IMPUNITY
- COLOMBIA II
WHEREAS
four journalists were murdered in the last six months in Colombia, two of
them, William Soto Cheng and Oscar Alberto Polanco because of their work,
and specifically because of reports about political-administrative corruption
in the Cauca Valley
WHEREAS
twelve journalists were threatened by armed people in several regions of the
country
WHEREAS
the port of Barrancabermeja has become a dangerous place to work as a journalist
because five journalists were threatened, one has disappeared, another was
kidnapped and tortured and another threatened by the colonel of a battalion
WHEREAS
Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says, “Freedom of expression
and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure,
intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities,
violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated
promptly and punished harshly”
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF
THE IAPA RESOLVES
to ask the government and its civilian and military authorities to implement
effective security measures to guarantee the free practice of journalism and
to ask the attorney general’s office to investigate and punish those
responsible for violating press freedom.
questions
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