Is Journalism Worth Dying For__ Final Dispatches - Anna Politkovskaya [195]
Ruslan Aushev, Hero of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Committee for Internationalist Soldiers’ Affairs
A talented journalist has been taken from us before her time, an extraordinary and striking individual, an uncompromising fighter for truth and justice whose outstanding reports were exceptionally important and courageous. This is an irreparable loss.
Karl Bildt, Foreign Minister of Sweden
Her battle for human rights and freedoms was an important part of the work for a better Russia and a better Europe. I sincerely hope that the Russian authorities will make every effort to arrest the guilty and get to the bottom of this crime.
Vladimir Bukovsky, dissident, Cambridge
She was a courageous person who wrote a lot about war and its victims. She was well known in the West. The reasons for her murder are obvious. One cannot pretend it was due to her financial or business interests, because she had none. Her only enemy was the corrupt Russian system which, most likely, is what killed her.
George W. Bush, President of the USA
Like many Russians, Americans were shocked and saddened by the brutal murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a fearless investigative journalist, highly respected in both Russia and the United States. We extend our sympathy and prayers to her family and her friends.
Born in the United States to Soviet diplomats, Anna Politkovskaya cared deeply about her country. Through her efforts to shine a light on human rights abuses and corruption, especially in Chechnya, she challenged her fellow Russians – and, indeed, all of us – to summon the courage and will, as individuals and societies, to struggle against evil and rectify injustices.
We urge the Russian Government to conduct a vigorous and thorough investigation to bring to justice those responsible for her murder.
Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic of France
Letter of condolence to Ms Vera Politkovskaya and Mr Ilya Politkovsky [Anna’s daughter and son]
Dear Ms Politkovskaya,
Dear Mr Politkovsky,
The vile murder of Anna Politkovskaya has shocked me, as it has shocked all French people and all who defend freedom of the press. As a friend of Russia and of the Russian people, I know how angered your country has been by this particularly shameful murder of a passionate journalist whose professionalism and courage have been universally acknowledged, especially in her investigations into the situation in Chechnya.
You know that France attaches enormous importance to the fact that everything needful should be undertaken to ensure that justice is done, and the murderers of your mother found and punished.
In the tragic ordeal which has befallen you, I express to you my deepest and most sincere condolences, and pay the tribute of my profound respect to the memory of Anna Politkovskaya.
I ask you to accept, dear Ms Politkovskaya and Mr Politkovsky, this assurance of my sympathy for you and your family. With heartfelt emotion and sympathy in this hour of your tragic ordeal, Jacques Chirac
Terry Davis, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe
I am shocked by the news that Anna Politkovskaya was found dead in Moscow today, and I am deeply concerned about the circumstances in which she has lost her life. She was a journalist of exceptional courage and determination, and her reporting on the conflict in the Chechen Republic provided the Russian public and the entire world with an independent insight into the fate of ordinary people caught in this conflict. We have all lost a strong voice of the kind which is indispensable in any genuine democracy. It is essential for the circumstances to be clarified quickly and in a convincing manner.
Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris
I have been deeply shocked to hear of the vile assassination