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| Russia's KGB against press freedom | | Slain journalist re-establishes journalism of courage | |
NEW DELHI:
The most shocking news for journalists across the globe has been the murder of celebrated Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya. The assassination is a tragedy that will be remembered long after her departure. The fact that Politkovskaya died doing her duty and fighting for her beliefs is the ultimate tribute to the fearless reporter and soldier of truth that she was.
Doubtless, Politkovskaya paid the ultimate price for her courage to expose what she called Russia’s ‘dirty war’ in Chechnya. It was thanks to her fearless reporting of the long running Chechen conflict that the world got a peek into shocking atrocities and grave human rights abuses by Russian troops in the separatist Muslim republic. In fact, at the time of her killing, she had just completed a report documenting new cases of torture in Chechnya, to be published on Monday (October 9, 2006).
Russia is known for its powerful and ruthless establishment. Yet, Politkovskaya proved that she will not sacrifice journalism of courage. In doing so, Politkovskaya took on the powerful Russian establishment and ruffled many a feather. Even though under President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has come to completely control the media, Politkovskaya and her newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, continued to defy Russia’s new Czars.
And she paid with her life for her extraordinary courage. In her death, Politkovskaya epitomises just how incredibly constrained and controlled the media is in Putin’s Russia and how dangerous it is for the journalists to tell the truth as it is. Politkovskaya was the 12th journalist to be murdered in mafia-style killings since Putin came to power, as the Committee to Protect Journalists has reminded the world.
This is an alarming state of affairs and calls for action from the world community. Comrade Vladimir Putin, the former KGB operative, needs to be reminded that the Soviet Union is long dead and the era of Stalinist oppression is over. If Russia is keen to be part of the civilised world, as it indeed is, it must stop killing its journalists for reporting inconvenient truths.
The killers of Politkovskaya must be found and brought to justice. More importantly, the Kremlin must end its reign of terror in Chechnya. The fiercely free-spirited Chechens could not be suppressed by the mighty Czars in spite of long and bloody campaigns by Moscow. The persecution and persuasion by the Stalinist Soviet Union equally failed in reining in the Chechens.
Russia would ignore these vital lessons of its history at its own peril. Dialogue and genuine democracy, not use of force and stage-managed elections by Kremlin, may be the only way to win back an alienated people. Meanwhile, more men and women of courage will come forward to carry forward the mission of Anna Politkovskaya — a mission of truth, freedom and courage. Politkovskaya would not be silenced, even in her death.
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