It has been years since Saddam Hussein has been mentioned on television but an Iraqi television station has been airing ads showing an image of Hussein with the slogan "raise your sword."
An unknown television channel, which praised former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, was dropped off the airwaves on Monday after it began broadcasting across Iraq for three days, according to
Press TV. However, the Chairman of Al-Lafeta TV has said it will return to the airwaves this weekend so it can make technological upgrades.
The
Associated Press reports Muhammad Jarboua, Chairman of the television channel, has denied that the Ba’athists have provided funding to the channel. He has also denied that it’s a political tool for the Ba’ath political party but he makes it quite secretive of where the station is located and where their major source of funding originates.
State of Law Coalition, led by current incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, issued a statement on the website, “This Ba'athist channel said goodbye [within] days of its starting. We salute our national government if it participated to close this channel.”
However, as the
Guardian notes, Jarboua, an Algerian businessman, has said that they’re just making upgrades and nothing has shutdown, “We're opting for a more advanced technology and we asked for the broadcast to be cut in the meantime for four days.”
The television station was originally going to be named “Saddam Hussein” but was changed due to political pressure.
Iraq’s former Vice-President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri praised the move and feels it’s a response against Ba’ath leaders. The Iraqi government has not made any public comments regarding the station.
