Honduras says journalists not targeted

I’m not sure if this makes anyone feel any better but the Honduran government issued a statement yesterday (1/5) that the 10 journalists killed in that country last year nine were not killed because of their jobs.

Honduras’ assistant security minister says nine of the 10 killings of journalists that have occurred this year were unrelated to the media workers’ jobs.

Armando Calidonio says nine of the slayings were due to motives unrelated to the journalists’ work, but he did not say what those motives were.

In the past, Honduran authorities have cited motives like personal disputes in some of the deaths.

The Committee to Protect Journalists disagrees. It states that three of the 10 journalists killed last year were targeted because of their work.

• Nahúm Palacios Arteaga, TV Channel 5 (March 14, 2010, in Tocoa, Honduras)
• David Meza Montesinos, Radio El Patio, Radio America, Channel 45 (March 11, 2010, in La Ceiba, Honduras)
• Joseph Hernández Ochoa, TV Channel 51 (March 1, 2010, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras)

FYI, Honduras has the highest murder rate in Central America at 66.8 per 100,000 people. That rate makes it more than 10 times more dangerous than New York City (5.6 per 100,000).

So there may be something to the government’s latest report. Let’s face it. Honduras is not a safe place. But that doesn’t mean the government shouldn’t pursue the killings with vigor.