(FLIP/IFEX) – On 17 March 2006, during statements made to two radio stations in Ibagué, Tolima department, recently re-elected Senator Humberto Gómez Gallo encouraged his supporters to “boycott” “El Nuevo Día” newspaper, published in the same city. “Tolimans should start a boycott against ‘El Nuevo Día’, we shouldn’t buy this newspaper, nor advertise in it […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – On 17 March 2006, during statements made to two radio stations in Ibagué, Tolima department, recently re-elected Senator Humberto Gómez Gallo encouraged his supporters to “boycott” “El Nuevo Día” newspaper, published in the same city.
“Tolimans should start a boycott against ‘El Nuevo Día’, we shouldn’t buy this newspaper, nor advertise in it (. . . ) to punish it for its turpitude and viciousness (. . . ) ‘El Nuevo Día’ should never again mention anything about me, good or bad, because it has displayed extreme cruelty and hatred,” said the senator and former president of Congress, on 17 March to radio station “La Cariñosa”, a member of the RCN broadcasting group.
In later statements published in “El Tiempo” newspaper, the senator said that his comment had been misinterpreted. “They [“El Nuevo Día”] interpreted it as a boycott. What I’ve asked is for people to collect money to found another newspaper,” said Gómez Gallo.
When contacted by FLIP, the senator refused to comment any further on the matter, saying that his lawyers will respond to any questions about his statements regarding the newspaper, and that the matter had been blown out of proportion by Antonio Melo, director of “El Nuevo Día”.
“El Nuevo Día” has published articles criticising the senator. The most recent concerns lawyer Iván Ramirez’s request that the Prosecutor General’s Office investigate Senator Gómez Gallo’s alleged ties with the alleged drug trafficker Eduardo Restrepo Victoria. As well, the newspaper has carried reports from national media outlets about his alleged misconduct while he was head of the Senate.
FLIP condemns Senator Gómez Gallo’s statements. In a country like Colombia, statements from officials stigmatizing or discrediting media outlets not only constitute a violation of press freedom, but they also generate, predictably and perversely, risks for those commented about. Therefore, government officials must abstain from comments that may serve as a pretext for illegal armed groups to undertake attacks against media outlets or journalists.
In a democracy, government officials should be the strongest defenders of press freedom. However, they are also the first target when this right is being exercised. As the repositories of the public’s trust, they are obliged to tolerate close scrutiny by the media.
