(SPP/IFEX) – On the night of 26 March 1999 and the early morning of 27 March, four young people were killed and there were approximately 200 injured, when snipers fired against demonstrators who have for several days been asking for President Raúl Cubas Grau’s resignation. Journalists and the media were also affected by these events, […]
(SPP/IFEX) – On the night of 26 March 1999 and the early morning of 27
March, four young people were killed and there were approximately 200
injured, when snipers fired against demonstrators who have for several
days
been asking for President Raúl Cubas Grau’s resignation. Journalists and
the
media were also affected by these events, as their equipment was
extensively
damaged. In the moments before and during the massacre caused by the
snipers
and the reaction of the “oviedistas” demonstrators (supporters of former
army chief Lino Oviedo), the following was reported:
– A Radio Cáritas mobile transmitter, owned by the Catholic Church, was
burned.
– The transmissions of journalists from the main radio broadcasters,
Radio
Cardinal, 1 de Marzo (1 March), Ñanduti and Uno, were completely
intercepted.
– Channel 9 signals were interfered with and as a result their broadcast
was
not very clear at times.
– The windshields and the bodies of the Canal 13, Canal 4, and the
newspaper
“Ultima Hora” vehicles were destroyed.
– A homemade bomb, that did not cause any significant damage, was thrown
and
rubber pellets were fired in front of the “Ultima Hora”‘s offices,
located a
few metres away from where the confrontations occurred.
According to SPP, these attacks against the media appear to be part of a
plan to increase the chaos currently being experienced in Paraguay and
prevent the press from reporting on these incidents. The media have been
following events very closely since the assassination of Vice President
Luis
Maria Argaña.
Furthermore, certain strange events occurred during Argaña’s
assassination
on Tuesday 23 March. At the time, the services of the main cellular
telephone company, Telecel, were interrupted for four hours. This
created
quite a lot of difficulty for journalists. The explanation given by the
company was that the service was overloaded. Also, a low electrical
current
damaged Radio Cardinal’s transmitter; it was unable to broadcast for
about
two hours as a result.
SPP is continuing to receive information about the 26 March incidents,
particularly in terms of obtaining a list of journalists who were likely
hit. SPP remains on the alert about what could happen because, given the
government’s attitude, there is no indication that the political
situation
in Paraguay will improve any time soon.
