22 April 2003
PERIODISTAS RAISES PRESS-FREEDOM CONCERNS WITH PRESIDENT
Calling it an important first step in raising awareness of free expression violations with Argentina's political leadership, PERIODISTAS (Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente) met with president Eduardo Duhalde twice last month and raised concerns about the rising number of attacks on journalists in the country.
In a 20 March meeting, PERIODISTAS told Duhalde that these attacks on journalists by security forces and public officials posed a threat to freedom of expression in Argentina and presented him with numerous cases of attacks it recorded in the past 15 months. In another meeting the following week, Duhalde told PERIODISTAS "it has to be made absolutely clear that the government will not tolerate such acts."
In its 2002 annual report, PERIODISTAS says attacks against the Argentine press increased last year by 15 per cent, compared to 2001 [See "IFEX Communiqu%26#233;" #11-38]. ">http://communique.ifex.org/articles.cfm?system_id=5056">"IFEX Communiqué" #11-38].
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also voiced concerns over the rising number of attacks against journalists in Argentina, particularly those perpetrated by security forces. CPJ says the attacks are fostering a "climate of fear" among members of the press.
Visit these links:
- CPJ Annual Report on Argentina: www.cpj.org">http://www.cpj.org/attacks02/americas02/argentina.html">www.cpj.org
- PERIODISTAS: www.asociacionperiodistas.org">http://www.asociacionperiodistas.org/">www.asociacionperiodistas.org
- OAS Special Rapporteur on Free Expression's 2002 Report: www.cidh.org
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