“The Association of Surinamese Journalists (ASJ) has strongly condemned the looting, vandalism and attacks on journalists during and after the protests against the Surinamese government on Friday (Feb. 17).
[…]
According to the ASJ – it is a sign on the wall of the country falling into anarchy when independent journalists have suffered in the course of their work.
‘The verbal intimidation with threats, the destruction of camera equipment, the theft of a mobile telephone and the car of a journalist which was set on fire must be characterised as very serious attacks on press freedom.’
‘It should be emphasised that journalists are primarily at the service of society, in order to provide it with, in this case, first-hand information about what is going on in society. This is an undeniable pillar in democracy guaranteed by the Constitution. Attacks on the media and journalists, especially from society, are equivalent to violating one’s own face.’”
