Diario "El Espectador" and Diario "El Tiempo" from Colombia Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities 1987

The members of the Jury for the 1987 Prince of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanities, Jesús Aguirre, Santiago Carrillo, Juan Cueto, Manuel Fernández de la Cera, Manuel Fraga, Domingo García Sabell, Antonio Garrigues, Alfonso S. Palomares, Jesús de Polanco, Eduardo Punset, Eduardo Sotillos and Juan Velarde, gathered in Oviedo on the 2nd and 3rd of April, 1987 under the presidency of Francisco Pinto, and with Francisco Álvarez Cascos acting as secretary, have decided unanimously to grant this award to the daily newspapers "El Espectador" and "El Tiempo" for their long-standing work in defence of the values of liberty and culture.

The Jury has valued in "El Tiempo" and "El Espectador" their task of stimulating the role of Colombian civil society and their steadfast and brave testimony in denouncing drug-trafficking and terrorist violence. This permanent and incorruptible struggle has cost the lives of many Colombian journalists, among them, Guillermo Cano, director of "El Espectador", assassinated on the 17th December 1986.

The Jury wishes thus to highlight the role of the media as spokesmen and defenders of the noblest demands of civil society, especially in situations of risk.

Oviedo, 3rd April 1987