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Canadians got the good news yesterday that Canadian Broadcasting Company journalist Melissa Fung had been freed in Afghanistan, nearly a month after being kidnapped. Their happiness was leavened with surprise, though, because the public hadn't been told that Fung had been in danger.
For some bloggers, the plot thickened when it was learned that Fung's kidnapping had taken place October 12 -- two days before Canada's parliamentary elections. Did the government and news agencies embargo the news of Fung's abduction for her saftety -- or was there an element of political calculation involved? The bloggers reactions betray a lack of understanding of how journalists work in war zones.
First, the details of the crime. According to articles on the CBC website, Fung was working on a story at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the Afghan capital of Kabul when armed men kidnapped her on October 12. She was taken into mountains northwest of the city. She told an interviewer yesterday that she was held, blindfolded, in an underground cave. Investigators say they think the kidnappers were criminals out to make a buck, not members of the Taliban. Afghan authorities say three people have been arrested so far, and three more suspects are being sought. They also say no ransom was paid for her release.
CBC news publisher John Cruikshank said that they asked fellow journalists to keep Fung's kidnapping a secret for safety reasons.
.Melissa's parents are obviously grateful that she has turned up safe.(You can see a CBC video of them talking about the call they received from their daughter after she was freed. There's also video of Fung describing her ordeal.) Fung said she had not been hurt by her captors.
Reporters Without Borders' statement on Fungs release noted that it's become increasingly dangerous for journalists to work in Afghanistan:
We are... very worried by the recent
kidnappings of journalists in Afghanistan, where the security situation
has deteriorated dangerously.”
Violet is impressed that the news organizations can keep a secret. Ninemoonjupe understands why secrecy was necessary. But BlastFurnace is suspicious, asking:
[W]asn't this really just a case of the right-wing media colluding to
ensure a Harper victory? And for that matter, the CBC cowing to their
political masters to make sure they don't lose next year's
appropriation?
I'm not an expert on Canadian politics or media, but the news blackout doesn't surprise me. News organizations routinely keep secrets when reporting in war zones, which is why Geraldo Rivera got into so much trouble in 2003 when he revealed details about the military operation he was witnessing in Iraq. Rivera's loquaciousness was the exception, not the rule for military correspondents.
But even beyond that, there's an element of solidarity at work. No one has forgotten the horrific kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Journalists working in a war zone know that what happened to Pearl or Fung could happen to them. Why wouldn't they keep a secret if that could save a fellow journalist's life?
Thankfully, Fung is safe, as is Dutch journalist Joanie de Rijke, who was abducted Nov. 1. Her kidnapping was not disclosed until after her release Nov. 7, according to Reporters Without Borders. Riljke's release prompted this statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists:
"We are
relieved that Joanie de Rijke is safe and free. Her week-long ordeal is an
indicator of how dangerous Afghanistan has become for foreign
and local reporters. The question that must quickly be addressed is how
journalists are going to continue to operate in the country's disintegrating
security situation," said Bob Dietz,
CPJ's Asia program coordinator.
