Statement made on 30 March 2010 by Senator Joan Fraser
Hon. Joan Fraser:
Honourable senators, I rise again this year to pay homage and bear witness to journalists who were killed in the line of duty. Last year, as listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 99 journalists lost their lives.
They were: in Afghanistan, Michelle Lang, of Calgary, Sultan Mohammed Munadi and Jawed Ahmad; in Azerbaijan, Novruzali Mamedov; in Brazil, José Givonaldo Vieira; in Colombia, José Everado Aguilar, Diego de Jesus Rojas Velasquez, and Harold Humberto Rivas Quevedo; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bruno Koko Chirambiza and Bruno Jacquet Ossébi; in El Salvador, Christian Gregorio Poveda Ruiz; in the Gaza Strip, Basil Ibrahim Faraj; in Guatemala, Rolando Santiz and Marco Antonio Estrada; in Honduras, Rafael Munguia Ortiz and Gabriel Fino Noriega; in Indonesia, Anak Agung Prabangsa; in Iran, Omidreza Mirsayafi; in Iraq, Orhan Hijran, Alaa Abdel-Wahab, Suhaib Adnan and Haidar Hashim Suhail; in Kazakhstan, Gennady Pavlyuk; in Kenya, Francis Nyaruri; in Madagascar, Ando Ratovonirina; in Mexico, Bladimir Antuna Garcia, Eliseo Barron Hernandez, José Emilio Galindo Robles, Norberto Miranda Madrid, Juan Daniel Martinez Gil, Carlos Ortega Samper, Jean Paul Ibarra Ramirez and José Alberto Velazquez Lopez; in Nepal, Uma Singh; in Nigeria, Bayo Ohu; in Pakistan, Janullah Hasimzada, Wasi Ahmad Qureshi, Musa Khankhel, Siddique Bacha Khan, Raja Assad Hameed, Tahir Awan and Mohammad Imran; in the Phillipines, Henry Araneta, Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, Godofredo Linao, Mark Gilbert Arriola, Rubello Bataluna, Arturo Betia, Romeo Jimmy Cabillo, Marites Cablitas, Hannibal Cachuela, Jepon Cadagdagon, John Caniban, Lea Dalmacio, Noel Decina, Gina Dela Cruz, Jhoy Duhay, Jolito Evardo, Santos Gatchalian, Bienvenido Legarte Jr., Lindo Lupogan, Ernesto Maravilla, Rey Merisco, Reynaldo Momay, Marife "Neneng" Montano, Rosell Morales, Victor Nunez, Ronnie Perante, Joel Parcon, Fernando Razon, Alejandro Reblando, Napoleon Salaysay, Ian Subang, Andres Teodoro, Daniel Tiamson, Benjie Adolfo, Crispin Perez, Jojo Trajano, Badrodin Abbas, Ismael Pasigna and Ernie Rolin; in Russia, Abdulmalik Akhmedilov, Natalya Estemirova, Shafig Amrakhov, Anastasiya Baburova and Vyacheslav Yaroshenko; in Somalia, Abdulkhafar Abdulkadir, Mohamed Amin, Hassan Zubeyr, Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe, Nur Muse Hussein, Mohamud Mohamed Yusuf, Abdirisak Mohamed Warsame, Said Tahil Ahmed and Hassan Mayow Hassan; in Sri Lanka, Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy and Lasantha Wickramatunga; in Turky Cihan Hayirsevener; and in Venezuela, Orel Sambrano.
Honourable senators, these journalists were shot, stabbed, decapitated, bombed and beaten to death, all because they were trying to serve the cause of truth and the cause of telling the people of the world what is going on in the world. I ask honourable senators to join me in honouring them.