Posted on 01/09/2004 2:01:58 AM PST by kattracks
The Iraq war helped make 2003 a dangerous year for journalists, with 91 killed, most of them covering conflict or corruption, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said here.The number of fatalities was 23 percent higher than the previous year and took place in more than 25 countries, the federation said in a statement from its Australian-based president, Christopher Warren.
Citing an IFJ report entitled Media Casualties in the Field of Journalism and Newsgathering, Warren said many of the deaths were due to war, although assassinations and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time were to blame in some cases.
"The impact of war and conflict on the work of news media cast a long shadow over journalism in 2003," said Warren, who is also the federal secretary of Australia's Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
"War in Iraq, conflict in Columbia, violence in the Philippines left journalists dead in a year marked by growing anger within media circles over the targeting of journalists," Warren said.
The IFJ said 18 journalists were killed in Iraq, excluding two -- Fred Nerac and Hussein Osam -- who are still missing and presumed dead in a skirmish near Basra in March.
It called for independent investigations into seven of the confirmed deaths in Iraq, cases which it said showed the need for greater protection of journalists in areas of conflict.
The IFJ also highlighted instances where journalists were targeted for trying to expose political corruption, such as the case of Alfonso Parada of the Columbian El Tempo who was shot by unknown gunmen in March 2003. He was known for reporting on corruption.
Also targeted was Filipino radio journalist Juan Porras Pala, shot dead outside a friend's home in September, the IFJ said. Porras Pala presented a daily radio programme on local station DXGO that harshly criticised some local politicians and communist rebels.
Seven journalists were killed in Columbia and three in the Philippines in 2003, with drug mafia and crime gangs the main suspects in many of these cases, it said.
The shooting in late December of Indonesian journalist Ersa Siregar in war-torn Aceh province prompted the IFJ to urge governments to be accountable for the safety of media workers by supporting independent international investigations for unexplained killings.
Siregar was accidentally shot dead by troops when he became caught up in a clash with separatist rebels.
According to the IFJ, his death was an example of why governments needed to be put under pressure to deliver credible answers as to why and how journalists were being killed.
"Journalism is the cornerstone of press freedom and we must ensure that there is a proper investigation every time one of our colleagues dies," Warren said. "Justice and democracy demand it."
The Brussels-based IFJ, which is the world's largest journalists' group with 500,000 members in 106 countries, said Siregar's death was one in a surge of killings at the year's end.
"These deaths, whether as a result of conflict, or criminal gangs or simply while covering an everyday assignment, illustrate just how important it is to provide journalists with more protection and insurance cover," it said.
"2003 was already a bad year, now it has taken on even more tragic dimensions."
The IFJ has called for changes in international law to ensure that targeting journalists and neglecting to protect them are made war crimes.
I sometimes think that these clowns imply that the blood of dead reporters is more important then that of a plain soldier or civilian.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.