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.