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YELLOW
BIB AND VADE-MECUM FOR LOCAL JOURNALISTS Jul, 12
- A yellow bib on which is written
"giornalista" on the front and
"press" on the back, for journalists,
photographers, video operators. It will be handed out to
each media worker engaged "on the street"
during the G8. Furthermore, journalists with
accreditation will be allowed to reach the red zone and
provided with a vade-mecum including operative
instructions. The initiative was presented by the
president of the order of journalists of Liguria, Attilio
Lugli, and by the secretary of the local journalists
association, Marcello Zinola, during a press conference
to which the general secretary of FNSI (the Italian
journalists' Federation) Paolo Serventi Longhi, also took
part. "It was the chief of Digos - the Italian
security police - to officially inform us that accredited
journalists will be allowed to reach the red zone,"
Lugli said. "We will not transgress the law doing
our work, but if we'll be prevented from doing it, others
will transgress the law and we could take legal action.
Marcello Zinola reaffirmed that citizens must be informed
on what happens during the G8 and that journalists
reporting on the events must provide guarantee of
correctness. "Yellow bibs are intended to give
visibility to whom, overall, will do 'street reporting'
during the protests against G8," he said. The
vade-mecum will include, on other things, all information
on rights-duties of journalists and the numbers of the
journalists' association and of the order of journalists,
that will be open during the summit conference for useful
information and emergencies. GOVERNMENT
WILL GUARANTEE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS Jul, 12
- Italian government "is fully engaged on the
protection of freedom of the press during the G8, and to
guarantee to journalists the right to free
reporting." It was assured by the Italian foreign
ministry, that underlined that no zones of Genoa will be
forbidden to journalists, except, as usual in summit
conferences, the places strictly reserved to the work of
heads of government and state. It was remembered that for
journalists interested in following the G8, the
government has long and repeatedly handed out the
guidelines throughout their right to free reporting will
be assured, in respect of freedom of the press and of the
right to personal security of whom, carrying on their
respective duty, will take part to the summit. OPENING
OF THE PRESS CENTRE OF GSF Jul, 14
- The press centre fo Gsf (Genoa social Forum) is opening
today in the building of the Primary school "Armando
Diaz", addressed in 'via Cesare Battisti n.6'. The
structure, settled and managed by the alternative radio
network Radio Gap, include a press room, a press
office and the on-line editorial staff of Indymedia.
The school is not far from the Govi di Punta Vagno
gardens, where will be settled a forum for debates. The
press room, open 24 hours, was settled in the ground
floor canteen space and offers 10 computers, fax, tv and
fast internet connection. The press office is occupying
the first and second floor. DELIVERY
OF JOURNALISTS’ ACCREDITS POSTPONED Jul, 16
– A delay in the application for accredits by a
thousand of foreign journalists made postpone the
delivery of press-passes, that was to start this morning
in Genoa. According to local fonts, the police and
interior ministry are still doing the necessary
verifications for the delivery of needed accredits, so it
was decided to postpone the supply of passes. The delay
caused some moodiness and problem to journalists arrived
in Genoa from all the world. Dozens of journalists,
indeed, were this morning in the theatre Della Corte,
where a press centre was settled, to receive their
accredits, but they didn’t have the passes.
Difficulties especially concern accesses to the red zone,
from this morning only allowed with a pass released from
the foreign ministry. The police guaranteed that all
accredits will be delivered before day 18. ORDER OF
JOURNALISTS REPORTS ON DISCRIMINATION IN THE DELIVERY OF
ACCREDITS Jul, 16
– Discriminations in the delivery of passes to the
red zone instituted in Genoa during the G8 have been
exposed by the local order and association of
journalists. Such discriminations, defined
“unacceptable”, target especially free-lance
journalists and photographers. “Their application
for accredit to the foreign ministry – it was
explained in a statement – was not confirmed by
local police.” So no official explanation was
offered by the authorities, in spite of a request of
clarification was send by the order of journalists to the
police. The order and association of journalists also
exposed other “inexplicable” behaviors of
security forces, as the banning from taking photos of the
workers engaged in the settle of the gates that will
close the red zone to public. Furthermore, the
journalists’ professional cards will not be
considered by the police as valid identity document. FNSI: A
DANGER FOR THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION THE BAN ON ACCREDITS
TO SOME JOURNALISTS Jul, 17
– “We are aware of new cases of journalists
prevented from having a pass to the red zone - Paolo
Serventi Longhi, general secretary of the Italian
Federation of journalists, said in a statement – it
is a very serious matter which, if confirmed, would make
hard to practice the right to a free press.” He
added: “At this point, I only wish that journalists,
with or without accredit, will be present in Genoa and
will report to the association on the behavior of
authorities.” ALL
ACCESSES TO THE RED ZONE ALLOWED TO JOURNALISTS
Jul, 18
– From this morning all the 4.200 accredited
journalists for the G8 will be allowed to enter the red
zone through the 21 existing accesses, including 11 for
service only. The police took this decision to help the
work of journalists. Access will be permitted only to
journalists supplied with a pass by the press
accreditation office. Private citizens who live in the
red zone will not be allowed to use the service
accesses. ORDER OF
JOURNALISTS: IN DANGER THE RIGHT TO FREE REPORTING IN
GENOA Jul, 19
– ‘Denied’ passes, ‘absurd’
bans, including the ban to take pictures of places and
people. “In the G8 Genoa, the right to a free press
is seriously in danger,” reported the national order
of journalists. In a statement released at the end of an
executive meeting in Rome, the order of journalists
expressed “concern” on the deep limitations
imposed on journalists’ work in Genoa, during the G8
conference. DENOUNCE
OF JOURNALISTS: OUR BIBS CLONED Jul, 19
– The yellow bibs intended for the identification of
journalists have been ‘cloned’. The denounce
was exposed today by the president of the order of
journalists of Liguria, Attilio Lugli, and by the
secretary of the local association of journalists,
Marcello Zinola. “Today – as written in a
statement released in the evening – some journalists
realized that policeman-photographers and other unknown
men were wearing the same yellow bibs handed out to
journalists by the FNSI. “The order and association
of journalists – the statement adds – warn that
such means of identification are intended exclusively for
journalists and misuse is illegal.” NOTICE
TO JOURNALISTS: DON’T GO OUT FROM THE RED ZONE Jul, 20
– An advice, almost an order to the journalists
arrived in Genoa with United States’ president
George W. Bush. “Don’t go out from the red
zone. And the ones who “venture” outside it
must know that, if they carry the pass of journalists,
will increase the risk of being targeted by
violence.” The statement was released by the Secret
Service of the United States, responsible for the safety
of president Bush. PROTESTS:
150 JOURNALISTS BLOCKED DUE TO CLASHES Jul, 20
– About 150 journalists, arrived in Genoa this
morning with a special flight from Rome, are blocked in
an outlying area of the old port of Genoa due to the
violent protests occurring in the town. The deep
confusion created by the incidents is preventing them
from retiring their passes for access to the red zone and
the journalists were directed to an outlying zone until
the situation will better. DEMONSTRATIONS:
“STRANGE” EPISODES EXPOSED BY GSF Jul, 21
– A number of “strange” episodes have been
exposed, yesterday and today, by journalists,
photographers and protesters. “In a tunnel near to
Brignole – as a member of Genoa social Forum staff
exposed during a press conference today – a man on a
motorcycle was riding with a gun in his hand, wearing a
yellow bib for journalists. He was following some police
cars.” During the clashes somebody saw protestors
dressed as ‘black blockers’ that were inviting
journalists to leave the place. MEDIASET:
A “STUDIO APERTO” MEDIA WORKER ATTACKED Jul, 21
– A video operator that was realizing a report with
the journalist Gabriella Simoni, of Studio Aperto,
was attacked by demonstrators that caused her the break
of a knee. The woman was hospitalized. “It was a
sudden and unforeseeable attack, in a moment of
quiet,” Gabriella Simoni said. “I was
untroubled – she explained – because we were
attending the passage of the great pacific procession of
protestors. In the middle of the crowd we saw some young
people with helmets and sticks, maybe thirty. One of them
followed us and when he approached, he gave a beat behind
the knee of the video operator, Sonia Fede. Then he came
back in the procession.” “UNIONE
CRONISTI” PROTESTS AGAINST INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS
AND EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY TO THE COLLEAGUES ENGAGED IN
GENOA Jul, 21
– The “Unione Cronisti” association
expressed “solidarity and deep gratitude to the
colleague journalists that bravely and with devotion to
the cause of their profession are testifying for the
right-duty to free information” and remembers that
“several journalists are at risk of their own lives
during the dramatic hours of the battle of Genoa.”
The organization protested against “the
indiscriminate action of repression by the police forces,
in spite of the visibility of journalists with yellow bib
and pass exposed on their front” and denounced
“the brutal and foolish anger of some minority of
protestors.” SEARCHES;
FNSI, IT WAS AN ATTACK Jul, 22
- The National Federation of the Press (FNSI), national
union of Italian journalists, expressed a hard protest
for the "dramatic aggression to the press centre and
legal office of Genoa Social Forum," occurred last
noght, and defined the action of the police forces
"an indiscriminate blitz, characterized by violence
and disproportionate respect to the declared
target." According to representatives of FNSI, of
the association of local press and of the order of
Ligurian journalists, that were present in the place last
night, "the security forces destroyed computers and
equipment of private radio stations, beat and arrested
journalists and contributors of national and local
newspapers, made unusable an informative structure that
was a point of reference for dozens of free-lance
journalists and press outlets." "Lorenzo
Guadagnucci, journalists for Il Resto del Carlino
- exposed FNSI in a statement - is recovered in a
hospital with his arms broken, while journalist Enrico
Fletzer, accredited to follow the G8, was arrested by
police." It was "an indiscriminate blitz,
characterized by violence and disproportionate respect to
the declared target, justified by itself, that was of
confiscating material used in the clashes and arresting
who committed crimes." ATTACKED
AND ARRESTED IN GENOA CORRESPONDENT OF SUNDAY TIMES; THE
JOURNALIST MINGLED WITH THE CROWD OF DEMONSTRATORS Jul, 22
- John Elliot, journalist for the British weekly Sunday
Times, was beaten and arrested by police during the
clashes with demonstrators. It was Elliot himself, who
mingled with the crowd to cover the scene, that exposed
the facts in a leading article published by the paper
today. In the article, entitled "Cudgels assailed me
during the battle of Genoa," Elliot describes in
detail the behavior of police forces. "My mistake
was to climb a wall to see better the battle between
police and demonstrators," said Elliot. "When I
was there - he went on - I was beaten in my head, my
sight dimmed for a while, I was beaten by a cudgel of
police." So Elliot cried in Italian: "British
journalist!" to a dozen of policemen in anti-riot
uniform who were running towards him. "But other
cudgel assailed me," he remembered. The police
dragged him to an old railway line, ordered him to put
his head on the track and started to kick him "on
the head, back and legs." Then the journalist said
that he was handcuffed, with his hands behind the back,
and taken to the near railway station, where a policeman
beat him in the stomach with a cudgel. Elliot was taken
from the railway station to a police station and then
released. A representative of Sunday Times
declared this morning to a journalist of the Italian
press agency Ansa that no legal action will be taken
against Italian police by the paper. JOURNALISTS
CONTESTED SILENCE OF POLICE Jul, 22
- This morning, during a press conference in the police
headquarter, some journalists were hardly polemic with
the police representatives exposing the facts occurred
last night during two searches that targeted the schools
which hosted Gsf press centre and a shelter point for
demonstrators. Journalists hardly contested the action of
police forces and the fact that officers didn't answer
any question. Roberto Sgalla, spokesman of the chief of
police De Gennaro, only showed confiscated material to
the journalists, while the press officer of the police
read a thin statement, and refused to answer any
question. Spokesman Sgalla was vainly asked about the
injuries suffered by whom was involved in the searches
and about the confiscation of computer hard disks in the
press centre of Gsf. Foreign journalists didn't manage to
know the names of their colleagues arrested, while
Italian journalists were not told on who belonged to the
yellow bib in possess of the police. A journalist vainly
asked why, with molotov bottles and knives, a thermos and
some handkerchiefs had been confiscated, too. SEARCHES;
JOURNALISTS PRESENTED COMPLAINTS Jul, 22
- Some journalists presented official complaint to court,
declaring to have been beaten during the searches
occurred last night at Gsf executive centre. It was
stated by the president of the order of journalists of
Liguria, Attilio Lugli. Lugli also informed that a
journalists of the group Il Resto del Carlino,
Lorenzo Guadagnucci, is actually recovered in hospital
with a broken arm and watched over by police. He risks to
be accused of criminal association with the aim of
devastation. A french journalists was interrogated by
police as a witness. JOURNALIST;
"POLICE BEAT ME CRYING: GO AWAY OR WE KILL YOU" Jul, 23
- "Black blockers? In last friday demonstrations in
Genos they were about 400: a poor army that advanced by
chance, without organization nor chiefs. The police
should have be able to control and arrest them, but
nobody stopped them." It is a statement of
journalist Mario Furlan, correspondent from Genoa of Radio
Lombardia and contributor of the newspapers Il
Giorno and Il Giornale. Last friday, Furlan
mingled with the lines of the "blacks"
following them in their guerrilla actions in the town.
Contrarily to what many observers affirmed, Furlan
referred about young boys, most of whom teen-agers, and
overall disorganized. But he also launched hard accuses
to the police forces, that beat him although he had
showed his journalist card. "I was in Danovi square,
when the group of "Black Block" appeared,"
Furlan said. "I resolved to mingle with them. There
were a lot of young boys and under age. They didn't
prevented me to follow them nor to take pictures. They
were about 400 - he went on - and for hours they wandered
in the town devastating all the things they found, while
nobody tried to stop them." But, overall, "They
were disorganized, without a map of the town, or a chief
to guide them. Many were drunk, acting by chance."
"A poor army - he affirmed - not military organized
that easily could be stopped." Then, a hard denounce
against the police: "When I left the group of the
'blacks' - he said - some policemen stopped me. I showed
them my journalist card, but they started to beat me with
their cudgels. As they were beating me they said:
"Go away or we kill you"." Not only:
"Police forces - the journalists accuses - hardly
beat people that evidently had nothing to share with the
"Black Blocks". I saw how they carried many
boys in lateral alleys and there, they beat them."
Why all this anger against a journalist? "I think
they didn't want I refer what I had seen," Furlan
ended. INTERNATIONAL
FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS CONDEMN POLICE AND DEMAND PROBE
INTO GENOA VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA Jul, 23
- The International Federation of Journalists today
accused Italian police of violence against media staff
and heavy-handed tactics that "have put reporters at
risk and show contempt for press freedom" in the
confrontation with protestors at the G8 Summit over the
weekend. "We have had numerous reports of reporters
and news teams caught up in the crossfire of some brutal
policing," said Aidan White, General Secretary of
the IFJ, the world's largest journalists' organization.
"We demand a full investigation into how the police
have acted and particularly how they have compromised
journalists' rights and put reporters at risk." The
IFJ said that subterfuge on the part of the police had
contributed to problems for reporters on the spot.
"We understand that some police dressed up as
journalists using media tabards. Such a tactic is
reprehensible. It inspired fury among protesters and put
honest journalists at risk of violence from all
sides," he said. The IFJ joined the Italian
Journalists' Federation (FNSI) in condemning the police
tactics and supported FNSI protests over police raids on
a Genoa school housing protesters in which journalists
were also hurt. The IFJ further backed a protest by its
British affiliate the National Union of Journalists over
injuries inflicted by police on John Elliot, a reporter
for The Times of London. The IFJ also condemned a
raid by police on the Genoa news centre of the
alternative news network Indymedia. "This raid was a
deliberate attempt to seize photographs and video footage
of earlier police actions and is a serious violation of
journalists' rights to gather information without
interference," said White. The Indymedia network was
established after Seattle to provide news and information
to a global community about globalisation developments.
"It appears that this news team has been
deliberately targeted," said the IFJ.
"Journalists' throughout Europe and around the world
are horrified by the scale of the violence and the
complete disregard by the authorities for the safety of
media people," said the IFJ, "These incidents
must be fully and independently investigated." WOUNDED
JOURNALISTS, REPORTERS SANS FRONTIERES EXPRESSES BLAME
FOR "VIOLENCE WITHOUT PRECEDENT" Jul, 24
- Reporters sans Frontieres send a letter to the Italian
head of government Silvio Berlusconi and to minister of
home affairs Claudio Scaiola expressing
“indignation” for “violence without
precedent” against journalists engaged in Genoa,
during “the police repression of anti-globalisation
groups.” Robert Menard, general secretary of the
organisation, stated that “what happened in Genoa is
without precedent. Some police operations, characterised
by an intolerable violence, were planned and acted in
buildings where demonstrators and press workers were
resting or working far from clashes. The terrible
violence, the sack of Gsf press centre, the confiscation
of materials and pictures... Was all this due to clear
instructions by the interior ministry and Prime minister?
We - Menard said - ask the immediate launch of
investigations and a quick individuation of
responsibles.” BLITZ AT
“DIAZ”; COWELL FALSE DEAD, THEN MORE BEATINGS Jul, 26
- “I couldn’t resist anymore, they went on
kicking me. At a point I pretended to be dead, but a
police officer (carabiniere) came to feel my pulse and
when he realised I was still alive, he went on beating
me.” Mark Cowell, an English boy hospitalised after
the search in the school “Armando Diaz”, told
his version of the facts from the hospital bed where
he’s being receiving treatment for a thoracic
trauma. “Most of days I spent in Genoa, I was in the
school in front of “Diaz”, where I was part of
Indymedia staff. That day, too, I was where, but at
night, when I was trying to reach some friends in
“Diaz” school, I heard the police cars
approaching. I tried to run inside the building, but some
policemen took me and started beating me with kicks and
cudgels.” Cowell, 33, is from London and contributes
to several alternative information papers. Saturday night
he suffered lesions to a lung, several broken ribs and an
internal haemorrhage that caused him an immediate
hospitalisation. “I thought I was to die - he said -
seriously. They were five and they crying in English
“kill the black block!”, even if I replied that
I was a pacifist and I hated black blockers, too. Italy
is a beautiful place, where a lot of people were kind
with me, but after what happened I don’t think to
overstate if I say that carabinieri and police are
killers. I had come to Genoa to work as independent
journalist, peacefully, but I came back with a smashed
lung.” LAUNCHED
A FUND FOR VICTIMISED JOURNALISTS
Jul, 27
- A solidarity fund for journalists that suffered
material or personal damage during the clashes for G8 was
instituted by the local administration of Genoa. Member
of local council Gualtiero Schiaffino launched the
initiative today, during a press conference. The Order
and the Association of journalists will be responsible
for distribution. Schiaffino explained that local
authorities wanted to express gratefulness to journalists
by creating a fund, of ten millions lire (about 5.000
dollars), intended for journalists, free-lance,
photographers, video operators and media workers that
suffered injuries or material damage. According to
Schiaffino’s statement, the local administrative
council fully recognised the important work of the press
during the days in which Genoa was destroyed, admitting
that a broken computer, a confiscated or broken camera
prevent journalists from doing their work. The fund might
be improved by local sponsors. Attilio Luglio, president
of Order of journalists of Liguria, speaking also in the
name of Marcello Zinola, secretary of the local
Association of the press, expressed gratefulness to
Schiaffino, affirming that they will do pressure on
publishers and local agencies to improve the solidarity
fund. Lugli underlined how the violence suffered by
journalists (four cases among the Italians and a hundred
among foreign reporters) was due not only to
demonstrators, but also to the action of security
officers, especially in the night of Saturday. “I
think that night - Lugli said - the border of democracy
was moved too forward, now it must come back and
initiatives such this intend recreate confidence in
institutions.”
REPORTERS
SANS FRONTIERES; JOURNALISTS ARE NOT AUXILIARIES OF
POLICE Aug, 1 -
Journalists must not became “auxiliaries” of
police forces, Robert menard, general secretary of
Reporters sans Frontieres stated today, about the request
of material ordered by Italian judges to some newspapers.
The organisation for the freedom of the press affirmed
that “if they are known and public documents, there
is no problem. But if they are documents of different
kind, journalists must not become auxiliaries of the
police.” According to Menard, if the press should
satisfy the request of Italian courts, “the position
of the press would be remarkably weakened.” “If
demonstrators - Menard went on - knew that material in
possess of the press could be delivered to police, it
would be impossible to work.” Rsf will publish in
the beginning of September a “white book” on
the facts of Genoa. In the meanwhile it launched an
investigation with its own witnesses in various Italian
departments of the organisation. APPEAL
FROM TOSCANA; CLEARING UP ON VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS Aug, 1 -
About fifty journalists from newspapers and editorial
staffs of Toscana lodged today an appeal to Amnesty
International and to the European Parliament to make
clarity on “the violations of the freedom of opinion
and information” occurred in Genoa during the G8. In
the statement solidarity was expressed to journalists
that suffered aggressions by police and demonstrators and
especially “full clarity” was asked about the
“modalities, that we condemn - these the words of
the statement - of the search in the media centre of
Genoa Social Forum in the night of July the 22nd,
centre that for a whole week was a point of gathering and
spreading of information, including alternative
news.” The statement asked to FNSI and to the Order
of journalists “to take all necessary initiative to
have clear answers from government’s institutions
and judiciary powers about the facts of Genoa.” JUDGEMENT
ON PASSES FOR JOURNALISTS Aug, 2 -
A judge of Genoa civil court, Franca Maganza, for the
first time in Italy recognised the subjective right to
information, deciding on an urgent appeal by a journalist
from Bologna, initially prevented from the release of
accreditation to follow the G8 summit conference, and
then normally admitted. The Order and the Association of
journalists of Liguria, that reported the information,
underlined that “the important decision on matter of
freedom of the press was issued after that Order and
Association entrusted lawyers Valdemaro Flick and Roberto
Cisani to apply for an urgent appeal to court.” THE
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS BLAMES THE ACTION OF
POLICE FORCES Aug, 3 -
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an
independent organization dedicated to the defense of
press freedom around the world, strongly condemns the
brutal attacks by police officers and demonstrators on
journalists covering the Group of Eight (G-8) summit of
the world's industrialized nations in Genoa from July 20
to July 22. In a statement released in Washington, the
organisation expressed serious concern that official
Italian orders compelling media outlets to turn over
photographs and audio/video tapes of the violence will
further jeopardize the safety of journalists and the
integrity of the profession by forcing them to act as
police informants. According to international press
reports and CPJ's own research, police officers were
responsible for the greatest number of attacks on
journalists covering the anti-globalizations protests
during the summit. Police officers beat a number of
journalists on July 20: Sam Cole, a Rome-based producer
for The Associated Press (AP) Television News, was
clubbed and suffered a head injury; Timothy Fadek of the
GAMMA Press photo agency was flung to the ground and
beaten extensively, AP reported; An AP Biscom news agency
journalist, whose name has not been disclosed, was beaten
even after he showed officers his press credentials and
identified himself as a member of the press. CPJ continue
to investigate a number of reported attacks on Italian
journalists that have surfaced in the European press. CPJ
remains very concerned that Italian authorities have not
specifically addressed reports of police brutality
against journalists. Moreover, CPJ is troubled that
prosecutors have ordered media outlets to turn over
photographs and audio/video tapes of the Genoa street
violence. As a nonpartisan organization of journalists
devoted to defending press freedom worldwide, CPJ is
deeply disturbed at this arbitrary and brutal treatment
of journalists covering the Genoa summit and appeals to
Italian government to ensure that any demonstrators and
police officers found to have attacked journalists are
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. MATERIALS
CONFISCATED IN GSF MEDIA CENTRE WILL BE RETURNED Aug, 4 -
The judiciary authorities investigating on the facts of
Genoa will return all the material confiscated by police
in the night search at Gsf media centre, settled in a
school in front of school “Diaz”, that instead
was a rest point for demonstrators and that was also
searched. The police confiscated from the media centre -
according to the claims of the lawyers of Gsf itself -
legal material, contained in floppy-disks, video, films
and hard disk from computers that were destroyed.
According to art.41 of Italian penal code, the search
only was intended to find weapons, so all this material
will be returned to Gsf. |
