada newspaper in Wasit, central Iraq.

"I used to face legal trouble, especially when I interviewed officials and asked them critical questions. Now, I'm aware of my rights and I'm more confident about what I should say and do while conducting interviews.

"The course made us aware of our rights and limitations as journalists," agreed Sherooq al-Jibouri, a producer and presenter with Salahadeen News Channel. "It also gave us the opportunity to network and discuss issues with other journalists."

IWPR Iraq's courses in Baghdad focused on training students in Iraqi media laws, which have been carried over from the Baathist regime. Many of the more repression sanctions are no longer applied, but journalists continue to face a plethora of libel and defamation lawsuits.

Journalists tried under Iraqi libel and defamation laws can face jail time if convicted.

"Most of the journalists were completely ignorant of media laws," prior to the training sessions, said Ali Marzook, project manager for IWPR Iraq's Journalism Safety, Security, Law and Protection division, which is based in Baghdad. "They've learned how to avoid libel and defamation, how to work within the boundaries of the law and how to protect themselves."

Journalists "are really hungry for these courses", Marzook added.