MERIP
Media Resource List, November 9, 2004
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- Fighting in Falluja: the role of reporters and the question
of civilians
JOEL CAMPAGNA
Campagna is senior program coordinator responsible for the
Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ). He has been a consultant to Human Rights Watch and
has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia
University's School of International and Public Affairs with
a specialization in Middle East studies. Commenting on the
situation for journalists in Iraq, Campagna said today: "The
security situation has made it nearly impossible for foreign
journalists to report from most parts of the country short
of embedding with coalition forces. Currently, several dozen
journalists are embedded with US troops for the assault on
Falluja. Embedding with armed forces involves trade-offs --
journalists get a close up view of armed forces in action,
but only observe one angle of the story. The extent to which
we are able to obtain a full picture of what is going on in
Falluja may depend largely on non-embedded Iraqi reporters
working from within the city."
ERIK GUSTAFSON
Erik Gustafson is executive director of the Education for
Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC), an organization dedicated to
promoting policies that improve the lives of ordinary Iraqis.
A veteran of the Gulf War, in 1990-91 he spent eight months
in Saudi Arabia with the 864th Engineer Battalion, building
hospitals, roads and POW camps. He has become a recognized
expert on Iraq and U.S. policy, testifying at congressional
briefings and policy forums. Commenting on the evolving situation
in Falluja, he said today: "Without good intelligence, the
massive firepower being unleashed against insurgents in Falluja
puts the entire city at risk. We believe 80,00 to 100,00 residents
remain in the city. As a study published in the Lancet
has shown, violence is the leading cause of death in
Iraq today. According to Lancet , an estimated 60,000
Iraqis have died from violence over the past 18 months, mostly
from US air attacks. Growing anger over these civilian casualties
creates the basis from which more insurgents are recruited.
The assault on Falluja not only puts innocent civilians at
risk, it threatens to be yet another setback for Allawi's
government and the US mission in Iraq. The Bush administration
needs to recognize that there is no military solution to the
insurgency in Iraq."
JOE STORK
Joe Stork is Middle East advocacy director for Human Rights
Watch. Commenting today on the attack on Falluja, Stork said:
"Reports that a high percentage of the civilian population
have fled Falluja cannot be confirmed. The likelihood of intense
and sustained urban warfare in and around the city poses grave
risks to civilians. The U.S.-led offensive last April raised
serious concerns regarding harm to the civilian population.
Forces besieging the city have an obligation to avoid or at
least minimize harm to civilians and to meet the essential
needs of the civilian population, including access to water
and emergency medical care. The defending parties also have
an obligation to avoid harming non-combatants, and must not
shield their forces or military equipment among civilians."
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