(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 20 January 2006 IAPA press release: IAPA concerned about hostility towards newspapers and journalists Miami (January 20, 2006) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed its concern about an investigation by Venezuelan courts into news coverage by the media in a case of national interest. The hemispheric organization […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 20 January 2006 IAPA press release:
IAPA concerned about hostility towards newspapers and journalists
Miami (January 20, 2006) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed its concern about an investigation by Venezuelan courts into news coverage by the media in a case of national interest. The hemispheric organization also called upon officials in Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Peru to investigate incidents reported in these countries.
The chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Gonzalo Marroquín, from the Guatemalan daily, Prensa Libre, warned that “we will remain vigilant” during investigations into the print and broadcast media in Venezuela for alleged obstruction of justice in the case of the murder of Danilo Anderson, a prosecutor who was investigating acts against the government of President Hugo Chávez.
“We regret that behind the facade of obstruction of justice they are trying to limit the media’s ability to inform citizens on issues of public interest,” Marroquín said.
Marroquín also mentioned a case in Brazil where an explosive device was thrown at the entrance of Mogi News, in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo. According to a witness, on the morning of January 13, an automobile passed by the entrance and minutes later a bomb exploded that did not cause any injuries. The attack, according to newspaper representatives, was related to the paper’s editorial stance.
In the Dominican Republic, reporter Rafael G. Santana, from the electronic media website Notiglobo.com, denounced that on December 31 suspects carrying firearms and wearing bulletproof vests were watching the building where he lives with his family. The journalist covers corruption, drug trafficking and community issues.
Marroquín also mentioned the situation of Raúl Vela, editor of El Pregonero newspaper in Huanuco, Peru, who was insulted and received a death threat on December 28 from the director of the state agency PRONAMACHCS, Jonel Valderrama Medrano, who berated him for printing articles on his work in this agency of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Despite the fact that Vela presented his complaint to local police on December 29, as of January 16, no investigation into the incident had begun and the journalist had not been called in to make a sworn statement.
Marroquín stated that “the issues that got 2006 off to a shaky start in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in the Western Hemisphere will be addressed in depth during the first annual meeting of the IAPA to be held in Quito, Ecuador, on March 17-20.
