- International press freedom organisation Reporters Without
Borders today expressed revulsion at the "barbaric" death of
Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni and said it had heightened fears for the
safety of other missing reporters in the area.
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- "We are horrified by what has happened," said
an RWB spokesman. "We express our full support for Enzo Baldoni's
family and friends and we undertake to do everything possible to ensure
that those responsible for this abominable killing are identified and brought
to trial."
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- Baldoni, a 56-year-old freelance journalist who had recently
been working for Milan weekly Diario, had been missing since August 19
when he disappeared en route to Najaf, the scene of fierce fighting between
US troops and supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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- Baldoni's daughter Gabriella told Italian TV on Wednesday
that her father was "trying to save human lives in Najaf by helping
a Red Cross convoy, in a spirit of solidarity which has always underscored
his thinking and his actions".
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- The International Federation of Journalists also condemned
the brutal murder. "This is a senseless killing of a caring colleague.
Enzo Baldoni had a reputation as the best journalism has to offer,"
said Aidan White, the general secretary of the IFJ.
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- "He was a professional committed to the humanitarian
cause. His killing is a savage reminder that there are no civilised values
among those who target journalists in pursuit of impossible demands."
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- Baldoni was shown apparently in the hands of extremists
in Iraq on video footage broadcast on Tuesday by Arab satellite broadcaster
al-Jazeera.
-
- In the video, a militant group calling itself "the
Islamic Army in Iraq" did not threaten Baldoni directly, but said
in a statement it could not guarantee his safety unless Italy announced
within 48 hours that it would withdraw its troops from Iraq.
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- Baldoni's death has heightened fears for the safety of
French journalists Christain Chesnot, a reporter with Radio France-Internationale,
and Georges Malbrunot, who worked for the Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro.
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- They went missing on the same day as Baldoni but RWB
said it hoped the fact that no one had claimed responsibility for their
capture was a positive sign.
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- "Their situation is completely different as no one
has claimed responsibility for their kidnapping and we continue to think
that their nationality works in their favour," said the organisation.
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- "We hope that renewed diplomatic efforts will succeed
and that appeals on all sides for restraint will secure the release of
our colleagues if they have been taken," added Mr White of the IFJ.
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- Meanwhile, Italians reacted with horror to the execution
of the journalist, whose death was confirmed last night by al-Jazeera,
which said it would not broadcast video footage of the killing out of respect
for Baldoni's family, and the Italian news agency Ansa.
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- "There are no words to describe this inhuman act
that with one blow wipes out centuries of civilisation to bring us back
to the dark ages of barbarity," Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime
minister, said in a statement issued shortly after the report aired.
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- In an interview with RAI state radio, the Italian foreign
minister, Franco Frattini ,said the killing was "an act of barbarity,
a horrendous act that has struck a courageous journalist who had gone to
Iraq to help the Iraqi people".
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- But Mr Frattini echoed Mr Berlusconi's assertion that
Italy would maintain its troop presence in Iraq despite Baldoni's killing.
"The Italian undertaking in Iraq cannot and should not change,"
he told RAI.
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- Italians competing at the Olympic games said today they
would pay tribute to Baldoni by wearing black arm bands during Friday's
events, according to a spokesman for the Italian Olympic team.
-
- They will include the Italian men's football team, who
play Iraq in the bronze medal match in the Olympic tournament later today
in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.
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- "This was a decision taken by CONI [the Italian
Olympic committee] and regards all the Italian teams competing today, not
just the footballers," the spokesman said.
-
- The death of Baldoni has further highlighted the dangers
facing journalists in Iraq and major news organisations said today they
would continue to monitor events in the region.
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- Baldoni was the 12th journalist this year to be kidnapped
in Iraq, according to a statement issued earlier this week by the New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists.
-
- American journalist and documentary filmmaker Micah Garen
was freed by Islamic militants on Sunday, 10 days after he was taken hostage
in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
-
- In his case the kidnappers made a similar demand, saying
he would be killed unless American troops were withdrawn from Najaf within
48 hours.
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- Earlier this week dozens of reporters were briefly detained
by Iraqi police in Najaf who stormed a hotel where the journalists were
staying.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1292314,00.html
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