MIAMI, Florida
(June 14, 2000)-The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today
repudiated an accusation by a Colombian guerrilla that the news
media in his country are not supporting efforts to bring an end
to armed conflict there and his remarks about the kidnapping of
journalists.
Raúl Reyes, spokesman of the self-styled Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) was quoted by the Bogotá newspaper
El Tiempo as saying at a conference at the University of Alcalá
de Henares in Madrid, Spain, that "the media have no commitment
to the peace process because they make irresponsible accusations,
misinform and create skepticism."
He criticized
the media coverage of his guerrilla movement, adding, "They
are a business sector that is doing nothing for peace…. they
back the system and are against dialogue. They are not seen to have
any commitment to the peace process."
Reyes accused
the media of being "the principal cause of the majority"
of Colombias ills and, referring to the kidnapping of journalists
there, declared that "if a journalist has money, he should
pay a levy."
The chairman
of the IAPAs Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information,
Rafael Molina, of El Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic,
called Reyes comments "threatening and totalitarian, revealing
a total disregard for freedom of the press and a lack of awareness
of the role that the news media play in a pluralist society."
"Colombia
is a country where journalists have seen more than 80 of their colleagues
murdered, thousands of assaults, kidnappings, the unending exodus
of journalists, a dozen attacks on media property, all the result
of violence engendered by the guerrillas and drug traffickers -
a different picture than the one Reyes paints," Molina added.
He defended
the Colombian press as always having "shown courage and carried
out its role ethically and professionally."
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