(IPYS/IFEX) – On 30 May 2003, a news crew from the Arequipa-based television station Canal N was brutally attacked by demonstrators who accused the journalists of biased reporting. The crew had travelled to Puno to cover events related to the death of Edwin Vilca Cruz, a university student from the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. Canal […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 30 May 2003, a news crew from the Arequipa-based television station Canal N was brutally attacked by demonstrators who accused the journalists of biased reporting. The crew had travelled to Puno to cover events related to the death of Edwin Vilca Cruz, a university student from the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano.
Canal N correspondent Doris Cornejo Paredes and camera operator Iván Bravo Ballón arrived in Puno in their mobile unit at about 2:00 a.m. (local time) on 30 May. They immediately proceeded to the site where the student’s body lay. Vilca Cruz was killed the day before during a demonstration when he was shot by military officers. The military has been in charge of security in the country since President Alejandro Toledo declared a state of emergency on 29 May.
At about 10:00 a.m. on the day of TV crew’s arrival, they went to the city’s main square, where residents were already assembled to continue their protests against the state of emergency and the student’s death. The journalists were identifiable by their press credentials and the logo on their vehicle. A group of demonstrators began to verbally attack the journalists.
As they got out of the vehicle, the camera operator was pushed around by the crowd, who shouted “lying journalists” and “yellow press, tell the truth!” He was then punched several times while protecting his camera, which he managed to safeguard.
Cornejo Paredes was surrounded by a mob that snatched away the portable radio she was carrying. She was pushed to the ground, where she was struck a number of times. She thinks the blows she received were kicks. Fortunately, another group of demonstrators rescued her and helped her leave the square.
The journalist told IPYS that her attackers may have mistaken her and the camera operator for journalists from Peruvian National Television (Televisión Nacional del Perú, TNP), the state television channel. The night before TNP had carried the army’s version of events, justifying the shots that killed Vilca.
Cornejo Paredes explained that Canal N, which is broadcast by cable, is not broadcast in Puno, so the demonstrators may not have recognised the channel’s logo.
