(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 27 October 2005 IAPA press release: IAPA protests closure of Venezuelan newspaper Miami (27 October 2005) – The Inter American Press Association condemns the 24-hour closure of “El Impulso” newspaper by the taxation office as an attack on press freedom and the right to information. On 24 October, officials […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 27 October 2005 IAPA press release:
IAPA protests closure of Venezuelan newspaper
Miami (27 October 2005) – The Inter American Press Association condemns the 24-hour closure of “El Impulso” newspaper by the taxation office as an attack on press freedom and the right to information.
On 24 October, officials of the national customs and taxation office (Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria, SENIAT) temporarily shut down the paper’s operations in the city of Barquisimeto, evicting the administrative and editorial staff. SENIAT also imposed a US$13,900 fine on “El Impulso”, reportedly in connection with “flaws in the paper’s 2002 tax return”.
“El Impulso”‘s offices in Caracas were raided at 9:00 a.m. by armed military personnel and SENIAT officials, while the newspaper’s main plant in Barquisimeto was raided at 11:00 a.m.
Gonzalo Marroquín, president of the IAPA’s Committee for Freedom of the Press and Information, protested the measure for a supposed irregularity that had occurred years before. He expressed surprise that the move came days after the IAPA’s general assembly in Indianapolis, during which the organisation criticised the Venezuelan government for violating press freedom.
“El Impulso” director Juan Manuel Carmona is also regional vice-president in Venezuela for the IAPA’s Committee on Press Freedom.
Marroquín, director of the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre, recalled that “President Hugo Chávez’s government has harassed journalists and independent media outlets in the past. Without a doubt, this latest incident will only serve to increase our concern about the situation in Venezuela.”
IAPA stressed that penalties imposed on the media by the tax authorities should not be used to silence critical media outlets.
For IAPA’s report on press freedom in Venezuela, see http://www.sipiapa.org
