Wars are an inevitable reality of the world, and journalists are also part of this reality, Turkish Police Academy Vice President
By Hamza Kyeyune, – Update : 18.11.2023
Ankara, Türkiye -Journalists from 15 different countries in Europe, Africa and Asia have graduated with internationally-recognized certificates in war journalism, upon successful completion of the training in Türkiye.
The trainees experienced all the scenarios they may encounter in any war, including hostage survival, first aid, chemical and biological attacks, risk assessment and management among other extreme conditions.
Journalists expressed high satisfaction with the training content as well as for the expertise of trainers, adding that they acquired skills to help them survive under extreme conditions, at a time journalist are targeted, citing an example of Gaza, where Israel forces have shot several. At the time of the training, more than 40 journalists were reported as killed in Israel’s widespread bombardment of Gaza.
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols set out rules to protect people who are not taking part in the fighting and those who can no longer fight. Additional Protocols specifies that journalists who are engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict must be considered as civilians and must be protected as such as long as they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians.
Anadolu Deputy Director General Oguz Enis Peru said at the closing ceremony that war journalists carry out a crucial mission of public interest under hard conditions to inform the public accurately, expose war crimes and prevent the cover-up of inhumane and illegal interventions.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) External Relations and Partnerships director Uğur Tanyeli said that, the training is one of the most significant examples of its kind globally and is the closest to the real-time conditions of war and conflict.
Police Academy Vice President Fatih Inal said that wars are an inevitable reality of the world, and journalists are also part of this reality. “All journalists and media workers staying healthy and alive is what we want. We are not only training journalists for wars. In fact, as I mentioned in the class, this program is about reporting under difficult conditions,”
The training was jointly organized by Anadolu Agency News Academy, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish Police Academy, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) to equip journalists with skills to survive during extraordinary missions like wars and disasters.
