Remembering Anna
It is said that the well being of an economy is reflected in the way the media is allowed to function. A robust independant press is a sign of a country's willingness to achieve or at least tend towards the ideal of 'the people' as a primary institution.
Anna Politkovskaya's brutal murder only magnifies the strangle hold that the Putin administeration has on the press in Russia. Such a despicable act must be condemned world-wide.
(Coincidentally, my muse for my initial fiction work was also named Anna)
WAN-Press press release :
Paris, 7 October 2006
For immediate release
World's Press Condemns Murder of Russian Journalist
The World Association of Newspapers today condemned the 'shocking murder' of
Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist.
Ms Politkovskaya, a reporter for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was found dead
Saturday afternoon from a bullet wound in the elevator of the building where
she lived in Moscow.
"This is tragic and deeply shocking news", said Timothy Balding, CEO of WAN.
"We condemn this as an outrageous attack not only on a journalist but on
freedom of the press and democracy in Russia. We call on the Russian
authorities to pursue mercilessly the killer or killers and those behind
this cowardly act".
Mr Balding added: "There had been many skeptics in Russia, including other
journalists, when Ms Politkovskaya said she was the victim of attempted
poisoning by security forces on her way to cover the Beslan massacre two
years ago. This assassination is terrible confirmation, if any were needed,
that she was not inventing her claims that she was constantly under physical
threat".
Ms Politkovskaya was celebrated internationally for her critical coverage of
the war in Chechnya.
She was the 76th journalists killed world-wide in 2006, the most deadly year
since WAN began keeping records of journalist murders in 1997. The list of
journalists killed world-wide can be found at
http://www.wan-press.org
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry,
defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000
newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations,
newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and
nine regional and world-wide press groups.
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