Former Iraqi MP Misha'an Al-Juburi Criticized during Interview on Iranian-Funded Iraqi Network for Having Received Funds from Qadhafi, Slams Interviewer for Double Standard

Former Iraqi MP Misha'an Al-Juburi, who ran the now-defunct Iraqi Al-Zawraa TV station during the American occupation of Iraq, said in a June 19, 2019 interview on Al-Ahad TV (Iraq) that Iraq's current Shi'ite leadership is not interested in having a fair partnership with Sunnis. The interviewer accused Al-Juburi of having inflamed sectarian conflict by broadcasting attacks on Shi'ite forces on Al-Zawraa TV during the American occupation of Iraq, and he criticized him for having received funding from then-Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi. Claiming that Al-Zawraa TV never aired anti-Shi'ite content, Al-Juburi angrily responded by accusing the interviewer of distorting history, and he explained that he had openly accepted Qadhafi's support for Iraq's resistance just like Al-Ahad TV and other Iraqi networks accept funding from Iran's Islamic Radio and Television Union even though Iran, according to Al-Juburi, "steals" 460 billion Iraqi dinars each year through fraudulent crude oil companies.

Al-Juburi said it is a double standard for Al-Ahad TV to applaud Imam Khomeini while accusing Al-Juburi of corruption for having accepted Libyan money, and the interviewer said that there are no Arab countries willing to support Iraq, to which Al-Juburi responded that it is unfair for the interviewer to bemoan the absence of Arab countries willing to support Iraq while at the same time criticizing him for having received support from an Arab country. Al-Juburi said that he was willing to accept money from whoever wanted to fight the occupation, and he argued that Sunnis fought the American occupation more than Shi'ites did, even though Shi'ites now receive preferential treatment in Iraq. He argued that Sunnis in Iraq today suffer ten times the injustice and discrimination that Shi'ites had suffered under Saddam Hussein, and that there are even Sunnis who preferred living under ISIS. Al-Zawraa TV was a station known for airing videos of insurgent attacks on American-led coalition forces in Iraq.

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "[The Shi'ite rulers of Iraq] do not want [Sunni] partners. Rather, they want there to be people who do what they tell them to do, and who agree to the arbitrary arrests and to people 'disappearing.' They agree not to ask about the fate of people taken at roadblocks or from their homes, or about people arrested unjustly.

[...]

"I try to be the voice of all oppressed people, the voice of all the people who want vengeance against the regime, the voice of all the people who languish unjustly in prisons, the voice of all the families of people who 'disappeared,' the voice of all the victims of corruption, and the voice of all the unemployed, and to the best of my ability, I try to expose the thieves for all the people to see. Unfortunately, however, every four years these people applaud them..."

Interviewer: "I want to accuse you instead of ask you..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Go ahead."

Interviewer: "You are the voice of the oppressed, the voice of all those in need..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "I am."

Interviewer: "Wasn't it you who taught people [on Al-Zawraa TV] how to make bombs? Wasn't it you who told me, in our first interview, that you received enough money from Qadhafi to last for the rest of your life?"

[...]

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "When the owners of Al-Ahad TV were fighting the occupation, perhaps this channel also taught its supporters how to bomb the occupation. We would teach people..."

Interviewer: "But not how to bomb the Iraqi people..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "We did not teach... We would teach people..."

Interviewer: "You just said that they were Baathists..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Let me finish. We would teach people how to fight the occupiers, and we served as the voice of both Sunni and Shi'ite resistance. We would only publish videos of their attacks against the occupation."

Interviewer: "No, no... You invent stuff..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "No, it's history. Let me challenge you..."

Interviewer: "Go ahead."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "This channel and others have the archive [of the videos I published]. If you can find there a single attack targeting the [Iraqi] state, military, or police – or any speech to that extent – I challenge you to air it and expose me to the Iraqi people, and I will apologize for it.

[...]

"As for [the money I got from] the late Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi – you have no right to label it corruption. I said this out in the open. I was close to him. He would support us..."

Interviewer: "What gave him the right? This was the money of the Libyan people."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "He used to support us as a voice for the resistance, just like Iran is now supporting you. All the TV channels you have worked for... You worked for Beladi TV, which belongs to Iran's Islamic Radio & Television Union, and you are working for Al-Ahad TV, which also belongs to Iran via the same organization. When I was operating [Al-Zawraa TV], I was bankrolled by Qadhafi rather than by Iran. So where's the problem?"

Interviewer: "Are you sure about this?"

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Yes. This is well known. Your satellite fees and your salaries are paid for by the Islamic Radio & Television Union. In addition, the money of those fraudulent crude oil companies is distributed to the various TV channels.

Interviewer: "My God!"

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "I swear by Allah. You are falsifying the facts. If I expose this scandal, you will kill me in the street right now. 460 billion [dinar] of the Iraqi people's money is stolen annually, and all of you are sharing the money that is coming from Iran. Why is it that when Iran supports you, you applaud and broadcast speeches of the Imam [Khomeini], but when I was supported by Qadhafi as a man of the resistance, I am considered corrupt and you are considered angels?"

Interviewer: "Get us an Arab country that would support Iraq..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Why do you accuse me of receiving support from an Arab country, and then ask me to get you an Arab country? Shame on you!"

Interviewer: "I don't want to scream... I am asking you to name an Arab country that supported Iraq and stabilized it. All you can do is talk against Iran?"

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "I don't want to talk about Iran. You are distorting the facts. This is what you do in every interview, but I will let it slide. You are financed by Iran and you are happy about it. I was financed by Qadhafi and you call me corrupt. How can that be? Explain this to me, please. I am not angry that Iran is financing you. Maybe if it offered to finance me I would have accepted it. Don't make me say any more than that. We fought the occupiers and we accepted support from whoever wanted to fight the occupiers, whether Iran or others. Full stop! Why are you the only one allowed to get support? Okay, move on."

Interviewer: "I won't move on."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Let's see what else you've got." 

Interviewer: "I'm not moving on. Let's agree on one thing."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "Okay."

Interviewer: "I am not sticking my finger in your face, so why are you doing this to me? Why do you cross the line? The resistance..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "There! You raised your hand!"

Interviewer: "This is just a questioning gesture..."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "A questioning gesture? So why is it different when I do it? Do you see how you are trying to insult the other?"

Interviewer: "Yes, whatever. The resistance... You see that I'm pointing sideways? The Sunni resistance in modern Iraqi history, has been sectarian. This is supported by the facts. Saying that it fought the occupation is twisting the truth. It's not true."

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "You have falsified the facts."

Interviewer: "My God!"

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "By Allah, you did. The Sunnis fought the occupation more than the Shi'ites did. You are implicated in the falsification of modern history."

Interviewer: "Who do you mean when you say 'you'?"

Misha'an Al-Juburi: "The rulers. You are now the rulers and you do whatever you want. Poor Sunnis who fought the occupation are now on death row, while Shi'ites who fought the occupation are hailed as heroes and serve as political leaders. They have become the decision makers. This is your sectarianism, not ours.

[...]

"The stability in security was created by the people who defeated ISIS. The people have learned their lesson. Your [Sunni] partners were the ones who incite and bankrolled [ISIS]. Your partners cannot walk down the street in the liberated cities. If they do, they will be pelted with shoes. They were the ones who incited everybody, and they abandoned the people to filth and hunger in the [refugee] camps. So the people have learned their lesson. But this calm... if the Shi'ites, or the Shi'ite politicians, think that this calm is final, they would be making a mistake.

[...]

"The Sunnis suffer ten times more injustice and discrimination than those suffered by the Shi'ites under Saddam.

[...]

"There are people in Mosul who believe that the days of ISIS – despite all the bloodshed, beheadings, and the mass graveyards – were better than what they are suffering now."