In Mexico easy to kill journalists

[Judi Lynn]

Express-News Editorial Board
Published 1:17 pm, Tuesday, May 16, 2017


They number relatively few among the many murdered in Mexico every year and yet they deserve special attention. That’s because their deaths are clearly part of a campaign to stifle freedom of the press — one of Mexico’s remaining hopes for propping up its democracy, cleansing its institutions and restoring the rule of law.

The dead are journalists.

Mexico’s drug war claims many, including too many journalists. But it’s evident that the police and government are also substantially culpable in their deaths, either having a hand in the murders to shut them up — and to discourage others from reporting — or by failing to properly investigate the cases and bring the killers to justice. One apparent reason: pursuing local and state government officials and police as needed will be admission of widespread corruption. Embarrassment. But another possibility exists. The Mexican government is not serious about press freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalists recently released a report on the culture of impunity that allows these crimes to go unpunished. And the New York Times’ Azam Ahmed recently reported on the deadly phenomenon. Its provocative headline read: “In Mexico, ‘It’s easy to kill a journalist.’”

More:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/editorials/article/In-Mexico-easy-to-kill-journalists-11150163.php

[Blue_Tires]

1. Greenwald and Timm were unavailable for comment