 Al-Jazeera broadcast images of Iraqi police issuing the closure order |
The Iraqi interim government has ordered the closure of the Baghdad office of Arabic television station al-Jazeera for the next four weeks. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi accused the satellite station of inciting hatred and racial tension.
The station's editor-in-chief told the BBC the government had been trying to coerce al-Jazeera into positions contradictory to its editorial policy.
On Saturday evening, Iraqi police entered the station's Baghdad offices.
They were seen arguing with al-Jazeera employees inside the building before ordering them all to leave.
"It is a regrettable decision, but al-Jazeera will endeavour to cover the situation in Iraq as best as we can within the constraints," the network's spokesman said.
'Inciting hatred'
Iraq's Interior Minister, Falah Hassan al-Naqib, said the 30-day closure would allow al-Jazeera to readjust the station's policy, which he said was encouraging criminals and gangsters in Iraq.
"We want to protect our people," he told a press conference in Baghdad.
Earlier in the week Mr al-Naqib said Arabic satellite channels were encouraging kidnappings by showing images of hostages threatened with executions.
Mr Allawi said that the order came from the national security committee and was based on the findings of an independent commission.
It was set up to monitor al-Jazeera's daily coverage "to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting hatred and problems and racial tension," he said.
Correspondents say the move could reinforce the perception in the Arab world that decisions by Iraq's interim government are influenced by the US, who have complained about the station's coverage.
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We want to protect our people 
