Mex - Two journalists of TV Azteca still missing | México |
19 September 2007
Two journalists of TV Azteca still missing; IAPA calls for more
vigorous
investigation
SOURCE: Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Miami
**Updates IFEX alerts of 19 July and 15 May 2007**
(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is an IAPA press release:
IAPA reiterates concern for disappearance of two Mexican
journalists
MIAMI, Florida (September 19, 2007) - The Inter American Press
Association
(IAPA) expressed again today its concern for the May 10 disappearance
of
journalists Gamaliel López and Gerardo Paredes of TV Azteca Noroeste and
at
the lack of progress in the investigations into their
whereabouts.
López is a reporter and Paredes a cameraman for the TV station located
in
Monterrey, in the northern Mexico state of Nuevo León. According to
information gathered by the IAPA, López was preparing reports on
urban
problems in Monterrey and had previously covered executions in the
area.
Neither of the two was known to have received threats.
Their disappearance was reported to the Nuevo León state attorney's
office
on May 14 but to date it is not known what official investigations
have
produced, according to a complaint to the IAPA by Ricardo Salinas,
president of the Salinas Group, which owns the television
station.
Gonzalo Marroquín, chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the
Press
and Information, and Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, chairman of the
Anti-Impunity Committee, urged state and federal authorities to pursue
a
more vigorous investigation to locate the missing journalists and
identify
and bring to justice those responsible for their disappearance. They
took
the opportunity to reiterate the IAPA's concern at the continuing
violence
unleashed against journalists in Mexico.
Marroquín, editor of the Guatemala City, Guatemala, newspaper Prensa
Libre,
declared, "It is time that the Mexican authorities show their commitment
to
eradicate violence so that freedom of the press may prevail in Mexico
without fear of reprisals."
Ealy Ortiz, president of the newspaper El Universal in Mexico City,
said
that "the IAPA offers its support to the missing journalists' families
and
colleagues. It is our duty to demand of the authorities that they spare
no
effort until the whereabouts of López and Parades are known."
Nuevo León state is regarded as one of the most dangerous places in
Mexico
for its ongoing battles between drug cartels.
Journalists murdered in Mexico this year include Saúl Martínez Ortega
in
Sonora and Amado Ramírez in Guerrero; still missing are Rodolfo
Rincón
Taracena, José Antonio García Apac, Rafael Ortiz Martínez and Alfredo
Jiménez Mota.
For further information, contact Ricardo Trotti or Melba Jimenez at
IAPA,
Jules Dubois building, 1801 S.W. 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129
United
States, tel: +1 305 634 2465, fax: +1 305 635 2272, e-mail:
info@sipiapa.org, rtrotti@sipiapa.org, mjimenez@sipiapa.org,
Internet:
The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility
of
IAPA. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit
IAPA.
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