(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 19 July 2006 IAPA press release: IAPA mission finds sharp deterioration in press freedom in Venezuela MIAMI, Florida (July 19, 2006) – An international delegation of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) declared today that the climate of press freedom and free speech in Venezuela has deteriorated sharply and […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 19 July 2006 IAPA press release:
IAPA mission finds sharp deterioration in press freedom in Venezuela
MIAMI, Florida (July 19, 2006) – An international delegation of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) declared today that the climate of press freedom and free speech in Venezuela has deteriorated sharply and is marked by restrictive legislation, prosecution of journalists in the courts and harassment of news media.
The IAPA mission, headed by the organization’s president, Diana Daniels, during its three-day visit to the South American country met in Caracas and Puerto Ordaz with representatives of the Venezuelan press, news associations, non-governmental organizations, civil society and academics who revealed details of the plight the press is facing there.
Daniels, vice president of the Washington Post Company, Washington, DC, said she regretted that Venezuelan national and provincial government officials refused to meet with the delegation, whose objective was to exchange views and clearly state IAPA’s position on repeated complaints the organization has received and which are featured in its biannual reports on the state of press freedom.
“This attitude shows the lack of interest on the part of the government to seek solutions through dialogue, reflects intolerance of the independent press and its essential role in any democracy, and reveals the serious problems that lack of access to official information represents,” Daniels declared.
“We are concerned that far from improving conditions for the press in this country, freedom may become even more restricted during and after the electoral process” – a reference to the run-up to presidential elections in December 2006.
Accompanying Daniels in the mission were IAPA First Vice President Rafael Molina, El Día, Dominican Republic; Press Freedom Committee Chairman Gonzalo Marroquín, Prensa Libre, Guatemala; Board of Directors Member Felipe Edwards, La Segunda, Chile; Executive Director Julio Muñoz and Press Freedom Director Ricardo Trotti.
The mission confirmed the existence of what it described as a dangerous and restrictive legal structure enacted in recent years that provides for stiffer penalties for those found guilty of crimes committed through the press, and passage of an insult law and a Contents Law – used to hound journalists and media in the courts.
Marroquín said that the enactment and arbitrary implementation of these laws “seeks to limit freedom of expression of all Venezuelans, and thus deprives them of their right to know.”
He said that in the latest missions to Venezuela – eight since late 1999 – “we have noticed a growing tendency to file libel suits against journalists, which appears to indicate an attempt to silence independent voices. This is made worse by the imposition of stiffer penalties for crimes committed through the press, as in the latest reform of the Penal Code, and by the judiciary’s lack of independence.”
The mission also expressed concern at coercive action taken against radio and television stations, which have had to significantly cut back the amount of news they broadcast under terms of a law allowing government to decide editorial content, staff hiring policies and set strict time limits on newscasts, thus providing the government with increased space for its political propaganda – including lengthy and repeated national hookups for presidential broadcasts – while posing the threat of withdrawal or non-renewal of broadcast licenses in the event of any news item that annoys the government of the day or one of its officials.
Marroquín declared that “since the outset of the Chávez administration a clear tendency toward limiting information has been observed, the typical action of authoritarian regimes that always see the press as an enemy.”
The delegation found that none of the principles of the IAPA-sponsored Declaration of Chapultepec was being fully complied with in Venezuela. It cited as examples the fact that access to public records is restricted; placement of official advertising is being used to reward or punish media; private-sector advertisers are threatened for advertising in independent media; the government interferes in editorial policies through subtle legal maneuvers; broadcast media is threatened with the cancellation or non-renewal of licenses, and journalists trying to report independently are hounded and punished.
Apart from the deterioration in press freedom, which they attributed to a deliberate, strategic act on the part of the government, the IAPA pointed to the courage of individual journalists and news media struggling on a daily basis to inform the people and carry out their role in a democratic society.
IAPA First Vice-President Molina said that the IAPA would continue to keep a close watch on the state of press freedom and free speech in Venezuela and would continue to submit its censures to global and inter-governmental agencies, such as the Organization of American States, and demand steps be taken to force Venezuela to comply with democratic principles, respect its citizens’ right to freedom of expression and ensure the free practice of journalism.
Molina added that the delegation would report back to other IAPA officers who are scheduled to meet in Miami on Friday. He expected the organization’s Executive Committee at that time to approve strategic action in continued support of Venezuela’s independent press and demands that the right of every Venezuelan citizen to be informed be guaranteed.
Correo del Caroní
Following the delegation’s visit on July 18 to Venezuela’s Ciudad Guayana region, where it went to look into an eviction and demolition order against the newspaper Correo del Caroní issued by the Bolívar State Legislature, the IAPA reiterated that this was a senseless action, without legal foundation, and amounted to a clumsy attempt to silence an independent news media outlet.
The mission met with media association representatives, political leaders and executives and journalists from the newspaper who complained of being subject to frequent attacks, constant harassment and discrimination when it comes to access to official information. Bolívar State Governor Francisco Rangel Gómez and Caroní Mayor Clemente Scotto refused to meet with the delegation – the latter even after having earlier agreed to do so.
The Legislature had presented a report on “the legal situation concerning the real property of the company Editorial Roderick, C.A.,” in which it urged the Caroní city government to immediately begin the company’s eviction, halt its commercial activity and start demolition of its buildings and installations, on the pretext of two neighbors’ demands that the space be used for a public park.
Daniels and Marroquín, after reviewing all the information, voiced their fear that “this playing around with private property could lead to strong actions being taken against this and other news media that seek to maintain their independent editorial policies.”
The delegation, which also heard complaints of attacks on journalists and media in other Venezuelan states, concluded, “The degree of defenselessness that media and journalists are exposed to in the interior of the country is of concern. They, like those that have received national and international attention, are victims of a government strategy that forces them not to report independently.” It added that the IAPA would continue monitoring the provinces and denounce any attacks in detail in its twice-yearly reports on the state of press freedom in the country.
