The National Union of Journalists says media employers must ensure reporters
assigned to war-torn zones be given full protective gears.
assigned to war-torn zones be given full protective gears.
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has reminded media employers that they should be responsible for the safety and welfare of journalists as they are the ones who decide whether certain assignments should be covered.
Said NUJ general-secretary V Anbalagan: “Employers have to ensure their employees are provided with full protective gears like bullet-proof helmet and vest when covering assignments in a war-torn zone.”
He was commenting on the death of BernamaTV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 39, who was killed while on assignment in Somalia yesterday.
Noramfaizul was with Putera 1Malaysia Club for a humanitarian aid mission in Mogadishu. He was said to have been shot by a sniper.
In the incident, Noramfaizula and a TV3 journalist, Aji Saregar Mazlan, who was also injured, were travelling in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to Mogadishu under armed escort when the attack took place.
“The NUJ wishes to convey its condolence to the family of Noramfaizul,” said Anbalagan.
The Somalia aid team is expected to return, with Noramfaizul’s body, tomorrow morning.
Timely reminder
Anbalagan also said Noramfaizul serves as a “timely reminder” to journalists and employers to adhere to standard operating procedures, whether on assignment inside Malaysia or overseas.
He added that employers should also take out insurance policy to cover death or injuries of their employees.
If they are not covered by insurance, “employers should seriously reconsider sending them for such assignment”.
“Most importantly, employers should brief their reporters, photographers and cameramen on the do’s and dont’s when covering events where their life is at risk. This can be done based on the experiences of senior journalists,” he said.
Anbalagan said that in the recent Bersih 2.0 rally, the NUJ has provided some guidance to its members on measures to be taken when covering the rally as this was considered a “social unrest event”.
He said NUJ will soon release a comprehensive safety guide book for journalists covering events like earthquake, floods and social unrests locally or overseas.
Taken from Free Malaysia Today
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