DATE=12/24/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-243469 
TITLE=REPORTERS TOLL (L ONLY)
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT: 

INTRO:  THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS SAYS 50 
JOURNALISTS WERE KILLED THIS YEAR WHILE TRYING TO CARRY OUT THEIR
JOBS.  AND V-O-A CORRESPONDENT LAURIE KASSMAN REPORTS FROM LONDON
THAT THE WORLD NEWSPAPERS' ASSOCIATION HAS GIVEN ITS HIGHEST 
AWARD TO A DISSIDENT IRANIAN EDITOR. 

TEXT:  THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS SAYS 50 
JOURNALISTS LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY, MANY OF THEM IN
LATIN AMERICA.  

THE FEDERATION'S HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER, CAILIN (CAH LEEN) 
MACKENZIE, SAYS 19 OF THE CASES ARE STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION, 
INCLUDING SEVEN KILLINGS IN COLOMBIA ALONE.  

          !          ///  MACKENZIE ACT  ///

  !      WE MUST BE WORRIEE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN LATIN 
         AMERICA BECAUSE THERE IS A CONTINENT WHICH WE THOUGHT 
         FOR A FEW YEARS HAD OVERCOME ITS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC PAST 
         AND WAS MOVING FORWARD.  BUT NOW WE SEE IT HAS BECOME 
         ONCE AGAIN COMMON CURRENCY TO KILL A JOURNALIST BECAUSE 
         THERE IS A BELIEF YOU WON'T GET CAUGHT.

                        ///  END ACT  ///

THE REPORT ALSO LISTS TWO IRANIAN JOURNALISTS FOUND DEAD EARLIER 
THIS MONTH WHO HAD BEEN QUESTIONED RECENTLY IN CONNECTION WITH 
THEIR EFFORTS TO FORM A WRITERS' ASSOCIATION.  A JOURNALIST IN 
KOSOVO DIED AFTER MASKED GUNMEN AMBUSHED HIS CAR IN DOWNTOWN 
PRISTINA.   A RADIO BROADCASTER IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS SHOT AT 
POINT-BLANK RANGE WHILE HE WAS BROADCASTING THE NEWS. 

MISS MACKENZIE SAYS ONE OF  THE MOST UNSETTLING DEATHS WAS THE  
MURDER EARLIER THIS MONTH OF NORBERT ZONGO, WHO EDITED THE 
BURKINA FASO WEEKLY L'INDEPENDENT. 

                   ///  MACKENZIE ACT TWO  ///

         THIS WAS AN EDITOR AND JOURNALIST WHO  NOT  ONLY 
         MAINTAINED A HIGH LEVEL OF JOURNALISM AND WAS VERY 
         RESPECTED AS A JOURNALIST, BUT HE FOUGHT A BATTLE FOR 
         THE INDEPENDENCE OF JOURNALISM IN THAT COUNTRY.  AND HIS
         MURDER HAS BEEN A SEVERE BLOW BOTH TO FREEDOM OF 
         EXPRESSION FOR THE JOURNALISTIC COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO 
         THE POPULATION OF BURKINA FASO, WHICH IS TESTIFIED BY 
         THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO TURNED OUT FOR HIS FUNERAL.

                        ///  END ACT  ///

///  OPT  ///   MISS MACKENZIE SAYS THE FEDERATION DOES  NOT  
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN REPORTERS MURDERED BECAUSE OF THEIR WORK AND 
OTHERS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE WHILE COVERING A WAR.

             ///  OPT  //  MACKENZIE ACT THREE  ///

         IF YOU'VE GOT A REPORTER TRAVELING WITH THE REBELS IN A 
         WAR ZONE, HE CAN GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE, HE CAN BE
         SUBJECT TO AN AMBUSH AND HE CAN GET KILLED.  BUT HE WAS 
         DEFINITELY WORKING AS A JOURNALIST AT THAT TIME IN 
         TRYING TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION WHICH WE ALL WANT TO 
         HAVE.  AND THAT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT AS A JOURNALIST WHO 
         WAS KILLED WHILE WORKING AS AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER 
         AND WAS TARGETED AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

      !          ///  END ACT  //  END OPT  ///

MISS MACKENZIE SAYS THE NUMBER OF JOURNALIST DEATHS REPORTED IN 
1998 APPEARS TO HAVE DECLINED FROM THE YEAR BEFORE.  BUT SHE SAYS
THE PERCENTAGE OF POLITICALLY -MOTIVATED MURDERS HAS INCREASED.

                  ///  MACKENZIE ACT FOUR  ///

         WE HAVE THEM IN BANGLADESH -- INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS 
         -- IN BRAZIL, BURKINA FASO, CANADA, COLOMBIA, ETHIOPIA, 
         IRAN, MEXICO, NIGERIA.  THE LIST GOES ON OF JOURNALISTS 
         WHO ARE KILLED BECAUSE THEY ARE INVESTIGATING CORRUPTION
         OR OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND 
         CRIMINALS ALIKE.

                        ///  END ACT  ///

THE BRUSSELS-BASED FEDERATION WAS FOUNDED IN 1926 AND  REPRESENTS
MORE THAN 400-THOUSAND MEDIA WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD.  MISS 
MACKENZIE SAYS THE GROUP OFFERS TRAINING COURSES FOR REPORTERS IN
CONFLICT ZONES AND CONTINUES TO LOBBY GOVERNMENTS TO BETTER 
PROTECT JOURNALISTS AND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.  
(SIGNED)

NEB/LMK/JWH

24-Dec-98 6:50 AM EST (1150 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.