Tony Gosling
bristol@nuj.org.uk
Wed, 26 Mar 2003 12:34:05 +0000
--=======BAC6805======= Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-13467844; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable 1. Iraq TV Raid May Break Geneva Convention 2. Amnesty condemns illegal attacks on civilians ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------------------------------------------- Iraq TV Raid May Break Geneva Convention http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20030326_203.html March 26, 2003 =97 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The head of the world's biggest journalists'=20 organization said a U.S. bomb and missile attack on Iraqi television on=20 Wednesday was an attempt at censorship and may have breached the Geneva=20 Conventions. "I think there should be a clear international investigation into whether=20 or not this bombing violates the Geneva Conventions," Aidan White, general= =20 secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), told= Reuters. "We have every reason to believe this is an act of censorship against media= =20 that U.S. politicians and military strategists don't like," he said. A U.S. official in Washington earlier said the raid had hit the main=20 television station, a key telecommunications vault and Baghdad satellite=20 communications, damaging the government's command and control capability. But White said U.S. strikes would have targeted television earlier if it=20 had been a military target. "There is no question that this attack reflects the anger and frustration=20 of political leaders in the United States over the showing of prisoners on= =20 television and the use of television to boost the morale of Saddam Hussein= =20 supporters," said White. "This is the only credible explanation for this attack." He said the IFJ, which represents more than 500,000 journalists in 100=20 countries, believed there was no military justification for the raid, which= =20 recalled NATO's bombing of Radio Television Serbia during the Kosovo war=20 three years ago. "Once again, we see military and political commanders from the democratic=20 world targeting a television network simply because they don't like the=20 message it gives out," he said. Despite the attack, Iraqi television came on air at about 9 a.m., and state= =20 radio was also broadcasting normally. Iraq's 24-hour international=20 satellite television channel ceased broadcasting during the raids but came= =20 back on air at about 0920 GMT with patriotic songs. The IFJ said international law forbade attacks on television and radio=20 stations unless they were used for military purposes, and there was no=20 evidence this was the case in Iraq. Nor did the IFJ believe television broadcasts could include coded messages= =20 to the Iraqi army. "The idea that Iraqi soldiers are sitting in the desert= =20 watching television to get their orders is absurd," White said. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20030326_203.html -=3D------------------------------------------------------------------------= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. US and Britain condemned over 'Geneva Convention breach' http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764628.html?menu=3D Amnesty International has condemned the US and Britain for targeting=20 civilian buildings in air strikes. Although the coalition forces state they are hitting Saddam Hussein's=20 regime command centres, the human rights body says the bombing of the Iraqi= =20 television channel could be a breach of the Geneva Conventions. Tomahawk cruise missiles and bombs slammed into the headquarters of Iraqi=20 state television as the allies sought to sever the link between Saddam and= =20 the population. "The bombing of a television station, simply because it is being used for=20 the purposes of propaganda, cannot be condoned," Amnesty International said. "It is a civilian object, and thus protected under international=20 humanitarian law." But a US spokesman insisted: "These targets are key regime command and=20 control assets." After the pre-dawn air strikes on the Iraqi capital, monitors in London=20 could no longer see the international 24-hour Iraqi Satellite TV. Domestic= =20 Iraqi TV, which does not broadcast at night, reportedly came back on air at= =20 about 0600 GMT. State radio was still broadcasting. Thomas Mcinerney, a former US Air Force General, told an audience at the=20 Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday there are "pluses and minuses" of=20 such a TV station continuing to operate. Leaving the station unaffected would allow the Pentagon to broadcast its=20 own propaganda if and when Baghdad falls. And the battle to win the hearts= =20 and minds of Iraqis depends on not destroying the civilian infrastructure. But now the allies clearly want Iraqi propaganda, which is co-ordinated by= =20 Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, taken off the air. The televised call by Saddam earlier this week for Iraqis to "slit the=20 throats" of the invaders may have boosted the spirits of those who=20 otherwise feared the leadership of their country was close to defeat. Story filed: 08:15 Wednesday 26th March 2003 http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764628.html?menu=3D 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 --=======BAC6805=======--