(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release: IAPA deplores violence against journalists in Mexico Miami (November 24, 2004) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) deplored incidents reported in Mexico where in recent months journalists have complained about a lack of security and an increase in attacks against them while covering the news. […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release:
IAPA deplores violence against journalists in Mexico
Miami (November 24, 2004) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) deplored incidents reported in Mexico where in recent months journalists have complained about a lack of security and an increase in attacks against them while covering the news.
On November 17, reporters Resina Avila and Alonso Sánchez, from El Debate newspaper, in Sinaloa state, required police protection when leaving a stadium in the town of Guasave. While celebrating his victory in local congressional elections, politician Saúl Rubio Ayala insulted both journalists, called on his supporters to attack them, and burned copies of El Debate.
“We wholeheartedly condemn this type of intimidating and inflammatory attitude calling for violence against journalists. We ask public officials, and in this case Congressman Rubio Ayala, to do their job in line with the principles of freedom of expression and of the press,” stressed Gonzalo Marroquín, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.
In the days prior to the incident, El Debate published evidence that Rubio Ayala was among those who attended the funeral of a well-known drug trafficker in the region. Rubio Ayala never denied this fact, which was used by the opposition to strongly criticize him.
Marroquín, editor of the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre, also mentioned the case of journalist Víctor Manuel Ulín Fernández, from La Verdad del Sureste newspaper in Villahermosa, Tabasco. On the evening of 1 November, the journalist was forced out of his vehicle and held hostage for several hours by two suspects who beat him, threatened him for his writings, and subjected him to a mock execution.
The journalist writes the column “Sin remitente” (No Sender), in a newspaper known for its stance against Governor Manuel Andrade.
Marroquín urges “Mexican authorities to investigate both incidents and find those responsible.” He added that according to Principle Four of the Declaration of Chapultepec, “murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators severely limit freedom of expression and of the press. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly.”
