Head of US-funded Iraqi TV resigns, condemns Washington's grip on money

Jalal al-Mashta was appointed as general director of Al-Iraqiya television in May.

Earlier in the year, the now-defunct US-led administration in Iraq had handed out contracts for running the station to the US company Harris Corp., Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International and the Kuwaiti firm, Al-Fawaris.

"The Iraqi side still has no idea on how money is being spent. When we ask, the only answer we get is that Harris is dealing only with the US Defense Department while it is all Iraqi money," he said at a press conference.

He charged that the network's budget was being wasted on costly foreign programs and that the sub-contracting process had left no room for local know-how.

Al-Mashta cited the LBCI's "Al-Mumayazun" Game Show which is costing Al-Iraqiya 28,000 dollars per show, while he estimated that a similar program could be shot in Iraq for around 3,000 dollars.

"The fact is that the government is not paying a penny to the network, despite the fact that I talked to officials about that more than once. I didn't receive my salary for five consecutive months," he also complained.

"This means more Iraqi money will be spent in vain instead of being spent on building the country. It also means that Iraqi skills are being treated with contempt," he added to explain his resignation.

The state media apparatus established by the US-led administration after the 2003 invasion includes three branches: Al-Iraqiyah TV, Republic of Iraq radio and Al-Sabah newspaper.

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=34048