(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 20 December 2001 at 11:00 p.m. (local time), a police action aimed at upholding the state of siege decreed by President Fernando de la Rúa was launched in Buenos Aires. The state of siege was a response to the violent public outburst of the last few days. Within a few hours, five […]
(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 20 December 2001 at 11:00 p.m. (local time), a police action aimed at upholding the state of siege decreed by President Fernando de la Rúa was launched in Buenos Aires. The state of siege was a response to the violent public outburst of the last few days. Within a few hours, five civilians were killed as a result of police repression. The police’s actions impacted on all the demonstrators’ rights and violated the freedom of expression of the journalists who were covering the most spontaneous and organised popular protest to take place since Argentina’s return to democracy.
During the demonstrations held at the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires and in other parts of the country in response to the decreed state of siege, police forces attacked journalists and photographers who were exercising their right and duty to inform. The police’s action was violent and unwarranted.
PERIODISTAS remarked “that such rage and indiscriminate action had not been seen in Argentina for two decades. The police’s violence was not directed at looters or individuals who were violating some law, but rather those who were exercising their constitutional rights or demanding that these be respected. In a democratic system a basic principle is the right to seek, receive and distribute information. There is no justification for suppressing this right during a state of siege, unless there is an intent to misinform the public.”
The organisation strongly condemned the unprecedented display of brutality. PERIODISTAS called for an end to the aggression and for journalists to be permitted to carry out their professional duties.
PERIODISTAS urgently called on human rights and freedom of expression organisations to also condemn the brutal attacks and call for the respect of the rights of not only journalists but of all citizens who went out into the streets to express their concerns and condemn the actions aimed at suppressing them.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– condemning the police’s brutal action
– asking them to ensure that journalists are permitted to carry out their professional duties
Appeals To
Federico Ramon Puerta
Head of Senate, Interim President
Hipolito Yrigoyen 1849, 1er. piso
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel: +54 011 4379 5858 / 4379 5859
E-mail: [email protected]
Eduardo Oscar Camaño
President of Parliament
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel: +54 011 4370 7100, ext. 3201
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
