30 May 2000
TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN RUF AMBUSH
On 24 May, renowned war-zone journalists Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora of Spain and Kurt Schork of the United States were killed while traveling in vehicles near Rogberi Junction, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters sans frontières (RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Moreno de Mora was a Spanish cameraman working for Associated Press Television News (APTN) and Schork was an American journalist working for Reuters. The journalists were ambushed by rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) while traveling with soldiers of the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) and two other journalists. Four soldiers were also killed and the other two journalists were injured.
While covering a war is always perilous for journalists, CPJ reports that the RUF has "deliberately targeted local reporters and foreign correspondents covering the Sierra Leone conflict" for years, says CPJ. RUF rebels and their allies have been responsible for the murder of at least 13 of the 15 journalists who have been murdered since 1997 in Sierra Leone because of their work, says CPJ. A list of the 15 journalists killed in Sierra Leone since 1997 can be viewed on CPJ's website at http://www.cpj.org.">http://www.cpj.org">http://www.cpj.org.
With respect to Sierra Leone's truth and reconciliation process, the Sierra Leone-based Forum of Conscience and ARTICLE 19 argue that there should be a "two-track approach" to truth and justice in the country. The recommended process would include both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) provided for under the 1999 Lomé peace agreement as well as the establishment of an International War Crimes Tribunal to try Foday Sankoh and other leaders accused of crimes against humanity. The campaign for the creation of an international tribunal comes in response to the RUF's "direct attack on the peace process" but would only not replace the TRC in any way.
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