WHEREAS
four journalists were murdered in the last six months in Colombia, two of them, William Soto Cheng and Oscar Alberto Polanco because of their work, and specifically because of reports about political-administrative corruption in the Cauca Valley
WHEREAS
twelve journalists were threatened by armed people in several regions of the country
WHEREAS
the port of Barrancabermeja has become a dangerous place to work as a journalist because five journalists were threatened, one has disappeared, another was kidnapped and tortured and another threatened by the colonel of a battalion
WHEREAS
Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says, Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to ask the government and its civilian and military authorities to implement effective security measures to guarantee the free practice of journalism and to ask the attorney generals office to investigate and punish those responsible for violating press freedom.
