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[IGR] JOURNALISTS INDICT DONALD RUMSFELD FOR WAR C |
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Halima |
04/09/03 at 02:07:45 |
As-Salaamu' Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu The reason why the US is shooting at the international reporters is (1) that the US has married Sharon's policies and practices, and (2) that it wants its genocidal activities in Iraq completely sanitized. Only those Zionist reporters that are embedded with the US/UK troops should have the ability to tell the world what the criminal US/UK commanders WANT them to say. The presence of international independent reporters in Iraq presents a big problem for the criminals so they have opted to scare the life out of the international press and, in essence, issued an explicit ultimatum to report what the US/UK wants reported or die. As all the warped psychological tactics that the US and UK have employed in Iraq, this tactic on the international press will also fail. What the criminal invaders want is to technically carry out a hostile takeover of Iraq by killing as many civilians as possible and declaring President Hussein dead or 'irrelevant', regardless of whether he is or not, to then install a puppet regime that will do sajdah to America. In other words, a new proxy US dictatorship will be forced upon the people. Eliminating the reporters is just a means to cover up their crime in the eyes of the world, but this is bound to backfire on them. The US/UK DON’T want you to know that the Iraqis are giving the coalition a ruthless fight. The reporters that they have embedded only report the story from the coalition side. They hide the victories that the Iraqis inflict on the US/UK and downplay everything that the Iraqis do. That is why they ONLY want the reports coming from their 'embedded' reporters. We have every reason to be very proud of our Mujahideen who have fought day and night against a mighty army and managed to hold it back from entering Baghdad for 19 days. Now that they enemy has entered our Mujahideen continue to fight as lions within the city of Baghdad and all over the country. May ALLAH grant them victory after victory until the enemy has been completely slaughtered. On another note, but a very interesting one, has anyone noticed that the US soldiers helmets bear a variation of the hebrew letter 'Cheth'? I found this extremely interesting. I noticed today that all the helmets bear a variation of the hebrew letter "Cheth" which has a line drawn horizontally across it. I am NOT an expert but, to my knowledge, the letter 'Cheth' has a spiritual meaning which relates to the essence of God. To see that letter with a line across it conveys to me that the Zionists are saying "No God". I admit that this is a rather superficial interpretation, but I would welcome any input on the significance of such a symbol on US soldiers helmets from those who are more versed in Hebrew. I have never seen this variation of the hebrew letter 'Cheth' and I am entrigued as to its meaning. The fact that the US soldiers are bearing that symbol is a loud and clear message that the Zionists are running the US. The fact that they bear that symbol as they wage aggression against Arabs and Muslims is even more intriguing. As I said, I would welcome discussion on this subject. JazakALLAH from the servant of ALLAH Shayhka Maulani Aeisha Muhammad REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS ACCUSES U.S. MILITARY OF DELIBERATELY FIRING AT JOURNALISTS http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=5975 http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20 http://www.rsf.org (InformationTimes..com) -- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called today [8 April 2003] on US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to provide evidence that the offices of the pan-Arab TV station Al- Jazeera and the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad [Iraq] were not deliberately fired at by US forces earlier in the day in attacks that killed three journalists. "We are appalled at what happened because it was known that both places contained journalists," said the organization's Secretary- General Robert Menard. "Film shot by the French TV station France 3 and descriptions by journalists show the neighborhood was very quiet at that hour and that the US tank crew took their time, waiting for a couple of minutes and adjusting its gun before opening fire." "This evidence does not match the US version of an attack in self- defense and we can only conclude that the US Army deliberately and without warning targeted journalists. US forces must prove that the incident was not a deliberate attack to dissuade or prevent journalists from continuing to report on what is happening in Baghdad," he said. "We are concerned at the US Army's increasingly hostile attitude towards journalists, especially those non-embedded in its military units. Army officials have also remained deplorably silent and refused to give any details about what happened when a British ITN TV crew was fired on near Basra on 22 March [2003], killing one journalist and leaving two others missing. "Very many non-embedded journalists have complained about being refused entry to Iraq from Kuwait, threatened with withdrawal of accreditation and being held and interrogated for several hours. One group of non-embedded journalists was held in secret for two days and roughed up by US military police," Menard said. Ukrainian cameraman Taras Protsyuk, 35, normally attached to Reuters office in Warsaw, and Jose Couso, a Spanish cameraman for the Spanish TV station Telecinco, were killed in today's attack on the Palestine Hotel. Three other journalists were wounded when their rooms were hit by a shell fired by the US tank. General Buford Blount, commander of the US Third Infantry Division, admitted that the tank had fired a shell at the hotel. He claimed it was in response to rocket fire and other shooting from the hotel. Al-Jazeera cameraman Tarek Ayoub was also killed today [8 April 2003] in US bombing of the pan-Arab TV station's offices elsewhere in the city. [Reporters Without Borders (RSF) defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Without Borders has nine national sections (in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Tokyo and Washington and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.] ==================== IFJ SAYS U.S. ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ ARE "CRIMES OF WAR" THAT MUST BE PUNISHED http://www.ifj.org/publications/press/pr/030408iraq.html IFJ Calls for Independent International Inquiry into Targeting of Media and Killings of Reporters http://www.ifj.org (InformationTimes..com) -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today [8 April 2003] 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 come as American troops push into Baghdad. Blasts hit Baghdad's high-rise Palestine Hotel, which houses foreign media, today [8 April 2003], killing one journalist working for Spanish Telecinco [TV], 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 [U.S.] military, but what we really want is the truth." The IFJ says that the global media community, including journalists, media organizations and press freedom campaigners, should join hands under the banner of the newly-formed International News Safety Institute [INSI] to hold a complete and in depth inquiry. The INSI is a coalition of more than 100 organizations campaigning for a global news safety program. "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: Telephone: + 32 2 235 22 00] [The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries.] ==================== CPJ SENDS LETTER TO SECRETARY RUMSFELD EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT TODAY'S U.S. ATTACKS ON MEDIA LOCATIONS IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ http://www.cpj.org/protests/03ltrs/Iraq08apr03pl.html http://www.cpj.org April 8, 2003 TO: The 'Honorable' Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense The Pentagon Washington, DC 20301 Via facsimile: 703-697-9080 Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: (InformationTimes.com) -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned by a series of U.S. military strikes against known media locations in Baghdad [Iraq] today [8 April 2003] that have left three journalists dead and several wounded. We believe these attacks violate the Geneva Conventions. This morning, Baghdad time, U.S. air strikes severely damaged the Baghdad office of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite network, killing journalist Taraq Ayyoub. Al-Jazeera cameraman Zouhair al- Iraqi was injured in the blast, according to the [TV] station. Moments later, another explosion damaged the nearby office of Abu Dhabi TV. Some 30 journalists are trapped in the station's offices, said Abu Dhabi TV officials. While we recognize that both stations, which are located near the [Iraqi] Presidential Palace and the Information Ministry, were operating in an area where combat was occurring, the missile strike on the Al-Jazeera facility raises questions about whether the building was deliberately targeted. The strike against these facilities is particularly troubling because both Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV have been openly operating from these locations in Baghdad for weeks, providing images of the war to the rest of the world. In addition, prior to the commencement of hostilities in Iraq, both stations told CPJ that they provided the specific coordinates of their Baghdad offices to the Pentagon. CPJ has seen a copy of Al- Jazeera's February letter to Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke outlining these coordinates. The attack against Al-Jazeera is of particular concern since the stations' offices were also hit in Kabul, Afghanistan in November 2001. The Pentagon asserted, without providing additional detail, that the office was a "known Al-Qaeda facility," and that the U.S. military did not know the space was being used by Al-Jazeera. In a separate incident today, a U.S. tank opened fired on the Palestine Hotel--the main base for dozens of international journalists covering the conflict from Baghdad--killing two journalists and wounding at least three others. Reuters reported that its cameraman Taras Protsyuk died in the blast, while reporter Samia Nakhoul and photographer Faleh Kheiber suffered facial and head wounds. Cameraman Jose Couso of Spain's Telecinco television was also killed in the attack. U.S. officials have stated that they were responding to sniper fire from the roof of the hotel. Eyewitnesses said they heard no gunfire coming from the hotel. While U.S. officials have expressed regret for the loss of life in these attacks and stated that they do not target journalists, they have left the impression that they bear no responsibility for protecting journalists operating independently in Iraq. At his Centcom briefing today [8 April 2003] in Doha, Qatar, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said that while embedded journalists receive protection from the military, those who operate as non-embeds do so at their own risk. As we noted in our March 6 [2003] letter to you, statements made by Pentagon officials warning of the potential dangers to independent reporters operating in Iraq "do not absolve U.S. forces of their responsibility to avoid endangering media operating in known locations." We remind you that journalists are civilians and protected under international humanitarian law and cannot be deliberately targeted. While we recognize the important role of embedded reporters, the Geneva Conventions also contemplate the presence of non-embedded, or "civilian," journalists on the battlefield, and the U.S. military has an obligation to avoid harming them. Specifically, Article 79 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions notes that "journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians … without prejudice to the right war correspondents [embedded reporters] accredited to the armed forces." While sources in Baghdad have expressed deep skepticism about reports that U.S. forces were fired upon from the Palestine Hotel, even if that were the case, the evidence suggests that the response of U.S. forces was disproportionate and therefore violated international humanitarian law. Even if the Iraqi forces were firing from both the Palestine and Al-Jazeera's offices as the Pentagon has alleged, U.S. forces must factor in the likely harm to civilians when considering an appropriate response, according to the Geneva Conventions. We call on you to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into these incidents and to make the findings public. We also urge you to take measures to ensure that similar attacks do not occur in the future and that journalists are given the protections afforded under international humanitarian law. We take this opportunity to remind you that more than 100 independent journalists continue to operate in Baghdad from both the Palestine and the nearby Sheraton hotels. The U.S.. military has a clear obligation to avoid harming them while carrying out military operations. We await your response and the results of your investigation. Sincerely, JOEL SIMON Acting Director Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Join CPJ in protesting this attack on the press. Write or fax to the address above. [Copyright © 1990-2003 InformationTimes.com - All Rights Reserved.] ================================================== INFORMATION TIMES: http://www.InformationTimes.com America's Daily Internet Newspaper - Washington DC, USA ================================================== |
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