UNESCO chief condemns killing of two journalists in Guatemala

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today urged investigations into the killing of two broadcast journalists in Guatemala.

“I condemn the killings of Diego Salomón Esteban Gaspar and Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López,” the Director-General of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a statement. “Violent crimes must not be allowed to limit media workers' freedom to carry out their work, which is important for society as a whole.”

On 25 June, Aceituno López, director and broadcaster of Radio Ilusión, was shot in the city of Quetzaltenango in the country's west, while independent reports confirmed the killing on 30 April of Esteban Gaspar, a presenter on local broadcasting station Radio Sembrador in Ixcán, in the country's north.

UNESCO's chief regularly issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States in 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.”