(IPYS/IFEX) – Representatives of three private television stations, Globovisión, Venevisión and Televen, have demanded that the Attorney General’s Office take measures to safeguard their personnel and property. On 20 February 2004, the television stations’ legal representatives went to the Attorney General’s Office to demand information regarding complaints they have registered over the last two years […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – Representatives of three private television stations, Globovisión, Venevisión and Televen, have demanded that the Attorney General’s Office take measures to safeguard their personnel and property.
On 20 February 2004, the television stations’ legal representatives went to the Attorney General’s Office to demand information regarding complaints they have registered over the last two years with respect to incidents of attacks against journalists, media workers and media outlet managers.
“The situation continues to deteriorate. We have the example of the action against Globovisión on Thursday and the president continues to make threatening comments. We believe this requires a response and action on the part of the Attorney General’s Office, ” Globovisión’s lawyer, Perla Jaimes, said.
In her statement, Jaimes was referring to a 19 February early morning incident in which four masked men, who were presumably armed, entered facilities that house Globovisión’s and Televen’s antennas and other transmission equipment. The facilities are located in El Ávila national park, in the northern part of Caracas.
In a press release, Globovisión said the intruders overpowered two television employees who were guarding the facility. They searched the facility and removed some portable equipment that belonged to the station.
Jaimes noted that, in the last two years, there have been approximately 40 incidents involving attacks against media workers, and the Venezuelan authorities have not taken action in any of the cases.
Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) lawyer Gregorio Odremán said that precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), recommending that the government ensure the safety of RCTV’s journalists, have been in effect since 2003. Odremán also said that more than 60 complaints about attacks against media workers have been registered with both the IACHR and the Venezuelan courts in the last two years.
With respect to the assault on Globovisión’s transmission facilities, Interior and Justice Minister Lucas Rincón said that his office will investigate the incident in order to identify those responsible. He rejected suggestions that the action could have been carried out by state security forces. Vice-president José Vicente Rangel instructed the head of the National Guard’s Fifth Regional Command, General Marcos Rojas, to investigate the incident.
On 14 February, President Hugo Chávez said on his Sunday radio and television programme, “Aló Presidente”, that he would order a takeover of Globovisión’s and Venevisión’s antennas if the opposition was to undertake actions similar to those of 11 April 2002, when a coup temporarily removed the president from power.
