Mexico: Reporters, activists demand state protection

Journalists and human rights activists in Mexico are frantically seeking a mechanism to protect them from attacks related to their work, but the state has been slow to respond. The Colombian model might provide a solution. Already this year, three reporters have been murdered without any of the perpetrators being brought to justice, presaging another difficult year for Mexican media workers. Human rights activists also face harassment, criminal prosecution and murders, according to reports by the United Nations and human rights groups. "Mexico is experiencing what Colombia went through in the 1980s and 1990s, when a systematic war was waged on particular groups, like journalists. It's a problem that requires immense political will," the head of the Colombian non-governmental Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, Andrés Morales, told IPS. Before their rise in Mexico, drug cartels were already a major cause of violence in Colombia. Concern over drug trafficking, as well as the guerrillas, has led to massive military aid to the country from the United States.