(FLIP/IFEX) – On 17 January 2003, at 10:30 a.m. (local time), photographer Danilo Sarmiento and journalist Jorge Enrique Meléndez, both of the daily “El Tiempo”, were held at the XVIII Brigade military base, in Arauca. Moreover, Sarmiento’s photographs were destroyed. At the time of the incident, Sarmiento was at the entrance to the base, along […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – On 17 January 2003, at 10:30 a.m. (local time), photographer Danilo Sarmiento and journalist Jorge Enrique Meléndez, both of the daily “El Tiempo”, were held at the XVIII Brigade military base, in Arauca. Moreover, Sarmiento’s photographs were destroyed. At the time of the incident, Sarmiento was at the entrance to the base, along with other Colombian and foreign reporters who were covering a visit by the American ambassador to the military installation.
Sarmiento photographed two American soldiers who were in a vehicle. He was then approached by two Administrative Department for Security (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS) agents. One of the agents grabbed him by the arm and asked him to identify himself. The agent then demanded that Sarmiento hand over his camera, explaining that it was prohibited to take photographs inside a military installation.
Faced with Sarmiento’s refusal, the agent seized the camera and forced the photographer to get inside a van. Sarmiento was taken to a Prosecutor’s Office inside the base and then to a B-2 (Military Intelligence) office, where Sub-Lieutenant Fernando Uribe reiterated that it was prohibited to take photographs inside the base and demanded that he erase the images.
Journalist Meléndez arrived at the scene soon afterwards, to find out what had happened to his colleague. He spoke with a colonel named Lopez, who repeated the same information.
According to Meléndez, an Associated Press (AP) news agency photojournalist was allowed to take photographs without any restrictions. To demonstrate this fact, on 18 January, “El Tiempo” published a photograph with the caption, “proof of this is that the photograph that appears in today’s edition was taken by the American AP agency.”
Meléndez and Sarmiento were taken to the office of Sub-Lieutenant Uribe, who forced the photographer to erase the images. The reporters were then forced to wait more than 30 minutes for their digital camera and documentation to be returned to them.
FLIP tried to communicate with Colonel Montoya, XVIII Brigade communications officer, but did not get an immediate response. The colonel suggested that a letter be sent to the Brigade commander, General Carlos Lemus Pedraza, requesting the army’s official version of the incident.
Lawyer José de Jesús GarcÃa, who specialises in media matters, said that he is not aware of any regulation that prohibits the taking of photographs inside military installations. “Of course, military commanders can set up certain restrictions,” GarcÃa added. “What is not acceptable, however, is that journalists are not warned ahead of time of such restrictions.”
The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) clearly states that, exceptional limitations to “access to information held by the state (â¦) must be previously established by law in case of a real and imminent danger that threatens national security in democratic societies”.
Background Information
Arauca, the capital of Arauca department, in eastern Colombia, near the Venezuelan border, is part of a group of municipal districts that belong to the “rehabilitation and consolidation zone” decreed by the government on 9 September 2002. The military’s presence has been strengthened in the region. Guerrilla groups traditionally operate in the area and more recently illegal paramilitary self-defence groups have began moving in as well.
Following the assassination of influential Arauca journalist EfraÃn Varela, on 28 June (see IFEX alerts of 3 and 2 July 2002), and threats to at least four local journalists, five press freedom organisations decided to undertake a fact-finding mission to the region (see IFEX alert of 24 December 2002). For the final report, see: www.flip.org.co
