The newspapers issued today, Sunday, highlighted the Journalists Syndicate’s celebration of the Iraqi National Press Day, and followed up on the budget.
Al-Zawraa newspaper, which is issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, said that the central celebration on the occasion of the Iraqi National Press Day, the 154th anniversary, started yesterday in the presence of the Prime Minister and a number of local and international officials.
The head of the Federation of Arab Journalists, the head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, Muayyad Al-Lami, confirmed: The government has worked, during six months, significantly towards reconstruction and development in a large number of Baghdad areas.
He said in a speech at the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate ceremony on the occasion of the National Day of the Iraqi Press: “We are proud that there is no journalist imprisoned over an opinion issue during the last period.”
Al-Lami thanked the Prime Minister for sponsoring this celebration, pointing out that “the Iraqi press presented hundreds of martyrs of male and female journalists, and it was the best help for the armed forces, the popular mobilization, and the Peshmerga, conveying the truth and confronting terrorism, and it was a milestone in covering the battles against the terrorist ISIS gangs.”
He added, “The Iraqi press will remain proactive in conveying the truth and the true image of Iraq to public opinion,” stressing that “the new government with its president al-Sudani, and in less than 6 months, has carried out many reconstruction, construction and renovation campaigns for Baghdad, without a budget.”
Al-Lami continued: “We are now facing a clear truth and picture that counts for all workers in the new government, headed by the Prime Minister,” pointing out that “the Journalists Syndicate has been proud for several years that Iraq has not had a journalist prisoner for an opinion and publication issue for more than 15 years.” .
He indicated that “Iraq and al-Sudani government are moving in many directions, the most important of which is the poor and those with weak sums and low salaries through the establishment of giant and large housing projects, and these projects will restore the right of the poor and citizens to own residential land that will shelter them in their great country.”
He stressed that “there are lawsuits and cases filed by some ministers and officials in previous periods against journalists, and they require the intervention of the Prime Minister and direct the ministries to withdraw these lawsuits,” noting that “a large number of journalists received free residential plots throughout Iraq except for the capital Baghdad, and we hope the approval of the Prime Minister to grant lands to journalists who are from Baghdad in other provinces.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister, Muhammad al-Sudani, called on the press, both local and foreign, to convey the positive and bright face of Iraq.
In his speech during the Journalists Syndicate’s celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi press, the Prime Minister said: “The Iraqi press is not just a news media, but rather an important archive of Iraq’s history, which is full of events and achievements.”
He added, “We remember the sacrifices of the journalists who were martyred during the time of dictatorship, and in the years of abhorrent sectarianism, and who sacrificed their lives while accompanying the security forces in the war against the terrorist gangs of ISIS, and we remember the patriotic role of many journalists who stood against foreign agendas and conspiracies that targeted the unity of the country.”
He continued, “We do not forget the role of the press in diagnosing cases of defects in files that affect people’s needs, and we rely on them to detect and combat corruption.”
He pointed out that “the government opens the doors of communication with the press, out of its belief in the constitutional right of citizens to know the work of the government with full transparency and clarity.”
He said, “We directed the Integrity Commission, more than two weeks ago, to study the draft law on the right to access information and to submit observations on it, in order to send it to the House of Representatives.”
He emphasized that “the government has taken a package of measures to support journalistic work, including the provision of logistical services, banking facilities, and others related to the recently approved Labor and Social Security Law.”
He pointed out that “the government sets its sights on fairness to journalists in service files, foremost of which is the housing file, and the press should not be an outlet for those who live on chaos, allegations and distortion of facts, or take it as a means of extortion.”
He continued, “Some media outlets operating inside and outside Iraq have been busy broadcasting negativity for political or utilitarian purposes, which has caused external alienation that has deprived Iraq of opportunities for investment and development.”
He explained that “the responsibility of the national press and those in charge of it is to organize journalistic work, because there are those who do not distinguish between freedom and chaos,” concluding by saying: “The press is called upon today to convey the positive and bright face of Iraq.”
The Prime Minister also directed a package of facilities to practice journalism on the occasion of the Iraqi Press Day.
The media office of the Prime Minister stated, in a statement: “The Prime Minister, Muhammad Al-Sudani, directed the issuance of a package of obligatory procedures and directives supporting Iraqi journalists and media institutions, on the occasion of the 154th National Day for the Iraqi press.”
The statement added, “The prime minister directed all ministries and governorates, and bodies not associated with a ministry, to overcome obstacles and provide the necessary facilities for press and media personnel that have an official license from the Media and Communications Authority, in accordance with the law.”
The Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to “provide the media institutions with Internet service at subsidized prices, as well as to review the financial transfers of the media regarding (satellite) channels and media offices, in a way that serves the media reality in Iraq, based on the Central Bank of Iraq law.
With the aim of facilitating procedures for the movement of press and media personnel that have an official license, the Prime Minister directed all checkpoints and security detachments stationed between all governorates to “implement this,” instructing to “provide the necessary facilities and deal more smoothly with the passage of cadres of journalists and employees of media offices and their special equipment at Iraqi airports, as well as facilitating the granting of entry visas to journalists working in media offices and channels and facilitating their residence procedures in Iraq, based on Foreigners Residence Law No. (76) of 2017.”
In the field of continuous support, the Prime Minister directed, according to the statement, to “facilitate the completion of social security transactions for press staff working in various media institutions,” directing to “reconsider the water and electricity fees imposed on media channels and offices, as well as generator fuel wages.” .
The representative of the President of the Republic, Adnan Ibrahim Muhammad, conveyed President Rashid’s speech during the Journalists Syndicate’s celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi press: “The anniversary of the 154th annual anniversary of the Iraqi press falls this year, and Iraq is more secure and stable, and Baghdad and the rest of the provinces are more glorious and brilliant”.
He added that “the national press in Iraq, a century and a half after its birth, has contributed over its life and its long struggle an effective contribution to enlightening public opinion and defending the people’s interests and gains, and it had its recognized role in expressing the people’s will and aspirations.”
He concluded by saying: “We aspire to play greater roles for the press and the media in expressing the aspirations of the people in building a federal democratic state, in a manner that establishes the professional and oversight role of the media.”
And about the budget, Al-Zaman newspaper said that the street is waiting for the Presidency to ratify the tripartite budget law that the House of Representatives voted on a few days ago.
The newspaper published a document bearing the signature of the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, stating that (the budget law has reached the Presidency of the Republic for approval).
The government is awaiting the ratification of the law to proceed with the strategic projects for which funds have been allocated within the budget.
Parliament approved the law after five days of discussions between the political forces. Social media circulated the final approved text of the general budget, whose revenues are estimated at 134 trillion and 552 billion dinars, while the expenditures amount to 198 trillion and 910 billion dinars, including operating expenses amounting to 133 trillion and 221 billion dinars.
The adoption of the law witnessed major disagreements regarding some articles, including 12- 13 and 14 related to the share of the Kurdistan region.
The General Secretariat of the House of Representatives had previously sent the law to the Presidency of the Republic for the purpose of ratification. Estimated revenues from exporting crude oil in the budget are calculated on the basis of an average price of $70 per barrel, and an export rate of 3,500,000 barrels, including 400,000 barrels per day for the quantities of crude oil produced in the Kurdistan region, based on an exchange rate of 1,300 dinars per dollar. While the indebtedness, represented by internal and external debt installments, amounted to 12 trillion and 750 billion dinars, and special programs amounted to 3 trillion and 587 billion dinars. Capital expenditures amounted to 49 trillion and 350 billion dinars, of which 38 trillion and 227 billion were for investment projects.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
