(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 3 April 2001 IAPA press release: IAPA concerned over repeated attacks on journalists and the media in Guatemala Miami (3 April 2001) – Today, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) again expressed its concern over the continued harassment to which journalists and the media are subjected in Guatemala. At […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 3 April 2001 IAPA press release:
IAPA concerned over repeated attacks on journalists and the media in Guatemala
Miami (3 April 2001) – Today, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) again expressed its concern over the continued harassment to which journalists and the media are subjected in Guatemala. At the same time, the organisation stated that, were the situation to worsen, it would send a delegation to the country to ensure that the government provides guarantees in support of press freedom.
The IAPA regional vice-president for Guatemala, Gonzalo Marroquín of the newspaper Prensa Libre, of Guatemala City, denounced a number of attacks against the free exercise of journalism in Guatemala, including a campaign to discredit him and José Zamora, director of the daily elPeriodico.
A number of other journalists working for these two newspapers have been targets of intimidation, threats and attacks.
Last week, the co-director and head of elPeriodico’s investigative unit, Silvia Gereda, was verbally and physically assaulted by an unknown individual, who warned her in an rude manner that she had better stop causing trouble. The incident occurred one day after the morning daily published a report on a state bank.
Two more of elPeriodico’s reporters were followed by unknown individuals who shouted warnings directed at Zamora. Eduardo Villatoro, a columnist for Prensa Libre, was also pursued by a vehicle. Ady Albores, correspondent for Prensa Libre in Quetzaltenango, was harassed and beaten after she reported on funds being diverted from the education system.
A smear campaign is also being waged over the radio and veiled attacks have been directed at independent journalists.
The IAPA’s president, Danilo Arbilla, pointed out that “as was noted in a resolution on Guatemala issued during our mid-year meeting held in Brazil in March, it is the duty of the State to ensure that all aspects of freedom of expression are respected, in accordance with the principles established by the constitution and international conventions and treaties, with the goal of gauranteeing the public’s right to receive information.”
Arbilla, director of the weekly Búsqueda, of Montevideo, Uruguay, noted that “any limitations placed on freedom of expression and press freedom threaten democracy. For this reason, we condemn all actions aimed at attacking, harassing, or discrediting journalists and newspapers.”
Rafael Molina, president of the Commission for Freedom of the Press and Information, of the magazine Ahora, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, added that “we demand that President Alfonso Portillo’s government ensure that freedom of the expression and the press is respected, and that legal sanctions are placed against those who do not uphold the values guaranteed by the constitution.”
In February, the IAPA sent a letter to President Alfonso Portillo, in which he was asked to order an investigation into a demonstration held by supporters of the governing party in front of elPeriodico’s offices, and into the threats uttered by a member of the cabinet against Marroquín and Zamora.
