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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=9379 Thursday, July 11, 2002 U.N. police blast media reports in Kosovo after local TV coverage of suspects' arrests in fatal ambush of family By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes European edition, Tuesday, July 10, 2002 -Michael Steiner, the top U.N. administrator in the province, backed up his police force in a separate news conference a few minutes later. He took issue with a newspaper report on the incident that compared U.N. police to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. PRISTINA, Kosovo � Three days after U.N. police arrested 10 people for their alleged roles in the ambush and slaying of a Kosovar family last year, officials were on the offensive again. This time, their targets were members of the local media. �I think the media have been criminally irresponsible,� said Derek Chappell, spokesman for the U.N. police mission in Kosovo, following a news conference Tuesday. He was referring specifically to a taped segment shown on television that featured a young Kosovar child with a bloodied mouth. The segment stated that a U.N. policeman had caused the wound by sticking a gun barrel into the child�s mouth during the arrest of the suspected killers. Chappell said police injured no one during their raids and said an investigation is now under way to see if someone else caused the child�s wound. �If it turns out that someone involved in that production did something to that child in order to enhance their production, they can expect to be arrested,� he said. Michael Steiner, the top U.N. administrator in the province, backed up his police force in a separate news conference a few minutes later. He took issue with a newspaper report on the incident that compared U.N. police to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. �The police don�t beat children,� he said, enunciating each word. �I�m just asking you: Is that professional journalism?� Steiner held up several other examples of headlines and reporting he didn�t like on a variety of other issues. He said the United Nations wasn�t suggesting censorship and expects to receive some criticism. �But it needs to be criticism based on reality,� Steiner said. The reality of Saturday�s arrests, according to Chappell, is that suspects are in custody for �one of the most brutal murders we have seen in Kosovo.� Hamez Hajra and his family were driving on a road near Koder Village in the British sector of Kosovo on Aug. 20, 2001. The family�s vehicle was stopped and gunmen then opened fire, killing the parents and three children � including a 9-year old. A 16-year-old was wounded and survived. On Saturday, 90 U.N. police staged a series of early morning raids that netted eight suspects. Police say the suspects either participated in the murder or helped conceal evidence. Two other suspects were arrested later in the day. Chappell said because of the nature of the crime, police were heavily armed and out in force. �We�re not going to knock on the door and ask to be let in,� he said, comparing the activity to a SWAT operation. �It was very quick, very precise, very clean.� He said police provided water to the families raided, gave candy to their children and reported no injuries during a five-hour operation. Chappell said a positive operation had been tarnished by the media coverage. �There are professional journalists in Kosovo,� he said. �But, unfortunately, there are some who can�t seem to see past their political allegiances.� __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
