By Daniel Guerra
More than 20 journalists have been attacked or threatened while reporting on the national strike that has brought Colombia’s agriculture industry to a standstill since August 18, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In an open letter written to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on August 22, RSF general secretary Christophe Deloire said that Colombian security forces should “issue the necessary orders so that the men under their command respect the work of the media and so that the right of all Colombians to know what is happening in their country is guaranteed.”
Over 200,000 farmers and agricultural workers have taken to the streets of towns and cities around Colombia advocating for fairer economic treatment, including higher subsidies and lower fuel prices. Workers from the country’s public services sector and mining sector have also since joined the ranks of protesters. There have been increasing reports of violence as the work stoppage entered its second week. According to police reports, five people have been killed and dozens injured in skirmishes across the country. Roads have been blocked off using piles of rocks and universities have cancelled classes since the protests began.
Although some of acts of aggression have come from members of security forces, others are coming from the protesters themselves. According to the radio station Caucasia Estéreo, seven of its reporters were threatened through text messages sent by organizers of a strike supporting mine workers in the province of Bajo Cauca.
Six reporters working with the Network of Alternative and Popular Media (REMAP) said they were beaten and arrested by soldiers on August 19 while covering the strike in the Valle del Cuaca province. Although they were eventually released, the reporters were also robbed of their belongings.
“Exhaustive and impartial investigations should be conducted in each one of these cases,” wrote RSF's Deloire in the open letter, which was also sent to the Organization of American States and the Colombia office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Colombia ranks 129th out of 179 countries measured by RSF's 2013 Press Freedom Index.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
