Authorized reproduction of this report requires proper notification and credit to Prensa Libre.
The attacks on freedom of the press are growing in Colombia without the National Government's recognition and measures for 'a country at war' to guarantee the protection of journalists and their profession.
The following report represents data registered by Prensa Libre, however, the real numbers in terms of attacks, threats, and journalists forced into exile are much higher.
The following lists the groups responsible for the attacks on freedom of the press and includes, without exception, all the groups engaged in the conflict: The FARC (the largest guerilla group; 15,000 to 18,000 strong); the ELN (the Cuban inspired guerilla group); about 5,000 strong); the paramilitary,known as the AUC, (about 8,000 to 11,000 strong). All these financed by the drug traffic; Colombian Army; National Government ; civilian groups and even some news media directors (in an effort to promote their own interest). All the groups listed above are guilty of censoring the truth by any means necessary.
In the year 2000, forty percent of these attacks were made by the FARC, who in spite of participating in peace talks with the government, had the highest number of kidnappings holding 18 journalists captive. Moreover, it is alleged that the FARC are responsible for the murder of two journalists and for carrying out seven attacks on press vehicles. In addition to these attacks, the FARC are responsible for the highest number of threats to journalists, including the retention of six foreign correspondents. Media directors have also been targets of threats and extortion. In 3 ocassions declared to the press like' military target', and 'extorsives kidnappings' target '.
One of those widespread threats that has made the FARC against the media directors was when they said that: "The bosses of the media have a debt with us, that will be charge it"; and in recent facts the spokesman of this subversive group ,Raul Reyes, said that 'the press is enemy of the peace', adding that this group (FARC) 'doesn't kidnap neither murder journalists', in spite of being responsible of 15% of the attacks to the press in the past decade.
On the other hand, the ELN kidnapping 8 journalists, with the typical and dangerous strategy of 'to retain' with the excuse of sending an official statement to the Government or to judge them for their form of presenting the news; also added to this subversive group 4 attacks to the press and their vehicles continued by threats.
The paramilitary group, United Self-defenses of Colombia, AUC, don't are behind, they are presumed authors of 4 murders to journalists (according to them because they're being to the guerrilla's service), the threats of at least 10 repoters and their exile, the attack to 2 and the kidnapping of 1 (Jineth Bedoya).
The National Army could be involved in the death of a journalist who presumably carried out an independent investigation; meanwhile units of the General Prosecutor's Office, broke into the television channel RCN in search of 'images'.
The National Government carried out 1 censorship, made together with the directive of television Caracol TV'S private channel, whom self-censorshiped a report on the kidnapping of policemen and soldiers by the FARC in what seems a ' concentration field Nazi', violating the Humanitarian International Rights.
The common delinquency is responsible of 3 robberies to journalists' groups: one to a magazine, another to an union of journalists and another to a production group; also 3 crimes.1 murder December 13 are for reasons and unknown authors
The civil population carries out 9 attacks to the press, 4 threats that stand out, 1 retention of a group of journalists, two murders presumably for personal reasons and 2 vetoes (Festival Vallenato and sportsmen's veto in Australia).
The FARC has 40% of attacks to the press; the AUC with 15%; the ELN with 14%; the National Army with 1%.
On the other hand the civilians population 13%; the National Government 10%; the common delinquency 6% and the media 1% with self censorships.
In total and according to information of Prensa Libre, during the year 2000, they were carried out 13 murders to journalists, between 7 and 8 of them could be caused by professional reasons, 2 for personal reasons, 3 for robberies.
Were carried out 26 kidnappings, most for the FARC and continued by the ELN.
20 direct threats to journalists and diffused officially, but the number is a higher and could overcome the 50, 3 general threats for the FARC, besides being known a study of the Observatory of media of the University of the Sabana, according to which 25% of directive of the media is under threats for the different groups that participate in the conflict.
Were carried out 36 direct attacks to journalists' groups, their staffs and their vehicles. 3 censorships,1 together with the Government and 2 of them self-censorships (El Espectador daily newspaper and Caracol TV) and 2 vetoes carried out for civilians.
8 retentions of foreign journalists for the FARC and reporters' groups covering news on the civilians displaced by the violence.
Officially Prensa Libre recognize a list of 10 journalists and members of the media that had to fled the country for threats due to their profession, however there's more than 2 journalists that don't want to figure in this report and 'real number' could overcome the 20.
The year 2000 was marked by the exile of the directive and journalist of the newspaper El Tiempo, Francisco Santos, because of threats and a murder plan by the FARC; the kidnapping of the tv news director 'Hora Cero' ,Guillermo Cortes, held by the FARC; the kidnapping, tortures and threats to the journalist of the daily newspaper El Espectador, Jineth Bedoya, presumably by the AUC; the censorship/self censorship by a private channel and the Government.
The Media more attacked in the 2000 (including murders, kidnappings, direct attacks, threats,etc) was television with 42 attacks, continued by written press with 20 attacks, radio with 13, 4 independent journalists and 2 press counselours.
The departments more dangerous for journalists are Cundinamarca, including Bogotá with 16 attacks; Antioquia with 9 attacks; Valle del Cauca with 8; Santander with 5; Caqueta, including the ' distension area' with 4; continued by Tolima, Guajira, Nariño, Arauca, Huila, Putumayo, among others.
Abroad also were attacked the Colombian journalists, in the 2000 were registered threats in the Peru to a journalist that had left Colombia because of threats; in USA the retention of a journalist who in spite of carring their documentation in order -like a news correspondent - was obstaculized her 'transit' for that country; in Australia a group of sportsmen refused to give declarations, censoring the journalists of the newspaper El Tiempo.
Because of the situation of the press in Colombia, the Interamerican Press Asociation, IAPA, created the Unit of Quick Action, conformed by a goup of journalists that will investigate the crimes against journalists together with the Unit of Human Rights of the General Prosecutor's Office; however the financial, technological and personal capacity of this division it's insufficient.
Finally and after 2 years of promises the National Government did start the program to protection of journalists that defend the human rights, but does it miss the program of protection for regional journalists (?) that was also included in the same promise. At the end of December the National Government said that would double the protection to journalists.
The regional correspondents are unprotected and in several cases they are ' videographers' that earn a living filming parties or municipal events at the same time that they take a risk covering the conflict without any official back up, many of these have been displaced by the few journalists ' full time ' that travel from Bogotá until the conflict areas.
The main factor of the attacks to the press is the worst political, social and economic crisis in the history of Colombia, a "country in war"; with 21% unemployment, wich has caused together with the violence and the insecurity the 'massive exodus' mainly in the last 2 years. "8600 (reads well: eight thousand six hundred) assassins just in Medellin" (El Tiempo, dic 3/00), they kill a journalist ' for free', for millions of colombian pesos (Jaime Garzon, murdered by 39 millions. Semana weekly magazine dec 17/00=19.500 dollars, 10 thousand pounds) and until sums that can go up of hundreds of million of colombian pesos (Alvaro Gomez, murdered by 800 million pesos. Semana weekly magazine dec 11/00=400 thousand dollars, 200 thousand pounds) or even for trade of narcotics, according to the danger that the journalist represents with their writings. 25 dangerous gangs in the downtown of Bogotá. More than 3000 (three thousand) kidnappings in the 2000 (Foundation Pais Libre), an average of 8 to 9 kidnappings per day". 5 fronts with 1500 new guerilla fighters in the group of the FARC (El Tiempo, dec 3/00), 1000 (a thousand) of them are children that don't overcome the 15 years old trained for the war in the ' area of distension' (it means area of 'dialogue for the peace'), among them, the girls are forced to have sexual relationships up to 5 guerilla fighters per day (RCN TV, dec 4/00). Meanwhile the ' distension area' was extended to January 31 of the 2001 despite of the continuous attacks to the press, to the civilians population with 7.091 victims of attacks to the Humanitarian Convention of Human Rights (Cinep 2000); the thousands of people who have been displaced because the violence, the opposition of the population's ninety percent to continue with the ' area of distension' (electronic poll Semana weekly magazine, dec 10/00) and the statement of the member of the the FARC 'Romaña' who has said openly that ' Peace won't sign '
Besides the fight between the subversive groups FARC, ELN and paramilitary AUC to dominate the cultivation and trade of the cocaine and heroine becoming the new 'Drug cartels' (Barry McCaffrey, dic 5/00) in areas like the Valle del Cauca, Guaviare, Guainia, Santander, Tolima, Putumayo,Amazonas and Caqueta, among others. According to a report of military intelligence, 15 fronts of the Farc are involved in drug traffic; the front ' Domingo Laín', of the ELN in Arauca; the front ' Catatumbo' and the block ' Centauros', of the AUC, in North of Santander. Just the FARC produces 89 tons of coca a year, it means, 89.600 kilos that take out of 16.000 hectares of cultivations of the leaf that are under their absolute power (El Espectador, dec 10/00) to be sold in United States and Europe or exchanged by weapons
The ' typical' phone threats continues and the lists of journalists to be threatened and murdered circulate in the hands of the FARC,ELN,AUC, among other, simply for ' presumme' that a journalist belong to an armed group
The economic and social crisis knocked out the television, the main broadcasters brought back the spaces to the CNTV ( registered economic lost as broadcasters); PUNCH, RTI, TEVECINE, JES, COESTRELLAS, JORGE BARON TELEVISIÓN, DFL,Y CENPRO; this caused the massive discharge of media members, and they are even bills in the congress to allow the ' commercial fusion' of broadcasters to overcome the difficult situation.
Some radial stations were also forced to create a ' fusion', some of them have just 3 journalists in their newsroom of 15 journalists that they had
Neither the press written is the exception, the new tax from the Government to import of paper and sales that will take to the bankruptcy to several editorial companies. The newspaper ' El Frente' of Bucaramanga closed their doors after 58 years due to the economic crash that caused the threats from the guerrilla groups to the companies with add in this paper
The silent victims besides the regional correspondents, are the press counselours who observe defenseless the acts of corruption in guvernamentals institutions
Besides the economic crisis of the media, the growing number of attacks to the press, the unmeployment, the insecurity, the wave of violence, is added the low salary of the journalists that goes from 280 thousand colombian pesos monthly (140 dollars ,70 pounds ,120 Euros) and with an average of 500 thousand Colombian pesos monthly (250 dollars, around 125 pounds, 220 Euros per month), just a few percentage overcome the million of pesos per month (500 dollars U$)
The countries with more Colombian journalists looking for asylum are: United States, Spain, England, France, Canada and Australia; ironically and according to data given to Prensa Libre, is more easy the ' asylum' for a member of the subversion that for a journalist.
The next year is expected an increment in the attacks to the press due to the worsening of the war which will continue placing the reporter like the ' sapo', the ' spy' of any group in conflict; the almost disappearance of the few groups of investigative journalists that were after the murder made by the ' traditional drugs cartels' in the eighties and nineties; besides the continuous massive discharge of the media people due to the dramatic political, social and economical crisis.
If you have any suggestions (even grammatical) to this document send an e-mail, ' without censorship'.
Next is a summary of the attacks to the press in Colombia in the year 2000, they have been "The News behind the News":(check the annual report in spanish)
ANNUAL REPORT 2000- SPANISH VERSION
COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS KILLED 2000
THIS IS HOW THE PRESS IS ATTACKED IN COLOMBIA
PRENSA LIBRE- Main Page
