2007-07-09
Journalist covering political event insulted and beaten up
FLIPYS Alliance. Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) - Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS)
On Wednesday 4 July, journalist Javier Manjarrés, director of Emisoras Unidas' news program 'Actualidad', was insulted by a supporter of Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA) at the end of a press conference held by the party's president, Carlos Gaviria Díaz. The event took place at eleven a.m. at the hotel 'El Prado', in the city of Barranqilla, northern Colombia.
The journalist declared to FLIP that during the press conference he asked Gaviria about the investigations and accusations of corruption against Bernardo Hoyos, former mayor of Barranquilla, who is a member of PDA.
Apparently, this question offended several of the party's supporters who approached Manjarrés on the way out of the premises and insulted him for "discrediting" the PDA with his questions before its highest representative, Carlos Gaviria. Suddenly, several of them started to hit him.
The journalist fell to the floor and lost consciousness for several minutes after having been hit in the face, the head and one of his arms. According to the Legal Medical report, the beating up caused him to be disabled for eleven days. "If they had been armed, they would have killed me. The aggression was brutal", commented Manjarrés.
Jairo Buitrago, a photographer for the newspaper 'El Heraldo', who was with Manjarrés when the beating took place, stated that during the press conference communicators in general were booed because of their questions, especially those pertaining to former mayor Hoyos.
PDA pre-candidates for the mayor's office and the regional government, Máximo Noriega and Alfonso Camerano, apologized to the press for the incident and urged Manjarrés to file a criminal suit against his aggressors.
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This is the first recorded violation of press freedom in relation to the coverage of this year's electoral period in Colombia. Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP, and Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS, make an appeal to the political parties and their candidates to respect the journalists' work during election time.
They also remind (them) that journalism's function during this time is fundamental if the public is to have sufficient criteria with which to be able to exercise its right to vote. Press conferences during election times are an open and plural space, not a simple act of propaganda, where no topic can be vetoed.
The FLIPYS alliance makes an appeal to journalists and the media to denounce these events promptly to the competent authorities for their inspection.
The FLIPYS alliance is the author of this report. Please acknowledge this on circulating it.
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