(Author Note: This article is second in series on Denmark relations with USA. No. 1 https://www.opednews.com/articles/Denmark-the-US-s-51st-sta-by-ron-ridenour-American-Hegemony_American-Political-Prisoner-Released_Demonstrations_European-Descended-People-200614-333.html)
Reporters and camera crews covering the uprising against racism and police brutality are being attacked by police, mainly, in unprecedented numbers in the US.
Tens of thousands march in London, two Australian journalists assaulted in protests | ABC News Two Australian journalists have been assaulted in separate incidents while covering anti-racism protests in London. Nine News Europe correspondent Sophie ...
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Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), a non-governmental organization, which seeks to defend free press and empower public-interest journalism, keeps track of violence used against the trade. Its president is Edward Snowden. Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras are also on the board of directors. https://freedom.press/
In 2017, FPF started a "press freedom tracker" project (PFT) in 2017. https://pressfreedomtracker.us/
In its first three years, PFT documented 400 occasions in which reporters had been attacked while doing their job. Violent curtailments of press freedom occurred the same number of times, 400, in just two weeks of the uprising in the U.S. Eighty percent caused by police. About 100 reporters and photographers have been physically attacked mainly by police; 100 attacked with tear gas or pepper spraying, and nearly the same by rubber bullets or other projectiles. Scores of journalist equipment (cameras) damaged.
Reporters/photographers have been attacked in 64 cities, in 34 states. Linda Tirado is one of them. She was blinded in her left eye by a Minneapolis policeman's tracer round.
Not only US media personnel are assaulted so are many foreign repoters as well. Some Scandinavian journalists are among them. Civil liberties organizations have logged complaints against police departments, local/state governments and the federal government. The Danish Journalist Federation (DJ) asks the Danish government to speak out.
"We usually
see this [treatment] in all sorts of scoundrel states. It is just fierce that
it comes so close to us, because [USA] is a land we consider as a democracy
that has a free press as a cornerstone-- "I hope the Danish government will
join others in putting pressure on the American [government]," stated Tine
Johansen, DJ chairwoman, to the Danish media, in early June.
Johansen also said President Trump's reaction to police brutality against the
media "is outrageous."
Trump tweeted, "The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy"they are FAKE NEWS and truly bad people with a sick agenda--
Danish journalists' support for colleagues under attack were joined by two of three support parties to the minority Social Democrat (SD) government. While the Socialist Party was silent, the Red/Green party and Radical Liberals want the government to act. A spokesperson for Red/Greens stated that the Secretary of State must "come in the fight and clearly condemn the American president's reaction to this, and say that the media must have free access and be protected,"
After a week of silence to this critique, the SD Secretary of State, Jeppe Kofod, still would not be interviewed or speak directly to the media. He prefers Facebook:
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