| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Media to defy POW request
By CNN's Grant Holloway
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australian media are ignoring a request by Australia's Defense Department not to show images of prisoners of war from the Iraq conflict. In a statement released Monday evening, the department drew media attention to two Geneva conventions concerning the treatment of POWs, including their filming and photographing. "Defense requests media organizations 'pixilate' the faces of both Coalition and Iraqi prisoners of war," the statement said. The request follows the release of still and video footage of captured U.S. soldiers which was shown first on the Arabic language Al-Jazeera network and subsequently around the globe, including on CNN. No identifiable images of dead POWs were shown on CNN and anchors issued warnings that the material might be disturbing to some viewers. Earlier images of Iraqi POWS have also been widely aired. The Defense statement asked for the assistance of media organizations in ensuring that Australia "meets its obligations under the (Geneva) conventions." But media groups here argue the conventions apply to the behavior of combatants, not observers, adding that usual standards of sensitivity to the feelings of families involved and appropriateness would apply. The Defense request came after network television channels in Australia had already aired their key evening news broadcasts featuring the American POWs. Major newspapers, including quality national The Australian, ran images of the POWs in defiance of the request which came ahead of their publication deadlines. Seven Network news director Ian Cook told CNN Tuesday that Seven did not accept the department's claim that the Geneva Conventions covered the media in this regard. "As far as the POWs and other disturbing images of war goes, we follow our normal rules: We will never show vision of death or serious injuries and any shots we use that are disturbing, we warn our viewers," Cook said. "We will show parts of the POW vision because we think it is a legitimate news story." Editor of The Australian newspaper Michael Stutchbury told CNN the newspaper could never agree to a blanket policy on such an issue. "If we start censoring the reality of war then we (the media) are open to accusations that we are not doing our essential job," he said. Channel Nine news director Paul Fenn said there was a legitimate argument to restrict coverage if any Australian POWs were involved. "If it happened Australians were captured, we would wait until families are told and if they were from the SAS (Special Air Services) we are not able to identify them anyway," he told Australian Associated Press. Cook said if Australian POWs were involved then the network would wait until they were sure that families of those captured had been informed before showing any vision. Australia has around 2,000 troops involved in the conflict as well as a squadron of fighter aircraft, support planes and naval frigates. 'Not required'The publicly funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation argues the Geneva conventions do not apply to the media in this case and points to many previous examples of POW footage being shown. National news and current affairs editor Lisa Sweeney said the conventions were designed to control the combatants not independent news organizations. "We have examined history and right back from the last Gulf War where we ran pictures of U.S. and British POWs and during the Balkans war of the emaciated POWs," Australian Associated Press quotes her saying. "This global demand is not something we feel is required," she said. The first convention cited by the Defense Department is Article 13 of Geneva Convention III which states that POWs must at all times be "protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." The second is Article 27 of the Geneva Convention IV which has the same provisions for civilian detainees and civilian internees. This includes restrictions of photographing and filming POWs, civilian detainees and civilian internees, the defense statement said.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
