INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

Journalists and security police, they both work for the Kurdish people, was the message IMCK director Judit Neurink delivered to middle management of the security police (assaish) in Sulaymaniya on March 13, 2012.The role of journalists is to inform the people, like the role of police is to protect the people. About forty heads of units and departments from Sulaymaniya province were present during the lecture at the headquarters of assaish in the centre of Sulaymaniya. Neurink, who was seconded by IMCK's Saman Penjwini, talked about the roles of both police and press in a democratic society, and about the regulations put down in the press law on how journalists should be treated. Preventing them from taking pictures or making interviews is not in accordance with that law. IMCK is working with the Kurdish Syndicate of Journalists and assaish to improve the awareness about the safety of journalists. Part of this is the orange Press jacket that has been presented, and the dev...

Some 200 future officers in Assaish in Erbil on Sunday December 18, 2011 were briefed by IMCK on the role of the media in connection to their own work. IMCK senior trainer (and director) Judit Neurink talked to three groups of students at the end of their six month training to become officers about the relation between media and  police in a democracy. She used real situations to inform them on possible confrontations, and how to handle situations when press is involved. Main message of the lecture was that journalists by law have the right to collect information, and in a democracy are working to inform the people. These lectures in the future will become part of the six month course for officers in Erbil assaish.

The workshops IMCK organized for the Sulaymania security police (Asaish) were cancelled until further notice due to safety precautions in the city. After two days Mirek Wodzik was able to resume his training. Wodzik will provide one-day workshops on how the police should work with media. During the 20 workshops in total, the trainer will discuss the role press, police and politicians in a democracy. Yahya Barzinji, Kurdish journalist, working for the independent newspaper Awena, will talk about the role of the journalists. Four workshops will be done in Sulaymania city, the rest of the days the trainer will go to different places of Sulaymania province, as Halabja, Rania and Kalar. Ten workshops will take place in Erbil. This training is funded by the Open Society Institute

International trainer for IMCK, Mirek Wodzik, started on January 30, 2011 on the first of a series of one day workshops for Kurdish security police, assaish. The workshops in Sulaymaniya and Erbil will focus on how to work with media in the now changed, peaceful environment. The workshops are the result of a pilot IMCK conducted with Kurdish assaish in the Summer of 2010. The project is funded by the Open Society Institute. Wodzik started the first workshop at assaish headquarters in Sulaymaniya. Due to a tense political situation under influence of the unrest in Egypt and a demonstration called for the day after in Sulaymaniya, the workshop was closed after only a morning session as all Kurdish police was put on alert. The project will resume as soon as possible.

International trainer Kees Schaepman and IMCK trainer Ako Mohammed started a series of two day workshops for journalists, on the relationship between press, police and politicians. Part of the training will focuss on Codes of Conduct. Afternoons will be used for discussions with a politician and a member of the assaish, the Kurdish security police. Schaepman started the training in Erbil, and will move later to Duhok for more workshops on the subject. In 2011 the same workshops are planned for Sulaymaniya. Participants are from all media in Kurdistan. The workshops, which have been organised to end violence against journalists and to decrease the animonity between press and both police and politics, have been funded by the American RRT in Erbil.

Fifteen officers of the assaish (security police) in Erbil on August 7, 2010 started a new series of workshops of IMCK on working with the press. After 5 workshops of a day for assaish Sulaymaniya IMCK organised four one day workshops in Erbil. Trainer Agnes Dinkelman, who trains and advises police in the Netherlands, confronted the policemen with situations and solutions, and with the difference of working in violent and wartime situations and at peace time. Press and police both have their role to play in a democracy. Journalist Ako Mohammed of Rudaw showed the the result of harsh treatment for journalists, and thus for the way the press reports. This is the final phase of a pilot. IMCK intends to extend these workshops to cover most members of assaish in Iraqi Kurdistan.

At the training hall of the assaish in Sulayma-niya the first workshop of a series started to help the security police to work in a better way with the press. IMCK organised five workshops of a day for different staff at assaish after reports on a number of incidents between assaish and press. For Kurdistan to become a healthy democracy, both assaish and press must know their roles and limits. Trainer is Dutch police trainer Agnes Dinkelman, who worked with police in different parts of the world, most recently in Liberia. She will be assisted in the second part of the days by Kurdish journalist Yahya Barzinji, who tells them about the effect of harsh treatment for journalists. The series will be repeated for the assaish in Erbil. These first nine workshops are a pilot to a bigger project covering most of the assaish staff in Kurdistan.