(IPYS/IFEX) – On 6 May 2003, a group of protesters physically assaulted Armando Castro Méndez, a photojournalist for the Trujillo-based newspaper “La Industria”. Castro was on the Panamericana Norte highway, in La Libertad region, covering the first day of a national truck and bus drivers’ strike. More than 10 protesters prevented the journalist from reporting […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 6 May 2003, a group of protesters physically assaulted Armando Castro Méndez, a photojournalist for the Trujillo-based newspaper “La Industria”. Castro was on the Panamericana Norte highway, in La Libertad region, covering the first day of a national truck and bus drivers’ strike. More than 10 protesters prevented the journalist from reporting on events and damaged some of his equipment.
“La Industria” reported that the incident occurred when Castro and editor Pier Barakat Chávez arrived at the site together with their driver to cover what was described as a “peaceful demonstration.” A long line of trailers and trucks were parked on the side of the highway.
At around 6:50 p.m. (local time), the strikers were stopping inter-provincial buses and preventing them from continuing along their route. About 20 demonstrators boarded a bus headed from Virú to Trujillo and forced the passengers to get off. The travelers were left stranded on the highway, susceptible to being attacked by criminals in the night.
Castro took a photograph of the demonstrators and was about to return to his vehicle when two unidentified men grabbed his arms and another held him by the neck. “A truck driver came up, snatched my camera and ripped off the flash. I told them that I was a journalist, but they replied that they were going to break the camera to get the film,” Castro said.
The newspaper’s driver and Barakat intervened and managed to prevent the protesters from destroying the camera. The truck drivers released Castro and gave him back his camera and the broken flash. They forced the journalists to leave the site, warning them, “Get out of here before something worse happens.”
The news crew headed to the Moche police department, near Trujillo, to file a complaint. Because of the confusion at the site of the incident and the fact that it was nightime, the journalists were unable to provide police with a description of the assailants. However, they did record some of the trucks’ licence plates, which may aid the police investigation.
“La Industria” reported that in a similar incident, in Pacasmayo province, north of Trujillo, a group of striking drivers assaulted Pedro Bardales Cruz, a photojournalist for the daily “Últimas Noticias”. The protesters punched the journalist, forced him to erase the photographs he had taken of the drivers abusing some of the passengers, and damaged his digital camera.
