Excmo. Sr. Juan Manuel Santos
President of the Republic of Colombia
Sr. Eduardo Montealegre
Attorney General of Colombia
General Oscar Adolfo Naranjo Trujilio
Advisory Minister for Post Conflict, Human Rights and Security
Dear Sirs:
We are deeply troubled to learn of the murders of two radio journalists, Luis Peralta and Edgar Quintero. We are also concerned for the safety of radio journalist Geovanny Canacué who has been intimidated and threatened.
On February 14, Luis Peralta, the owner of local radio station, Linda Stéreo in El Doncello, Caquetá Department, was shot in the head three times by two gunmen who entered his home about 6pm. He hosted his own broadcasts and often covered alleged cases of corruption. During the week before he had told his colleague, Geovanny Canacué, that he had been threatened. (Geovanny Canacué has also been the target of frequent intimidation attempts in the past six years and has had to relocate several times as a security measure.)
On March 2, an unidentified gunman on a motorcycle shot Edgar Quintero multiple times as he was entering a bakery near the offices of Radio Luna, the local radio station where he worked in Palmira, Valle del Cauca Department. He often criticized local government and police officials on his program and discussed sensitive corruption issues.
The above killings and threats again highlight the dangers to which journalists are exposed in Colombia. The internationally respected Committee to Protect Journalists has a record of 42 journalists killed in Colombia since 1996. Fifty-seven percent of those journalists were reporting on corruption in the Colombian government, and 31% were covering human rights. As a result of the generalized impunity, journalists work in fear, and the families of victims are unable to obtain justice (cf our letter of Dec 24, 2014).
Therefore, we strongly urge that you
- order full and impartial investigations into the deaths of Edgar Quintero and Luis Peralta, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice;
- provide protection for Geovanny Canacúe, in strict accordance with his wishes;
- protect journalists so that they can work without fear and that families of victims can obtain justice;
- dismantle paramilitary groups and break their links with the security forces, in line with repeated United Nations human rights recommendations.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine Stonebraker-Martinez
Co-Coordinators
