Apr
Human Rights
ARPAS: Freedom of Speech is a priority
On Monday, ARPAS published an editorial that we have translated to English:
The Roundtable for the Protection of Journalists and the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) warn about the increased, repeated and systematic violations of freedom of expression and information in the country, which represent clear signs of democratic deterioration.
In separate statements published this morning, the organizations that defend freedom of speech and the journalistic union draw attention to digital attacks against journalists and critical media, restrictions on access to information and the recent end of in-depth analysis programs.
Among these spaces is FOCOS, a tele-magazine with an in-depth analysis of the national and international situation that was broadcast on Channel 33 and was taken off the air suddenly and “without the possibility of negotiation”, as publicly denounced by its hosts.
For the Roundtable, this “constitutes a violation of freedom of the press, the citizens’ right to information and the exercise of independent journalism”. “It is an act of censorship that sets off alarms about serious setbacks in freedom of speech, human rights and democracy,” says the statement released by the organizations working for freedom of speech.
The roundtable also denounces “exclusion from the advertising schedule of the media not aligned with the government narrative” and illegitimate pressure on media companies to close spaces of information and critical debate on the situation of the country”.
APES, on the other hand, warns that disqualification, stigmatization and expressions of intolerance towards journalists and the media could soon lead to physical violence.
The statement entitled “Dark days are coming for freedom of expression and the press” points out the “consolidation of a single media discourse that does not always adhere to the truth and, furthermore, promotes total intolerance towards criticism and stigmatizes the independent press”.
For this reason, the roundtable and APES ask the Salvadoran citizens and the international community “to pay attention to what is happening in the country regarding freedom of speech and information and to do everything necessary to avoid the worst scenario: the total installation of an authoritarian regime”.
In this editorial we support the call of the roundtable and APES, we endorse the complaint about the government’s disrespect for freedom of speech and we demand that the other State agencies guarantee this fundamental principle of democracy, especially that the Prosecutor’s Office investigate such violations and that the Legislative Assembly (outgoing and incoming) approve the urgent regulations on comprehensive protection for journalists and those related to State advertising that are already under discussion at the Assembly.
Because freedom of spreech is a priority, we certainly hope so.
