(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release: IAPA protests attack on TV station in Bogotá MIAMI, Florida (January 30, 2002) -The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today issued a strong protest over a car bomb attack on the studios of Caracol television station in Bogotá, Colombia. The IAPA urged the Colombian government to […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release:
IAPA protests attack on TV station in Bogotá
MIAMI, Florida (January 30, 2002) -The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today issued a strong protest over a car bomb attack on the studios of Caracol television station in Bogotá, Colombia. The IAPA urged the Colombian government to carry out a prompt and thorough investigation into the incident and called on local groups acting outside the law to respect press freedom and the people’s right to be informed.
The incident occurred in the early hours of today (Wednesday). A vehicle loaded with some 60 pounds of dynamite exploded outside the TV station, located near a police precinct in the La Soledad neighborhood in western Bogotá. Police reported that the blast caused considerable damage to the TV station’s premises, as well as to homes and offices as far as 100 yards away. No one was injured.
The official investigation reportedly pointed to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement as likely being responsible for the attack and other similar ones carried out in Colombia in recent weeks that have left scores of dead and injured.
The chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina, said that “this senseless terrorist act is a serious violation of freedom of the press and free speech. While it is not known for certain whom the attack was aimed at or who was responsible, those in power in the country must take a leading role in the investigation into this affront so that Colombians may not lose hope in the peace process and to prevent chaos reigning in the end.”
Molina, editor of the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, magazine Ahora, added that “it is publicly known that the illegal groups operating in the country have declared news media to be their enemies and ‘military targets,’ and have launched attacks on them and even murdered their journalists, so it is no surprise to us that those who have traditionally resorted to violence to impose their views wish to silence the press.”
