The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with safeguarding press freedom today deplored a recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attack on Libyan State broadcasting facilities last month which killed three media workers and injured 21 people. “Media outlets should not be targeted in military actions,” UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement, citing a Security Council resolution from 2006 that condemns acts of violence against journalists and media personnel in conflict situations. “The NATO strike is also contrary to the principles of the Geneva Conventions that establish the civilian status of journalists in times of war even when they engage in propaganda,” she added. “Silencing the media is never a solution. Fostering independent and pluralistic media is the only way to enable people to form their own opinion.” NATO issued a statement saying that the strike was conducted in accordance with Security Council resolution 1973 adopted in March, which authorizes the use of “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya, where the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi has conducted a military offensive against citizens seeking both greater freedoms and his removal from power. When Does Press Become Propaganda Arm or Even Instigator of Genocide? Noteworthy that this action pits Ms. Bokova, previously a Bulgarian diplomat before her appointment to UNESCO, at odds with NATO members. The divide raises some difficult issues: should media be immune from all military action, particularly state run broadcasters, even if inciting hatred and murder. In Rwanda, media played a critical role in inciting but also directing the genocide. Other examples, from Nazi Germany to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, are plentiful, and media was directly engaged to incite ethnic cleansing and atrocities. Personally, I tend to give benefit of the doubt to anything labeled as the press, but is that press independent and not merely acting as an arm of the state to promote not only propaganda but other agendas that might even violate international humanitarian law. Think few would argue that Nazi propaganda outlets should have been accorded protection of press. Nonetheless, it is in each case a matter of perception. Black and white rules may be difficult and probably inappropriate to draw. Related FILM REPORT – “World Press Freedom Day” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/world-press-freedom-jailed-iran-journalist-honored/26626 Related Reports at diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice









 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey








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