Sulaimani, Metro: Australian Ambassador to Iraq Glenn Miles said during a visit to Metro Center and meeting with its staff that we look at the role of Metro Center’s monitoring with importance, freedom of press and expression is equal to a democratic society.
On May 5, 2025, Metro Center’s team received Glenn Miles, Australian Ambassador to Iraq and Elliott Mann, Second Political Secretary at the Australian Embassy.
At first, the Coordinator of Metro Center warmly welcomed the Ambassador and expressed his appreciation for the visit of the Embassy to the Metro Center and its works. This is the second visit of the embassy to the Metro Center. Former Australian Ambassador to Iraq Paula Elizabeth Ganley visited the Metro Center during her visit to Sulaimani.
Rahman Gharib said the latest Reporters Without Borders report for 2025, in which Iraq ranked 155th in the world, previously ranked 169th in 2024 and 172nd in 2023, this change in the ranking of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, is not a major change at a time when imprisonment, violence, concealment of journalists' information and impunity have swept the journalistic environment, "Despite the dominance of political parties and their companies over the media, the financial situation of independent journalism institutions is in decline and needs unconditional international and national assistance," he said.
Diyaree Mohammed, Director of Metro Center, highlighted the most important challenges facing civil society organizations this year, and made several proposals to the Ambassador for the international community in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to work on.
Shaee Aso, coordinator of Network 19, talked about the civil space, protests and data of the past four months, in some of which the security forces have resorted to violence to arrest demonstrators.
The Australian Ambassador to Iraq expressed his pleasure to meet with Metro’s staff because they are doing an important job in monitoring the situation of freedom of expression and the press, because freedom of the press and expression is equal to a democratic society.
In the meeting that lasted more than two hours, several other topics related to the work and activities of the Metro Center were discussed.