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Alert

IFJ issues new safety alert after killing of German journalists

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ press release:




Media Release 14 June 1999

IFJ Issues New Safety Alert after Killing of German Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists today condemned the killing of
three journalists in Kosovo. Two of the correspondents, Volker Krämer, aged
56, and Gabriel Grüner, aged 35, worked for the German magazine Stern; they
died from gunshot wounds sustained near Dulje, which is a village about 40
km south of Prishtina. Krämer died immediately and Grüner died later in a
hospital in Macedonia.

The identity of the third journalist, who is believed to have been killed
near Prizren, is still unknown.

"We are shocked by these killings, which show how dangerous journalism is
and their deaths reinforce our concerns for the safety of journalists
covering the conflict in Kosovo," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the
IFJ.

"A peace keeping force has been deployed but this does not mean that the
area is safe. It is at moments like these that it is essential to reiterate
the need for news companies to only send experienced war correspondents to
cover this region," he continued. The IFJ says that journalists should only
be sent into an area when it has been secured. "At the same time, all
correspondents and media personnel should be properly equipped for
emergencies, including the wearing of bullet-proof vests where there is any
doubt at all about security.

"Stern have stated that these two journalists were careful and experienced
journalists who had reported from countries like Algeria and Bosnia.
However, other employers have been known to send inexperienced, untrained or
uninsured journalists to war zones," he concluded.

The IFJ has called on the media community to co-operate in adopting an
International Code of Practise for the Safe Conduct of Journalism, which
would ensure that employers provide adequate training and insurance to all
those involved in newsgathering.

The IFJ is the world's largest organisation of journalists with members in
101 countries.