São Paulo, July 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The leader of the government in the Senate, Aloysio Mercadante (PT-SP), lamented today, in this capital, the assassination of news photographer Luiz Antônio da Costa and called for a rigorous investigation of the facts and punishment of the guilty parties. In his assessment, "violence does not help the workers resolve the social problem." According to the senator, it is essential that social movements become aware of this, and he underscored that there should be no type of tolerance for these attacks, especially in a situation in which the victim was exercising his professional activity, so the attack takes on the added dimension of constituting a threat to the freedom of the press. (DAS)