Don't shoot the press: Argentine photojournalists protest in front of Congress
Argentine photojournalists held a demonstration this morning in front of the nation's Congress in Buenos Aires to protest police violence against members of the press.
The demonstration, called a Camarazo - a show of force by camera - was called by ARGRA (Association of Argentine Graphic Reporters) and SIPREBA (Press Union of Buenos Aires).
The event sought to highlight efforts by journalists to cover last week's protests against a pension reform bill sponsored by the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration - and the attacks suffered by the press and peaceful demonstrators alike at the hands of federal forces commanded by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.
A reported 36 members of the press were injured on the day of the bill's passage on December 18, including 24 by police rubber bullets and one (Suyai Serrano of the state news agency Télam) who was run over by a police motorcycle.
Another five were injured by what ARGRA and SIPREBA consider inciting agents - a tactic previously shown to have been used by Bullrich during protests in September over the apparent murder of activist Santiago Maldonado.
Seven journalists were also detained.
"Macri and Bullrich are responsible for at least 30 police attacks against the press," SIPREBA Human Rights director Tomás Eliaschev said. "They fire at the press because they wish to trample people's rights with impunity."
Eliaschev added that radio journalist Oscar Delgado was detained four days ago while covering a protest by sugar workers in the northwestern province of Jujuy seeking better wages, and remains in prison without charges.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern over the inappropriate and indiscriminate use of force by federal security agents in Argentina
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Argentine photojournalists protest in front of Congress over police attacks on the press during last week's protests against Macri's pension cutbacks.
Some 30 journalists were wounded and seven were detained.
