Colombia spying on journalists reporting on peace talks: Univision
Source: Colombia Reports - Univision, El Espectador, etc.
Colombia spying on journalists reporting on peace talks: Univision
Feb 10, 2014 posted by Mimi Yagoub
New revelations in the spying scandal that has cast a shadow over ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the countrys FARC rebel group since early last week indicate that, apart from opposition politicians and delegates from the peace talks themselves, the Colombian Army was also recording the communications of journalists covering the negotiations.
In a ground-breaking report that came only days after Colombias Semana magazine released the original story, the US-based Univision media company revealed Saturday what it claims is exclusive evidence that groups of Colombian military intelligence hackers have been intercepting thousands of emails between spokespeople for Colombias oldest rebel group and international journalists.
A correspondence of 2,638 emails sent between FARC spokespeople for the Havana-based talks Hermes Aguilar and Bernardo Salcedo and dozens of journalists from around the world covering the talks was reportedly intercepted from two separate accounts.
The messages include interview and general information requests to the FARC delegates from employees of international news agencies AP, Reuters, EFE, Prensa Latina, DPA (Germany), AFP (France), as well as major Colombian outlets El Tiempo and Radio Caracol, and other media platforms from countries including Spain, Holland and Germany.
Read more: http://colombiareports.co/new-spying-scandal-shakes-colombia-farc-peace-talks/
(My emphasis)
totodeinhere
(13,059 posts)the brave has been shown to spy on journalists. So why not Columbia?
Demenace
(213 posts)Why are they not on the case here or is this too close to home for them? I thought according to the gospel of Snowden, this was only done by the NSA!
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)totodeinhere
(13,059 posts)And I would guess that Greenwald may not have contacts to help him with this story as he had with Snowden and obviously Snowden is in no position to contribute because he did not work for Colombian surveillance. So I think that asking "where is Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden?" is a bit disingenuous.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)Glad I live in the land of the free where something like this could never happen.
Demenace
(213 posts)Not Brazil or Russia or Colombia!
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)But nice try.
Demenace
(213 posts)Go back and check the nonsense some people have posted here on this spying issue and tell me you honestly think I am incorrect?
The President of the United states had to knock down an uneducated Reporter just this afternoon who asked an uninformed question while implying that there are agreement that countries even among friendly allied nations do not spy against one another!
How, people make up stuff and believe those things are true, is beyond me!
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I know that right is not respected everywhere. But freedom of information, access to different ideas and points of view, is a basic human right acknowledged in international declarations of human rights. Colombians should be allowed to make judgments about the politics and security of their nation based on free information from a free press.
Every person should have that right. I would imagine and think it pretty certain that knowing they are under surveillance will chill the speech of the journalists and others involved in the conversations under surveillance. I can understand that the government of Colombia wants to gather as much information as it can about the insurgents, the rebels, but to violate the rights of news reporters to collect information without restraint or fear is a pretty horrible thing to do.