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by Amy Goodman
Published on Thursday, December 28, 2006 by the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
The Committee to
Protect Journalists recently released its 2006 report on threats to
journalists. Iraq is by far the deadliest place for the fourth year in a
row, with 32 journalists killed this year. Sad to say, the violence
follows a trend that started with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
When you step off the elevator at the Reuters news
offices in Washington, D.C., you see a large book sitting on a wooden
stand. Each entry describes a Reuters journalist killed in the line of
duty. Such as Taras Protsyuk. The veteran Ukrainian cameraman was killed
on April 8, 2003, the day before the U.S. seized Baghdad. Protsyuk was
on the balcony of the Palestine Hotel when a U.S. tank positioned itself
on the al-Jumhuriyah bridge and, as people watched in horror, unleashed
a round into the side of the building. The hotel was known for housing
hundreds of unembedded reporters. Protsyuk was killed instantly. Jose
Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish network Telecinco, was filming from
the balcony below. He was also killed.
The difference between the responses by the mainstream
media in the United States versus Europe was stunning. While in this
country there was hardly a peep of protest, Spanish journalists engaged
in a one-day strike. From the elite journalists down to the technicians,
they laid down their cables, cameras and pens. They refused to record
the words of then-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who joined
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush in supporting the
war. When Aznar came into parliament, they piled their equipment at the
front of the room and turned their backs on him. Photographers refused
to take his picture and instead held up a photo of their slain
colleague. At a news conference in Madrid with British Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw, Spanish reporters walked out in protest. Later, hundreds of
journalists, camera people and technicians marched on the U.S. embassy
in Madrid, chanting "Murderer, murderer."
About four hours before the U.S. military opened fire on
the Palestine Hotel, a U.S. warplane strafed Al-Jazeera's Baghdad
office. Reporter Tareq Ayyoub was on the roof. He died almost instantly.
When interviewed after his death, Ayyoub's wife, Dima,
said: "Hate breeds hate. The United States said they were doing this to
rout out terrorism. Who is engaged in terrorism now?" This summer, she
sued the U.S. government.
The family of Jose Couso has also taken action. They know
the names of the three U.S. servicemen who fired on the Palestine Hotel.
On Dec. 5, 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court said the men could be tried
in Spanish courts, opening the possibility for indictments against the
U.S. soldiers.
The military response to the journalists' deaths? Pentagon spokeswoman
Victoria "Torie" Clarke, who has since become a news consultant for CNN
and ABC, said at the time that Baghdad "is not a safe place. They should
not be there."
David Schlesinger, global managing editor of Reuters, said: "It seems in
my interactions with the U.S. military -- to paraphrase, basically -- if
you are not embedded, we cannot do anything to protect you. Journalists
need to be accorded the rights under the Geneva Convention, of civilians
not to be shot at willy-nilly, not to be harassed in doing their
professional jobs."
The U.N. Security Council agrees. On Dec. 23, it passed a
unanimous resolution insisting on the protection of journalists in
conflict zones.
More than 120 reporters
and other media workers have been killed in Iraq since the invasion. In
August 2003, Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana was filming outside Abu Ghraib
prison when a machine-gun bullet tore through his chest. The Pentagon
said the soldiers had "engaged a cameraman."
Not long before his
death, Dana won the International Press Freedom Award. "We carry a
gift," he said. "We film and we show the world what is going on. We are
not part of the conflict." In receiving his award, Dana reflected,
"Words and images are a public trust, and for this reason I will
continue with my work regardless of the hardships and even if it costs
me my life." But
it shouldn't have. The Pentagon should adopt the U.N. standard and send
a clear message to its ranks: Shooting the messenger is a war crime that
will not be tolerated.
Amy Goodman hosts the radio news program "Democracy Now!"
Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
© Copyright 2006 King Features
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