Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos heads ceremony underscoring his nation’s democracy at offices of Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo
MIAMI, Florida (January 22, 2013)—State governors and city mayors from various regions of Colombia and of differing political views added their signatures to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) inspired Declaration of Chapultepec and committed to ensuring free speech and press freedom at a significant democratic ceremony held in Bogotá in the presence of the president of the South American nation, Juan Manuel Santos.
Santos, together with IAPA President Jaime Mantilla and El Tiempo editor Roberto Pombo headed the ceremony which took place yesterday (January 21) at the newspaper’s Bogotá offices with more than 30 Colombian leading officials, including such officials as the governor of Bocayá, Juan Carlos Granados, and the mayor of Armenia, Luz Piedad Valencia.
The Declaration of Chapultepec, a document promoting the observance of journalistic values in the Western Hemisphere, has been signed by 61 presidents of Latin American nations since its promulgation in 1994.
Santos, who added his signature to the Declaration in November 2011, ratified his commitment to freedom of expression and declared that the more that this freedom is promoted there will be “a greater possibility of defending the rest of the fundamental rights of any people.”
He said he also felt that in addition to being an instrument and fundamental principle in any democracy press freedom also serves to strengthen the objectives of the Inter-American System as the protector of human rights. He urged the governors and mayors present to defend the Declaration’s principles.
“Freedom is something highly valued that we have to defend, but one that carries with it important responsibilities, and that is why I issue a call on the press that it play its role without any kind of brake or control, but rather assuming its responsibility in this process with a great deal of criteria,” Santos declared in referring to the peace process begun last year between the Colombian government and guerrillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
IAPA President Mantilla, editor of the Ecuador newspaper Hoy, stated before the political leaders brought together to sign the Declaration of Chapultepec that “by signing this document your thoughts, ideas and commitment to the defense of freedom of expression, of the press and of information in your various regions and jurisdictions are summarized. It is therefore an act of confidence in and support for true democracy.”
Mantilla declared that “while it has been managed to halt the violence that years ago left a long list of murdered colleagues there continue to be in Colombia threats against journalists and news media in various parts of the country.”
He also expressed concern at a rise in legal actions – libel suits – and numerous cases of unpunished murders. “This is a pending matter that should be resolved more quickly,” he said.
Pombo, who in addition to being the editor of El Tiempo is vice chairman of the IAPA’s Chapultepec Committee, said that the signing of the Declaration gave the meeting an historic significance, as it commits the authorities of all the nation to defend public freedoms, especially in those regions where violent players still hold influence.
For his part Jorge Canahuati, chairman of the Chapultepec Committee and president of the Honduras media group Opsa, added that “governors and we journalists are not only called to enjoy, respect and ensure freedom of expression but also to defend it and promote it as a right that belongs to the people.”
“Like any other discipline freedom of expression is not an end in itself but a state of ongoing search,” Canahuati said, adding, “Good governance demands honesty, tolerance, balance of powers and especially the participation of the people in an agile and opportune manner in governmental matters and those of public interest.”
Also attending the ceremony were other Colombian members of the IAPA and of the National Association of Newspapers of Colombia (ANDIARIOS), which comprises more than 50 of the South American nation’s newspapers.
The international IAPA delegation in addition to Mantilla and Canahuati was made up of Miguel Henrique Otero, chairman of the Finance, Audit and Fundraising Committee and editor of the Caracas, Venezuela, newspaper El Nacional; Asdrúbal Aguiar, chairman of the Legal Committee and member of the Chapultepec Ambassadors program; Executive Director Julio E. Muñoz, and Development Director Viviana Bianchi.
In another development, the IAPA today was holding a forum titled “The State of Press Freedom in Latin America” as part of its Chapultepec Ambassadors program. This meeting was being held at the Social Sciences School of the Universidad de los Andes university and featured the participation of its chancellor, Pablo Navas, and the attendance of Colombian university professors and students.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org.
