(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Guillermo Ruíz, RSF expressed its “strong concern over the threats received by several journalists at the daily ‘El Periodico’, as well as Sergio Méndez of the programme Guatemala Flash on the Qué buena radio station, and Estuardo Pinto of the ‘Nuestro Diario’ daily.” RSF asked […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Guillermo Ruíz, RSF expressed its “strong concern over the threats received by several journalists at the daily ‘El Periodico’, as well as Sergio Méndez of the programme Guatemala Flash on the Qué buena radio station, and Estuardo Pinto of the ‘Nuestro Diario’ daily.” RSF asked the minister “to ensure that a thorough investigation is undertaken in order to identify and punish the perpetrators [of the threats].” Condemning the pressures that “are aimed at forcing the journalists to self-censor,” Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary general, called on Ruiz to “take all necessary measures to guarantee the journalists’ security.”
According to information obtained by RSF, at least four journalists of the editing staff of “El Periodico” have been threatened in the past few days. On 14 May 2000, one of them was followed by a vehicle with a blacked out licence plate number, as the paper was preparing to publish an inquiry into the alleged existence of an illegal military information network. On 19 May, another member of the editing staff was threatened over the phone. “El Periodico” filed a complaint with the relevant authorities providing them with a copy of the conversations which they were able to tape and the telephone numbers that were identified.
Furthermore, on 22 May, a fax was sent to Méndez stating that the journalist “might die”. That same day, Pinto says that he received an anonymous phone call which “suggested” that he should “abandon the affair”. The two journalists, who state that they are unaware of the source of the threats, are covering the inquiry into the 26 April 1998 assassination of Bishop Juan Gerardi, for which five people are being tried in court, including three former members of the military.
