Director-General condemns murder of Mexican journalists Felicitas Martínez Sánchez and Teresa Bautista Merino
11-04-2008 (Paris)
Stop killing journalists
© UNESCO
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koďchiro Matsuura, today condemned the murder of community radio announcers Felicitas Martínez Sánchez and Teresa Bautista Merino who were shot dead in an ambush in the state of Oaxaca, in southeast Mexico, on 7 April.
“I condemn the murder of Felicitas Martínez Sánchez and Teresa Bautista Merino,” said the Director-General. “Killing journalists is a heinous crime which harms the whole of society as it undermines the democratic right of citizens to hold informed debate and make informed political choices.”
Felicitas Martínez Sánchez (21) and Teresa Bautista Merino (24), were ambushed on a highway in Oaxaca state. Four other people were injured in the attack.
According to the Mexican National Center for Social Communication (CENCOS), and Article 19, the journalists were killed while on a reporting assignment for their community radio, La Voz que Rompe el Silencio, which is based in San Juan Copala, in Oaxaca, and employs young adults and teenagers from the Triqui indigenous community.
UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this purpose the Organization is required to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”
Felicitas Martínez Sánchez (21) and Teresa Bautista Merino (24), were ambushed on a highway in Oaxaca state. Four other people were injured in the attack.
According to the Mexican National Center for Social Communication (CENCOS), and Article 19, the journalists were killed while on a reporting assignment for their community radio, La Voz que Rompe el Silencio, which is based in San Juan Copala, in Oaxaca, and employs young adults and teenagers from the Triqui indigenous community.
UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this purpose the Organization is required to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”
Related themes/countries
· Mexico
· Press Freedom: News Archives 2008
· UNESCO Remembers Assassinated Journalists: News Archives 2008
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- UNESCO Press Release No.2008-26
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