(IPYS/IFEX) – At noon (local time) on 16 January 2005, close to 40 people armed with guns and sticks burst into the offices of Radio Néctar and destroyed the station’s facilities and transmission equipment. They claimed to have been insulted on the air a few minutes earlier. Station owner Mariano Núñez Guevara denied the accusations. […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – At noon (local time) on 16 January 2005, close to 40 people armed with guns and sticks burst into the offices of Radio Néctar and destroyed the station’s facilities and transmission equipment. They claimed to have been insulted on the air a few minutes earlier. Station owner Mariano Núñez Guevara denied the accusations. The incident occurred in Nueva Cajamarca district, San Martín region, northern Peru.
Núñez told IPYS that a few minutes before the attack an assembly was held in the city, convened by the Committee for the Defence of Nueva Cajamarca’s Interests. The main topic for discussion at the meeting involved accusations filed against the Rioja governor and local judicial authorities’ treatment of the case. All local media outlets, including Radio Néctar, reported on the proceedings.
According to Núñez, Santos Díaz Carrasco and Peter Vizconde Piparra, who presided over the meeting, announced that Radio Néctar had reportedly said that committee members were “liars.” Díaz and Vizconde then encouraged those present at the meeting to go to the radio station’s premises.
When the assailants arrived at the station, they threatened one of the journalists with a gun and then burst into the premises. They broke windows, microphones and consoles and destroyed archive material. According to Núñez, the station never insulted the committee members and he does not know why Díaz or Vizconde instigated their supporters. The radio station owner estimated the damages at approximately US$1,200.
