More than three months have elapsed since the assassination of Lebanese editor Gebran Tueni by the government is yet to appoint a judge to investigate the murder even as an award has been instituted to honour a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates free press values.
Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) on Saturday joined the family of Tueni, in calling for pressure to be stepped up for an effective investigation into his death in a car-bombing last December. His daughter, Nayla Tueni, told RSF on behalf of the family, "We are shocked that three months after Gebran's death, no judge has yet been appointed to open an investigation. It is unacceptable."
She called on the local and foreign press to help focus attention on the daily harassment suffered by journalists in Lebanon on a daily basis. "Too many journalists are killed for what they write," she said, herself a journalist.
Journalist and politician, Gebran Tueni, was killed in a car bomb blast on December 12, 2005, in Mkalles in the Christian suburbs of the Lebanese capital. He was editor-in-chief of the daily An-Nahar and a Beirut deputy.
Three journalists were victims of unsolved car-bombing attacks during 2005. Samir Kassir, editorial writer on An-Nahar, died in a car bombing on June 2. Kassir and Tueni both knew they were under threat after the assassination of the former prime minister Rafic Hariri, on February 14. Star TV presenter, May Chidiac, of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation was badly injured when her car blew up on September 25.
Meanwhile, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has announced the creation of the Gebran Tueni Award, which will annually honour a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates the free press values upheld by him.
As a permanent memorial to Tueni, the award, which will carry a 10,000 Euros stipend for newspaper leadership training, will be given to an editor or publisher of an Arabic-language publication whose activity reflects a profound attachment to the freedom and independence of the press, courage, leadership, ambition and the search for high managerial and professional standards.
"Perhaps no one individual contributed as much to our work in the free press field as Gebran in the recent history of our organisation," said Timothy Balding, Chief Executive Officer of the Paris-based WAN. Tueni was a WAN board member.
"Gebran was a unique figure in WAN affairs for almost 20 years, as a leading member of our Press Freedom Committee, a Board member for more than a decade, a regular participant in missions to press freedom 'hot spots' and a constant adviser and support to the leadership of our organization on Arab and press freedom issues," he said.
The award jury will consist of representatives of WAN and the Tueni family.
The 10,000 Euro stipend will enable the award winner to undertake advanced newspaper leadership training through the training institute of An-Nahar, Gebran Tueni's newspaper in the Lebanon. Additional forms of support will also be given by WAN to the award laureate.
Announcing the award at a news conference at An-Nahar in Beirut, Balding condemned the "cowardly killing" of Tueni and called on Lebanese authorities to accelerate the investigation into his murder, "which in no circumstances can remain unpunished".
An-Nahar and WAN also announced that they would jointly organise a conference in Beirut in September or October to draw attention to the threats against a free press in the Lebanon and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Called 'Press Under Siege', the event would be a continuation of a series of WAN 'Media in Danger' conferences focussing on countries or regions where violence against the press has become endemic. Three others have taken place: in Bogota, Colombia; in the Basque region of Spain; and in Kyrgyzstan, covering the Central Asian Republics. The first Gebran Tueni Award will be given at the conference.
