By Ingrid Bachmann
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) released a statement calling on the authorities to guarantee the safety of press workers who are covering the recent conflicts in the Parque Indoamericano (American Indian Park) in Buenos Aires, which is currently occupied by at least 5,000 homeless squatters, many of them immigrants. FOPEA also asked media companies to prioritize the safety of their employees.
Since last week, the press has been covering the violent confrontations between the homeless and the district’s residents, which has led to at least four deaths, Bloomberg explains.
FOPEA reports that several journalists have been attacked and threatened while covering the violence. Fabían Rubino, a reporter for the TV station América 24, was hospitalized after taking a blow to the head. Pablo Groba, a cameraman for Telefé Noticias, had several facial wounds from rocks that were thrown at him. According to FOPEA, several other journalists were verbally assaulted, attacked physically, and told to stop filming after several TV stations broadcast images of people with weapons and Molotov cocktails.
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.
