(IPYS/IFEX) – On 22 September 1999, a tabloid was distributed in the city of Huaraz, the capital of the department of Ancash. The tabloid insults, defames and threatens journalist Juan Sánchez Oliva, the director of the news programme “Quassar en la noticia”, broadcast on Radio Quassar, and also denigrates other journalists. In the tabloid, Sánchez […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 22 September 1999, a tabloid was distributed in the city of
Huaraz, the capital of the department of Ancash. The tabloid insults,
defames and threatens journalist Juan Sánchez Oliva, the director of the
news programme “Quassar en la noticia”, broadcast on Radio Quassar, and also
denigrates other journalists.
In the tabloid, Sánchez is threatened with physical assault and is warned
that the individuals who attacked his brother the previous month are not
afraid of him and are prepared to harmt him. “You think you are protected by
presenting yourself as a journalist who is victimised by the dictatorship
(…) and you know very well that you will be the next victim,” the text
reads, further stating: “You know that they are waiting for your first
careless mistake on the first night they see you walking on Luzuriaga
Avenue.” The tabloid uses obscene language and in the first three sentences
of the text, Sánchez is labeled a “criminal”, “villain”, “swindler”,
“extortionist”, and an “opportunist.” He is accused of being a homosexual
and the lover of Huaraz Mayor Waldo Ríos, and of having a criminal record.
Sánchez is further referred to as the “intellectual author” of a politically
motivated “war to the death” waged against Canadian mining companies
Antamina and Barrick Gold Corporation. Apparently, this is a reference to
the journalist’s criticisms of alleged irregularities committed by the
companies, which operate in Ancash. In a telephone conversation, Sánchez
informed IPYS that, on the morning of 22 September, two reliable witnesses
saw Luis Carranza photocopying the anonymous publication. According to the
journalist, Carranza is a member of the “Let’s Save Huaraz” movement, as is
Lieutenant Major Marco Villafuerte. Both these men support the mining
companies.
The anonymous tabloid states that Sánchez was behind the 18 and 19 August
civic strike in Huaraz, called by the mayor to demand an increase in mining
royalties being paid by Antamina and Barrick to the municipality. The media
had reported extensively on acts of vandalism committed during the strike.
The pamphlet refers to the demonstration as an “armed strike”, alluding to
previous work stoppages imposed by armed force by the terrorist group
“Shining Path” (“Sendero Luminoso”). The pamphlet also tries to discredit
another initiative protesting mining companies’ abuses, a protest march to
the city of Lima. The authors suggest that Sánchez is implicated in alleged
illicit business dealings and lies associated with this march.
Sánchez is further accused of customarily blackmailing politicians and the
authorities and of accepting bribes from some of them, offering them in
exchange an opportunity to be mentioned favourably on his programme.
In an interview broadcast on Radio Quassar, Ancash Prefect Walter Vásquez
promised to provide guarantees for Sánchez’s safety. Nevertheless, in his
conversation with IPYS, Sánchez was sceptical, as previous requests for
guarantees have not been well received. Furthermore, the results of the
police investigation of his brother’s brutal beating had not been very
convincing.
On 31 August, Sánchez informed IPYS that, for approximately six months, he
had been receiving constant threats and warnings and that he and some of his
closest family members had been attacked. The most serious assault occurred
on the night of 27 August, when six hooded assailants, dressed in military
fatigues and armed with long range weapons, brutally beat Sánchez’s brother,
César Augusto (see IFEX alert).
The anonymous publication, titled “Tucuy Ricuc” in Quechua, (“He who sees
everything”), encourages its readers to copy and distribute it, offering
three copies to those who share its political view and three copies to those
who do not. “We are part of the group in solidarity trying to end corruption
in huarás (sic), save huarás (sic) from corruption and backwardness, and
banish these loathsome individuals.” Future editions of the tabloid are
advertised on the publication’s back page.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
investigation into recent threats directed at Sánchez and other Huaraz
journalists
Appeals To
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori
President of the Republic
Fax: +51 1 427 6722 / 426 6535Martha Hildebrandt Pérez
President of Congress of the Republic
Fax: +51 1 426 8290Edgardo Mosqueira Medina
Minister of the Presidency
Fax: +51 1 222 3678Miguel Aljovín Swayne
Attorney General
Fax: +51 1 426 2474Jorge Santistevan de Noriega
Ombudsman
Fax: +51 1 426 6657Lieutenant General Fernando Dianderas Otonne
General Director of the Peruvian National Police
Fax: +51 1 225 1775Walter Vásquez Hurtado
Prefect of the Department of Ancash
Fax: +51 44 72 1011
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
