Indonesian journalists honored for sacrifices

Indonesian journalists honored for sacrifices

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Agencies): Indonesian senior journalist
Mochtar Lubis was among the 50 journalists from over five
continents to be named "world press freedom heroes" by the
International Press Institute (IPI) on Wednesday.

The 50 were chosen for their "significant contributions" to
the defense or promotion of journalistic freedom both in their
native countries and worldwide, IPI said in a statement.

Based in Vienna, Austria, IPI is 50-year-old "global network
of editors, media executives and leading journalists ... for the
defense of freedom in journalism."

Mochtar Lubis, 78, is one of Indonesia's most senior and
respected journalists. He worked for several publications and was
the former editor-in-chief of Indonesia Raya daily before it was
banned in 1974.

In a separate ceremony, two slain Indonesian journalists were
remembered along with the many journalists killed around the
world last year.

The names of Agus Mulyawan and Supriadi were among the 40
names added Wednesday to a glass memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Joining their names were those of 292 others who died while
covering the news beginning in 1812 and whose fates were
discovered or verified after the establishment of the Journalists
Memorial by The Freedom Forum four years ago.

The memorial now includes the names of 1,369 men and women --
writers, reporters, editors, photographers and their colleagues
-- who died while doing their jobs.

"The wall is filled with the names of journalists who cared
and cared deeply about their craft and their responsibilities.
They felt journalism was something worth risking their lives
for," said Tom Johnson, chairman and CEO of Cable News Network.

Many of the newspeople whose names are on the memorial would
say they were "just doing their job" and "got unlucky," said
Johnson in a speech.

"But for most of the people in the news business there is in
their dedication to their work a deep strain of idealism that
leads them to take risks for truth and understanding that
sometimes, tragically, leads to their personal injury or death,"
Johnson said.

The 1999 list of 40 journalists includes 10 killed in Sierra
Leone, seven in Colombia, six in Russia, four in Sri Lanka and
three each in Yugoslavia, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

Supriadi, 34, a writer for Medan Pos newspaper, was found
hacked to death in Medan, North Sumatra in August. He had
previously disappeared after being picked up by two unidentified
men several days earlier.

Supriadi's editors said that he had worked on stories of
corruption in an agricultural project for small farmers, as well
as education and development in the province.

Agus Mulyawan was shot dead in Baucau, East Timor in
September. He worked for Japanese radio station Asia Press
International. His death followed the murder of Dutch journalist
Sander Thoenes who was killed while covering East Timor as a
correspondent for the Financial Times.