RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Society Demands that FARC Release Reporters

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Yadira Ferrer

BOGOTA, Nov 6 1999 (IPS) - Residents of the northeastern Colombian oil town and port of Barrancabermeja are holding a march Tuesday demanding that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) release four reporters and three photo-journalists taken hostage.

In a communique, the Association of Journalists of Barrancabermeja (APB) described the kidnapping of their colleagues as “an attack on freedom of the press,” and asked local radio and TV stations to make three five-minute breaks in their daily programming as a sign of protest.

A FARC commando kidnapped reporters Aldemar Luna, Wilson Lozano, Idamis Acero and Blanca Herrera and cameramen Frank Chagualá, Jhon Leon and Reynaldo Patiño last Friday.

FARC – the largest rebel group active in Colombia’s armed conflict – said the journalists were taken captive to report on “the outrages” committed by paramilitaries in the northern department of Bolívar, where human rights activists predict an intensification of clashes between armed groups.

Despite the fact that Luna’s work often took him to the departments of Bolívar and Magdalena, whenever his parents expressed concern, he always reassured them that he would continue to receive good treatment by the parties to the conflict.

The president of the APB, Luis Fuentes, demanded the immediate release of Luna and the rest of the hostages, stressing that “it is not under threat from guns” that journalists will be able to report on what is occurring.

Archbishop of Cali Héctor Henao urged the armed groups to reflect on “the need to humanise the war” and leave civilians out of the armed conflict, “especially those who, like communicators, provide a service to the community.”

Henao told IPS that “reporters, who through their work seek to ensure that Colombians know what is happening in the country, can in no way be held responsible for the conflict.”

The archbishop emphasised that in order for journalists to be able to fulfill their function of reporting on the war, they need broad autonomy and independence, which cannot exist when pressure is applied.

Henao also condemned last week’s kidnapping of news reporter Henry Romero – who works for the international news agency Reuters – by the National Liberation Army (ELN), the second largest insurgent organisation.

Romero was taken captive Oct 26 on the outskirts of the city of Cali, accused of disseminating a photo taken during an operation by the rebel group in which the face of “commander Nicolás” could be seen and identified.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) condemned Romero’s kidnapping, and urged Colombian authorities “to secure his release and punish those reponsible.”

The Inter-American Press Society, which links communications media from throughout the Americas, stated in a communique that “reporters have the right to work without anyone standing in their way,” because “they are not involved in the conflict, and must be independent.”

The Bishop of Barrancabermeja, Jaime Prieto, described as “unacceptable” the retention of reporters by guerrillas under the argument that the journalists were needed to report on rebel activities and other developments.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia stated that “the deplorable practice of retaining hostages” is an “extremely grave attack against freedom of expression, and an unacceptable disregard of international humanitarian law.”

Respect for international humanitarian law, which stipulates that non-combatant civilians must not be targeted in armed conflicts, is one of the points that non-governmental organisations will seek to get included on the agenda of the peace talks that FARC and the government began to discuss Tuesday.

According to the non-governmental Guillermo Cano Foundation, in a country with such widespread violence like Colombia, it is no surprise that reporters are also the target of attacks.

Along with the kidnappings and other threats by armed groups, “the disregard by authorities” and selective assassinations “aggravate the situation of freedom of expression in Colombia,” the Foundation stated at a forum held earlier this year.

Reporters Without Borders reported that six journalists had been killed in the line of duty in Colombia so far this year.

According to human rights organisations, in the past two decades 125 journalists have been killed in Colombia, where an average of 25,000 people are killed annually, and 1.5 million have been displaced from their homes as a result of the violence.