Some of Radio Campesina's journalists, who preferred not to reveal their names, told IPYS that the real motive for the station's closure is to pressure some of the programs not to broadcast certain types of news.
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 1 March 2012, the National Office of AGRORURAL (Ministry of Agriculture’s Rural Farming Development Program) ordered the signal of Radio Campesina in Cajamarca, a license holder, to be turned off. This could be an action to silence some of the journalists who work for this State-owned station in the Cajamarca region of northeastern Peru.
AGRORURAL’s directors, however, have stated that the reason for the temporary closure of the station is that they have entered a period of reorganization. This has been insisted on by Juan Carlos Lobato, the person in charge of the radio station.
Some of Radio Campesina’s journalists, who preferred not to reveal their names, told IPYS that the real motive for the station’s closure is to pressure some of the programs not to broadcast certain types of news.
Radio Campesina is a State-owned radio station that provides extensive coverage in the Cajamarca Region and has a large audience. The station depends on AGRORURAL to run their programs.
IPYS requests that the directors of the Ministry of Agriculture respect the freedom of expression of the journalists who work for Radio Campesina and not to close down a media outlet with such a wide-ranging capacity to share information.
