(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 3 May 2003 APG Press Freedom Committee press release: On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG): 1. Expresses its firm belief that it is impossible to construct a true participatory democracy without freedom of thought and the press. […]
(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 3 May 2003 APG Press Freedom Committee press release:
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG):
1. Expresses its firm belief that it is impossible to construct a true participatory democracy without freedom of thought and the press.
2. Laments the fact that the current government has systematically violated this right of journalists and of the whole society. Guatemalan society has not had the opportunity to exercise its right to inform and be fully informed.
3. Condemns government policies that contravene the Constitution and prevent journalists from accessing official information.
4. Condemns the actions and attitude of the president and the congress chair, who have tried to prevent journalists from accessing government documents.
5. Condemns the death threats, harassment, intimidation and attacks on freedom of expression that government authorities have allowed to go unpunished during the past year.
6. Expresses its commitment to continue fighting alongside Guatemalans for a new nation, founded on respect for the law and the Constitution.
The Press Freedom Committee calls on Guatemalan journalists to come together to defend the right to a free press at the service of society.
Finally, the committee notes that it stands in solidarity with the international press in mourning the journalists killed in Iraq.
Guatemala, 3 May 2003
