Bush's War on Iraq.
Is the US Military deliberately trying to silence freelance or non-embedded
journalists?
Reuters article:
08 Apr 2003 18:38:12 GMT
Iraq war takes toll on journalists
By Merissa Marr, European media correspondent
LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - The Iraq war has proved more deadly for
journalists than both the 1991 Gulf war and the conflict in Afghanistan,
with five reporters killed in Baghdad in the last 24 hours alone.
The death of journalists from Reuters news agency, Spanish broadcaster
Telecinco and Arab TV channel al-Jazeera on Tuesday took to 10 the number
of people killed while working for the media. Fire from both sides have
killed them.
On Tuesday, news organisations demanded answers from the United States
after U.S. attacks killed three reporters.
"It's hard to believe this was just a mistake. We want proof this
was not a deliberate attack on journalists," said Severine Cazes,
head of the Middle East desk at Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without
Borders.
A U.S. tank fired a shell at a Baghdad hotel heavily populated with foreign
journalists, killing Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Telecinco cameraman
Jose Couso.
U.S. forces said they had been responding to sniper fire and blamed Baghdad
for using the hotel for military operations. But journalists on the scene
said they heard no sniper fire.
In a separate incident, al-Jazeera said cameraman Tarek Ayoub was killed
in a U.S. air raid on Baghdad. The Arab network accused the United States
of deliberately bombing its offices to silence a powerful voice in the
Arab world.
In its defence, the Pentagon said it had warned reporters against going
to Baghdad, saying it was highly dangerous.
INQUIRY
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents thousands
of journalists around the world, called for an inquiry into possible war
crimes against journalists.
"The bombing of hotels where journalists are staying and targeting
of Arab media are particularly shocking events," said IFJ Secretary
General Aidan White.
The demands of 24-hour television coverage, hundreds more journalists
and multiple battle fronts have put journalists under pressure.
More than 1,000 journalists are in Iraq covering the war including more
than 200 in Baghdad, media watchdogs say.
Reporters without Frontiers said the proportion of journalists killed
in the Iraq war had so far been greater than the proportion of soldiers
killed.
In the 1991 Gulf war four reporters were killed, while eight died in
the Afghan war, the watchdog said.
This time around, journalists have been better equipped and better trained.
The speed of the assault on Iraq has added to pressures.
Most of the reporters killed so far have been independent reporters.
Hundreds more are "embedded" with U.S.-led forces following
the action from the front lines.
Almost as many journalists have been killed as wounded.
"In a way, this shows how efficient modern war is," said Cazes
of Reporters without Borders.
Reuters
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