Ecovillage Network UK
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Sat, 03 May 2003 15:16:49 +0100
--=======339F172======= Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-7A8B6CC8; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit http://www.cpj.org/enemies/worst_places_03/worst_places_03.html The Committee to Protect Journalists is marking World Press Freedom Day, Saturday, May 3, by naming the World's Worst Places to Be a Journalist. The list of 10 places represents the full range of current threats to press freedom. At the top of the list is Iraq, where nine journalists covering the U.S.-led war there were killed in action during the first three weeks of hostilities, falling victim to Iraqi or U.S. fire, land mines, or suicide bombers. Four other journalists in Iraq died in accidents or from illness. A brutal crackdown launched in Cuba by Fidel Castro's government put an unprecedented 28 journalists behind bars in March, and they are serving lengthy prison terms of up to 27 years. During the last year, independent journalists in Vietnam who dared to criticize the ruling Communist Party in print or on the Internet were harassed, placed under heavy surveillance, or thrown in jail. CPJ also placed Afghanistan, Chechnya, the West Bank and Gaza, Eritrea, Togo, Colombia, and Belarus on the list of Worst Places to Be a Journalist. "Many journalists who report from these places have made the ultimate sacrifice; others are in jail serving long sentences," said CPJ acting director Joel Simon. "But their colleagues persevere, confronting government crackdowns, physical violence, harsh press laws, and indiscriminate gunfire to bring us the news," said Simon. As if to prove the point....................... http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/289681.html British cameraman killed by IDF fire while filming in Rafah By Arnon Regular and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies Israel Defense Forces troops demolishing a home suspected of concealing an arms-smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip shot dead a British television cameraman late Friday, military officials and Palestinian witnesses said. On Saturday, an IDF soldier was lightly wounded when Palestinians at IDF troops near the West Bank city of Jenin. Also in the West Bank, Palestinians threw an explosive device and Molotov cocktails at IDF troops near Tul Karm. There were no injuries. James Miller, who was in the flashpoint refugee camp of Rafah making a documentary on how Palestinian children are affected by violence, was fired upon unprovoked, witnesses said. He died after being evacuated by Israeli forces for treatment. "We got close to the area and filmed, but we couldn't leave because an (Israeli) tank was around 100 meters from where we stood," Abdel-Rahman Abdullah, a freelance Palestinian journalist who saw the night-time incident, told Reuters. "We were very visible to the troops, with a white flag and 'TV' markings on our vests, but still the troops opened fire, hitting James Miller," he said. The IDF denied troops targeted Miller, saying their operation was to uncover tunnels used by militants to smuggle in weapons from nearby Egypt for a 31- month-old armed uprising. "Our forces found a tunnel at the house in question, when an anti-tank missile was fired at them. They shot back at the source of the attack," army spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal said. "James Miller was apparently hit during that exchange. The Israeli military expresses sorrow at a civilian death, but it must be stressed that a cameraman who knowingly enters a combat zone, especially at night, endangers himself," Dallal said. Rafah sees frequent Israeli incursions against the tunnels - eliciting gunfire from Palestinian militants protecting them. But Abdullah said there were no exchanges of fire on Friday night. "We even called out to the Israeli troops in their armored vehicles and could hear them talking inside, before they started shooting," he said. A spokesman for the British embassy in Tel Aviv said he was aware of the incident but declined to give details. Dozens of foreign journalists have been hurt while reporting on the Palestinian uprising for independence in Gaza and the West Bank, which erupted in September 2000. Bristol branch - National Union of Journalists 10-12 Picton Street Montpelier BRISTOL BS6 5QA England http://lists.southspace.net/listinfo/nuj_bristol/ http://www.gn.apc.org/media/nuj.html http://www.nuj.org.uk 0117 944 6219 --=======339F172=======--