Threats to Colombian journalists continue amid peace talks
Threats to Colombian journalists continue amid peace talks
By Teresa Mioli
Advocates are reporting that criminal gangs and paramilitary groups in Colombia, one of the most dangerous Latin American countries for journalists, have been issuing death threats for journalists and human rights defenders for the past two months. Media and government representatives have called for investigation to find the sources behind these threats.
The Colombian Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo, recently announced that threatened journalists and human rights defenders will be provied protectiont and emphasized the importance of finding out who is behind the threats.
“It is not acceptable that every day in Colombia pamphlets are appearing against various leaders of public life and we need to find those responsible for these actions,” Cristo said.
The new string of threats started last December and continued into the new year, said Fabiola León, Colombian representative of Reporters Without Borders (RWB).
After an interview with Leon, Telesur reported that “over the course of around 20 days, 5 written threats have been delivered targeting 150 people, who include not only journalists but also social activists and land restitution leaders.”
In early December 2014, RWB published that paramilitary group Bloque Capital – Águilas Negras made threats against a news analysis website, TV stations and a journalist.
The organization said it “condemns the fact that Colombia’s criminal paramilitary groups are still able to sow terror with complete impunity. Their continuing existence – a result of the failure of the demobilization process – is a bane on Colombian society.”
More:
https://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/00-15917-threats-colombian-journalists-continue-amid-peace-talks
