5 November 2002

HIGHLIGHTS IMPUNITY AND PRESS-FREEDOM ATTACKS IN THE AMERICAS


Attacks on journalists, the growing number of lawsuits launched against the media and the existence of media laws designed to muzzle press freedom continue to characterise the press-freedom situation in the Americas, said the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) at the conclusion of its recent general assembly.

Attended by 450 delegates in Lima, Peru, the meeting included country reports on press freedom, placing particular attention on Colombia and on Brazil, where the high-profile murders of two journalists this year focused media attention on impunity in the country.

Colombia is still subject to the brutality of drug traffickers, guerillas and paramilitary forces, says IAPA. In the last six months, four journalists were killed in the line of duty. Two more were killed although the motives have yet to be determined.

Delegates issued a resolution urging Colombian authorities to speed up investigations into crimes against journalists, noting that the current pace is too slow. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that in October, the Attorney General's Office added 12 new prosecutors to its special unit charged with investigating crimes against journalists, bringing the total number country-wide to 16.

In Brazil, the brutal murder of investigative reporter Tim Lopes, and the public outcry that ensued, forced authorities to speed up investigations into the crime, says IAPA.

Meanwhile, police have yet to identify the mastermind behind the murder of Domingos Sávio Brandão, owner and publisher of "Folha do Estado" who was shot and killed in September after publishing reports denouncing the introduction of slot machines in his state.

Delegates passed a resolution calling on Brazil to give Federal Police jurisdictional powers to conduct investigations into human-rights crimes, including the murders of journalists.

Delegates also welcomed incoming IAPA President Andrés García Gamboa, who replaces Robert J. Cox.

See IAPA's full conference reports: www.sipiapa.com">http://www.sipiapa.com/pulications/anualrep2003.cfm">www.sipiapa.com

Visit these links:

- IAPA's Unpunished Crimes Against Journalists Project: www.impunidad.com/">http://www.impunidad.com/">www.impunidad.com/

- Foundation for Press Freedom: www.flip.org.co">http://www.flip.org.co">www.flip.org.co

- CPJ Report on Colombia: www.cpj.org/attacks01/americas01/colombia.html">http://www.cpj.org/attacks01/americas01/colombia.html">www.cpj.org/attacks01/americas01/colombia.html

- CPJ Report on Brazil: www.cpj.org/attacks01/americas01/brazil.html




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Also from the Communiqué, 5 November 2002

INTERNATIONAL: UNESCO TO HOLD SYMPOSIUM ON INTERNET FREE EXPRESSION 5 November 2002 INTERNATIONAL: DANIEL PEARL FELLOWSHIP LAUNCHED 5 November 2002 INTERNATIONAL: IPI TO MARK FIRST TEN YEARS IN VIENNA 5 November 2002 INTERNATIONAL: AMARC POSTPONES WORLD CONFERENCE 5 November 2002 INTERNATIONAL: CASCFEN TO HOLD FIRST CONFERENCE IN MARCH 2003 5 November 2002 LIBERIA: IMPRISONED JOURNALIST MAY BE RELEASED 5 November 2002 UNITED STATES: CONGRESS TABLES INTERNET FREEDOM BILL 5 November 2002 CHILE: FILM CENSORSHIP ABOLISHED / WPFC, HRW URGE ELIMINATION OF "DESACATO" LAWS 5 November 2002 NAMIBIA: SHADES OF MUGABE AS JOURNALISTS FEAR LOSS OF MEDIA FREEDOMS 5 November 2002
 
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