Rightwing militants force Colombian reporter to flee town

A reporter of Colombian newspaper Vanguardia Liberal has been forced to flee home after receiving death threats for reporting on abuses by right-wing militants. Jenny Manrique fled Bucaramanga in the western province of Santander in January.

ALWAYS ON GUARD: Police officers stand guard in Rivera, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, Colombia, February 28. Eight town council officials were killed in a bold attack by leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Manrique, who coordinated the supplement "'Séptimo día" for the newspaper, had urged the Committee to Protect journalists (CPJ) to keep her flight secret for fear of reprisal. After Vanguardia Liberal published allegations of surveillance and phone tapping by state security agents last week she decided to go public.

The Bucaramanga daily said on February 25 that members of the national intelligence service, the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), had tapped the telephones and followed the newspaper's president, manager, director and their families.

The newspaper said in its editorial: "The worst thing about what the newspaper is now experiencing, is that a state agency – one that should be cracking down on criminals and struggling to improve public security in the country – is instead secretively and maliciously threatening the daily life of our managers, with motives that are less than desirable."

It said the campaign of surveillance was apparently hatched in the regional section of the security agency, and asserts that "Vanguardia Liberal and its directors are certain that this has happened without the highest national authorities in Bogotá even imagining what dark shadows are being cast upon our newspaper at the regional level."

DAS director Andrés Pe�ate Giraldo said he was unaware of the allegations but his office would conduct an investigation. He said DAS headquarters in Bogotá had not ordered anyone to spy on the paper. On Monday, however, Pe�ate replaced the DAS director in Santander in order to guarantee transparency in the investigation.

Vanguardia Liberal has been critical of the provincial government, particularly of Governor Hugo Aguilar Naranjo, the national leading daily El Tiempo said. Aguilar has denied any involvement in the spying allegations, El Tiempo reported.

Colombian rebels wait to surrender their weapons at the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia February 3. Hernan Giraldo, one of Colombia's most notorious warlords, convicted mass-murderer and wanted cocaine trafficker, surrendered. Giraldo's 1,166-member fighting force, known as the 'Tayrona Resistance Block', which is part of the illegal United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, a far-right group known by its Spanish initials AUC, also handed in assault rifles and other weapons. (Reuters/Fredy Builes)

Manrique told CPJ that from May to December 2005 she received a series of telephone calls that progressively became more intimidating. She said that on January 9 she was warned to "leave the region or we will break you." Manrique filed a complaint with the local police the next day and left Santander under the protection of the Interior Ministry on January 12. The Attorney-General's Office and the DAS began an investigation in January but according to Manrique no suspects have been taken into custody.

"We are seriously concerned by these allegations of spying on Vanguardia Liberal staff and deaths threats against one of its journalists," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We urge Colombian authorities to thoroughly investigate both incidents and bring those responsible to justice."

The Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) expressed concern at the situation, and called upon the authorities to investigate and punish any members of the state security agency who might be implicated.