(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 15 February 2002 letter to President Hugo Chávez Frías, CPJ expressed alarm over the numerous cases of harassment and intimidation against the Venezuelan press that the organization has documented during the last six weeks. CPJ believes these acts are the logical result of the president’s relentless diatribes against the media. The […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 15 February 2002 letter to President Hugo Chávez Frías, CPJ expressed alarm over the numerous cases of harassment and intimidation against the Venezuelan press that the organization has documented during the last six weeks.
CPJ believes these acts are the logical result of the president’s relentless diatribes against the media. The organization urged the president to refrain from making the sort of harsh statements that may lead his followers to target the press.
In recent weeks the already tense relations between Chávez’s government and the press have worsened amid signs that the president’s popularity is declining and that society has become increasingly polarized. In March 2001, CPJ noted that Chávez’s verbal attacks undermined the credibility of the press, making journalists vulnerable to legal and even physical attacks. CPJ is now concerned that such fears may have materialized.
CPJ expressed concern about the following incidents in particular:
In a 6 January radio broadcast, the president referred contemptuously to the Caracas daily “El Nacional” and accused one of its journalists, Yelitza Izaya Yánez, of “disrespect” and “lying” after she reported that demonstrators in the Caracas neighborhood of Catia protested Chávez’s visit by banging pots. The next evening, some 100 supporters of the president’s Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) surrounded the offices of “El Nacional” for two hours (see IFEX alerts of 14 and 9 January 2002). Some of the protesters were armed with baseball bats and sticks, according to local news reports. During that time, the newspaper’s employees could not leave the building for fear of being attacked by the protesters.
On 10 January, “El Nacional” filed a complaint with the Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The next day, the IACHR asked the Venezuelan government to adopt so-called precautionary measures designed to guarantee the physical safety of “El Nacional”‘s staff and uphold their right to freedom of expression. Venezuelan authorities have agreed to adopt the measures.
On 13 January, the “Caravan for the Truth,” a column of around thirty vehicles loaded with MVR supporters, paid threatening visits to several media outlets in Caracas. The MVR demonstrators first congregated in front of the “El Nacional” offices, where they banged pots and demanded that the newspaper “tell the truth” about Chávez’s administration’s achievements. Later, they staged demonstrations in front of the offices of Radio Caracas Televisión and the Caracas daily “El Universal”.
On 20 January, a team from the television channel Globovisión, including reporter Mayela León, cameraman Jorge Manuel Paz, and assistant Jhan Bernal, was attacked by a crowd of the president’s supporters while covering a broadcast of the president’s weekly radio program, “Aló, Presidente,” in the Caracas neighborhood of 23 de Enero (see IFEX alert of 24 January 2002). The mob surrounded Globovisión’s van, kicking and rocking the vehicle and hurling insults. After soldiers intervened, the Globovisión journalists left without finishing their reporting assignment. A Radio Caracas Televisión team led by reporter Luisana Ríos was also manhandled during the broadcast, according to local press reports.
On 29 January, Globovisión asked the IACHR to grant precautionary measures in favor of the journalists who were assaulted. On 30 January, the IACHR sent a letter asking that the Venezuelan government adopt the measures in favor of the journalists from Globovisión and Radio Caracas Televisión. Venezuelan authorities have agreed to adopt the measures.
On the morning of 31 January, two men on a motorcycle launched a homemade explosive device at the entrance of the daily “Así es la Noticia”, part of the publishing house CA Editora El Nacional, which also owns “El Nacional”. The attackers fled after throwing flyers that accused “Así es la Noticia” editor Ibéyise Pacheco and three other journalists of orchestrating a campaign against “the process of change.” The explosion shattered the glass door at the entrance but caused no injuries.
Ten minutes after the attack, an unidentified caller said that another bomb would go off in the building’s parking lot. 200 employees were evacuated from the building. The police arrived minutes later but did not find any explosive. In statements quoted by “El Nacional”, Rafael Vargas, minister of the presidential secretariat, dismissed the attack: “What exploded in front of the daily ‘Así es la Noticia’ was, practically, a match box that was put there to cause alarm.” The Ministry of Interior and Justice has since assigned police to protect the newspaper’s facilities and staff.
Pacheco told “El Nacional” that she had received several anonymous phone threats on the night before the attack. The caller told her that her house and her newspaper would be raided. The threats came one day after Pacheco and journalists Marianela Salazar, Patricia Poleo, and Marta Colomina made public a video showing Venezuelan military officials and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas discussing the release of a kidnapped Venezuelan citizen with alleged links to Colombian paramilitaries. The video suggested close collaboration between the Venezuelan military and the FARC.
On 4 February, a crew from the television channel Venevisión, led by reporter Rafael Garrido, was harassed while covering public celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the president’s 4 February 1992 coup attempt. Unidentified individuals tried to push the journalists off a platform on which they were standing.
As the Venevisión crew made their escape, a window of their vehicle was smashed, according to local news reports.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– commending him for the steps his government has taken to protect journalists, but at the same time expressing the belief that his verbal attacks on the media may have contributed to the current climate of intolerance
– urging him to demonstrate his active support for press freedom by condemning all attacks on the Venezuelan press and by creating a climate in which journalists may fulfill their professional duties without fear of reprisal
Appeals To
His Excellency Hugo Chávez Frías
President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Palacio de Miraflores
Caracas, Venezuela
Fax: +58 212 806 3221
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
