[Media-watch] FW: I'LL LISTEN TO THE NUJ ON SAFETY, SAYS GEOFF HOON]

[David Miller]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  I'LL LISTEN TO THE NUJ ON SAFETY, SAYS GEOFF HOON
Date:  Tue, 9 Mar 2004 17:55:07 -0000
From:  Tim Gopsill <TimG at nuj.org.uk>
To:  


ATTENTION NEWS AND MEDIA EDITORS

For immediate release March 9 2004


I'LL LISTEN TO THE NUJ ON SAFETY, SAYS GEOFF HOON



Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has pledged to consult the NUJ on the
protection of journalists working in war zones. In a meeting with union
officials yesterday and MPs on March 8 he said the union was leading the
debate on journalists' safety in Britain and he would support its call for
stronger protection in international law.

The NUJ greeted Geoff Hoon's remarks as an advance in its campaign to
prevent the targeting of media workers. Last year's invasion of Iraq by
Anglo-American "coalition" forces saw an unprecedented level of attacks on
journalists, with 17 killed in the three-week military campaign - seven of
them by UK troops.

Pressed by the NUJ to support a move to make the targeting of media workers
a war crime Geoff Hoon said: "I don't have any difficulty with that." He
would not accept that UK forces had any obligation to protect journalists
reporting independently from war zones but did agree that targeting should
be outlawed.

Under the Geneva Conventions, journalists travelling with military forces -
including "embedded" correspondents - are the responsibility of those
forces, but reporters working "unilaterally" are simply classed as
civilians. The NUJ is supporting the International Federation of Journalists
campaign for extra legal protection for journalists and colleagues such as
camera operators, producers, drivers and translators.

As well the declaration that attacks on the media constitute war crimes, the
IFJ is campaigning for an international mechanism for the independent
investigation of such attacks.

Geoff Hoon agreed that the combination of rapid technology and 24-hour
broadcast news put increasing pressure on media workers to be near the
front-line action in war zones. He said: "They are under enormous pressure
to put themselves in harm's way to get the story, more than in the past. We
are willing to discuss this in the constructive way we always have with the
NUJ.

"I don't have any difficulty with that because the British military do not
attack civilian targets and have no intention of ever doing so."

The Ministry of Defence's guidelines for dealing with journalists in war
zones are under review and the NUJ will now be involved in the process.

But the Defence Secretary did not accept responsibility for protecting
independent journalists: "It is not for us to assert their status, they have
their rights and we have no particular responsibility towards them."

He was also less helpful in response to union calls for him to urge the US
military to behave less recklessly towards journalists. He said: "I don't
think it is a matter for us to say, you should not do that."

And he was chilling in his assessment of the obligations that embedded
reporters owed their military protectors: "The journalists know they had to
write the truth in return for the protection they were given. If they write
rubbish they might find themselves less well looked after."

The NUJ had sought the meeting last April, immediately after the bloodshed
in Iraq, but was rebuffed. General Secretary Jeremy Dear then raised the
matter with the union's Parliamentary Group of MPs, which repeated the
request, and the Secretary of State agreed to meet.

Jeremy Dear said: "It was very positive to get the chance to state what our
concerns are and what government needs to do, We are now going to keep up
the pressure to win a safer environment for journalists who have to cover
wars."


Contact

Jeremy Dear 0207 843 3709, 07855 384 287
Tim Gopsill 0207 843 3701