Organizations release manifesto this Thursday for freedoms of the press and expression
June 19, 2013
Social organizations engaged in defending freedom of the press and human rights will hold a press conference this Thursday, June 20, in the headquarters of the São Paulo Union of Journalists, to discuss the recent violations of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the latest demonstrations for lower public transport fares.
Given the aggression and arrest of journalists and communicators who were covering the protests, the organizations will release a statement condemning the serious violations of the right of the press and the freedom of expression and demonstration, calling for concrete measures to determine responsibilities.
With this in mind, the signatory organizations of the statement reiterate the need, among other things, to create a working group on the state level to adopt specific measures to protect freedom of the press in demonstrations, with the recommended involvement of the Public Security Department, the Military Police and civil society organizations, including the Union of Journalists.
Representatives of the following organizations will be present at the press conference: Reporters without Borders, Conectas Human Rights, Aprendiz, Article 19 and the National Forum for the Democratization of Communication.
Event:
Press Conference
Date: July 20, at 2 p.m.
Venue: Auditorium of the São Paulo Union of Journalists
Address: Rua Rego Freitas, 530 – sobreloja.
More information:
Julia Dietrich (Aprendiz) – (11) 98931-8646
João Brant (Intervozes) – (11) 98635-9825
STATEMENT
The undersigned organizations representing journalists and defending human rights, concerned about guaranteeing freedom of the press and freedom of demonstration and expression, publicly express their:
• Condemnation of the serious violations of the freedoms of the press, demonstration and expression on account of the police violence that occurred in the recent protests for lower public transport fares in São Paulo, which resulted in more than twenty journalists being injured and two arrested. We understand that the violence not only came down to individual abuses, but it was encouraged by the statements of the public authorities and editorials in the media itself in support of a strong crackdown on the demonstration;
• Concern with the rising number of threats made to journalists by members of the Military Police, which is compounded by the fear that prevents the recipients from filing complaints;
• Condemnation of all the attempts to obstruct or prevent coverage of the events by journalists, including attempts by the demonstrators themselves;
Accordingly, we are calling for the following actions:
• Identification and prosecution of those responsible for all the acts of aggression that occurred in the recent demonstrations;
• A guarantee of freedom of demonstration in the city, with a review of the rules and procedures on the use of less-lethal weapons;
• Creation of a Working Group on the state level to adopt specific measures to protect freedom of the press, with the recommended involvement of the Public Security Department, the Military Police, the Union of Journalists and civil society organizations;
The organizations also consider it essential to monitor the Working Group on the protection of journalists of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic and to report cases to the OAS and UN special procedures on freedom of expression.
Finally, we would like to emphasize that violence against journalists and communicators is an affront not only to these professionals and the media outlets involved, but also to the right of all society to be informed.
Article 19
Conectas
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
Oboré Projetos Especiais
Palavra Aberta Institute
Reporters Without Borders
Rodrigues Barbosa, Mac Dowell de Figueiredo, Gasparian Advogados
UNIC-United Nations Information Center
Unirr (Union and Inclusion in Radio Networks)
Vladimir Herzog Institute
Learn more:
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