Thread: Gossip Illegal!
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Old 05-18-2005, 02:11 PM  
Elli
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Gossip Illegal!

Is GFY allowed in Columbia?

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsAr...-GOSSIP-DC.XML

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Bad-mouthing your neighbors can land you in jail in one Colombian town after the mayor banned gossip.

Ignacio Jimenez, mayor of Icononzo, southwest of Bogota, told El Tiempo newspaper he decreed the ban because loose tongues can cost lives in Colombia, which is in the grips of a guerrilla war involving Marxist rebels and far-right paramilitary outlaws.

Justifying his decree, the mayor said at least eight people were in the local prison accused "purely by gossip" of being members of the outlawed, Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

People could also be killed just due to rumors they sympathize with one of the illegal armed groups, he said.

He and other backers of the decree, which went into effect this week, say people need to think hard before making unfounded allegations. Failing to do so in Icononzo can now result in fines or up to four year behind bars.

? Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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