Journalists in Mexico protesting against violence. (Photo courtesy of Knight Foundation)
The Inter-american Press Society (SIP) today condemned the recent murder of journalist Alberto L?pez Bello in Oaxaca, saying that the lack of protection for journalists leads to self-censorship.
SIP demanded that the government of Mexico investigate the crime and find solutions to the insecurity of the press and to punish the attacks on reporters.
L?pez Bello, 28, was a reporter for El Imparcial?of Oaxaca.?He was killed in the early hours of Wednesday, 17th July.?His body was found with various bullet wounds in the neighbourhood ?La Humedad? of Trinidad of Viguera, located close to the city of Oaxaca, alongside the body of Alejandro Franco Rojas, of the local Police.
The president of the Commision of Freedom of the Press and Information, Claudio Paolillo, responded that, ?cases like this demonstrate the inefficiency and fragility of government policies to guarantee the physical integrity of the journalists.?
Paolillo added: ?the inefficiency of the law to protect and the delays in punishing these acts of violence affect the quality and quantity of news that journalists can offer the citizens of Mexico. Afraid of the repercussions, the media and the journalists feel obligated to practice self-censorship as an act of survival.?
El Imparcial released a statement saying that this crime ?demonstrates the vulnerability journalists face daily in their work to provide accurate and timely information to the citizens.?
L?pez Bello had been covering police news for El Imparcial for the last six years, and his work is thought to be a possible motive for his murder.
In October 2007, three journalists from the same paper were killed in the city of Tuxtepec in Oaxaca, in a case that has still not been solved. The attack caused the closure of the news office in the area, which had been subject to constant threats by presumed members of criminal organisations.
The death of L?pez Bello occured only a couple of weeks after the body of Honduran journalist, An?bal Barrow, was found.
The director of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the death of Barrow, and said ?not punishing crimes of this type debilitates the freedom of expression.?
Juan Mairena, president of the Honduras Journalist Association, urged authorities to clarify ?whether or not the motive for his murder was his profession.?
Since the coup four years ago, which disposed democratically-elected president Manuel Zelaya, media repression in Honduras has been amongst the worst in the world.
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