Wednesday, May 03, 2006
59 journalists who died covering the news in 2005 added to Journalists Memorial
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Photo credit: Mike Olliver/Newseum |
| ABC News President David Westin delivers the keynote address for the Journalists Memorial rededication ceremony. |
ARLINGTON, Va. — The names of 59 journalists who died covering the news in 2005 were added today to the Journalists Memorial to commemorate World Press Freedom Day.
The memorial, located in Freedom Park adjacent to the Freedom Forum and Newseum offices, now pays tribute to 1,665 reporters, editors, photographers and broadcasters who died or were killed while on assignment.
David Westin, president of ABC News, spoke at the 11 a.m. ceremony, just three months after “World New Tonight” co-anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack just north of Baghdad.
“We never, ever want anyone to lose his life in reporting the news,” Westin said. “But the simple, harsh fact is that there are stories so important that some journalists volunteer to take the risk on behalf of all of us.”
Of the 59 journalists whose names were added to the memorial today, 23 were killed in Iraq. Combined with the loss of 20 journalists in Iraq in 2003; 25 in 2004; and six journalists killed there in the first three months of 2006, Iraq has become a more dangerous conflict for journalists than either World War II, during which 69 journalists died around the world, or the 20-year conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia, where 63 journalists died.
Earlier today, journalists including Helen Thomas of Hearst News Service, Rob Doherty of Reuters, Hafez Al-Mirazi of Al Jazeera and others gathered to read the names of 1,606 journalists who died reporting the news from 1812 through 2004.
The names of the 59 journalists added to the Journalists Memorial this year were read separately during the 11 a.m. rededication ceremony. A list of the names of the 59 journalists who died in 2005 is attached. To view a database listing the 1,665 memorialized journalists, their affiliations and the circumstances of their death, visit newseum.org and select “Journalists Memorial.”
The Freedom Forum, based in Arlington, Va., is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment and newsroom diversity. The Newseum, an interactive museum of news under construction in Washington, D.C., will feature an expanded Journalists Memorial gallery when it opens in 2007.
Journalists Who Died Covering The News In 2005
Each journalist is listed under the country in which he or she died. The journalists’ names are followed by the name of the organization for which they worked.
AZERBAIJAN
Elmar Huseynov, Monitor
BANGLADESH
Sheikh Belaluddin, Sangram
Gautam Das, Samakal
BRAZIL
Jose Candido Amorim Pinto, Radio Comunitaria Alternativa
COLOMBIA
Julio Hernando Palacios Sanchez, Radio Lemas
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Franck Kangundu, La Reference Plus
ECUADOR
Julio Augusto Garcia Romero, La Bocina (of Chile)
HAITI
Abdias Jean, WKAT (of the United States)
Robenson Laraque, Tele Contact
INDIA
Asim Nath, Aajkaal
IRAQ
Ahmed Adam, Al-Mada
Rafed Mahmoud Said Al-Anbagy, Diyala TV
Khaled Al-Attar, Al-Iraqiya
Adnan Al-Bayati, Freelance
Ahmed Al-Rubai’i, Al-Sabah
Ahmed Wael Bakri, Al-Sharqiya
Fadhil Hazem Fadhil, Al-Hurriya
Fakher Haider, The New York Times (of the United States)
Mohammed Haroon, Nabdh Al-Shabab
Ahmed Jabbar Hashim, Al-Sabah
Maha Ibrahim, Baghdad TV
Saleh Ibrahim, Associated Press Television News (of the United States)
Ali Ibrahim Issa, Al-Hurriya
Hind Ismail, As-Saffir
Saman Abdullah Izzedine, Kirkuk TV
Waleed Khaled, Reuters (of the United Kingdom)
Abdul-Hussein Khazal, Al-Hurra
Najem Abed Khudair, Al-Mada
Firas Maadidi, As-Saffir
Hussam Hilal Sarsam, Kurdistan Television
Jerges Mahmood Mohamad Suleiman, Nineveh TV
Steven C. Vincent, Freelance (of the United States)
Raeda Wazzan, Nineveh TV
LEBANON
Samir Qassir, An-Nahar
Gebran Tueni, An-Nahar
LIBYA
Daif Al-Gahzal Al-Shuhaibi, Freelance
MEXICO
Dolores Guadalupe Garcia Escamilla, Stereo 91 XHNOE
Raul Gibb Guerrero, La Opinion
NEPAL
Maheshwar Pahari, Rastriya Swabhiman
PAKISTAN
Allah Noor, Avt Khyber
Amir Nowab, Associated Press Television News (of the United States)
PHILIPPINES
Philip Agustin, Starline Times Recorder
George Benaojan, DYBB
Klein Cantoneros, DXAA-FM
Marlene Garcia Esperat, Midland Review
Rolando Morales, DXMD
Robert Ramos, Katapat
RUSSIA
Pavel Makeev, Puls Television
Magomedzagid Varisov, Novoye Delo
SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
Bardhyl Ajeti, Bota Sot
SIERRA LEONE
Harry Yansaneh, For Di People
SOMALIA
Duniya Muhyadin Nur, Capital Voice
Kate Peyton, BBC (of the United Kingdom)
SRI LANKA
Relangi Selvarajah, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation
Dharmeratnam Sivaram, Daily Mirror
THAILAND
Pongkiat Saetang, Had Yai Post
UNITED STATES
Akilah Amapindi, Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (of Namibia)
Liz Ichizawa, The Town Common
Medford E. Logsdon, Newton Kansan
