For the second time, and fifteen days after the first incident, radio station Radio 1160 was forced to interrupt its signal because its sound equipment and transmitter were seized. The Forty-seventh Civil Court of Lima ordered the simultaneous confiscation of the new transmitter installed in the Morro Solar, Chorillos area, and the entirety of the […]
For the second time, and fifteen days after the first incident, radio station Radio 1160 was forced to interrupt its signal because its sound equipment and transmitter were seized. The Forty-seventh Civil Court of Lima ordered the simultaneous confiscation of the new transmitter installed in the Morro Solar, Chorillos area, and the entirety of the station’s electronic equipment, located in a Brazil Avenue office in the Breña neighbourhood. The order was carried out by some twenty citizens and uniformed police officers.
The action against Radio 1160 was lodged by Franco de Ferrari, son of the deceased former owner of the broadcaster, Vittorio de Ferrari, because of the stationâs US$113,000 debt.
It is noteworthy that the seizure was carried out, even though Federico Castro, director of the company that owns Radio 1160, gave the creditor three cheques covering the amount of the entire debt. Castro presented a copy of the notarised letter, which he remitted on 8 February 2000.
On Thursday 17 February, Castro and Oscar Becerra, as representatives of the company that owns Radio 1160, explained that the legal action was politically motivated. They added that the seizure occurred four days after the broadcasting of the programme Waves of Freedom (Ondas de Libertad), directed by journalist César Hildebrandt, who interviewed Susana Higuchi, former wife of President Alberto Fujimori, on 15 February. Higuchi referred to letters written by Japanese citizens who had made donations to the head of state without receiving any thanks in response, as is customary in Japanese culture.
Hildebrandt qualified the measures taken as the government’s attempt to silence his programme using the same tactics they have used to silence others, because of his frequent condemnations of corruption in the Fujimori government.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the authorities:
– asking them to intervene so that the matter is settled in the court, as per Peruvian law
– calling on them to ensure that the programme Ondas de Libertad will be allowed to broadcast without obstruction
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori
President of the Republic
Fax: + 51 14 266 770 / 266 535
Victor Raul Castillo Castillo
President of the Supreme Court
Fax: + 51 14 280 803 / 284 457
Jorge Santistevan De Noriega
Ombudsman
Fax: +51 14 267 800
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
