On Thursday, Bob Schieffer, renowned CBS newsman who has covered events in D.C. for more than three decades, said that he can't recall "a time when it's been more challenging for journalists." Schieffer was referring, of course, to the Bush administration's program of domestic surveillance, as well as a rash of frivolous grand jury subpoenas, over the past five years, coercing journalists to give up their confidential sources. Schieffer is right. There is no way news of extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, and Abu Ghraib would reach our shores were it not for reporters. The press, in this country, has acted as the watchdog for governmental transgressions; indeed, were it not for two Washington Post reporters, Richard Nixon might not have been forced to resign.
Less than 36 hours after Bob Schieffer made the above remarks, in Russia, a 48 year old celebrated investigative journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who had been working copiously to expose the travesties of her government, under Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow. Ms. Politkovskaya had received nearly a dozen awards from human rights, and international journalist groups such as Reporters without Borders, over the years, for her exemplary work exposing, and documenting, the slaughter, torture, and harassment of civilians by Russian soldiers in Chechnya. "People sometimes pay with their lives for saying out loud what they think," Ms. Politkovskyaya has been quoted as saying. (AP) Clearly, too, they pay the ultimate price for writing what they think as a book that she recently wrote which takes issue with Putin's campaign against "terror" in Chechnya, and reveals "widespread abuse of civilians by government troops" (AP) surely didn't win her any fans among Moscow's military elite.
This was not the first attempt on the life of this 48 year old mother of two. Back in 2004, she experienced symptoms of food poisoning after drinking tea during a Moscow flight to south Russia where she was covering a hostage crisis in a school. A few years before this incident, she reportedly received e-mail death threats seeking to avenge the reputation of a member of Russian law enforcement who she accused of torturing civilians. (AP) Still, nothing deterred her from her lifelong commitment to investigating, and exposing the travesties visited upon the Russian people by their government.
Anna P. was one of the few allowed into a theatre in Moscow held hostage by Chechen rebels, back in 2002, where she tried to negotiate with the militants. The fact that many of those who were in the theatre, at the time, later succumbed to gas poisoning served as the focus of much of her most recent investigative work, as well as her ongoing inquiry into the Putin regime's campaign of torture against Chechen "terrorists."
Nearly two dozen journalists have been killed in Russia over the past 8 years, many in Chechnya, making Russia among the most dangerous countries for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. (AP) Clearly, the syllabus for Journalism 101 doesn't include serving in a war, an undeclared war, no less, against the free flow of information, and a free press.
Human Rights Watch, in a report more than two years ago, notes that of the seven Russian detainees, at Guantanamo Bay, who were released by the U.S. government, six urged the U.S. not to release them saying they were afraid they'd be "tortured, or mistreated" when they got back home. "They were right," asserts HRW, "All seven have been variously harassed, detained, mistreated, and beaten since they set foot on Russian soil. Two have been convicted of terrorism after highly irregular trials. One was tortured in pre-trial detention. Three are in hiding after campaigns of intimidation and harassment by Russian law enforcement authorities." So, given how the Russian government harasses its citizens, it should come as no surprise then how it treats one who exposes its campaign of beating, and intimidation of its civillians.
Over the past 50 years, much of the world has the words "made in the USA" stamped all over it, which may explain why the Cold War ended not with a bang, but a whimper. Since the Berlin Wall came down, and the U.S.S.R was dissolved, a dreadful mimesis has maimed, and forever defaced, many autonomous states. Only dogs bark at their own reflection in the mirror. Monsters often embrace what they see that most resembles themselves, and do the best they can to destroy anything that differs. Ineluctably, perhaps, but inevitably nonetheless, America has spread her campaign of fear, and secrecy globally
So, while Russian prosecutors open an investigation into who, or what, killed this prominent reporter, and while they concede that "the killing could be linked to her work," (AP) it is up to those of us who care about getting the truth out to continue Anna Politkovskaya's mission to uncover those crimes that come within the parameters of normal governmental practice. We, in this country, can best do justice to her memory, as well as the memory of all those who keep us informed in these dark times, by acknowledging universally that torture must not be allowed to breed under the badge of terror, and demanding that crimes against journalists be seen, and punished, as crimes against humanity.
Anna Politkovskaya was a foot soldier in the campaign for truth, a free press, and a multidimensional view of the world, as was Daniel Pearl, and others who will have received no accolades, and who won't be remembered except perhaps as a footnote in a history book yet to be written, thus it is up to each and every one of us to celebrate members of the press, one and all.
http://ladyjaynestahl.blogspot.com
Widely published, poet, playwright, essayist, and screenwriter; member of PEN American Center, and PEN USA. Jayne Lyn Stahl is a Huffington Post blogger.
I'd rather be like Anna P., shot dead for seeking the truth against a government bent on perpetrating lies, than live my life like a patient anesthestized on an operating table.
Powerful writing. Thanks.
Missy Beattie
by
Missy Comley Beattie (163 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 48 comments)
on Sunday, October 8, 2006 at 4:43:54 PM
Mandatory- the second change brought because of VultureTX
Comment is flagged and has been reviewed by the editors -
Reason: Spam
Editor's Message: commenterx uses same comment subject heading each time. First warning. Also, commenterx is chronically cynical, negative and unpleasantly antagonistically sarcastic. First warning.
"...and demanding that crimes against journalists be seen, and punished, as crimes against humanity."
ROFL!
Somehow I doubt that you meant to include O'Reilly, Novak, George Will,etc, as protected people. Of course I also laughed when you decided to make the whole Fourth Estate more equal than other humans. But I can't help chuckling over the thought of Soros atttacking Fox's O'Reilly and Soros being extradited to the Hague for a Crime Against Humanity.
by
Vulture (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 153 comments)
on Sunday, October 8, 2006 at 11:01:50 PM
you have NO GUIDLINES for comments. Your "Regulars" have done the same to me multiple times. DO you REALLY want me to flag on that basis? Do you really have a BASIS?
To the OP.
I noticed that you did a ad homimen response to my question. ARe you willing to call a "Crime against Humanity" when someone goes after FOX's Oreilly? Somcehow I doubt that.
by
Vulture (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 153 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 8:06:13 AM
Aside of calling Putin Alexander ( he is Vladimir) the article is very good and compassionate. At the same time, I would urge the people who write about Russian affairs to go deeper. There are many aspects. There is a whole ' Gitmo diary' on the Russian opposition site which kinda paints a slightly different picture from the one painted above ( not to say the stuff above is totally untrue).
Also, our liberal press stays silent whwn it comes to the abuse of Russian people in the former Soviet Republics.
But all that aside, we lost, and evil gained. Not the first time...
by
Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 235 diaries, 3359 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 7:34:26 AM
I prefer not to list sources but those are the ones openly published on Internet.
'Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist from the Novaya Gazeta ( New Newspaper) was killed by a man with three shots and then a control shot to the head in her own apartment building at the stairs when she was coming in with groceries. The killing looked professional; the pistol was left at the scene.'
Folks, several years ago the same way the Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova was killed. But here comes a twist:
'Vladimir Putin promised Bush to find and punish the killers...'
Folks, that's bizarre. I wonder how would the world react if we hear something like:
'Several Russian citizens died in 9/11 attack. Bush promised Putin to perform a thorough investigation.'
Or something like this:
" Rachel Corrie, the US citizen had been killed by buldozer in Israel. Ariel Sharon promised Bush to investigate and punish killers."
The common decency requires that the only people whom the authorities are to promise to find and punish killers should be members of the victim's family as well as personal friends. Politicos who use death for their own advantage are despicable. Bush, of course did not give a damn about Anna, neither did he give a damn about Rachel. Putin could not care less. But look like cynically they play the cards of death. But guess what? In Russia there will be loud voices denouncing such behavior of their President. How about such voices here?
by
Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 235 diaries, 3359 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 1:00:40 PM
excellent question----does the fact that Putin feels the need to report back to Bush tell us something... the U.S. is no longer the "leader" of the free world, but the global neighborhood bully... also, the only difference between Bush and Putin is several thousand miles. The human rights records of both men, both domestically and abroad, are remarkably similar. Benign neglect is a form of abuse, and the way Bush and Co. handled New Orleans, after the hurricane, is frighteningly similar to how Putin is handling Chechnya.
by
Jayne Lyn Stahl (168 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 64 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 1:08:04 PM
panurg said "" Rachel Corrie, the US citizen had been killed by buldozer in Israel. Ariel Sharon promised Bush to investigate and punish killers."
Why did you add that one, were you trying to insuate that Israel was at fault? Last I checked the ISM set up her death. And it was Palestinians who were digging the tunnels in an area under Israeli control per the OSlo Accords and acknowledged when Egypt gave up its rights to Gaza. Sure it was an american made bulldozer driver by an IDF engineer, but the ISM urged on Rachel to pull that JACKASS stunt. Similar stunts in ths US have also resulted in the operators being held blameless.
by
Vulture (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 153 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 1:47:43 PM
I made a bet with myself that vulture would pick at that. Works perfectly, does it? Vulture goes for any little thing..., no matter what this is associated with. Actually Israel as a country cannot be insinuated. Israeli government can and I will 'insinuate' it if I want to. But in this particular case I just was giving an example of bizarre thread of behavior. Ariel Sharon, of course did not promise the parents of Rachel Corrie to find and punish the killers and I can get many other examples when politicos play the death card while normal people die. The real situation is that a President of the sovereign nation gives assurances about finding killers of its citizen not to the family of the victim but to the President of another nation far away from it. That is... you know.
And vulture, shut up. Fly away where you belong and stop picking. You need help.
I apologize to Rob Kall for... er. rudeness.
by
Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 235 diaries, 3359 comments)
on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 1:59:07 PM
