(IPYS/IFEX) – On 26 September 2006, journalist Karina Borrero was in effect fired from TV Perú, the state-owned television station, after she declared publicly that she would no longer work for it if it started flattering the government. Afterwards, María del Pilar Tello, president of Peru’s Radio and Television Institute (IRTP), which administrates the channel, […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 26 September 2006, journalist Karina Borrero was in effect fired from TV Perú, the state-owned television station, after she declared publicly that she would no longer work for it if it started flattering the government. Afterwards, María del Pilar Tello, president of Peru’s Radio and Television Institute (IRTP), which administrates the channel, stated that Borrero had effectively fired herself when she said what she did. Tello stated that Borrero had been disloyal to the station. Even though the journalist’s contract had expired on 7 September, IRTP’s administration had given their word that they would renew it, so she had continued working.
After these events, IRTP’s president made declarations that were understood as an implicit threat to fire Rocío Aliaga, also a journalist with TV Perú, who publicly expressed her solidarity with Borrero.
IPYS believes Borrero’s dismissal to be a violation of her fundamental right to freedom of expression, as she expressed an opinion about her professional conduct in the hypothetical case that the state channel should adopt a pro-government line. This, and the threat to her colleague Aliaga, constitute a serious precedent of arbitrariness and lack of tolerance in the administration of a communications medium that belongs to all Peruvians.