On the World Press Freedom Day,
Radio Dijla [Radio Tigris], is
For extremism, entertainment is something forbidden. Continuing their evil campaign against journalists earlier, they never hesitated in attacking any other soft target like Radio Dijlah. After trying to assassinate
What surprised me the most wasn’t only the insurgents’ increasing attacks, but the also government’s reluctance in providing protection to the journalists who are sacrificing everything to keep this life moving. The Radio Station’s website detailed the attack and stressed on the fact that they asked for the government’s help, but the government forces did not respond immediately to the attack leaving the staffers battle with the world’s fiercest terrorists alone. Here is how Radio Dijla website detailed the attack:
On the World Press Freedom Day, the third of May at two-thirty in the afternoon, about eighty members of the terrorist al-Qaeda group attacked the headquarters of Radio Dijla in al-Jamia’a neighborhood, killing the chief security guard and wounding two others, in addition to the destruction of almost the entire ground floor [of the building]. Prior to that, there was a foiled attempt to kidnap four of the [station’s] employees at eight-thirty on the same day.
Eyewitnesses said a group of armed men blocked the roads leading to the station’s building before they started the attack in which they used rifles, RPGs and grenades. The armed men succeeded in breaking into the headquarters’ two-story building after they killed the chief security guard, the martyr Adel al-Badri, but they faced a brave resistance that lasted for forty-five minutes, which took place inside the hallways of the building. At the meantime, the acting director of the station Karim Yousif was calling for the security authorities for help to rescue the twenty-five employees who were besieged on the first floor. However, despite the continuous calls for help, the National Guard forces came an hour after the attack started while the nearest checkpoint was about 500 meters away.
The army forces arrived after the armed men fled. They came with four armored humvee hummers and two pick-ups. The soldiers told our employees that they have only fifteen minutes to get into the vehicles because they don’t expect any back up force in case they have to clash with the insurgents. They stressed that if the employees do not get into the vehicles by this short time, they would leave the area and the employees behind. The colleagues left the area and were driven to one of the squares in
That was not the end of what the terrorist did. They came back shortly [after the evacuation] and occupied the building for thirty hours and left after setting the entire building on fire and exploding it afterwards. The authorities were informed about the armed men’s occupation of the building, but we didn’t do any effort to get rid of these armed men despite the information they received about their presence. This is considered a scandal and negligence by the authorities which results in making the citizens reconsider their trust in the ability of the security authorities to provide protection, security, and stability.
Now, what else could I add to their last statement? This government is so weak. That’s it. I feel sick of their failure. If they can’t protect people, can’t protect journalists and can’t protect even themselves, what’s the benefit then from having them running the country? Where were the security forces when the employees called for their help? And even when they came, they were very scared that they didn’t want to stay for more than fifteen minutes. They were afraid! What a shame! Where is all the training the
The LA Times wrote a good story about the attack. Read it here:
"We've asked the government more than once to please secure this road. Every week, someone gets killed or kidnapped around here," he said. "They come and secure it for a week, but then it goes back to what it was.
"Jamiya has become a cemetery for journalists," he said, citing a list attacks on other media outlets and journalists in the area.
Rikabi said his goal was to be back on the air with limited programming within 72 hours. He said listeners had called to offer anything, even their gold jewelry and houses, to help pay for the station's revival and its move to a safer location.
Finding such a place in
"If you move to a Shiite area, your Sunni staff won't come to work. If you move to a Sunni area, your Shiite staff won't come to work," said Rikabi, who estimates that he has lost about 30 employees because of security worries. Now, the station has a staff of about 55.
"We should probably just choose a place in the middle of the river," he said with a slight laugh. "That's not Sunni or Shiite."
Another story worth mentioning is in the video below. The story of news photographer who was kidnapped with his son and beaten after his captors confiscated his camera and the gun he used for protection as he goes out reporting.
Lawlessness has reached its peak in
