DATE=12/24/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-243469
TITLE=REPORTERS TOLL (L ONLY)
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS SAYS 50
JOURNALISTS WERE KILLED THIS YEAR WHILE TRYING TO CARRY OUT THEIR
JOBS. AND V-O-A CORRESPONDENT LAURIE KASSMAN REPORTS FROM LONDON
THAT THE WORLD NEWSPAPERS' ASSOCIATION HAS GIVEN ITS HIGHEST
AWARD TO A DISSIDENT IRANIAN EDITOR.
TEXT: THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS SAYS 50
JOURNALISTS LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY, MANY OF THEM IN
LATIN AMERICA.
THE FEDERATION'S HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER, CAILIN (CAH LEEN)
MACKENZIE, SAYS 19 OF THE CASES ARE STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION,
INCLUDING SEVEN KILLINGS IN COLOMBIA ALONE.
! /// MACKENZIE ACT ///
! WE MUST BE WORRIEE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN LATIN
AMERICA BECAUSE THERE IS A CONTINENT WHICH WE THOUGHT
FOR A FEW YEARS HAD OVERCOME ITS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC PAST
AND WAS MOVING FORWARD. BUT NOW WE SEE IT HAS BECOME
ONCE AGAIN COMMON CURRENCY TO KILL A JOURNALIST BECAUSE
THERE IS A BELIEF YOU WON'T GET CAUGHT.
/// END ACT ///
THE REPORT ALSO LISTS TWO IRANIAN JOURNALISTS FOUND DEAD EARLIER
THIS MONTH WHO HAD BEEN QUESTIONED RECENTLY IN CONNECTION WITH
THEIR EFFORTS TO FORM A WRITERS' ASSOCIATION. A JOURNALIST IN
KOSOVO DIED AFTER MASKED GUNMEN AMBUSHED HIS CAR IN DOWNTOWN
PRISTINA. A RADIO BROADCASTER IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS SHOT AT
POINT-BLANK RANGE WHILE HE WAS BROADCASTING THE NEWS.
MISS MACKENZIE SAYS ONE OF THE MOST UNSETTLING DEATHS WAS THE
MURDER EARLIER THIS MONTH OF NORBERT ZONGO, WHO EDITED THE
BURKINA FASO WEEKLY L'INDEPENDENT.
/// MACKENZIE ACT TWO ///
THIS WAS AN EDITOR AND JOURNALIST WHO NOT ONLY
MAINTAINED A HIGH LEVEL OF JOURNALISM AND WAS VERY
RESPECTED AS A JOURNALIST, BUT HE FOUGHT A BATTLE FOR
THE INDEPENDENCE OF JOURNALISM IN THAT COUNTRY. AND HIS
MURDER HAS BEEN A SEVERE BLOW BOTH TO FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION FOR THE JOURNALISTIC COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO
THE POPULATION OF BURKINA FASO, WHICH IS TESTIFIED BY
THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO TURNED OUT FOR HIS FUNERAL.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// MISS MACKENZIE SAYS THE FEDERATION DOES NOT
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN REPORTERS MURDERED BECAUSE OF THEIR WORK AND
OTHERS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE WHILE COVERING A WAR.
/// OPT // MACKENZIE ACT THREE ///
IF YOU'VE GOT A REPORTER TRAVELING WITH THE REBELS IN A
WAR ZONE, HE CAN GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE, HE CAN BE
SUBJECT TO AN AMBUSH AND HE CAN GET KILLED. BUT HE WAS
DEFINITELY WORKING AS A JOURNALIST AT THAT TIME IN
TRYING TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION WHICH WE ALL WANT TO
HAVE. AND THAT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT AS A JOURNALIST WHO
WAS KILLED WHILE WORKING AS AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
AND WAS TARGETED AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
! /// END ACT // END OPT ///
MISS MACKENZIE SAYS THE NUMBER OF JOURNALIST DEATHS REPORTED IN
1998 APPEARS TO HAVE DECLINED FROM THE YEAR BEFORE. BUT SHE SAYS
THE PERCENTAGE OF POLITICALLY -MOTIVATED MURDERS HAS INCREASED.
/// MACKENZIE ACT FOUR ///
WE HAVE THEM IN BANGLADESH -- INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS
-- IN BRAZIL, BURKINA FASO, CANADA, COLOMBIA, ETHIOPIA,
IRAN, MEXICO, NIGERIA. THE LIST GOES ON OF JOURNALISTS
WHO ARE KILLED BECAUSE THEY ARE INVESTIGATING CORRUPTION
OR OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND
CRIMINALS ALIKE.
/// END ACT ///
THE BRUSSELS-BASED FEDERATION WAS FOUNDED IN 1926 AND REPRESENTS
MORE THAN 400-THOUSAND MEDIA WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD. MISS
MACKENZIE SAYS THE GROUP OFFERS TRAINING COURSES FOR REPORTERS IN
CONFLICT ZONES AND CONTINUES TO LOBBY GOVERNMENTS TO BETTER
PROTECT JOURNALISTS AND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
(SIGNED)
NEB/LMK/JWH
24-Dec-98 6:50 AM EST (1150 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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