(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2003, three technicians from several different private television stations and a radio technician were taken to the security police (Prevention and Intelligence Services Directorate, DISIP) headquarters. The technicians made declarations regarding an incident of supposed sabotage in the television and radio transmission of a military parade. The incident took place […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2003, three technicians from several different private television stations and a radio technician were taken to the security police (Prevention and Intelligence Services Directorate, DISIP) headquarters. The technicians made declarations regarding an incident of supposed sabotage in the television and radio transmission of a military parade.
The incident took place in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state, in Venezuela’s north-central region, during the transmission on national state-owned stations of a military parade celebrating the 182nd anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, which led to Venezuela’s independence.
Juan Carlos Flores, of NC Television, Tauso Batista, of RCTV television, Herbert Fernández, of Venevisión television, and Frank González, of Unión Radio, were taken to DISIP headquarters in Valencia. They were held for several hours after a technical failure affecting the transmission’s sound and image resulted in the programme being taken off the air.
Commenting on the incident, President Hugo Chávez said, “It appears there is someone with a lot of media power who doesn’t want the Venezuelan population to see this marvellous event.” Information and Communications Minister Nora Uribe indicated that an investigation into the incident will be initiated if necessary.
DISIP Sub-Commissioner Marcos Velásquez told media outlets that the technicians were taken to police headquarters as “guests”, so they could explain the technical details of the interference to officials. “They are collaborating with us and informing us about the sabotage of the transmission. We don’t know anything about this and they are explaining it to us,” he explained.
Government authorities and the directors of the state television station Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) have not presented any official findings of the investigations into the incident.
Edgardo Mosca, RCTV’s engineering and operations vice-president, explained that the interference was caused by a failure in the original signal sent by VTV, which serves as a matrix for the chain transmission. Likewise, he indicated that VTV was transmitting the signal for the event by satellite alone, without the support of a transmission crew, which they would usually have for this type of transmission.
