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Friday, March 19, 2004

Journos walk out of Powell briefing

From correspondents in Baghdad March 19, 2004

ARAB journalists walked out of a news conference held by US Secretary of State Colin Powell today in a protest against the shooting deaths of two Iraqi reporters, allegedly by US troops.

One Arab journalist stood up as soon as Powell walked into the room at the Baghdad convention centre and read a statement saying that after one year of “US occupation,” Americans cannot provide security in Iraq.

“We demand an open investigation in front of the mass media,” the Arab journalist said. “We also demand that security be guaranteed to journalists”.

Seconds later, more than 20 journalists walked out of the room.

Powell said he regretted “any loss of life, journalists, coalition soldiers, missionaries, average Iraqi citizens going about their daily lives.”

A reporter for Arab satellite television station Al-Arabiya died from his wounds today after US soldiers shot him hours earlier along with a cameraman, who died at the scene, the station said.

Five journalists have been killed in Iraq in less than 24 hours.

The US military said it had no information on the shootings of the correspondents late yesterday. But it reported the shooting death of an Iraqi at a checkpoint, and the time and place of that death matched details reported by Al-Arabiya about the incident involving its Iraqi staffers. 

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