The Society of Journalists (SOJ) grouping journalists working for state-owned French television France 3 and France 2 on Thursday demanded the right to "choose to go or not to go" in Iraq for news hunting.
According to the SOJ, President of France Televisions Marc Tessier forbade journalists of the public channels to go to Iraq after French President Jacques Chirac warned against reportage in the country where a French female reporter went missing three weeks ago after two other French reporters were released by Iraqi insurgents.
The 43-year-old journalist, Florence Aubenas of the French left- leaning newspaper Liberation, went missing on Jan. 5 with her Iraq assistant Hussein Hanun al-Saadi in Baghdad.
The two other reporters, Georges Malbrunot of the Le Figaro newspaper and Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale, were released by insurgents in Iraq on Dec. 21 after being held hostage for four months.
But the journalists of SOJ argued that their presence was all the more important now because the Iraqi elections are scheduled for Sunday.
"There are volunteers ready to go to Iraq despite the dangers linked to terrorism, despite the risk of kidnapping, because they believe that these risks are part of their profession," said the SOJ in a statement.