(APG/IFEX) – On Thursday 27 April 2000, photojournalist Roberto Martínez, with the newspaper “Prensa Libre”, was killed during street demonstrations provoked by public transport fare increases that were passed by the Guatemala City council. Martínez – who was 36 years old and the father of six children – was there as a result of the […]
(APG/IFEX) – On Thursday 27 April 2000, photojournalist Roberto Martínez, with the newspaper “Prensa Libre”, was killed during street demonstrations provoked by public transport fare increases that were passed by the Guatemala City council. Martínez – who was 36 years old and the father of six children – was there as a result of the national and international media coverage of the events and died from a shot to the head. Three other reporters and television camera operators were wounded, but they are not in critical condition and are now recuperating.
The journalist was killed when a number of private security agents opened fire on a group of demonstrators. Among them were reporters from different media who were covering the events. The perpetrators of the attack were captured and have been remanded for trial.
On 27 April, the APG’s general assembly held an emergency meeting and condemned Martínez’s assassination. The association demanded that the Municipality of Guatemala City and the government guarantee the safety of journalists, repeal the increase in the public transport fares, and resume the dialogue with the Multisectoral Commission on Transport.
In a 27 April message, the president summoned the Multisectoral Commission and called on the bus drivers to return to work. By the next day, service was back to normal. If they did otherwise, the president threatened to suspend constitutional guarantees and to intervene in the operation of the public transport companies. On 28 April, the Multisectoral Commission – of which the APG is a member – met with the president and vice president and with the capital city mayor, and came to an agreement that put an end to the crisis, at least temporarily.
The Guatemala City municipality government repealed the agreement which fixed the increase in public transit fares. Meanwhile, the Multisectoral Commission was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 2 May to begin the discussion about the serious transportation problems facing the city.
Martínez’s assassination has caused profound concern among the rank and file journalists in the country. The APG declared three days of mourning and has offered to organize a collection to provide some assistance for the journalist’s family. The funeral was held on the afternoon of 28 April.
On the morning of 28 April, the APG president notified the special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Organization of American States, Santiago Canton, asking him to support the work that remains to be done on the security problems facing Guatemalan journalists, and on strengthening press freedom and freedom of information.
