In new york in April, Christian Science Monitor correspondent Cameron Barr received the prestigious Overseas Press Club award for the "best international reporting in a print medium dealing with human rights" for his series on an Indonesian battalion in East Timor (March 13, 14, 16, 17, 2000).
The judges described it as "an outstanding investigative series" in which Barr "painstakingly exposes the devastating impact of the carnage" left behind by members of the Army unit. In his acceptance speech, Barr dedicated the award to Sander Thoenes, a Monitor contributor who witnesses said was killed by the battalion.
In addition, Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists, awarded Barr its top prize for investigative journalism (for newspapers with a circulation under 100,000) for the series.
The Monitor's editor, David Cook, told the Journal that he was delighted with the award. "The series was compellingly written," he said, "and did what the best journalism should—shine a bright light into a dark, sad place."
