Colombia
Government Violence Used to Threaten JournalistsPosted Apr 6 2011
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blogged that Colombian journalist and director of Periódico El Turbión, Omar Vera, was hit with two tear gas canisters while covering university student protests.
According to Periodistas en Español, the first tear gas canister was fired at 11:50, which burned Vera’s backpack, and the second was fired five minutes later and hit Vera in the chest.
Periodistas reports that Eduardo Márquez, the president of Felcoper, the Federacion Colombiana de Periodistas, said, “It has become a custom that police attack journalists that cover protests in various parts of the country, with the clear intention of inhibiting that information gets to the citizens.”
Journalists in Central America have also been attacked in the past for covering protests. Reporters Without Borders wrote a story about journalists from a Honduran television station that were attacked while covering strikes and protests.
Richard Casulá, a reporter, and Salvador Sandoval, a cameraman, both from Canal 36-Cholusat, had tear gas fired at them by police. The protest march was in the city of Tegucigalpa and had a strong police force present.
The organization said in its press release, “These repeated abuses by the security forces against news media opposed to the June 2009 coup d’état – which left still unhealed wounds – are aggravating an oppressive political climate that is not conducive to pluralism.”
Journalists in both countries have condemned police brutality against journalists.