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One bullet turns publicity stunt into fiasco
Published:  Sep 6, 2011 8:28 AM
Updated: 9:04 AM

your say 'It is irresponsible for the BN government to say that the burden of ensuring safety falls on Somalia or even on the shoulders of journalists.'

'Stay at home': A callous remark by PM

Cannon: It shows plainly there was no clear thinking behind the mission. The organisers did not count the cost of sending a humanitarian aid team into a war zone.

The organisers could not justify the risks. It took a bullet to turn what is essentially a publicity stunt into a fiasco.

AkuMelayu: BernamaTV cameraperson Noramfaizul Mohd Nor knew very well what he was getting into when he volunteered to cover this humanitarian mission.

The Somalia mission was not his first assignment to such hostile environment. His immediate family members, i.e. his wife and parents, by giving their consent and blessings for him to go tells that they would accept whatever the consequences that could befall their love one.

And for other family members like his uncles and aunts, their feelings may be (I repeat, maybe) influenced by their political leanings. Whatever it is, the government and Putera 1Malaysia Club have not "lepas tangan".

They have pledged to take care of Noramfaizul family's welfare.

Multi Racial: Let not start the blame game. Similarly, let's not just brush this incident aside. We should learn from this so that we can do better in future.

It does not necessary mean that as Noramfaizul knew the risk and was prepared to take the risk, we should then treat this matter as fate. What Noramfaizul was willing to do is one thing, what the country should do is another.

For example, is it necessary for Malaysia to send a humanitarian mission to Somalia? Isn't working through United Nation enough? If there is a need, are we doing enough to protect our citizens?

Although Noramfaizul had the heart to help. I am sure he still wanted to live and the government should have done whatever possible to ensure Noramfaizul and other Malaysians were safe in their mission.

Tok Karut: The protection of civilians is the responsibility of the Somalia government under international human rights law. However, it is also the responsibility of the BN government to protect its citizens abroad.

It is irresponsible for the BN government to say that the burden falls on Somalia or even on the shoulders of journalists.

Bullet that killed Bernama man fired by AU troops

Ipoh2: Somalia's wars are fought by various militia groups, which the government can't control. African Union (AU) peacekeepers can't differentiate one militia group from another since all of them look exactly the same.

Don't blame AU forces but blame the organiser's stupidity in hiring a militia group to provide security when they automatically become targets for other militia groups, the government and AU forces.

Karma: PM Najib Razak is just like the police chiefs who spoke immediately after the Bersih rally - there was no tear gas fired at Sentral Station or at Tung Shin hospital, only in Pudu. And (opposition leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) was uninjured. All wrong information.

Now Najib has said that it was a stray bullet that killed our reporter, but it turned out that there was apparently a pursuit of the vehicle he and the other Malaysians were in, by soldiers firing away.

Kumara: We were told that security was provided by the Somali government but now we are told it was by private militia. Najib, who do we blame?

Who Is That Masked Man?: Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world, not just Africa. Even the US Army Special Forces have been decimated there.

What the heck are our journalists doing there? It's suicidal to go there. You don't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. They shoot first and talk later. Go cover stories in Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Syria, etc. It's a no brainer.

*: Sending an untrained young journalist to one of the worst war zones without proper safety gear and training is a gross negligence by the organiser.

Malaysians are not just like illegal immigrants, whose life can be traded for just RM200,000 in compensation for participating in such a dangerous mission.

Rest in peace, dear young man.

Nik V: Somebody in Umno-BN figured; why not record our efforts and show it on the Umno-owned media channels as part of our PR propaganda campaign to show how ‘great' Umno is.

But who would have known that it would end up like this? This loss of life should not have happened just to satisfy the egos and pride of certain characters within the Umno regime.

If nothing had happened, Umno would have said: "Look at the great deeds we have done." But now that something has gone terribly wrong, they are saying: "Don't look as us, he chose to be a journalist and died doing his job."

Typical of the Umno-elitist regime.

 


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