Harper To bar media from arrival of dead in Canada

[(Alex)]

Soldiers comfortable with decision to bar media from arrival of dead in Canada

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The grief of war widows and families is an intensely private matter that doesn't need to be on display for the whole country to see, a number of Canada's fighting troops said Tuesday.

Still raw from the events of last weekend, when four Canadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb, the Conservative government's decision to ban the media from covering the arrival ceremonies of war casualties back in Canada was greeted with cautious approval.

"They already know when someone dies down here," said Bombardier Hugo Girouard, a gunner from Shilo, Man.

"Why dramatize more what is already dramatic?"

The bodies of Lieut. William Turner, Cpl. Matthew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell and Cpl. Randy Payne arrived at an eastern Ontario military base Tuesday afternoon.

Live television coverage from afar showed a military aircraft land at CFB Trenton, with a long line of military brass and family members waiting on the tarmac.

A camera mounted on a satellite truck caught images of a bagpiper and honour guard among those waiting for each flag-draped coffin to be lowered from the aircraft.

Four times, eight pallbearers carried a coffin on their shoulders to a waiting hearse, their solemn march led by a white-robed clergyman.

Media couldn't go near enough to identify officials nor relatives participating in the procession.

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor announced a reversal of the former Liberal government's policy that for years allowed the media to cover the sombre arrival ceremony.

When asked what their biggest concern would be should something happen to them, very nearly all the soldiers who agreed to speak Tuesday said they preferred grieving family members be shielded from what they consider to be the sometimes ruthless intensity of the media spotlight.

In late March, when Pte. Robert Costall was killed in a possible friendly fire incident in nearby Helmand province, many soldiers reacted with horror and disgust when specifics of his autopsy made headlines in a national newspaper.

"All of the details shouldn't be given to the Canadian public because I don't think they need to know everything," said Girouard.

Whenever a soldier dies overseas, there are usually two so-called ramp ceremonies to which the media have open access.

The first is the departure, a stoic final salute from comrades in arms, most of whom line an airfield tarmac as the casket is loaded onto an aircraft for the final journey home.

Upon arrival in Canada, the solemn observance is repeated, with the grieving relatives there to receive their loved one.

"I believe that should be a family and private moment," said Cpl. Greg Gorecki, of 1 Combat Engineering Regiment.

"I support the decision."

If a family member chooses to talk to the media, that's their prerogative, but they should not be put on display, complained several soldiers.

"All of the coverage the media has here on Kandahar airfield is all the coverage the media has to have," said Gorecki.

"I think once the event has been covered, it doesn't need to be exposed any more."

Following recent departure ceremonies at Kandahar airfield, for both Costall and the latest casualties, many soldiers openly grumbled about the presence of journalists and cameras. They considered such time to be their private farewell and cited how the Americans bar the media altogether from both services.

In more even-tempered moments, most troops readily admit that coverage of the ramp ceremonies in southern Afghanistan has been important because it reminds Canadians of the sacrifices they and their comrades have made.

Closing off media access to those events would be far more disturbing, soldiers said, because not showing caskets would imply that this conflict has no cost, or worse, had become an embarrassment.

An army spokesman said there is no plan to shut down the access of journalists to the departure ceremony.

"In the first place it is for us to say au revoir to our fallen comrades," said Maj. Marc Theriault. "But it is also a testimony that can be brought to the public about the kind of job Canadian soldiers are doing here."

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