The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) registered a total of 172 attacks against the country’s press in 2012, according to a report released by the organization’s Freedom of Expression in Argentina Monitor, presented on March 22. That figure represents a 41% increase compared to last year, which had 122 attacks.
One of the key points of the report is that due to the “impunity of the attackers and the inability of judicial proceedings to resolve accusations,” the aggressor in most incidents is marked in the report as “unknown” or “anonymous.” Nevertheless, municipal officials were identified as the attackers in 21 of the cases.
The report stated that municipal, provincial and national political activity represents the greatest danger to journalists, given that there are “dozens of officials and politicians that do not respect the professional exercise of journalism.”
Physical and/or psychological aggressions was the most common types of attack, with 26% of cases. This was followed by threats, including death threats, with 22%. 17% of cases were attacks against property. November saw the most attacks with 22.
The president of FOPEA, Fabio Ladetto, said the increase in attacks is not only alarming but also produces two basic conclusions: “We are moving more and more into a society where the resolution of differences (including those that don’t even reach the level of being conflicts) is done through violence; and those in power tolerate less and less professional journalistic activity which is not friendly, servile, or subordinated to economic or political interests, far from the essence of the profession, which is to serve society.”
For more information on the report, click here.
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.
