A group of civil society organizations is demanding greater safety and protection for journalists and human rights activists in Mexico, especially in the eastern and northern regions of the country where the most aggression occurs, reported the newspaper La Jornada.
In recognition of International Women's Day on Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders released a report on the problems women journalists face in their work, according to QMI Agency. The report, "News Media: A Men’s Preserve that is Dangerous for Women," highlights problems such as segregation, violence, and inequality in the newsroom.
Seven journalists were killed in Colombia in 2010, and total attacks on the media were almost double the number that occurred over the previous four years combined, says the annual report of the Colombian Federation of Journalists (Fecolper).
The Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario reported that its journalists were threatened after publishing articles about supposed corruption in the government of President Daniel Ortega, according to the local press. The cases of corruption and nepotism are related to the Finance Ministry and the equivalent of the IRS, the newspaper said.
Bolivia has finalized the rules governing its new "Law to Fight against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination", and the final bill will be enacted by decree on Jan. 8 by President Evo Morales, Los Tiempos reports.
Journalist José Luis Galdámez and his family deserve protection by Honduran authorities, according to an order from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, reported the Associated Press.
Journalists always live in a state of tension with their work. To uncover the truth, journalists must develop not only a broad understanding of issues of public interest, but they must also have the good journalistic sense to be at the right place at the right time to cover a story. However, for journalists who work in zones of conflict, such journalistic competence can mean death.
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.
The Mexican government, media outlets on both sides of the border, and press organizations must do more to end danger faced by the press on Mexico’s northern border from drug-trafficking violence and impunity.
Anabel Hernández is pressing charges against Security Minister Genaro García Luna and one of his assistants, Luis Cárdenas Palomino, for an alleged plot to kill her, AFP and EFE report.