MEXICO: ARTICLE 19 AND CENCOS UNVEIL CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS

MEXICO: ARTICLE 19 AND CENCOS UNVEIL CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS

Last month, veteran crime reporter José Armando Rodríguez was shot to deathat his home in Ciudad Juárez on the Texas border, setting off another roundof condemnation from IFEX members about the relentless violence that isstifling critical journalism in Mexico. According to ARTICLE 19-Mexico and the National Center for SocialCommunication (CENCOS), Rodríguez is the 13th journalist to be killed inMexico this year alone. His murder cements Mexico's position as the mostdangerous country in the Americas for journalists and media professionals,even surpassing Colombia. And like the other 12 murders of journalists inMexico this year, impunity prevails: Rodríguez's killers have not beenbrought to justice. With the government doing little to protect its journalists, ARTICLE19-Mexico and CENCOS launched their own campaign last week against thebrutal and targeted killing of their colleagues. "Te hace daño no saber"("What you don't know can hurt you") is the slogan of their nationwidecampaign to protect journalists in Mexico and, by default, the "right ofsociety as a whole to be informed." "Journalists are under fire because of the work they do ... Their presencehas become uncomfortable for drug cartels, police and authorities up to thefederal level. The campaign seeks to ensure that violence againstjournalists and impunity become a national outcry, and a national priorityagainst which all actors will take action," said ARTICLE 19, which, withCENCOS, presented the campaign on the occasion of the 60th anniversary ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The campaign already has the backing of more than a dozen national andinternational civil society organisations that have already "carried outvarious actions to make visible the problems in (the) country." Theyinclude IFEX members the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters(AMARC), the Center for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET) and ReportersWithout Borders (RSF). It also boasts the support of high-profile press freedom advocates. Guestsat the launch included Lydia Cacho, a Mexican reporter who has been thetarget of death threats, sabotage, defamation suits and police harassmentbecause of her work uncovering prostitution and child pornography networks,and Rosa Isela Caballero, the wife of journalist José Antonio García Apac.García disappeared two years ago in Michoacán. In the early stages of the campaign, CENCOS and ARTICLE 19 have unveiled a"Practical Guide on Freedom of Expression in Mexico" - a backgrounder thatgives a history of free expression in the country, detailed info on whichpolitical and judicial organisations protect free expression, and even anannex of violations this year. They have also released a guide on how todocument and monitor attacks on journalists - and methodologies they andothers in the industry have used. All of this and more are available on the"What you don't know can hurt you" campaign website:http://www.libertad-expresion.org.mx/materiales.php ARTICLE 19 and CENCOS said their next step is to replicate the campaign inother countries in the region, such as in Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondurasand Nicaragua - where violence against media workers and violation of thepublic right to know are endemic. Their overall objective is to strengthenlocal capacities and build a continent-wide protection network. "It is time for journalist organisations, media owners and directors toassume their role in demanding the level of safety needed to truly exercisepress freedom," said ARTICLE 19. "The core demands have to come fromwithin."

Visit these links:- "What you don't know can hurt you": http://tinyurl.com/5lr9vz - ARTICLE 19: http://tinyurl.com/584znl- CENCOS: http://tinyurl.com/5c4wbf- IFEX Mexico page: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/97/