“After they threatened me, I filed complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office, that was at the end of January. To date there is no progress in the investigation and the National Protection Unit has not processed my case, I have not received any additional protection measures. There is no interest on the part of the Government to protect us journalists, it is a matter of abandonment, forgetfulness and apathy”.
The testimony is from Emiro Goyeneche, one of the most experienced and influential journalists in Saravena, a small city in the department of Arauca. His radio program had to go off the air after a car bomb exploded a few meters from his station on January 19. Over the next few days, Emiro received death threats and his name appeared on a pamphlet signed by FARC dissidents. Another 15 journalists were also threatened. In the messages they demanded that they delete some content or stop covering and investigating some topic. In other cases, they were ordered to leave the municipality.
On May 5, 15 media outlets from different cities in the departments of Córdoba, Sucre, and Antioquia announced their removal from the air. The reason, death threats from members of the Clan del Golfo during the armed strike decreed by that organization.
In these cities, where there are not enough local media, it is enough for a journalist to be intimidated for a chain reaction to take place and others are also frightened and forced to self-censor. As a consequence, informational silence is installed, which in conflict zones or with public order problems can be devastating for both the press and the citizenry.
These have not been the only inhospitable territories for the press, so is the conversation on social networks. In early April a team of journalists from the media maelstrom, Change Y The viewer They published reports denouncing serious aggressions that the Army would have committed against civilians in the middle of a military operation in Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo. After the publication, the presidential candidate Enrique Gómez affirmed that “several media outlets have assumed the flags of drug trafficking to the detriment of the most vulnerable populations in the country.” As a result of these statements, the journalists who participated in the investigation received countless insults on Twitter and threatening and intimidating comments that exposed them to greater risk.
This constant flurry of attacks, which at times appears to be an orchestrated punishment, has primarily targeted journalists. The impact of stigmatization, mostly in the mouths of politicians and public officials, has generated a cascade effect that collectively affects journalism.
And, of course, to the citizenry. The harassment, threats and high level of violence present during the campaign have seriously affected the free circulation of ideas, creating obstacles for the audience to access a wide range of opinions and decide -in an informed way- which candidate to submit your vote.
The climate for practicing journalism has deteriorated due to this increase in threats and is also exacerbated by a persistent climate of disrepute. The efforts made by the media so that citizens have them as a reliable reference are easily erased by officials who do not blush when it comes to insulting. A scenario of permissiveness that emboldens all those who want to attack and undermine the image of journalists.
The Government of Iván Duque has behaved like a spectator who does not enjoy the show and decides to look the other way, forgetting its obligation to ensure that the press has the necessary guarantees to report freely and independently.
Jonathan Bock is director of the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).
#impossible #elections #press