The Inter-American Press Association and the National Academy of Journalism joined in questions against Aníbal Fernández

The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) and National Academy of Journalism joined this Tuesday in the repudiation of what they called “attacks and threats” by the Minister of National Security, Aníbal Fernández, against the designer and creator of Gaturro, I.

In a statement, the IAPA expressed its “concern about the overreaction and untimely of a minister of the Argentine government against the graphic humorist Cristian Dzwonik (known as Nik) ”.

The president of the entity, Jorge Canahuati, of the group OPSA, of Honduras, and the Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos jornet, From Journal The voice from within, from Argentina, expressed his solidarity with Nik and stressed that “no one should be intimidated into expressing their opinions or disagreeing with official policies”.

Canahuati and Jornet also pointed out that “it is contradictory that the threats or attacks come from the person who must ensure the safety of all citizens ”.

In this way, the entity questioned the reaction of Anibal Fernandez to a criticism made via Twitter by Nik of the actions of the national government. The minister, in a message published on his official account of this social network, clarified that he knows the school where the daughters of the designer attend. Nik said he was scared of what he saw as a “veiled threat” from the official and said he would go to court.

Finally, the minister said he apologized to the creator of Gaturro if he considered his words a threat.

What the National Academy of Journalism said

In turn, the National Academy of Journalism expressed its “more categorical repudiation of the threat suffered by the cartoonist and humorist Cristian Dzwonik, better known as Nik, who usually does political analysis in his humorous vignettes, by the Minister of Security, Aníbal Fernández ”.

“In this case, Nik had expressed on his personal Twitter account only a critical opinion on the political decisions of the government. Minister Fernández made a broadcast after the personal information he has on Nik, in particular on the school where his daughters are studying, ”he said in a note.

And he said: “It was clearly an intimidating attitude that caused fear and anxiety in the cartoonist’s family.”

“The obscenity with which Minister Fernández exposes the personal, family and school information of Nik’s daughters constitutes an unbearable advance of the State on public freedoms and of course on freedom of the press, since Nik is a man of the free press. The alleged subsequent retractions of Minister Fernández have always been conditioned by remarks which have only aggravated the conflict, ”he warned.

In the note, the National Academy of Journalism asked President Alberto Fernández “to speak publicly on the clearly authoritarian attitude from your Minister of Security. And we also ask the National Congress to take measures in this matter because the system of freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution is at stake, ”he declared.

The repudiation of the LED Foundation

At the same time, the LED Freedom of Expression + Democracy Foundation joined in the questions and considered that “the response to Nik’s opinion, formulated by a Minister, exposes the climate of low tolerance for criticism by national authorities ”.

He also denounced that “the implicit threat contained in the ministerial response adds a more serious tone to the tension over freedom of opinion in our country”.

“The intimidation or threat of a citizen for his words exceeds the limit of the democratic parameters in which the public debate must take place, putting the government as a whole, in an attitude which, if an official position is not taken on the misconduct of a member of his cabinet, makes him illegitimate and authoritarian, ”he warned.

The entity finally expressed its solidarity with Nik and “his strong repudiation of any type of injury, intimidation or threat to the press, towards the opinion of the citizens as well as towards any restriction which compromises the exercise of the freedom of expression protected by the national Constitution and the international treaties of the human rights which form part of it ”.