Colombian journalists nationwide plan to take to the streets May 3 for a “march of silence” against the growing wave of threats by paramilitary groups against journalists and human rights groups, El Espectador and CM& report.
The demonstrations are organized by the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER), which lists at least a dozen journalists countrywide, who have been subject to threats originating from three distinct paramilitary groups: the Black Eagles, Los Urabeños, Rastrojos, and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.
Among those threatened are FECOLPER president Eduardo Márquez, and well-known journalists Claudia Duque, Hollman Morris, and Daniel Coronell.
The journalism group urged the authorities to take “concrete steps” to protect journalists and guarantee the freedom to practice journalism, La FM reports.
In recent months, Colombian media workers have suffered a series of death threats through pamphlets signed by paramilitary groups, which list them as “military targets.”
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» Knight Center (Eleven journalists and radio stations are Colombian paramilitary's newest targets)
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.
