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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Iraakse journalisten worden betaald door Allawi's partij



Spoetnik
12-01-05, 17:17
Allawi group slips cash to journalists
By Steve Negus in Baghdad
Published: January 11 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 11 2005 02:00

The electoral group headed by Iyad Allawi, interim Iraqi prime minister, yesterday handed cash to journalists to try to ensure coverage of its press conferences, in a throwback to Ba'athist-era patronage ahead of parliamentary elections on January 30.

After a meeting held by Mr Allawi's campaign alliance in west Baghdad, reporters, most from the Arabic-language press, were invited upstairs where each was offered a "gift" of a $100 bill in an envelope.

Many of the journalists accepted the cash, equal to about half the starting monthly salary for a reporter at an Iraqi news-paper, and one jokingly recalled how the former regime of Saddam Hussein had also lavished perks on favoured reporters.

The press conference came as Mr Allawi and his allies kicked the electoral campaign of their Iraqi List into high gear. Mr Allawi was not present at the conference but Hussein al-Sadr, a well-known Shia cleric running on the prime minister's list, used it to challenge Islamist opponents in the United Iraqi Alliance.

In past weeks there have been signs that Mr Allawi's campaign is staging an unexpectedly strong challenge. According to the preliminary results of one survey in Shia majority areas, Mr Allawi's list was favoured by 22 per cent of respondents, compared with 27 per cent for the Alliance.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/da6ad5c6-6376-11d9-bec2-00000e2511c8.html

Geniaal :p

Ik ben benieuwd welke Nederlandse journalisten in financiele dienst werken van politieke partijen.

Het is alvast bekend dat de Republikeinse partij minstens een journalist heeft betaald om gunstig over Bush te berichten.