(IPYS/IFEX) – On 19 August 1998, legislators from various opposition parties warned of an impending threat to freedom of expression and press freedom, reporting that a group of majority/government party Congress members were proposing that a committee be formed to investigate the alleged breach which occurred after the last closed session of Congress. In the […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 19 August 1998, legislators from various opposition parties
warned of an impending threat to freedom of expression and press freedom,
reporting that a group of majority/government party Congress members were
proposing that a committee be formed to investigate the alleged breach which
occurred after the last closed session of Congress. In the session, held in
secret, Foreign Minister Eduardo Ferrero Costa reported on the Peru-Ecuador
crisis and the tense situation along the border between the two countries.
Part of the information he shared was later reported on television by
journalist César Hildebrandt. A few hours after the 19 August meeting of
Congress’s executive committee, in which no agreement was reached on what to
do in this case, a group of majority legislators drafted a motion aimed –
according to opposition politicians – at intimidating the press and,
specifically, Hildebrandt. The motion proposes that a committee be formed to
investigate; the committee would identify the alleged offense (under Article
330 of the Penal Code) and its authors so Congress could lay any
corresponding charges. If charged under Article 330, those responsible for
divulging information on some of the topics addressed in the closed session
could receive prison terms of between five and 15 years.
Beatriz Merino (of the FIM party) revealed that during the session, First
Vice-President Ricardo Marcenaro (of the governing party) said Hildebrandt
participated in violating a State secret. Member of Congress Anel Townsend
(of the opposition Union por el Perú) confirmed Marcenaro’s statement.
REACTIONS:
“Today it’s Hildebrandt, tomorrow it will be another journalist, and press
freedom and freedom of expression will suffer,” said Merino and Townsend.
Opposition members of Congress affirmed that if an investigation were to be
opened it should focus on the people governed by Congress’s internal
rules — the people who have sworn to maintain the confidentiality of what
is discussed in closed sessions at which they are present, not journalists.
Miguel Velit Núñez, a member of Congress from the government party, agrees,
saying such an investigation by Congress should not be targeting
journalists.
In a press release, the National Association of Journalists (Asociacion
Nacional de Periodistas del Perú, ANP) asked that the goal of peace with
Ecuador not be used as an excuse to restrict the free flow of information or
limit press freedom, a right safeguarded by Peru’s Constitution and by
international instruments. The ANP’s press release, signed by ANP President
Roberto Mejía Alarcon, said that, although it is important for the public to
unify behind the goals of peace with Ecuador and compliance with the Río de
Janeiro Protocol (the accord signed by the two countries), “this unity can
only be achieved through the free flow of information between the public and
those negotiating the peace.”
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities below:
Appeals To
Victor Joy Way
President of Congress
Lima, Peru
Fax: + 511 4268290Denis Varga Marín
President of the Human Rights Committee
Congress
Lima, Peru
Fax: +511 4283231
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
