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<TITLE>FW: Qatar pledges to act on Washingtons concerns about Aljazeera</TITLE>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><B>Qatari FM: We'll act on US concerns about al-Jazeera</B> <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">WASHINGTON, April 29 (AFP) - Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani pledged Thursday to act on sternly worded US complaints that the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television network's coverage of Iraq is unfair. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">"We will take this concern back to Al-Jazeera and they have to review it because we need Al-Jazeera to be professional and we don't want anybody to send lies or to send wrong information," he said at the White House. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">Sheikh Hamad said he had talked with Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and that "they have some concerns that Al-Jazeera sends some inaccurate information about what's happening in Iraq. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">"Al-Jazeera and our government would like only accurate information, and we need them to be professional," he said. "That's not respectable by us and not by the world if they are doing this." <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">At the same time, Sheikh Hamad distanced himself from the Arabic-language news channel's coverage, saying he was "not responsible" for it and that the network was "part of the free press" in Qatar. And he said Qatar's government needed to hear from Al-Jazeera "what they have to say about this." <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned after a meeting with Sheikh Hamad that Al-Jazeera's coverage of US-led military operations in Iraq was hurting other strong bilateral ties, and demanded action against the station by Qatari authorities. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">US officials have long accused of Al-Jazeera of biased news reporting and have raised complaints about it with Qatar, whose leader, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is the main backer of the channel. Other Qatari officials sit on the Al-Jazeera board. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">In the past, Qatar has shrugged off similar US complaints, citing a desire to promote a free and vibrant press Over the past several weeks, however, commanders of the US-led coalition in Iraq have stepped up their criticism of the station's coverage of hostilities.</FONT> <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2">Sheikh Hamad said he had urged Cheney and Rumsfeld to "be patient" in resolving violent standoffs pitting US troops and insurgents in the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Najaf. <BR>
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