PRESS FREEDOM DAY –  30 Years On

Thirty years ago – on May 3, 1993 – the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed International Press Freedom Day, which is none other than the right to receive and share information through the media. In Panama, as usual, there is little to celebrate, since the setback that press freedom has suffered in recent years spans decades: photos of sinister characters that, by express orders, cannot be published; seizures of media assets; public information that is deliberately being withheld; complaints, lawsuits and fines against the media and journalists as if it were a sport; lack of accountability of officials; smear campaigns, in short, a whole scaffolding of outrages against the press to hide everything. The good news is that, despite all this effort to cover up scandals, the media continues to reveal and denounce the most atrocious robbery we have seen in recent years. Journalists will continue doing the work that government after government, the friends of others or their accomplices want to hinder. Let them know: we are not going to stop or be intimidated with their harassment and intimidation. –  LA PRENSA, May, 3.