27 April 2005
PHOTOGRAPHER DIES COVERING PROTESTS
Amid protests in Quito last week that led to the ousting of Ecuador's former President Lucio Gutiérrez, a photographer lost his life, reported the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
On 19 April 2005, Chilean photographer Julio Augusto García Romero died after inhaling tear gas while covering a demonstration in the capital. Police had fired tear gas grenades at a crowd that was moving toward the main government building, the Palacio de Carondelet.
García Romero, 58, was photographing the demonstration when he collapsed. He suffered a heart attack and died that evening. García Romero worked for the small Chilean news agency La Bocina (The Horn) and the weekly Punto de Vista (Point of View).
The protests erupted in response to public anger over government corruption and President Gutiérrez's decision last December to stack the Supreme Court with political allies. On 20 April, Ecuador's Congress voted to sack Gutiérrez, who fled to Brazil shortly after.
During the protests, Radio La Luna, an independent station known for being critical of Gutiérrez, played a key role in broadcasting reports and informing the public, reports the BBC. When the government reportedly cut the station's phone lines to prevent listeners from contacting the station, Radio La Luna staff gave out mobile phone numbers.
"People turned into reporters on the street, calling and telling us what happened and sending text messages urging others to join the protests," says station manager Ataulfo Tobar. The station's open-mike policy gives citizens an outlet for expressing opinions about public issues that aren't being covered by mainstream media, says Tobar.
Visit these links:
- AMARC:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66112/
- CPJ:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Ecuador21apr05na.html
- RSF:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13348
- Ecuador's Open Mike Revolution: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4477595.stm
- Officials Blame Radio La Luna for Fomenting Protests:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2940-2005Apr19.html
- Radio La Luna: http://www.radiolaluna.com/
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