By Carlos Aznárez on October 27, 2015
This time I have to write about myself, as the director for 22 years of the media outlet Resumen Latinoamericano (newspaper, radio and TV). Unfortunately have been forced to do this to defend my right to speak and express myself which is explicitly protected by the Argentine Constitution.
How did this all start? A few days ago, I received in my email inbox a notice from Google (written in English) where they informed me that “within ten days” Google would be allowing access to all my emails in accordance to an order made by the Criminal Court. The email I received is the way I learned of this incredible and outrageous attack on my privacy as a journalist since it is usually through email that I exchange information with colleagues or with different media. Also included of course is the personal addresses of anyone that I have been communicating with.
This interference stems from a criminal case made by the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (DAIA) accusing me of nothing more than being in solidarity with the Palestinian People.
DAIA and their lawyers went to the Prosecutor’s Office No. 25 to accuse me of “Organizational and discriminatory propaganda”, brandishing the argument of “anti-Semitism”. The reasons given for such a procedure are more than clumsy and offend me as a citizen and as a journalist. DAIA refers to my participation in expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in August 2014, when tons of Israeli bombs where falling on Gaza and causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people. A high percentage of those deaths were boys and girls who happened to be living in Gaza. This is a similar scenario that is now happening in the West Bank.
On that occasion, like I have done many times before, as part of my professional obligation, (exercised both in the Resumen Lationoamericano newspaper and as a collaborator with Russian Today, Hispan TV and ALBA TV international channels) I was journalistically covering what was happening in Gaza and giving my editorial opinion. My crime according to my accusers was the fact that I, along with other Argentineans, was describing the truth about what was happening in Gaza and throughout the Palestinian territory. It is for this that they are now trying to prosecute me and getting a conviction with a prison term, thus opening an open attack on the rights to disseminate information and expressing an opinion.
That is why, I want to DENOUNCE this serious attack against my person and the media I represent, to which they undoubtedly intends to discriminate against and encroach on its informative function.