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Arhiva priopćenjaIFJ osuðuje "kulturu ravnodušnosti" u vezi sa 150 ubojstava novinara25.01.2006.
Media Release 231. IFJ Slams “Culture of Indifference” OverKillings of Journalists as Media Death Tolls Tops 150 The International Federation of Journaliststoday condemned a “culture of neglect and indifference” over killings ofjournalists which is making journalism more dangerous than ever. The IFJ saysthat 150 journalists and media staff were killed last year, the highest ever,and has warned that the situation will get worse unless political leaders act tobring the killers to justice. Launching the IFJ reportTargeting and Tragedyon mediacasualties last year the IFJ General Secretary Aidan White criticisedgovernments who do not take the murder and assassination of reportersseriously. “In more than 90 per cent of all cases thereare few serious investigations by the authorities and only a handful of thekillers are ever brought to trial,” he said. “A combination of policecorruption, judicial incompetence and political indifference has created aculture of neglect and indifference which makes every day hunting season forattacks on media staff.” White said that impunity in the killing ofjournalists “remains the intolerable scandal of our times that can no longer beignored by the international community.” He said the IFJ has called for actionby the United Nations Security Council and has pressed the Secretary GeneralKofi Annan to mobilise governments to act against the targeting and killing ofjournalists. “The truth is that even democraticgovernments turn a blind eye to the crisis of violence against media,” saidWhite. “InIraq, where media people hardly dare walk thestreets, there are 18 cases of unexplained killings of journalists and mediastaff byUnitedStatessoldiers. Justice demands that thesedeaths are properly investigated. If not, speculation about military targetingof journalists will persist.” The IFJ report says 2005 was a year “scarredby targeting and tragedy.” Some 89 of the listed killings were journalists andmedia people murdered “in the line of duty” many of them assassinated byruthless killers working for political gangs or criminals. Another 61 werekilled when disaster struck while on assignment – 48 of them alone in aTehranplanecrash where questions are being asked about the safety of the military aircraftin which they were travelling. “The list is a cruel catalogue of sacrificeand illustrates in painful detail just how journalists and media staff continueto suffer for press freedom and their profession,” he said. But the IFJ also highlights action fromwithin journalism to counter the crisis. Around 100,000 Euro was paid out lastyear from the Federation’s International Safety Fund to provide humanitarianrelief for the media victims and their families. And the International NewsSafety Institute, a coalition of media employers and journalists’ groups, isvigorously campaigning for change and a culture of safety within the mediaindustry. The IFJ says the most dangerous countries forjournalism wereIraq(35killings), thePhilippines(10 killings) andColombia,MexicoandHaiti, the notorious “deadlytriangle” of countries plagued by drugs gangs in which nine journalists weremurdered. The IFJ plans to organise worldwide protestson 8 April this year to highlight demands for more action against impunity. Thisday is the anniversary of theUSattack three years ago on the Palestine Hotel,a media centre inBaghdad, in which two journalists, TarasProtsyuk of Reuters and José Couso of the Spanish network Telecinco, werekilled. Another reporter, Tareq Ayyoub, died on the same day when theUSbombed the offices ofAl Jazeerain the city. The IFJ report was expanded this year to giveinformation on the Federation’s solidarity and assistance programme through theIFJ Safety Fund. A special appeal at the beginning of 2005 in response to theTsunami disaster in 2004 in which around 78 journalists and media staff werereported dead or missing raised more than 100,000 Euro. In addition the IFJ Fundmade payments to the families and victims of killings in more than 25 countriesas well as to victims of thePakistanearthquake disaster in whichthree journalists died. A special disaster relief fund has also beencreated by the IFJ, in the name of the former IFJ Senior Vice President andChair of the European Federation of Journalists, Gustl Glattfelder who died lastyear. For further information contact: +32 2 23522 00
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