Dr. Avnish Jolly,17 June:Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General, unveiled a 30-ft glass cone memorial; it is dedicated to all Journalists and those who have lost their lives while working with them, including translators and drivers who were killed in the course of doing their jobs.
More than 1,000 media workers have died reporting the news in the past decade, according to the International News Safety Institute, which co-hosted the ceremony with the BBC. In 90 per cent of cases no one is brought to justice. Relatives of some of the sufferers joined the UN chief for the ceremony of dedication.
Jaume Plensa, Spanish artist designed the memorial sits on the roof of the new wing of Broadcasting House, the British Broadcasting Corp’s corporate headquarters in central London. It stands as a solemn reminder of those who have lost their lives giving voice to the voiceless. The memorial, which cost about 900,000 pounds, projects a beam of light more than half a mile into the night sky.
Ban said while inaugurating the memorial on Monday night stressed that the memorial is for all Journalists worldwide who have braved deadly threats and paid the ultimate price for their courage.
Every night, the beam will light up for 30 minutes, in tandem with the BBC’s 10 o’clock news bulletin. Its inscription read: "Life turns and turns on the crystal glass, silence is a voice, our voice."