Bush's War on Iraq.
Is the US Military deliberately trying to silence freelance or non-embedded
journalists?
AFP article:
International fury at journalist deaths
Agence France Press: From correspondents in Paris and Washington
April 08, 2003
THE deaths of three journalists in two separate attacks by US forces
fighting for control of Baghdad have triggered a torrent of criticism
from international media watchdogs and officials.
Two cameramen, Taras Protsyuk, 35, from the Reuters news agency, and
Jose Couso, 37, of Spanish television station Telecinco, were killed after
a US tank fired on Baghdad's Palestine hotel, where most foreign journalists
are based.
Tareq Ayub, a 34-year-old correspondent for the Arabic television network
al-Jazeera, was also killed when a US missile crashed into the station's
offices in the Iraqi capital.
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke today said: "I'd like to express
again the department's condolences to the families and friends of the
journalists who have been killed in this war. They have been doing very,
very important work, and we're saddened by their deaths."
But she stressed that the Pentagon had repeatedly warned of the dangers
of journalists not "embedded" with US forces remaining in Baghdad
to cover the war.
"(The) war zone is a dangerous place; Baghdad in particular we believed
would be a dangerous place.
"We continue to warn people, we continue to warn news organisations
about the dangers.
"We've had conversations over the last couple of days, news organisations
eager to get their people unilaterally into Baghdad. We are saying it
is not a safe place, you should not be there."
Earlier, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said that, with at
least 12 media deaths in the conflict: "The press is paying a very
high price.
"We are appalled by these figures and infuriated by the attitude
of the American army, whose behaviour has continued to deteriorate with
respect to journalists, especially those not embedded since the start
of this war."
The group was to send a letter to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,
demanding explanations over "what appears to be a deliberate act
by the American army".
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also said there was
"no doubt at all that these attacks could be targeting journalists".
"If so, they are grave and serious violations of international law,"
said Aidan White, head of the Brussels-based organisation.
Recalling that al-Jazeera's Kabul office had also been destroyed by US
strikes in November 2001, he suggested US forces could have deliberately
targeted the Arab network's operation in Baghdad.
But the IFJ also accused the Iraqi regime of using journalists and other
civilians as "human shields".
Italian press federation head Paolo Serventi Longhi said the security
situation for journalists was "completely out of control" and
urged Rome to intervene with the United States and Britain to stop the
bombing of sites where journalists were staying.
In Germany, the independent press union sent a protest message to the
US embassy in Berlin, while Russian press freedom activists demanded that
those responsible be brought to justice.
"If this was a premeditated shot, the Americans must be punished,"
said Russian press representative Oleg Panfilov.
"Even if there was a sniper on the roof, you cannot shoot at a hotel
sheltering journalists."
The International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna gave US forces the
benefit of the doubt, however, saying the incident was "probably
... a very unfortunate mistake".
"I do not think it proceeded from a deliberate targeting of journalists,"
IPI spokesman David Dadge said, but he added: "It appears that the
Americans have been very callous."
EU president Greece said the European Union would urge the United States
to keep journalists out of the firing line.
"Greece condemns this repugnant act and expresses its sorrow and
regret," a spokesman said. Spain - one of whose nationals died -
said it would seek an official explanation from Washington.
Protest also flared up across the Middle East.
The union of Palestinian journalists "condemned and denounced this
premeditated act, which represents a war crime and a flagrant violation
of international laws and conventions".
It denounced the attack on al-Jazeera's offices as "the same barbaric
method as the one used by Israeli forces against journalists" in
the occupied territories.
Dozens of Palestinian journalists rallied to denounce the journalist
deaths in Iraq, staging demonstrations in the West Bank towns of Nablus
and Bethlehem.
The Arab Journalists' Union accused US and British forces of "looking
to prevent the press from carrying out its duties".
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi also claimed the US attacks
were intended to "terrorise and silence the witnesses to the war
crimes committed by the invading forces".
French television footage of the strike on the Palestine Hotel showed
a US tank taking aim and waiting at least two minutes before firing.
A US commander said the tank fired a single round at the hotel after
being targeted by small fire coming from the building, but the reporter
who filmed the attack denied hearing any gunfire.
Agence France-Presse
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