“If you value your children, stop bothering the people above.”
That was the simple instruction delivered earlier this week to newspaper editor José Rubén Zamora by an armed man holding a pistol to the Guatemalan journalist’s head as his children were beaten in front of his eyes.
Later the same day, a shaken Zamora was back at his desk at the newspaper El Periodico determined not to submit to strong-arm tactics.
He is convinced the incident is yet another attempt to silence him and his newspaper, because of El Periodico’s policy of uncovering corruption in high places.
“I have no other choice but to continue working to inform the Guatemalan people of what is going on,” he said.
“Yes, I fear for the safety of my family, and I have personally suffered aggression in the past, but we are all vulnerable to delinquency in this country and I have a duty to carry on,” he added.
This latest incident was one of the most alarming acts of aggression against the editor of the independent newspaper in recent years.
Zamora says the armed gang of 11 men and one woman burst into his home as his family was having breakfast at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
He was stripped, blindfolded, and tied up by the gang before being forced to kneel on the floor. A gun was held to his head and a rifle to his back, as his three sons, ages 13, 18, and 26, were bundled into a bedroom, held at gunpoint and beaten.
“You have to be smart,” he was told. “You have something valuable — your children. I don’t know who you’ve annoyed high up the ladder, but we have orders that someone up high despises you. Whatever you do, do not report this.”
The ordeal lasted three hours. As soon as the attackers left, Zamora alerted the authorities, the U.S. and German embassies, and supporters of El Periodico worldwide.
The U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, John R. Hamilton, visited the editor the same day and described the attack as “violent and barbaric.” He said the crime was a blow to all journalists “and to the good name of Guatemala.”
“It is an imperative and fundamental part of democracy that all journalists practice their profession free from threats, intimidation, and violence,” he said, as he called on the government of Guatemala to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.
Gonzalo MarroquÃn, Director of Prensa Libre, another leading Guatemalan daily, said the attack was an act of intimidation against the freedom of the press. “This shows us the degree of insecurity in the country,” he said.
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN), which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, has written to Guatemala’s President, Alfonso Portillo, asking him to do everything in his power to protect journalists who are exercising their right to inform.
“We respectfully remind you that it is the duty of the state to provide an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their professional duties without fear of attack and intimidation. Such incidents foster a climate of fear that inhibits journalistic investigation and can promote self-censorship.
“We respectfully call on you to ensure that the attack on Mr. Zamora and his family is fully and impartially investigated and that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice,” the WAN statement concluded.
In November 2002, government inspectors arrived at the offices of El Periodico to begin a 40-day audit of the newspaper’s accounts.
The visit followed El Periodico’s publication of an article, which was the culmination of eight years of research, claiming the Portillo government was benefiting financially from mafia activities, including trafficking in narcotics, kidnapping, and extortion.
Zamora and El Periodico are still waiting to hear if any action is to follow that audit.
In the meantime, the newspaper is continuing to work toward the publication of an online edition, which Zamora sees as an “insurance policy for press freedom.”
His view is that it will be harder to attempt to silence the independent newspaper if its words are being read globally, rather than just within the borders of Guatemala.
The online version of El Periodico is due to launch later this year.
