Colombia anti-riot police attack two regional journalists, erase material
Source: Colombia Reports
Colombia anti-riot police attack two regional journalists, erase material
posted by Taran Volckhausen
Jan 17, 2014
Two regional journalists covering a land eviction in central Colombia were attacked by anti-riot police (ESMAD), causing injuries and the “censure” of materials, according to a report released Thursday by the Foundation for Press Liberty (FLIP).
The alleged attack occurred on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., when ESMAD agents began evicting residents in Villa Estadio, in the municipality of San Pedro, Sucre. The two journalists, Robert Romero, from local station Meridiano de Sucre, and his wife Yila Aguilera, who works for a local television station, were filming the the confrontation between community members and ESMAD.
“The situation started getting out of control and I told my wife to stop filming and to go seek refuge in a nearby house. A little bit later I returned to grab my camera and to take photos and the police launched rubber bullets at me, one hit me in the ear and the other in abdomen,” said Romero.
Although Aguilera had taken refuge in the house, according to the journalists’ report, the police entered the building and beat the reporters.
“We shouted at them, ‘we’re journalists,’ and with rude words they responded ‘dogs don’t matter here neither do journalists’ and continued with the aggression. They beat us on the back, abdomen, arms and face,” said Romero. According to the journalists’ account, Yila lost consciousness resulting from repeated blows and the tear gas launched at the couple.
Read more: http://colombiareports.co/colombia-anti-riot-police-attack-two-regional-journalists-erase-material/
U.S. Policy in Colombia
Amnesty International USA has been calling for a complete cut off of US military aid to Colombia for over a decade due to the continued collaboration between the Colombian Armed Forces and their paramilitary allies as well the failure of the Colombian government to improve human rights conditions.
Colombia has been one of the largest recipients of US military aid for well over a decade and the largest in the western hemisphere. Since 1994, AIUSA has called for a complete cut off of all US military aid until human rights conditions improve and impunity is tackled. Yet torture, massacres, "disappearances" and killings of non-combatants are widespread and collusion between the armed forces and paramilitary groups continues to this day. In 2006, US assistance to Colombia amounted to an estimated $728 million, approximately 80% of which was military and police assistance.
More:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/colombia/us-policy-in-colombia