supreme court of uruguay Announce In October, it will support the formation of a roundtable on the safety of journalists in the country. The news comes amid an increase in isolated incidents targeting the media.
this proposal It was produced by the Uruguay Press Association (APU) at the “Day of Journalists and Media Workers” celebrations held at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the founding of the APU. The roundtable aims to “strengthen peace, democracy and sustainable development” and is endorsed by UNESCO, the Ministry of the Interior and the Attorney General’s Office.
Dr. John Pérez Brignani, Minister of the Supreme Court, who attended the celebrations, declared: “Journalists must work together to defend freedom of expression and safeguard their own safety, which is essential to preserve press freedom . “A democratic country governed by law.” ”
Álvaro Pan Cruz, director of the APU and president of the Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Journalists (FEPALC), explained in an interview latin america report The roundtable was proposed after the APU noted an increase in attacks against journalists in recent years. These attacks took many forms, including ridicule, stalking and threats against journalists.
While Ban acknowledged that the incidents appeared to be “isolated,” he explained that “we don't want the situation to continue to escalate and develop to other levels,” citing Paraguay as an example. He explained that in Paraguay, isolated incidents against journalists escalated and became more common, until the situation was “so severe that it was difficult to reverse.” This led to the establishment of something similar to the Uruguay Round Table.
The Uruguay Roundtable is still working out the clear measures that will be taken and will seek to implement them after the second round of elections later this month. For now, Pan explained, APU has “laid the cornerstone” of a roundtable that seeks to be “multidisciplinary” and represent “multiple actors.”
The number of attacks and violations against journalists in Uruguay doubled between May 2023 and May 2024: Ban said there are several reasons for this. He considered the attitude of President Louis Lacalle Pou’s government towards the media as a contributing factor, recalling that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “this government held regular press conferences and attended meetings in a manner other than arriving, entering and Participate. Instead, there is a choice. [of journalists] Enter every time. Not everyone comes in and not everyone asks questions. ” Pan described it as “a clever way of limiting journalism.”
Pan also believes that hostility toward journalists may be fueled by collaborations between big media outlets and large corporations. “Media laws favor a degree of concentration in the hands of a few,” he added, “and increasingly large media organizations are no longer news companies themselves, but are responding to companies suddenly working on other topics.”
Discussing the importance of protecting Uruguay's democratic values, Ban referred to the conditions that gave rise to Uruguay's 1973-1985 dictatorship. He explained that the dictatorship was “in collusion with politicians from traditional parties.” He emphasized that due to the complicity of both parties, the dictatorship in Uruguay was called a “citizen-military dictatorship”.
So while Ban believes Uruguay “deserves” the outside world's perception of it as a country where democracy and freedom of expression are protected due to the country's “defense of values,” he explained that the roundtable was convened “because there are There are some signs that this democracy and respect for institutions is being undermined.”
“If we want to continue to be seen as a strong democracy that respects institutions and independent journalism, then we need to work on that,” Ban concluded.
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