Date:   4/8/2003 4:55:48 PM ( 22 y ago)
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Fury over journalists' deaths
From correspondents in Paris and Washington
April 09, 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.


Tanks point their gun turrets at the hotel where journalists are staying. Picture: AP


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-Press

 

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