Mazen Dana ’s death: ..: Secret Burials in the desert :..

August 19, 2003 2000 -

Mazen Dana arguing with a soldier during a demonstration at the
entrance of Shuhada street in Hebron
Did the Pentagon order the assassination of a Journalist in order to cover
up secret mass burials of dead U.S Soldiers in the desert around Baghdad ?
What is really behind the killing of my colleague, the Palestinian Reuters
Cameraman Mazen Dana, in Bagdad? Is the Pentagon really scared of the media
telling the U.S public what is really going on in Iraq? Do the criminals in
the Pentagon want to cover their crimes against their own soldiers by
killing journalists in Iraq? If, then this is what can be called organized
terror.

The U.S. troops obviously felt themselves threatened and in big danger of
the Palestinian Reuters Cameraman Mazen Dana, who was developing a story
about secret burials of U.S. mercenaries and soldiers in mass graves in
far-away places in deserts strips around Baghdad, which had obviously been
authorized by the commanders of the U.S. army.
Mazen’s scoop began when he realized that that the U.S. troops were burying
human bodies wrapped in plastic in the desert. He thought that these were
the bodies of Iraqi people. He kept watching and investigating the
activities of the U.S. troops in the desert. He kept developing his scoop,
working around different U.S. units and military jails, trying to figure out
from were the bodies could come from, whether they belonged to Iraqis or
not.

He could ultimately develop a source, a U.S. mercenary, who told him
that those buried were not Iraqis, but mercenaries who had been promised
green cards and U.S. citizenship in return for serving in the U.S. army.
According to this source, not few of those interred were Americans who
had been killed in combat. Mazen had been able to film the activities of
the U.S. army, and their secret mass graves. Mazen Dana was experienced
in journalistic work in areas of conflict and under dangerous
conditions. In our hometown Hebron, he had been covering the Israeli
Duvdevan units, essentially death squads of the Israeli army, which can
not normally be filmed. Since he had become aware of what the americans
were doing in the desert, he kept the secret for himself. The
intelligence units of the U.S. army probably knew that Mazen was beating
about the bush, and they must have feared that their secret desert
burials would expose the Pentagon and the army to a big scandal.

The U.S. Army pride themselves of always bringing home their dead, and
this ultimate disrespect for their own would probably be frowned upon by
the American society at large, even if not few of them were mercenaries.
The story also had the potential of making foreigns think twice before
joining the U.S. military forces as mercenaries, nobody wants to be
disrespected in this most abject and impious way, not even those who
will sign up as mercenaries.

During his last days, Mazen felt that the U.S. Army were observing him.
Ten days before his death, he called home to Hebron and told his family
that he feared for his life because of the story he was developing, and
he promised them to return as soon as he had finished his investigating
work. On Sunday, August 17, 2003, at noon and under shining sun, Mazen
Dana was assasinated by the U.S. Army outside Abu Ghraib prison, where
they had previously given him permit to film.

According to my colleague Nael al-Shyoukhi, who was with Dana at the
time of his death, the camera team was known to the U.S. military
personnel at the prison. al-Shyoukhi said that they had asked for
permission to interview an officer, what had been denied. The soldiers
had seen their I.D.s and knew about their mission and intentions.
2000 - Nael al-Shyoukhi, who was with Mazen when he was shot, here at
Gross square in Hebron.

Nael Al-Shyioukhi said "after we filmed we went into the car and prepared to
go when a convoy led by a tank arrived and Mazen stepped out of the car to
film, I followed him then, Mazen walked three to four meters. We were noted
and clearly seen at the mid of the day. The soldier on the tank shot at us.
I lay on the ground, I heard Mazen I saw him scream and touch his chest with
covered bloody hand".

The Pentagon Response: The U.S officials said that the troops mistook
Mazen’s camera for an RPG launcher. This was obviously a lie which nobody,
not even naive people will be able to believe. How can it be that the U.S.
troops have the most tecnologically advanced sensors on their weapons, but
will not be able to distinguish a camera from an RPG launcher at 50 meters ?
Did the U.S. troops learn to lie from their friends at the IDF ? This
killing was a prepared assassination by the U.S troops in order to cover up
their criminal activities, which Mazen had discovered and was about to
expose.

When I received the news of killing my colleague Mazen Dana in Iraq, I
thought for the first moment that the Israeli government was involved or
in some way behind it. Mazen Dana had troubled the israeli occupation more
than enough.

The Israeli occupation targeted Dana several time during the Intifada, and
even before that during the peace time. He was shot in Hebron in 1998 by the
IDF, together with his colleague Nael Al-Shyioukhi. Mazen Dana had been
exposed to the daily daily crimes of killing and collective murdering in the
Hebron and the occupied territories, and he was shot again by the IDF during
2001. The Israelis were obviously not interested in his return from Iraq to
Hebron.

All Palestinians know that the U.S Pentagon and the Israeli Defense Ministry
do work together. Maybe we do not realize this, but we are killed by the IDF
soldiers who use U.S. bullets, grenades, rockets and missiles, airplanes.
The U.S is constantly providing Israel with developed killing machineries.
They U.S soldiers trained the Israeli soldiers to raid the Jenin refugee
camp and other cities, they trained the Israelis in assassinating, killing
and chasing "wanted" people. They also offered the P.A Minister Muhammad
Dahlan to train his forces to do that. Probably soon the P.A. forces will be
chasing and murdering Palestinians instead of the IDF.

When I called Hebron to offer my condolences to Mazen Dana’s family and to
inquire about his death, I was informed about his investigation in Iraq
about secret mass burials by the U.S soldiers in Iraqi desert. This made me
worry about my other colleague Nael Al-Shyioukhi, who was still in Iraq, so
I delayed writing this story until after Nael’s safe return to our home town
Hebron.

Mazen Dana in brief: Mazen Dana held a B.A. in English Literature from
Hebron University. He was remarked as a member of the Popular Front during
his time in the University. For this he was a targeted and harassed by the
Israeli occupation even after he stopped his political activities.

During the first Intifada I worked for a short while with Dana as a
correspondent of Voice of Palestine Radio in Jerusalem. After that I worked
with Al Fajir Newspaper, and Dana continued his work with the different
journalistic offices. He was requested several times by the Israeli civil
administration in Hebron. He became a peace supporter after the signing of
the Oslo Agreement, and he became a member of Fatah Peace Wing. He had been
employed by Reuters since 10 years as a Cameraman to cover the conflict in
his hometown Hebron. Mazen Dana and Nael Al-Shyioukhi had been working
together for eight years when Mazen was shot last Sunday.

The Israelis occupation intelligence continued considering Mazen Dana as
a member of Popular Front party even after he discontinued his activities
with them, and they did not grant him the an Israeli Government Press "GPO"
Card, or a travel permit to visit the Reuters office in Jerusalem.
2000 - Journalists Imad Al-Saidi, Mazen Dana, Majdi Ibedo at a demo in
Ramallah Dana was attacked several times by Jewish settlers and the IDF
soldiers in Hebron. In May 2000, Dana was shot in the leg with a
rubber-coated bullet while filming Palestinian youths throwing stones
towards the Hebron area H2 under Israeli control. Dana was arrested hundreds
of times. In 1997 Dana was arrested as a result of filming the IDF soldiers
arresting me during an incident at the Halhol bridge border, where the IDF
soldiers had caused the death of a nine year old child death by preventing
him from reaching hospital in hebron during a curfew which was imposed on
the city during the peace time.

Dana established the Journalist House of Hebron during the year 2002 despite
the daily attacks and the constant threat of arrests made by the IDF
soldiers against all Hebronite journalists.

The last time I met my colleague Mazen Dana was at the end of May 2002 at
our colleague’s house Hossam Abu Allan, the AFP photographer who was
arrested by the IDF soldiers. At 10:30 at the same night Mazen drove with me
in his Jeep to "Al-Beweareh" mountain to film the IDF war tanks, 54 armed
vehicle were arriving to Hebron on the road 60 as the military was preparing
to re-occupy the city of Hebron, the area H1 under the PA control.
Mazen Dana had a long experience as a television cameraman, and he had
experienced the hardships and harsh working conditions of journalistic
work under military occupation.

Mazen Dana left behind him a wife and four cute children in Hebron. He left
a courageously historical journalistic experience and signs for other
journalists behind him.

To most people, his death is but one more display of the abjectly
criminal behavior of the gang in control at the Pentagon. To those of us
who knew him and who worked with him, he will be a missed and respected
colleague, friend, community and family member.

1997 - Scans of an article published in Ma’ariv in Hebrew about the
arrest of Mazen Dana who had filmed my own arrest after I had been subject
of sexual harassment by the soldiers at the border, who had let a child
bleed to death at his checkpoint.

The soldier arresting Mazen in this picture is Shai Sanduri, who caused the
death of a child at his checkpoint and subjected me to sexual harassment
when I was researching the story.