(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 23 February 2007 IAPA press release: IAPA points to curbs in press freedom in Paraguay ASUNCION, Paraguay (February 23, 2007) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) stated today that freedom of the press will remain uncertain in Paraguay until the disappearance of a local journalist is solved and […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 23 February 2007 IAPA press release:
IAPA points to curbs in press freedom in Paraguay
ASUNCION, Paraguay (February 23, 2007) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) stated today that freedom of the press will remain uncertain in Paraguay until the disappearance of a local journalist is solved and as long as impunity surrounds murder cases, disproportionate punishment is dispensed against journalists and news media in libel cases, and there is no law on free access to public information.
IAPA President Rafael Molina said, “Despite the fact that the authorities insist that these and other occurrences are under investigation, so long as there is no resolution of the cases of Enrique Galeno, missing since February 4, 2006, and Santiago Leguizamón, murdered on April 26, 1991, a shadow will remain over freedom of the press in Paraguay.”
The IAPA delegation, including Molina, editor of the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, daily newspaper El Día, and Press Freedom Director Ricardo Trotti, met February 21 and 22 with Paraguay’s President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alicia Pucheta, Senators Armando Espinola of the Liberal Party and Ana Mendoza de Acha of the Cherished Homeland Party, Attorney General Rubén Candia Amarilla and officers of the Paraguayan Journalists Union, as well as local editors and reporters. The IAPA visited Paraguay to hold a seminar for Paraguayan journalists on reducing risks while reporting the news.
In each meeting Molina expressed the IAPA’s deep concern over Galeano’s disappearance and said that “the failure to solve this case invites those who resort to violence to continue ignoring press freedom.” The IAPA joined the local journalists’ union’s claim that more Paraguayan journalists might face the same fate “if the authorities do not investigate, solve the crimes and apply the full weight of the law.”
The Chief Justice told IAPA of the crisis and backlog faced by the judicial system and handed over documentation on a number of cases involving journalists that are awaiting judgment. Molina told Chief Justice Pucheta of the frequent protests his organization has made on the so-called “damages awards industry” whereby news media outlets, particularly newspapers, are sued for libel or defamation and forced to pay burdensome damages that could jeopardize their very existence. Molina declared that for some time now the IAPA has defended the application of technical standards to assess awards in libel suits.
The IAPA also encouraged the Paraguayan Congress to pass a law of access to public information that would allow the people to end the culture of government secrecy. Molina noted that the IAPA did not support two previous bills for such laws because instead of making government more open they hindered access to public records.
Senators Espinola and de Acha, referring to the Galeano case, said they believe “there is no political will or technical ability” on the part of the government to resolve the matter.
At the meeting with Congress the IAPA also stated its defense of the decriminalization of libel and defamation – a trend, it said, gaining ground in other Latin American countries.
Attorney General Candia Amarilla told the IAPA that there was no clear indication that Galeano’s disappearance was linked to his work as a journalist. In fact, he stressed that the journalist, whose whereabouts have remained unknown for a year now, could have left Paraguay voluntarily.
Later, the Paraguayan Journalists’ Union showed the IAPA documentation demonstrating that a national congressman, allegedly linked to organized crime, was involved in Galeano’s disappearance. The IAPA delegates emphasized how important the union’s work was in the Galeano case and they agreed to share information.
Finally, Molina announced that the cases of impunity and violence against journalists in Paraguay would be the subject of special discussion during the IAPA’s Midyear Meeting to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, March 16-19.
