(FLIP/IFEX) – In a speech to Congress, Congressman Julio Gallardo Archbold stated that “there are some journalists who are more akin to moral assassins and, indeed, who can be more dangerous than those gentlemen who go around with chainsaws” (an allusion to the perpetrators of massacres in Colombia). These statements were made in response to […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – In a speech to Congress, Congressman Julio Gallardo Archbold stated that “there are some journalists who are more akin to moral assassins and, indeed, who can be more dangerous than those gentlemen who go around with chainsaws” (an allusion to the perpetrators of massacres in Colombia).
These statements were made in response to the investigations being carried out by various media on the apparently improper purchase of laptop computers by members of Congress, at a time when Gallardo was Congressional president. In recent days there have been additional revelations that call into question Gallardo’s fitness for public office.
FLIP condemns Gallardo’s statements. Such stigmatizing accusations against the media should not be used as a strategy by public officials to halt journalistic investigations or to evade the allegations of wrongdoings that such investigations might reveal.
In a country like Colombia, such public accusations against a media outlet not only constitute a violation of freedom of expression, but they also predictably and perversely put those accused at risk. Public officials should abstain from making declarations that can potentially serve as pretext for illegal armed actors to attack media outlets or journalists.
In its report “Informe previo de 2005”, FLIP already raised this concern, a concern that has been justified by the cases of press violations already documented this year: “The stigmatizing and distorted statements made by some mayors and governors regarding journalists are of particular concern. Rather than resort to the legal mechanisms available to air their grievances, these officials choose instead to make public declarations that devalue the place of journalists in their communities and thereby increase the risks of exercising he profession,” (see IFEX alert of 3 February 2006, “Diagnóstico de la libertad de prensa, diciembre de 2005”, in Spanish only).
