(IPI/IFEX) – IPI is strongly condemning the brutal killing of a radio journalist in northern Peru. **Updates IFEX alert of 8 June 1999. No hay version en español disponible de esta alerta** According to IPI’s sources, Félix Haro Rodríguez, a photographer and host of a programme broadcast on Radio 1160’s affiliate in Aucayacu, district of […]
(IPI/IFEX) – IPI is strongly condemning the brutal killing of a radio
journalist in northern Peru.
**Updates IFEX alert of 8 June 1999. No hay version en español disponible de
esta alerta**
According to IPI’s sources, Félix Haro Rodríguez, a photographer and host of
a programme broadcast on Radio 1160’s affiliate in Aucayacu, district of
Huánuco, was found dead several days after having disappeared. The fact that
he was killed with machetes suggests that the Maoist terrorist group, the
“Sendero Luminoso” (Shining Path), was responsible for his death.
Félix Haro had been missing since 2 June 1999, when two unknown individuals
arrived at his home under the pretence of hiring him to take photographs at
a social event. After an intensive search, his dismembered body was
discovered in Cotomonillo, three kilometres from Aucayacu, where six
villagers were recently assassinated by a brigade of the Shining Path.
Félix Haro’s radio programme featured traditional music, although he also
informed listeners about problems in the region, including corruption among
political authorities, the police and military, as well as the activities of
terrorists and drug traffickers.
Peru, along with Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala, is one of the most
dangerous places for journalists in Latin America. Peruvian journalists are
regularly subjected to threats, harassment and physical attacks by criminal
gangs, as well as to a systematic campaign of government persecution. In
1997, three journalists were murdered in Peru. In 1998, Isabel Chumpitaz
Panta, a radio journalist who championed peasant farmers’ rights, was shot
and stabbed to death by a group of assailants, who also killed her husband
and wounded her brother (see IFEX alerts of 15 April and 8 April 1998).
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
his professional work
investigation
into his killing and to ensure that those responsible for this heinous crime
are brought to justice
journalists in Peru are allowed to freely and safely practice their
profession
Appeals To
His Excellency Alberto Fujimori
President of the Republic of Peru
Lima, Peru
Fax: +51 1 426 6535
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
