Saturday, April 23, 2011

Bolivia journalist's body found

The body of David Niño de Guzman, missing in La Paz since 19 April, has been found in La Paz. An explosive charge was apparently used to kill him.

Niño de Guzman was the news director for Agencia de Noticias Fides (ANF), Bolivia’s oldest and most important news agency. He worked for 16 years for various media outlets in Bolivia. He was 42, married and the father of two. 

Reporters Without Borders urged investigators not to rule out the possibility that he was killed in connection with his work. Media associations in Bolivia called on the government, which does not have a successful history of investigating crime, to thoroughly investigate the death. Bolivia's Vice-President, Alvaro Garcia Linera, called on the police to move quickly to clarify the case. 

Garcia Linera's cynicism is astounding: The first thing he should do is tell President Evo Morales to stop his constant attacks on the Bolivian media. Morales, like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, regularly describes the press as his principal "enemy." 

Attacks against journalists in Bolivia are constant and increasing. The Morales government has helped to create an environment where impunity abounds and respect for the rule of law is undermined. 



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