Harry Burton (23 January 1968 – 19 November 2001) was an Australian journalist and cameraman who was kidnapped by the
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
on the highway to Kabul, Afghanistan and then murdered. Three other journalists suffered the same fate.
Burton, 33 years old when he was killed, was a latecomer to journalism and quit his job three years earlier in Melbourne to get involved in the profession. A scholarship fund was set up in his name by the
Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club
The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) is a non-profit organization for international journalists in Indonesia.
As of July 2023, JFCC has more than 400 journalist and associate members. Its members include foreign journalists, Indonesian ...
to support training for reporters from remote parts of Indonesia, particularly camera operators.
Biography
Burton was born in Brisbane and studied agricultural sciences at what was Dookie Agricultural College later to become part of the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
.
He had worked in Indonesia earlier in 2001 covering the
Free Aceh Movement
The Free Aceh Movement (, GAM; ) was a separatism, separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra, Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Insurgency in Aceh, Aceh insurgency from 1976 to 2005. E ...
and the conflict in
East Timor
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
for the
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
agency. He decided to go to Jakarta without any previous experience and try his hand at becoming a photo journalist. Prior to that he worked as a Quality Manager for
Coles Myer
Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
. His breakthrough came in his coverage of the final months of the
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...
that August. He ran the Reuters television bureau in
Dili
Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...
after the former Portuguese colony voted for independence.
He was one of 19 journalists briefly detained in the
Fiji coup of 2000. After his release he was made a full-time cameraman by Reuters in January 2000.
Death
Burton moved to Afghanistan to cover the ongoing conflict there, working for Reuters at the time. In November of that year he was riding in a Jeep from
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...
to Kabul, just a few days after the Taliban fell, when his convoy was stopped and passengers ordered to get out. He was killed with three other journalists,
Julio Fuentes of the Spanish paper ''
El Mundo'',
Azizullah Haidari of Reuters, and
Maria Grazia Cutuli
Maria Grazia Cutuli (26 October 1962 – 19 November 2001) was an Italian journalist who worked as a reporter with the daily newspaper ''Corriere della Sera''. She was killed while on assignment in Afghanistan where she was covering the US ...
of Italy's ''
Corriere della Sera
(; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...
''. Their mutilated bodies were found on 19 November. Burton was buried in
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
on 28 November 2001.
Murder trial
A Kabul court sentenced three men to death for these murders in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Two brothers, Mahmood Zar Jan and Abdul Wahid, were sentenced in 2005 and another,
Reza Khan
Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
, was sentenced to death on 20 November 2004.
Family
Burton's girlfriend was Joanne Collins, who is also a journalist. Burton's father, also called Harry, is a scientist, and his mother, Anne (who predeceased her son) was a social worker. He had four sisters and three brothers.
Harry Burton senior was a judge for the
ADF photography award named in his son's honour.
[Rodgers, Sgt. Troy]
The Harry Burton Memorial Award
Australian Department of Defense
The Department of Defence, also known simply as Defence, is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related entities, and is charged with the defence of Austra ...
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Harry
1968 births
2001 deaths
Assassinated Australian journalists
21st-century Australian journalists
Journalists killed while covering the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
University of Melbourne alumni
Australian people murdered abroad
20th-century Australian journalists
People murdered in Afghanistan