Mish'an al-Juburi

Mish'an al-Juburi is an Iraqi politician and the leader of the Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc which holds 3 seats in the Iraqi Council of Representatives. Juburi is the owner of Al-Zawraa TV. He comes from the Al-Jiburi tribe which is powerful in Salahuddin Governorate.

Exile under Saddam

In 1989 Juburi was implicated in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against the then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He fled to Syria, but Hussein killed almost 100 members of Juburi's family in retaliation including his brother and brother-in-law. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s918222.htm Iraq - Mosul Democracy] , "ABC News", 2003-08-05, accessed on 2007-01-31]

He founded the Iraqi Homeland Party in Syria and published a newspaper called the "Other Direction". He is a relative of the Iraqi Ambassador to Tunisia, Hamid al-Jabouri, who defected and sought political asylum in Britain in 1993. [http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010212/2001021210.html Iraqi opposition issue a new weekly] , "Arabic News", 2001-12-01, accessed on 2007-01-31 ]

He was a member of the Follow-Up and Arrangement Committee grouping of Iraqi exiles.

Post-invasion

During the Invasion of Iraq, Juburi took control of the city of Mosul with the aid of Kurdish peshmerga, and took over a former palace owned by Ali Hassan al-Majid. He was recognised as a powerbroker during the selection of the first Mosul City Council in May 2003 [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3068309/site/newsweek/ Symbol of Hope] , "Newsweek", 2003-05-07, accessed on 2007-01-31]

His party, the Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc stood in the Iraqi legislative election of January 2005 where it won one seat. In the subsequent December elections, it increased its representation three seats. Juburi said they supported the Iraqi insurgency, although opposed suicide bombings [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/22/AR2005112201584.html In Cairo, Clarity on Iraq] , "Washington Post", 2005-11-23, accessed on 2007-01-31] , and called for the Multinational Force in Iraq to be replaced by United Nations-led peacekeepers [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0501/27/i_ins.01.html Iraq's Upcoming Election] , "CNN", 2005-01-27, accessed on 2007-01-31] .

In 2005 al-Jibouri was backed by the Sunni Arab dialogue council as their candidate for speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly, but he was vetoed by the United Iraqi Alliance due to his personal links with Uday Hussein. [ [http://www.kurd.org/newsletters/20050404174924.html#10 Iraq's Sunnis still looking for a leader] , "United Press International", 2005-04-04, accessed on 2007-01-31]

Jabouri was among the minority of Sunni Arabs who supported the constitution of Iraq in the referendum. [ [http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/election/2005/1012deal.htm Deal in Iraq Raises Hopes for Passage of Constitution] , "Washington Post", 2005-10-15, accessed on 2007-02-01] .

Jabouri was indicted in December 2005 with the theft of millions of dollars of government money intended to protect oil pipelines near Kirkuk against attack. The money had been given to him in 2004. He was suspected of diverting the money towards the Iraqi insurgency. Following the indictment he fled to Syria. [ [http://healthandenergy.com/oil_dollars_fund_terrorism.htm Oil Dollars Fund the Insurgency, Iraq and U.S. Say] , "New York Times", 2006-02-05, accessed on 2007-01-31]

In an interview following the execution of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein he described Hussein as a brave martyr, and said the ones who killed him were like those who killed the second Caliph of Islam, Umar [ [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1347 Saddam's Loyalist Mish'an Al-Jabouri and Shiite Iraqi Journalist Sadeq Al-Musawi Fight on Al-Jazeera TV over Saddam's Execution] , "MEMRI", 2007-01-02, accessed on 2007-01-31]

Al-Zawraa TV is a twenty four hour satellite channel broadcast by the Arabsat satellite to an area including the Middle East and North Africa. The station's transmissions on the Egyptian-owned Nilesat satellite network ceased in February 2007. Al Zawraa has broadcast songs eulogising Iraqi victims of "the American occupiers", has described the Iraqi insurgency as "freedom fighters" and the Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr as a "gangster" [http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/12/muj_tv.php al-Zawraa: Muj TV] , "The Fourth Rail", 2006-12-10, accessed on 2007-01-31] [ [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0117/p01s03-wome.html Why is Egypt airing insurgent TV from Iraq?] , "Christian Science Monitor", 2007-01-17, accessed on 2007-02-01]

References