Reporters Without Borders
today voiced deep concern about the situation in Haiti
after Spanish TV journalist Ricardo Ortega was killed
and US news photographer Michael Laughlin was injured in
shooting yesterday in Port-au-Prince.
"We express our
condolences to Ricardo Ortega's family and we reiterate
our appeal to all the parties on the ground not to
target the press," Reporters Without Borders
secretary-general Robert Ménard said.
"Unfortunately, the
safety of journalists in Haiti will not be guaranteed as
long as armed militia are free to operate without any
control by a recognised central authority," the
organisation added, calling for an investigation into
the origin of the shots in order to identify and punish
those responsible.
A visiting correspondent
for the Spanish TV station Antena 3, Ortega (photo) was
fatally shot while covering a demonstration by opponents
of former President Aristide. Enrique Ibañez of the
Spanish news agency EFE said shooting broke out as the
demonstration was dispersing. In all, at least six
people were killed and about 30 were injured. Witnesses
said the shots were fired by Aristide supporters, known
as chimères. The demonstrators had been calling for
Aristide followers to be brought to trial.
Ortega did not die
immediately. After being shot, he took refuge in a
nearby house with Laughlin, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel
photographer, who had also just been injured by shots.
Laughlin said Ortega continued to film footage with his
video camera after being hit.
The two were taken to
the Canapé Vert hospital in Port-au-Prince where Ortega
died from his bullet injuries, one to the chest and one
to the abdomen. Laughlin, who was hit in the shoulder
and face, is to be evacuated to a Florida hospital,
South Florida Sun-Sentinel spokesperson Kevin Courtney
told Reuters.
The Associated Press
(AP) said the international peacekeepers were unable to
say where the shots came from. US and French
peacekeepers had accompanied the marchers until they
reached the Champs de Mars square opposite the
presidential palace. Agence France-Presse (AFP) said the
presence of the peacekeepers proved ineffective at
preventing the outbreak of gunfire as the march
dispersed. The AP said no arrests were made.
Aged 37, Ortega began
his press career as an EFE correspondent in Moscow. He
then freelanced for Antena 3 before joining its staff in
1994. He covered the war in Chechnya and the September
11 attacks in New York, where he was a resident
correspondent at the time. He also covered the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Although on vacation, he
volunteered to go and cover the crisis in Haiti. The
Spanish embassy in Port-au-Prince took custody of his
body pending repatriation to Spain later today.
Several foreign
journalists have been targeted by Aristide supporters in
recent weeks. An AFP photographer was reportedly wounded
on 20 February while covering a peaceful student
demonstration in Port-au-Prince. According to the AP,
Roberto Andrade of the Mexican TV channel Televisa and
two other journalists working for the Mexican TV network
TV Azteca were also the target of stone-throwing at the
same demonstration. They tried to flee but were caught
by Aristide supporters and were forced to surrender
their video cassettes.
Reporter Michel Jean and
cameraman Sylvain Richard of the TV network Radio Canada
were the target of gunfire by pro-Aristide chimères in
the north of Port-au-Prince on 24 February.
Previously, only Haitian
journalists critical of the government had been the
victims of violence. Two of them of them were killed :
Jean Dominique in April 2000 and Brignol Lindor in
December 2001. Several dozen journalists have been
threatened or physically attacked by pro-Aristide
chimères each year in recent years. Some 30 journalists
have fled into exile since 2000.
