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[POLITICS] · Colombia · 10 sources

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Colombia suspends news programming on 20 'Emisoras de Paz' stations

The Colombian government, led by President Abelardo de la Espriella, has ordered the suspension of news, cultural, and community programming across 20 'Emisoras de Paz' stations and 11 decentralized stations of the National Radio of Colombia. Following the directive, these frequencies have transitioned to broadcasting only musical content managed from Bogotá.

The Emisoras de Paz were established as part of point 6.5 of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian state and the former FARC-EP to provide information and promote reconciliation in conflict-affected regions. The Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC) defended the move as a necessary restructuring to eliminate what it termed a 'propaganda apparatus' within the public media system.

Critics, including Senator Iván Cepeda and leaders of the Comunes party like Rodrigo Londoño, argue the decision violates the Peace Agreement and constitutional rights to information and freedom of expression. Cepeda has announced a legal action (tutela) against MinTIC and Inravisión to challenge the suspension. Press freedom organizations, such as FLIP, MOE, and Amarc, have also expressed concern that the measure restricts vital local information access for rural and indigenous communities.

Entities

Abelardo De La Espriella · Emisoras de Paz · FARC · Inravisión · Iván Cepeda · Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications · Rádio Nacional

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