Palestinians bans journalists from taking pictures of armed children

Yahoo! News, August 27, 2002

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Palestinian journalists union declared on Monday that news photographers are "absolutely forbidden" from taking pictures of Palestinian children carrying weapons or taking part in activities by militant groups, saying that the pictures harm the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also called on Palestinian factions and their military wings to stop using children in their activities.

The Foreign Press Association, representing news media working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, called on the organization to withdraw its statement, saying it limited coverage of news. Palestinian Authority officials had no immediate comment.

Children carrying weapons or dressed up as suicide bombers have been frequently seen at rallies and marches in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during nearly two years of Palestinian-Israeli violence. Israel has charged that Palestinians are misusing children as pawns in the conflict; the Palestinians counter that Israeli forces target children with gunfire during riots.

Recently six children armed with M16 rifles and Kalashnikov machine guns took part in a pro-Iraqi rally in the southern town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Tawfik Abu Khousa, deputy chairman of the syndicate, said such pictures harmed the image of the Palestinian people and the credibility of Palestinian journalists.
"We have decided to forbid taking any footage of armed children, because we consider that as a clear violation of the rights of children and for negative effects these pictures have on the Palestinian people," he said.

In the statement issued by the syndicate it said footage of armed served "the interests of Israel and its propaganda against the Palestinian people."
The union threatened to boycott militant groups who use children and masked men in their activities.

The ban extended to Palestinian journalists who worked for local and foreign new agencies. The statement said Palestinians who work for foreign news media must see to it that foreign photographers follow the ban.

The syndicate said journalists who failed to adhere to the ban would be investigated and subjected to disciplinary procedures.
Free-lancers were also expected to abide by the ban, the statement said.

The statement did not detail what measures would be taken. In the past, Palestinian journalists who ran afoul of the authorities had their credentials lifted, limiting their access to official events. Palestinian photographers have told of attempts by Palestinian officials and militias to keep them from taking pictures considered unfavorable, sometimes using threats and coercion. The Palestinian Information Ministry has issued statements denouncing the threats.
Most foreign news agencies make extensive use of local Palestinian photographers in the Gaza Strip for both print and television pictures.

The statement said that there was "clear evidence that some photographers ware trying ... to mark the Palestinian struggle with terrorism." Journalists were also banned from photographing masked men.

The syndicate was established in the 1980s in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. There are 167 Palestinian journalists and photographers in the Gaza branch, according to the union.

In a statement, the Foreign Press Association expressed "deep concern" over the decision by the syndicate and its threats of sanctions against journalists, local and foreign, who disregard the ban.
"While we share the expressed desire to defend the rights of children, limiting coverage of legitimate news events and elements of stories is not the proper way to achieve this goal," it said.