Organization of American States
www.oas.org

C-020/02
January 31, 2002     

SECRETARY GENERAL CONDEMNS TERRORIST
ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS IN COLOMBIA

Secretary General César Gaviria today issued a statement on behalf of the Organization of American States (OAS), condemning the terrorist attacks carried out against Colombian media establishments over the last few days.   He said not only are those attacks "a threat against the journalists' right to life but they also disregard, and threaten, their right to free expression—rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights."  

Gaviria declared that "the assassination of newspaper reporter Marco Antonio Ayala, in addition to the cowardly assault on Orlando Sierra Hernández, a deputy editor at La Patria newspaper, and the bombing of the Caracol news network demonstrate the kind of barbarism these violent groups have unleashed on Colombia's media." 

Expressing solidarity with the victims and their families, the OAS Secretary General added:  "While these intimidatory tactics violate the human right rights of the victims and citizens alike, they also threaten freedom of the press and freedom of expression." 

The OAS is working closely with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to press for an investigation into the attacks, to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice under Colombia's laws, separate and apart from any action the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Court of Human Rights may take.

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