The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
USA
Fax: +1-703-697 83 39
The Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon MP
Secretary of State for Defence
Ministry of Defence
Main Building, Whitehall
London SW1A 2HB
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 207 218 1289
Vienna, 2 April 2003
Dear Mr. Rumsfeld,
Dear Mr. Hoon,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives, is worried that the military inquiries into the exact circumstances of the disappearance of two journalists is not being conducted in a timely or transparent manner.
According to information provided to IPI, on 25 March, an Independent Television News (ITN) crew were travelling in two jeeps marked “TV” when they came under heavy fire at Iman Anas on the approaches to Basra. The direct hits on the jeeps killed ITN reporter Terry Lloyd and injured cameraman Daniel Demostier. French cameraman Frédéric Nerac and Lebanese interpreter Hussein Othman, who were also travelling as part of the ITN team, have disappeared and are feared dead.
On the basis of statements given by Demostier after the attack, the ITN crew had apparently found themselves driving towards Iraqi lines. Upon realising this they turned back, but were fired upon by coalition tanks. “They were probably aiming at the Iraqis, although I am sure the Iraqis were trying to surrender,” said Demostier.
In the aftermath of the tragic incident both the United Kingdom’s (UK) Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the United States’ (U.S.) Central Command (Centcom), based in Doha, Qatar, announced an intention to carry out inquiries into the disappearances, but they have so far yielded little information. This is despite the fact that the inquiry into the death of Lloyd has already been concluded, admittedly without a final determination as to who was responsible for his death.
As a result of the slow-paced inquiries, nearly eight days after their disappearance, the relatives and colleagues of Nerac and Othman have yet to be officially informed of their whereabouts or, indeed, their fate.
Bearing the above mind, IPI calls on the UK and U.S. to carry out a full inquiry into the disappearances of the two journalists and, in the interests of transparency, make the results public as soon as possible. While IPI recognizes there may be difficulties in conducting such an investigation at this difficult time, it strongly believes that the circumstances of the journalists’ disappearance are such that they demand a timely inquiry.
On the subject of military inquiries into deaths or disappearances during wartime, IPI feels that there may be a need to thoroughly review the procedure once the war has ended. Because of the nature of the allegations in this incident, it might aid transparency and enhance the validity of final reports if they were conducted by an independent body or expert.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
