(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release: IAPA alarmed at violence against press in Colombia Three journalists killed in 10 days MIAMI, Florida (July 6, 2001) — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today called on the Colombian government to step up efforts to bring a halt to the violence being unleashed against […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release:
IAPA alarmed at violence against press in Colombia
Three journalists killed in 10 days
MIAMI, Florida (July 6, 2001) — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today called on the Colombian government to step up efforts to bring a halt to the violence being unleashed against the press that in the past few days has left three journalists dead. In addition, the organization voiced its concern over the lack of security for news men and women to carry out their work because of assaults by armed groups involved in the national conflict.
The most recent murder of a journalist occurred this morning. José Ubiel Vásquez, director of the La Voz de la Selva radio station in the southeastern city of Florencia, Caquetá province, scene of frequent clashes between guerrillas and paramilitary forces, was killed after winding up his newscast by two men riding a motorcycle, who were waiting for him as he came out of the radio station. They shot him twice. He had not received any threats prior to the incident.
This case has been linked to the murder of two other journalists, Guillermo Leon Agudelo and Alfredo Abad, from the same radio station, who were killed in November and December last year, respectively. The Turbay family, owners of the radio station, an affiliate of the Caracol Radio network, was declared a “military target” of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group.
Two days ago, Arquímedes Arias Henao was murdered in Fresno, in the north of the central Colombian province of Tolima. Arias, 39, was director of the Fresno local radio station Fresno FM Estéreo. He was in the station when an unidentified man came in and shot him three times. Arias, a pioneer of local radio, mainly covered community and cultural affairs.
On the previous Wednesday, June 27, Pablo Emilio Parra Castañeda, 50, manager and reporter of the radio station Planadas Cultural Estéreo, was murdered. He was also president of the local Red Cross chapter in Planadas, south of Tolima. His body was found on a local street. He had been shot twice.
More than 3,000 people turned out for the funeral of Parra Castañeda, a journalist, veteran radio man and a well-known figure locally. Police believe he was killed by FARC guerrillas who were under the impression that he was a paramilitary sympathizer.
IAPA President Danilo Arbilla, editor of the Montevideo, Uruguay, news weekly Búsqueda, expressed outrage at the murders of what he called “the pioneers of Colombian radio,” adding that “in Colombia the warring factions are the ones dictating how much free speech and press freedom there should be and curtailing the people’s right to be informed.”
“The government must urgently take up this matter and bring an end to the negative statistics of physical violence against journalists there,” Arbilla declared. “Respect for Colombian journalists’ lives is going through the worst of times and it is imperative that in the light of what is occurring action be taken to ensure journalists’ physical safety.”
Rafael Molina, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, endorsed Arbilla’s remarks and added, “There is in Colombia a horrendous wave of violence being unleashed against journalists and the press that in many cases is leading to self-censorship, while those who dare to face the risks pay with their lives.”
“It is time for Colombia to put an end to the assaults, forced exile, death threats, the burning of newspaper copies, the destruction of news media’s buildings and the murder of journalists,” declared Molina, editor of the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, magazine Ahora.
Figures compiled by the IAPA show that Colombia has the highest rate of crimes against journalists in the Western Hemisphere. From 1988 to date, 99 news men and women have been murdered. Other Colombian journalists murdered in the past nine months are: Yesid Marulanda Romero, Flavio Bedoya Tovar, Alfredo Abad Lopez, Guillermo Leon Agudelo and Gustavo Rafael Ruiz Cantillo. The IAPA’s Rapid Response Unit is being sent to Colombia to investigate the latest murders.
