Television channel Canal 11 RBC’s signal was interrupted on 4 January 1995 and the station was forced off the air for four days. On 4 January, during an interview with General Luis Cisneros Visquerra on the show “Women Have the Say” in which he made remarks against the government, the channel went off the air […]
Television channel Canal 11 RBC’s signal was interrupted on 4
January 1995 and the station was forced off the air for four
days. On 4 January, during an interview with General Luis
Cisneros Visquerra on the show “Women Have the Say” in which he
made remarks against the government, the channel went off the air
after an electrical surge and power supply outage. The cause is
not known. Canal 11 broadcasts political debate shows and an
open-line talk show.
One of the station’s owners, Ricardo Belmont Cassinelli, mayor of
Lima and a presidential candidate in the April 1995 elections,
said the station had experienced 18 such blackouts in the last
three months. Ricardo Belmont is one of the most vocally critical
opponents of the Alberto Fujimori’s government. According to him,
Fujimori has placed a virtual “boycott” on the municipal
government of Lima by approving a law which cuts transfer
payments to the municipality.
Canal 11 and press freedom groups believe the incident was a
deliberate attempt to silence the station. However, the
Secretary-General of the Union of Electrical Workers of Lima and
Callao told the press that the electrical surge and subsequent
power loss could have been caused by faulty maintenance of
electrical plants and the distribution network.
The original text (Spanish only) of a Canal 11 RBC statement to
the media is appended to this alert.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the President:
that a full investigation into the incident be conducted
immediately and the results be made public
touches political candidates is particularly important at
election time
Appeals To
Ing. Alberto Fujimori Fujimori
President of the Republic
Palacio de Gobierno
Plaza de Armas
Lima 1, Peru
Fax: +51-14-337020 or 326535Copy appeals to:
Sr. Ricardo Belmont Cassinelli
Canal 11 RBC
Fax: 5114 331237IPYS
Juan de Aliaga 452
Magdalena del Mar, Lima 17, Peru
Tel: +51-14-624040
Fax: +51-14-413430 o 51-14-623624
E-mail: kela@ipyspe.org.pe
