(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 26 May 2001, Chubut Province Bank revealed that a clause in its publicity contracts enabled it to refuse placing advertisements in media outlets that criticised the bank or published information that its authorities deemed negative. Bank Director Jorge Barcia stated this view at a press conference called to express his annoyance with […]
(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 26 May 2001, Chubut Province Bank revealed that a clause in its publicity contracts enabled it to refuse placing advertisements in media outlets that criticised the bank or published information that its authorities deemed negative.
Bank Director Jorge Barcia stated this view at a press conference called to express his annoyance with radio station LU 17 Golfo Nuevo, of Puerto Madryn (a town in Chubut). The radio station had divulged information about alleged irregularities in the bank’s administration of funds. Since 1996, the bank is a corporation with state-owned shares and is run by civil servants assigned by the provincial executive, making it a public entity.
In its Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, issued in October 2000, the Organization of American States (OAS) maintained that “arbitrary and discriminatory assignment of official publicity and credits (…) intended to pressure, punish, award or privilege social communicators and the media according to their role to inform, constitutes a serious threat to freedom of expression.”
PERIODISTAS stated that, “with the decision to establish an advertising norm only in exchange for the acquiescence and applause of the media, Chubut Bank denies provincial residents the right to a detailed account of what civil servants do with public funds.”
PERIODISTAS urged bank authorities to review this move, since “an organisation’s advertising, which belongs to all citizens, cannot be exchanged with the right to inform and be informed. When official advertisements are distributed that favour silencing criticism not only is it hurting the economy of independent media, but it is also fundamentally financing censorship.”
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the authorities at Chubut Bank:
– urging them to review the clause in their media advertising contracts that enables them to revoke agreements with media that they feel publish negative information or commentary about the bank
– mentioning that any state organisation must inform citizens about its decisions and activities, because they possess funds that belong to society
– recalling Article 14 of the Argentine Constitution and Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression, generally, and the thirteenth principle of the OAS declaration on freedom of expression, which condemns the arbitrary use of public funds in order to pressure or punish the media
Appeals To
Jorge Barcia
Director of Chubut Province Bank
Bancos de Chubut – Trelew
Tel: +54 02965 433 729
Fax: +54 02965 436 553
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
