Headlines, Human Rights, Latin America & the Caribbean, Press Freedom

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-MEXICO: Stalked By Death

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, May 2 2006 (IPS) - Since Mexican President Vicente Fox took office in December 2000, 15 journalists have been killed in the line of duty, five were murdered for reasons unrelated to their work and two are missing.

The deaths of these journalists, added to the self-imposed censorship adopted by media workers in Mexico for fear of violent reprisals, and the recent passage of media laws that “restrict the right to freedom of expression,” have generated deep concern, Amerigo Incalcaterra, the local representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said on Tuesday.

According to studies by the non-governmental Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET), 121 media workers have been killed in Mexico since 1970. The largest number of victims (46) were killed during the administration of president Carlos Salinas (1988-1994).

CEPET reported that 15 reporters have been murdered during Fox’s administration, which ends in December, and listed the names of the victims, their jobs, and the circumstances of their deaths.

The wave of murders of journalists is attributed to violent drug trafficking gangs, which are especially active in northern Mexico along the border with the United States.

We trust “that the State will take the necessary measures to protect and guarantee press freedom, which is essential for the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in this country,” Incalcaterra said.

On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Incalcaterra took part in a conference on the issue this Tuesday, alongside Leonarda Reyes, the director of CEPET, and Carlos Castillo, with the office of the Special Prosecutor to Investigate Crimes Against Journalists.

According to Reyes, the government “has been ineffective in the fight against organised crime,” and this has led to the killing of media workers.

CEPET is waging an ongoing campaign against the violence that journalists face in Mexico, and demands government action.

Under pressure from the outcry triggered by the murders, the Fox administration set up the Special Prosecutor’s office in February. Its director, Castillo, said that his office needs more time to prove its effectiveness.

However, he recognised that there are obstacles, as it is not easy to demonstrate the connection between murders of journalists and the work they were doing.

The Inter American Press Association states that the most dangerous area today for journalists to work in is the north of Mexico, where drug traffickers kill, kidnap and threaten reporters with impunity.

In one of the latest incidents, in February, two hooded assailants entered the premises of El Mañana, a local daily newspaper in the city of Nuevo Laredo, on the U.S. border, where they fired more than 30 shots and threw a grenade, seriously wounding one of the journalists.

Reporters and media outlets in northern Mexico, including El Mañana, acknowledge that in the present climate of fear and threats, they have opted for self-censorship when reporting on drug trafficking.

Most of the crimes against journalists go unpunished, as do nearly all those committed by gangs of drug traffickers.

International organisations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Frontiers, warn that journalism is one of the most dangerous occupations in Mexico today.

However, they recognise that the State itself is not now guilty of exerting undue pressure on freedom of expression and of the press, in contrast to the seven decades – from 1929 to 2000 – when Mexico was governed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

But while progress has been made, “it is a matter of concern to find that freedom of opinion and expression is still threatened, by physical attacks on journalists and other media workers,” Incalcaterra insisted.

So far this year, the OHCHR has registered three murders of journalists, three attacks and five death threats.

Incalcaterra said that another cause for concern about freedom of expression in Mexico was the approval of new laws governing radio and television, in March.

According to the OHCHR representative, the media reforms approved by legislators and signed into law by President Fox “limit and restrict the rights to freedom of opinion and speech.”

The laws were passed amid intense lobbying by the Televisa and TV Azteca media giants, whose hold over most of the broadcasting spectrum was strengthened by the new legislation.

Under the new rules, broadcasters who already operate given frequencies can extend their use to provide digital services of all kinds, simply by notifying the government. But potential competitors will have to bid for broadcasting frequencies in public tenders.

There is no provision in the new laws for educational media, sponsored by the federal government, local governments and public universities, or independent broadcasters such as community radio stations.

Incalcaterra said that the new legislation enshrines “pre-eminently economic criteria, to the detriment of freedom of speech and information.”

Legislators who opposed the new laws are preparing to bring a suit before the Supreme Court, arguing that they are unconstitutional.