Attacks

WHEREAS journalists in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela have suffered a tremendous increase of physical violence against journalists, which creates a climate that favors self-censorship WHEREAS among other incidents, a candidate for the El Salvador presidency has urged his party’s followers to attack journalists WHEREAS in Guatemala there have been kidnappings, attacks and threats at gunpoint against journalists; the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Journalists has received 60 reports related to attacks and death threats against journalists; there are now ten reports a month WHEREAS in México there have been threats and attacks against journalists, even by military and municipal police officers, although organized crime is behind most of the cases 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 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to urge the governments to set up concrete mechanisms to provide guarantees allowing free and independent journalism.