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
Vienna, 9 April 2003
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in 115 nations, protests in the strongest possible terms the shelling by the U.S. military of the Palestine Hotel in which two journalists were killed and several more injured.
Based on information provided to IPI, on 8 April a U.S. tank fired upon the Palestine Hotel, which is the headquarters of many foreign journalists reporting on the conflict from Baghdad, resulting in the deaths of Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Telecinco cameraman José Couso. Reuters reporter Samia Nakhoul and photographer Faleh Kheiber were also injured in the attack.
In response to questioning from the media, U.S. officials have claimed that the shelling of the Palestine Hotel was undertaken due to sniper fire coming from the roof of the building; however, this has been denied by eyewitnesses who allege that no gunfire had been heard prior to the attack.
Although the U.S. military have expressed regret at the loss of life and reiterated the fact that it is not their policy to target journalists, IPI has been left with the overwhelming impression that the attack was carried out recklessly and without regard to the potential for civilian casualties. Throughout the war it has been common knowledge to both sides in this conflict that international journalists were using the Palestine Hotel as their base and the failure of the U.S. military to act upon this information is inexcusable even in what has been termed the “fog of war.”
In consequence, the United States may be in breach of international law, particularly the Geneva Conventions.
Under the Geneva Conventions and the precedents of customary international law, journalists enjoy protection from the dangers arising from military operations and the U.S. military forces are bound not to conduct indiscriminate attacks.
In shelling a civilian hotel, known to be occupied by international journalists, it is the strong belief of IPI that the U.S. military may have conducted just such an indiscriminate attack; a possibility supported by the use of a means of combat, namely tank shells to combat sniper fire, that cannot be solely directed at a specific military target and is of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians without distinction.
Therefore, on the basis of international law, irrespective of whether there was sniper fire or not, IPI finds that the actions of the U.S military to be indiscriminate and taken with complete disregard for the lives of the journalists living and working in the Palestine Hotel.
On the question of so called “unilateral” journalists working outside the structure set in place by the allied forces for “embedded” journalists, IPI is deeply concerned that the allied forces are attempting to relieve themselves of their international obligations to ensure journalists’ safety. IPI notes that there have been a number of comments from U.S. officials that would appear to confirm this viewpoint; particularly from military headquarters in Doha, Qatar, where Brigadier General Vincent Brooks recently said that “unilateral” journalists reported at their own risk.
Once again, IPI views this as a fundamental misstatement since under international obligations the allied forces in Iraq must do everything possible to ensure journalists’ safety whether “embedded” or “unilateral.”
Bearing this in mind, IPI calls upon you to undertake all possible precautionary measures to guarantee the safety and protection of journalists; to make a public declaration that all journalists shall enjoy the protection under international law; and to ensure that the military leadership will make this clear to all allied combatants currently fighting in Iraq.
Moreover, IPI asks you to take all measures necessary to avoid the unintended attacks on the premises of media organizations.
Finally, IPI invites the U.S. military to conduct a timely and transparent inquiry into the Palestine Hotel attacks.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
IPI Director
Richard Tait
IPI Vice Chairman and Board Member of INSI (International News Safety Institute)
