FOR more than a quarter of a century they have been the mouthpieces of their leader, but now they are discovering voices of their own.

Every day in Iraq a few more newspapers start publishing, taking advantage of the first freedom of speech that most Iraqis have ever known.

Despite having no telephone system, irregular electricity and limited transport, the flourishing Iraqi free press now totals about 50 titles, supplying an extraordinarily large range of information and opinion to a people desperate for news.

Newsstands are springing up, attracting crowds of curious readers. Journalists, political parties, lawyers, sportsmen, rich businessmen and even shopkeepers have all set up newspapers, helped by staff who work, at least to start with, without pay.

Until the regime fell, all the media were state-controlled, with many newspapers owned by Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday. Journalists who wrote the wrong things were jailed, tortured or executed. The lucky ones were sacked. Not one of the old newspapers is still produced.

Newspapers are expensive for Iraqis, at between 20p and 30p, but Ibrahim Jawad Hussein, selling the papers in front of the pedestal of a toppled statue of Saddam, said that business was brisk.

The new papers specialise in hard news, culture, sport, satire or promoting the views of competing political leaders. Some are sympathetic to the Americans, others demand that they leave.

Most titles are new, although some are from political groups based in London and the Kurdish north of Iraq and moved into Baghdad when the regime fell. Some are papers that were closed down by past Iraqi governments and which have sprung back to life.

Some titles, translated from the Arabic, will be familiar to British readers: The Independent (which carries a rather alluring picture of Anna Kournikova), The Sun and, almost certainly the best, The Times. Others are called Freedom, Democracy, Brotherhood and Future Call.

Al-Naba, a new Kurdish weekly, carries a story about how people who had called their sons Saddam are now trying to change their names. Not one of them carries a flattering picture of Saddam Hussein, compulsory for all newspapers just six weeks ago.

The first edition of The News came out on Sunday. Fuaad Ghazy, its editor, said: “People are hungry for news, especially in these days. We printed 5,000 copies and they all went in one day.”

Mr Ghazy used to work for one of Uday Hussein’s newspapers, where all journalists were given a list of stories that they were not to publish. “Now, for the first time, we can say what we want,” he smiled. “We keep writing about the ex-regime.”

In its first edition, out today, the Witness has a striking face on its cover, half-President Saddam and half-President Bush, illustrating a story about a deal between the Americans and Saddam, whereby Saddam let the US troops into Baghdad without a fight and the US let Saddam escape.

Ali Hussein Jassim, the editor-in-chief, was editor of two of Uday’s cultural newspapers, but was dismissed for not being supportive enough. “It’s better than before — it’s a good feeling. But that does not mean we are satisfied with what is happening in Iraq. There is no safety. The aim of America is to rule Iraq,” he said. For the fist time in his professional career, Mr Ali has the right to criticise his rulers: and already he is exercising it.

Saddam's media

When Saddam Hussein became President of Iraq in 1979, all newspapers that had not supported the Baath Party were closed. His regime went on to take complete control of the Iraqi media. Saddam’s son, Uday, became a media magnate in the Nineties, controlling a dozen weekly newspapers, several dailies and a radio and television station. During the Gulf War, Uday started the Babil newspaper to sustain the morale of the Iraqi troops.

Anyone who insulted or criticised the regime risked death. In 1991, Dhurgham Hashim, a journalist working for the official Baath Party newspaper al-Thawra, disappeared after criticising a series of articles believed to have been written by Saddam. Satellite dishes were banned.

Saddam’s regime is believed to have murdered 500 writers, artists, poets and journalists. Up to 400 Iraqi journalists chose to go into exile.

What the Iraqi newspapers say

The Times

• Washington backtracks on new Iraqi government
• Mass graves found in Rdhwanya, Bsmaya and Basra

The Freedom

• Let’s firstly reconstruct Iraq
• The Freedom continues to name Saddam’s executioners
• Hold your head high — you’re Iraqi!

The News

The Duel

My experience with the police in the new Iraq

Haifa sports ground — the latest Palestinian refugee camp

Committee for Free Prisoners tries to find disappeared

Habbaz Booz (satirical)

Government increases wages of staff from 100,000 to 900,000 dinars a month

Free chicken and Pepsi for all people

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