20039: RSF AMericas: Haiti: Spanish journalist killed, US photographer injured (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: RSF Americas <ameriques@rsf.org>

HAITI - 8 March 2004

Spanish journalist killed, US photographer injured

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
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.