The director general of Al-Iraqiya, Iraq's US-funded state television network, stepped down Thursday, saying he had been shut out of financial decisions and left without pay for five months.
Jalal al-Mashta, appointed to lead the channel in May 2004, told reporters that American contractor Harris Corp. was handling funds through the US Defense Department with no transparency toward Iraqi officials. Two other firms, Lebanon's Broadcasting Corporation International and Kuwait's Al-Fawaris, also held contracts to run the station.
Al-Mashta argued that network money was being squandered on overpriced imported content. He noted that a single episode of LBCI's game show 'Al-Mumayazun' cost Al-Iraqiya 28,000 dollars, while a comparable locally produced program would run around 3,000 dollars.
He said the Iraqi government had contributed nothing to the network's operating budget despite repeated requests, and that local broadcasting professionals were being sidelined. "Iraqi skills are being treated with contempt," he said in explaining his decision to resign.
Al-Iraqiya is one of three state media outlets created by the US-led administration following the 2003 invasion, alongside Republic of Iraq Radio and the newspaper Al-Sabah.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.