Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organized “flash protests” in 10 countries across the globe to pay homage to Palestinian journalists killed during the nearly one-year genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) said in a statement on Thursday that the protests are organized to pay homage to the over 130 Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli occupation army, “32 of whom were murdered while working.”
The ‘flash protests’ were held the whole day on Thursday in Germany, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Britain, France, Senegal, Switzerland, Taiwan and Tunisia.
RSF announced that the aim behind the “global awareness campaign” is to “alert the international public to the gravity of this crisis: the alarming rate at which these journalists are being killed is jeopardizing the right to free and independent information.”
Today, RSF filed its 4th complaint with the ICC for war crimes committed by the Israeli army in #Gaza: 8 journalists killed and one wounded. We demand justice for all of the 130+ journalists killed in the Palestinian territory over the past year. 👇https://t.co/hvTDuYF7uk
— RSF (@RSF_inter) September 24, 2024
Along with press vests covered in blood to symbolize “the horrifying number of journalists who paid with their lives for the commitment to keeping the world informed”, protesters also held photos of the slain journalists.
Large banners with the message “at the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed” were placed in symbolic locations such as the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, the Liberty Square in Taipei, near the Eiffel Tower in Paris and in front of Big Ben in London.
“The massacre of journalists in Gaza must end. The Israeli army’s elimination of journalists in Gaza – over 130 killed in less than a year – threatens to create a complete media blackout in the blockaded enclave,” RSF’s Director General Thibaut Bruttin said.
“These attacks target not only the Palestinian press, but the international public’s right to information that is reliable, free, independent, and pluralist from one of the most closely watched conflict zones on the planet,” he added.
Bruttin ended by demanding, “protection for Gaza’s journalists, an end to impunity, and that foreign journalists be given access to the strip. Our right to information is at stake.”
📢"At the rate journalists are being killed in #Gaza, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed."
Today, RSF is holding protests in 10 countries to honor the 130+ 🇵🇸journalists killed by the 🇮🇱army & demand protection for their colleagues https://t.co/lDNRSKsumK— RSF (@RSF_inter) September 26, 2024
RSF Files Complaints with ICC
RSF indicated in its statement that it has already filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) “for war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza.”
The organization stated that ICC’s Prosecutor Karim Khan has assured RSF that the Israeli crimes committed against journalists are “included in its investigation into the situation in Palestine.”
RSF added that along with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) it has supported shelter and equipment for over 250 Palestinian journalists who work for local and international media outlets to enable them to continue their coverage.
The media watchdog reiterated its position of continuing to advocate against the “massacre of Gaza’s journalists” and called on Israel to end its blockade that prevents journalists from “entering and exiting the territory, and documenting crimes committed against media professionals.”
The statement ended by announcing that it had opened a “press freedom center” in the Lebanese capital “to provide journalists in the region – especially those covering the war – with the equipment, aid and resources necessary to continue their work of informing the world in the safest conditions possible.”
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, a total of 173 Palestinian journalists have been killed, and more than 190 others have been injured, while 87 media institutions have been destroyed, according to the Health Ministry in the Strip.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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