[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E949-E950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 IN HONOR OF THE 40 JOURNALISTS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES PURSUING THE NEWS 
                                IN 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2000

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day 
was held in May, when the names of journalists who have died covering 
the news were added to The Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial located 
in Arlington, Virginia. There were 40 people who died in 1999 in their 
efforts to bring us the news from around the world.
  We owe a debt of gratitude to these journalists who risked their 
lives to bring us the news about many dangerous places in the world, 
from Sierra Leone to Chechnya to Bosnia to Kosovo. Were it not for 
their courage and bravery, perhaps the world would never have known 
about the horrors and the atrocities that have been and are now taking 
place there.
  The deadliest country from which to report last year was the nation 
of Sierra Leone, as 10 journalists died there in 1999--the most in any 
one country. Sierra Leone has been a battlefield that has taken the 
lives of many of the world's finest journalists, including the most 
recent casualties that are still fresh in many of our minds--Reuters 
correspondent Kurt Schork and Associated Press cameraman Miguel Gil 
Moreno de Mora, who, along with four Sierra Leone soldiers, were shot 
to death there just two weeks ago in a rebel ambush.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sharing with our colleagues a news release from the 
Newseum and also a list of the names of the 40 journalists who died in 
1999.

 Three Hundred Thirty-two Journalists Who Died Covering the News Since 
                1812 To Be Added to Journalists Memorial


  Ceremony to take place on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, at 11 a.m.

       Arlington, VA.--The names of 332 journalists who died 
     covering the news since 1812, including 40 journalists killed 
     in 1999, will be added May 3 to The Freedom Forum Journalists 
     Memorial. The memorial, located in Freedom Park, now pays 
     tribute to 1,369 reporters, editors, photographers and 
     broadcasters killed as a result of covering the news. May 3 
     also marks World Press Freedom Day.
       Thomas Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of the 
     CNN News, will speak at the 11 a.m. ceremony in Freedom Park, 
     following readings by journalists of names on the memorial. 
     The ceremony will be attended by friends, family members and 
     colleagues of journalists honored on the memorial, as well as 
     representatives of the news organizations for which the slain 
     journalists worked.
       Two hundred and ninety-two of the names to be added are of 
     journalists who died between 1812 and the end of 1998. These 
     deaths were discovered or verified during ongoing research 
     conducted by The Freedom Forum since the memorial was 
     originally dedicated in May 1996. The remaininig 40 names are 
     those journalists killed last year.
       ``Sadly, we have learned that by this time next year, it is 
     likely that another 30 to 40 journalists will have died 
     pursuing the truth,'' said Charles L. Overby, chairman and 
     chief executive officer of The Freedom Forum. ``We must never 
     forget them, and we hope this memorial will be a part of 
     their legacy.''
       Myles Tierney of Associated Press Television News is one of 
     the names being added to the memorial. The 34-year-old 
     American producer was covering Sierra Leone's civil war when 
     a rebel fighter opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle on the 
     car Tierney was traveling in, killing him instantly.
       Sierra Leone was the deadliest country for journalists in 
     1999, with ten deaths occurring there. Latin America, 
     particularly Colombia, remains a dangerous place for those 
     covering stories about politics, drug trafficking and 
     organized crime.
       Popular political satirist Jaime Garzon was shot five times 
     in the head and chest while driving to his Bogota radio 
     station. He had been threatened repeatedly by Carlos Castano, 
     leader of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, a 
     right-wing paramilitary organization fighting against leftist 
     guerrillas. Garzon had scheduled a meeting with Castano Aug. 
     14, the day after he was killed.
       ``In an age of information overload, it is easy to forget 
     that there are people still willing to die for journalism,'' 
     said Peter S. Prichard, president of The Free Forum and 
     Newseum. ``The memorial reminds us what sacrifices 
     journalists are willing to make for a free press.''
       Journalists' names are added each year to the glass panels 
     of the monument, which stands at the apex of Freedom Park, 
     adjacent to the Newseum and The Freedom Forum World Center in 
     Arlington, VA.
       Research by Freedom Forum staff and the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists documents incidents where journalists 
     were killed or died while covering the news. Some were killed 
     reporting on wars, natural disasters or violent crimes, some 
     were injured or fell ill while on assignment, and some were 
     murdered to silence their reporting. Journalists who died as 
     a result of accidents unrelated to an assignment are not 
     listed, nor are those who instigated the violence that caused 
     their deaths. An independent panel of journalists and 
     journalism historians reviews difficult cases.
       A list of the names of the 40 journalists who died in 1999 
     is attached. To view a database listing the 1,369 
     memorialized journalists, their affiliations and the 
     circumstances of their death, visit the Newseum online at 
     www.freedomforum.org/newseumnews/memorial.asp or 
     www.newseum.org/newseum/aboutthenewseum/
freedompark.htm#memorial.
       The Newseum, the only interactive museum of news, takes 
     visitors behind the scenes to see and experience how and why 
     news is made. The 72,000-square-foot Newseum is funded by The 
     Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan, international foundation 
     dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all 
     people. The Newseum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 
     a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New 
     Year's days. Freedom Park is open daily from dawn to dusk. 
     Admission is free.


                                  1999

       Ricardo Gangeme--El Informador Chubutense (Argentina) in 
     Argentina.

[[Page E950]]

       Jaime Garzon--Radionet (Colombia) in Colombia.
       Pablo Emilio Medina Motta--TV Garzon (Colombia) in 
     Colombia.
       Guzman Quintero Torres--El Pilon (Colombia) in Colombia.
       Hernando Rangel Moreno--Freelance, in Colombia.
       Luis Alberto Rincon Solano--Freelance, in Colombia.
       Alberto Sanchez Tovar--Producciones Colombia (Colombia) in 
     Colombia.
       Roberto Julio Torres--Emisora Fuentes de Cartagena 
     (Colombia) in Colombia.
       Agus Muliawan--Asia Press International (Japan) in 
     Indonesia.
       Supriadi--Medan Pos (Indonesia) in Indonesia.
       Sander Thoenes--Financial Times (United Kingdom) in 
     Indonesia.
       Ilan Roeh--Israel Radio (Israel) in Lebanon.
       Samuel Boyi--The Scope (Nigeria) in Nigeria.
       Fidelis Ikwuebe--Freelance, in Nigeria.
       Sam Nimfa-Jan--Details (Nigeria) in Nigeria.
       Oleg Chervonyuk--Metropress Agency (Russia) in Russia.
       Supian Ependiyev--Groznensky Rabochiy (Russia) in Russia.
       Shamil Gigayev--Nokh Cho TV (Russia) in Russia.
       Ramzan Mezhidov--TV Tsentr (Russia) in Rassia.
       Valentina Neverova--Pravo (Russia) in Russia.
       Lyubov Sloboda--Vesti (Russia) in Russia.
       Alpha Amadu Bah Bah--Independent Observer (Sierra Leone) in 
     Sierra Leone.
       Jenner Cole--SKY-FM (Sierra Leone) in Sierra Leone.
       Abdulai Jumah Jalloh--African Champion (Sierra Leone) in 
     Sierra Leone.
       Mabay Kamara--Freelance, in Sierra Leone.
       Mohammed Kamara--SKY-FM (Sierra Leone) in Sierra Leone.
       Paul Mansaray--Standard Times (Sierra Leone) in Sierra 
     Leone.
       James Ogogo--Concord Times (Sierra Leone) in Sierra Leone.
       Conrad Roy--Expo Times (Sierra Leone) in Sierra Leone.
       Myles Tierney--Associated Press Television News (USA) in 
     Sierra Leone.
       Munir Turay--Freelance, in Sierra Leone.
       Anura Priyantha Cooray--Independent Television Network (Sri 
     Lanka) in Sri Lanka.
       Rohana Kumara--Satana (Sri Lanka) in Sri Lanka.
       Vasthian Anthony Mariyadas--Sri Lanka Broadcasting 
     Corporation (Sri Lanka) in Sri Lanka.
       Indika Pathinivasan--Maharaja Television Network (Sri 
     Lanka) in Sri Lanka.
       Michelle Lima--KSAT-TV (USA) in Texas.
       Ahmet Taner Kislali--Cumhuriyet (Turkey) in Turkey.
       Slavko Curuvija--Dnevni Telegraf (Yugoslavia) in 
     Yugoslavia.
       Gabriel Gruener--Stern (Germany) in Yugoslavia.
       Volker Kraemer--Stern (Germany) in Yugoslavia.

       

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