03/01/2021 22:07
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 03/01/2021 10:07 PM
The Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) and the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) came out to question the
criticism of the press made by the president
, Alberto Fernández, during the opening of the 139 ordinary sessions of Congress, who pointed towards journalists when speaking of "those who, behind the disguise of objectivity, preserve the interests of concentrated economic powers."
"Adepa reiterates that linking the exercise of the journalistic task -which here and in the world often implies revealing the hidden- with powerful and conspiratorial interests does not alter the reported facts nor can it
divert attention
from them," said the entity in its official twitter account.
For Adepa, "the insistence on theories such as" lawfare "or an alleged coordination between the media and justice seems to be
an attempt to discredit journalistic investigations and judicial decisions,
but it does not modify the facts that gave them support".
For its part, FOPEA also joined in the criticism of the presidential sayings in which it attacked the Justice, criticized the media, advanced a complaint against the management of Mauricio Macri and referred to the VIP vaccination scandal that splashes his management.
FOPEA rejected Fernández's questions about the press.
"Besides being
intimidating, they
represent a clear danger for journalists and a setback in the construction of democracy," they said in a statement.
“This noon, during his speech at the opening of the ordinary sessions of Congress, the President said that many journalists must 'warn of the damage they are doing', that they hide interests behind 'objectivity' and that they mount 'campaigns' to pressure the Government "Said the organization that groups press workers.
In this sense, the organization reminded Fernández that “journalists are not the media or their companies and that the stigmatization of journalism by the highest authorities in the country is a mechanism for limiting freedom of expression and
a practice of its own. of authoritarian rulers
”.
“The hostile and disqualifying voice generates an
intimidating
effect
on public expression
and can have a direct impact on the street, they warned.
In his presentation before the Legislative Assembly, the president said he harbored “the desire that, as I said before, those who, behind the disguise of objectivity,
preserve the interests of concentrated economic powers
, notice the damage they are doing in the same society in which they say they want develop".
In a harsh criticism of journalism and in a clear intimidating message, Alberto Fernández warned: "I want to tell you sincerely that there will be no campaign or pressure that will make me give up my efforts to give rationality and good sense to the debate on Argentine problems," he added. .
Then the President went further and pointed out "those who systematically bombard this administration without the slightest objectivity, I recognize their perseverance, but I remind them that they will not achieve their purpose in this way."
In addition, he linked journalism with the intelligence services and the Justice, in a paragraph to which he only needed to add the word "lawfare", very fashionable in the official lexicon.
"We observe how a perverse system comes to light in which judges, prosecutors, alleged spies and renowned journalists intermingle to illegally monitor detainees and to mount judicial extortion", highlighted Fernández in his presentation.