Journalism in Valle del Cauca – terror, economic pressure and self-censorship

Terrorized and pressured economically, journalists censor themselves in the southwestern department of Valle del Cauca, according to a joint report on freedom of information in this region that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER) released today. RSF and FECOLPER have registered two murders of journalists and one attempted murder in Colombia since the start of the year, confirming the country’s status as one of the most dangerous in the western hemisphere for media personnel. After Edgar Quintero, a journalist with local Radio Luna, was murdered in Palmira, a city in Valle del Cauca, on 2 March, the two NGOs decided to carry out a joint visit to the department to document the challenges facing journalists there. They visited the cities of Buenaventura and Palmira from 13 to 15 March, meeting local government officials, more than 50 journalists, representatives of two journalists’ organizations and civil society representatives. “There is no getting away from it – journalists in Valle del Cauca face brutal violence by paramilitary and guerrilla groups as well as stifling economic pressure,” said Claire San Filippo, the head of RSF’s Americas desk. “Some are reduced to censoring themselves for fear of reprisals, while others are forced to move to a different location. Without independent, impartial and thorough investigations into the threats and violence against them, and without an effective and coordinated policy of protection, Colombian journalists will continue to work in fear.” A total of 29 journalists have been killed in Valle del Cauca since 1980, including 12 in Cali (the departmental capital), five in Cartago and four in Buenaventura. “We censor ourselves because they kill or ‘make you disappear’,” said Adriana Minota of Radio Voz del Pacífico. “Even if there are now fewer murders, you hear of more and more people going missing. The criminals know when you are going to cover certain stories. Some control you by means of fear. When you know what happened to other threatened journalists, you obviously worry.” As well as the violence, freedom of information is significantly limited by the conditions placed on state advertising. The lack of regulation and fairness in its distribution continues to be a problem. The authorities continue to use the allocation of advertising as lever for favouring or punishing media according to their editorial policies. “People in high places call us to tell us what they liked and didn’t like,” said Adriana Restrepo Valencia, a journalist with online TV station Palmitveo Colombia. “If you’re a journalist, you cannot work without being subjected to pressure in Palmira.” Read the full report here  Colombia is ranked 128th out of 180 countries in the press freedom index that Reporters Without Borders released in February.