[HCDX] Crimes of war, press and ham radio

["py2zx" <py2zx@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello friends,

Two very sad news for who are in touch with radio and press: the death of
journalists in Baghdad and the silence of main ham club on Iraq.

The first came from International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the
second from Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL):

================================
IFJ Says Attacks on Journalists in Iraq  Are "Crimes of War"  That Must be
Punished

Call for Independent International Inquiry into Targeting of Media and
Killings of Reporters

The International Federation of Journalists today condemned both sides in
the Iraq conflict of "crimes of war" after a series of attacks on
journalists and deaths of media staff.

The IFJ is calling for an independent international inquiry after an attack
on a hotel where journalists are staying in Baghdad and after US troops
allegedly destroyed the offices of Al Jazeera Television and Abu Dhabi
Television.

"There is 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, General Secretary of the IFJ. "The bombing of hotels where
journalists are staying and targeting of Arab media are particularly
shocking events in a war which is being fought in the name of democracy.
Those who are responsible must be brought to justice".

At the same time the IFJ condemns what appears to be Iraqi tactics of using
civilians and journalists as a "human shield" against attack. "The Baghdad
authorities are just as culpable with their reckless disregard for civilian
lives," said White.

The IFJ says that 12 journalists and media staff have died in the war so
far. The latest deaths and injuries comes as American troops push into
Baghdad. Blasts hit Baghdad's high-rise Palestine Hotel, which houses
foreign media, today, killing one journalist working for Spanish Telecinco,
and killing one and wounding three journalists working for Reuters. Shortly
before the attack another strike was made which shattered the offices of
Al-Jazeera Television killing one journalist and injuring another.

"It is cruelly ironic that after the Iraqi regime plays cat-and-mouse with
Al Jazeera, first banning them, then allowing them to stay, it appears they
have been attacked by American forces," said Aidan White. The IFJ says that
this attack is a shocking mirror of the destruction of the Kabul offices of
Al Jazeera by American forces during the war in Afghanistan. "It is
impossible not to detect a sinister pattern of targeting," said White.

"We are still waiting for a satisfactory explanation for the attack on the
ITN crew at the start of the war in which we think three colleagues were
killed," said White. The IFJ says that there is eye-witness testimony
accusing the US of deliberately firing upon clearly marked television
vehicles.

"The United Nations system and the international media community must be
fully engaged in finding out what happened in these cases and action must be
taken to ensure it never happens again," said White. "We can expect denials
of intent from the military, but what we really want is the truth."

The IFJ says that the global media community, including journalists, media
organisations and press freedom campaigners, should join hands under the
banner of the newly-formed International News Safety Institute to hold a
complete and in depth inquiry. The INSI is a coalition of more than 100
organisations campaigning for a global news safety programme.

"You cannot fight for democracy with the lives of journalists and media
staff," said White. "Media and journalists have little choice about covering
this war - it is the first real-time war story in history - and their
protection, embedded or not, must be paramount."

The IFJ says that the immediate aftermath of the war should involve a review
of international rules to try to improve the levels of protection, for
journalists and media staff. "This war has been the most televised conflict
in history," said White, "but the protection afforded to journalists and
media staff is prehistoric by comparison."

Further information: + 32 2 235 22 00

The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries
http://www.ifj.org/publications/press/pr/030408iraq.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ARRL Letter, Vol. 22, n. 14: www.arrl.net

* Baghdad ham club station dismantled prior to bombing: The Daily DX
http://www.dailydx.com relays information from Diya Sayah, YI1DZ--one of
the primary operators at the Baghdad Radio Club YI1BGD station in Baghdad.
Sayah reported just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq that he
had dismantled the YI1BGD station equipment and stored it in a safe
place--if there can be such a location in the besieged capital city at
this point. The Daily DX Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, says he doubts
there will be any activity in the near future from YI1BGD "much less any
other YI stations." The YI1BGD club station went on the air in the 1970s.
The Iraqi Association for Radio Amateurs (IARA) remains an International
Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society. Its president is Adnan M.
Aswad, YI1DX.

========================================

Flávio A. B. Archangelo, "Ark"
py2zx@xxxxxxxxx
Jundiai - Sao Paulo - Brazil


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