30 August 2006
SECOND JOURNALIST KILLED IN A MONTH
Atilano Segundo Pérez Barrios, a commentator for Radio Vigía de Todelar in the northern Colombian city of Cartegena, was shot dead in his apartment on 22 August 2006, becoming the second journalist killed in the country in the past month, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
Pérez hosted a Sunday morning programme called "El Diario de Marialabaja" on Radio Vigía de Todelar, which focused on news about Pérez' hometown of Marialabaja. Pérez often denounced local government corruption and the continuing influence of paramilitary groups in the region.
In his last show on 20 August, he alleged that right-wing paramilitary groups were financing the mayoral campaigns of five candidates in Marialabaja. He had received recent death threats, according to a family member. Pérez was a former member of the Marialabaja town council and a deputy in the provincial assembly of Bolívar.
His murder comes amidst increasing attacks on Colombian journalists and the press in recent months, says the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP). On 9 August, radio presenter Milton Fabián Sánchez was murdered in the southeastern city of Yumbo. On 20 March, Gustavo Rojas Gabalo died from injuries he suffered in a February shooting in the city of Montería.
Since January, at least six journalists have been forced to flee their homes because of threats of violence, according to RSF. Several civil society organisations, including FLIP and Media for Peace (Medios Para la Paz), have also received threats. FLIP recorded 42 violations against the press from January to March, almost double the amount recorded in the same period in 2005.
The threats have resulted in widespread self-censorship among journalists in areas of the country - particularly rural provinces - where guerrillas, paramilitary militias and security forces are engaged in armed conflict. Colombia is known as one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. According to IFJ, nearly 140 have been killed in the past 15 years.
Visit these links:
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/americas/colombia28aug06na.html
- IPYS: http://www.ipys.org
- FLIP: http://www.flip.org.co/
- IFJ: http://www.ceso-fip.com/noticiaAmpliar.php?noticia=251
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18676
- Colombia Press Silenced by Self-Censorship: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/14654119.htm
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