Crimes against journalists a pressing issue
THE killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces in Jenin is an act of savagery the so-called civilised world must stringently condemn, as they have denounced the fighting in Ukraine.
The disgusting display of raw firepower in Gaza and the West Bank makes the conflict in Europe pale into insignificance. Killing in such a manner is premeditated murder.
Anyone who disagrees must have their heads read. The twisted media in the West are as guilty as the Israeli security killing machine. Tainted reporting aids and abets the aggressor.
International diplomacy to resolve the crisis is non-existent, as the momentum to achieve peaceful dialogue diminishes by the hour.
More than 2 500 journalists have been killed since 1990. Murdering a journalist is the ultimate form of censorship. Journalists continue to perish and pay the ultimate price for speaking truth to power. Many have been jailed. Imprisonment has become a form of intimidation. When journalists are killed, democracy dies. The shadow of violence continues to loom over the gatekeepers of our cherished freedoms.
Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information to the world community. The UN General Assembly proclaimed November 2 as International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists in General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/163.
Journalists are our eyes and ears. There is an old motto in journalism: “You buy the news, we pay the price.” The first casualty in any conflict is the truth. The second casualty is the truth-teller, the journalist. Under the Geneva Convention, journalists are to be treated as civilians in times of conflicts. Harming or killing them is a war crime.