"Tell them not to kill me!"
pleads a man in the opening lines of a fascinating tale of violence with the same
title by one of Mexico's
most esteemed writers, Juan Rulfo. It is, sadly, the same cry for help that
Mexican journalists are sending out to the world today. On Tuesday, October 19,
prominent writers and journalists from Mexico
and the United States will
gather in New York for "State of Emergency: Censorship by Bullet in Mexico," an evening of readings and discussions
about the threats facing members of the Mexican press who report on drug-related
violence.
The event will include
readings by Paul Auster, Don
DeLillo, Laura Esquivel, José Luis Martínez, Francine Prose, Jose Zamora, and poets Víctor Manuel Mendiola and Luis Miguel Aguilar, to be followed by a conversation
with Carmen Aristegui (CNN en Español)
moderated by Julia Preston (The New York Times).
More
than 30 journalists have been murdered or have gone missing since December
2006, when President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa came to power. CPJ has confirmed
that at least eight of these journalists were killed in reprisal for their
work.
A joint delegation to Mexico from CPJ
and the Inter American Press Association last
month resulted in a pledge by Mexican President Felipe
Calderón Hinojosa to push for legislation that would make attacks on
journalists a federal crime. Earlier in September, CPJ released a special report,
Silence or Death in Mexico's Press, about
attacks on the media by criminal organizations and the government's weak
response.
With this event, the PEN American Center,
the PEN
Club de México and CPJ express their support for Mexican
journalists and the citizens of Mexico, who deserve unfettered access to information
about the developments and decisions that shape their lives.
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i think this is a great thing to do.hope you come out with good resolutions to this menace.all the best!
I am angry that these cowards can kill the mexican journalist and his family becuase of what he writes. God is watching you all and your day is coming may his wrath be strong and full of will.