(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release: LIMA, Peru (Aug. 30, 2000) — After a busy round of interviews with opposition members, news media and civic leaders, a high-level Inter American Press Association delegation wound up its visit to Peru yesterday with a meeting with President Alberto Fujimori, members of his cabinet and […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an IAPA press release:
LIMA, Peru (Aug. 30, 2000) — After a busy round of interviews with opposition members, news media and civic leaders, a high-level Inter American Press Association delegation wound up its visit to Peru yesterday with a meeting with President Alberto Fujimori, members of his cabinet and congressmen supporting his government.
The IAPA group took the opportunity to deliver a note to Fujimori expressing the free-press organizationâs concern for press freedom in Peru. They told him that despite appearances, there had been a number of developments that are seriously curtailing freedom of the press.
Throughout the trip, the IAPA delegates made it clear they were prepared to contribute to find solution to strengthen democracy, a prerequisite of which is needed for freedom of expression. They also stressed that by going to Lima they sought to reinforce the effort by newspapers in the Americas, and the ongoing work of the Organization of American States (OAS), to obtain the “redemocratization” of Peru through dialogues that are accepted by both the government and the opposition.
Because of the media it represents and its mission to defend a universal right that transends borders, IAPA proposed to the Peruvian government a number of possible solutions for the major press freedom issues in the country, in line with the stance it has taken for the last four years, when an earlier IAPA mission had warned the government about these matters, which were becoming problematic, and are now clearly larger issues.
As a solution to the Channel 2 and Red Global 1160 television station’s cases, IAPA suggested that Fujimori restore these television stations to their prior owners. They told the president and his aides that in light of recent information, the solutions currently underway did not appear to be viable, and therefore suggested arbitration by the Inter-American Human Rights Court, which already has a similar case under review.
IAPA said that mechanisms and controls were needed to prevent any action or interference by intelligence services in the work of the media and journalists.
They also requested that means be established to ensure total transparency in the placement of official advertising, which has been characterized as another way of putting pressure on the media and journalists, by punishing or rewarding them for their news policies and editorial line.
With regards to legal actions against news media, the IAPA delegation said very clearly that changes must be made so that there can be guarantees at the international level that the legal system fulfills its role of safeguarding human rights, and that it does not become a dangerous, ongoing and fickle threat used against the media, which is how it is perceived in many cases.
The mission also expressed its extreme concern at the helplessness felt by journalists in rural areas, who are facing harassment and threats by local authorities and remain unprotected from other kinds of pressures, all of which generate legal complaints on a regular basis.
IAPA stated that the best guarantee of transparency in government action and for control by the people is that there is free access to official information, so that the peopleâs right to express themselves without any limitation, and to receive, seek and impart information, may be exercised in full, as is required in any genuinely democratic regime.
Both President Fujimori and his cabinet members spelled out in detail the governmentâs vision, but stressed that they believe there is unrestricted press freedom in Peru, and that problems such as the Channel 2 TV and Red Global 1160 cases are matters for the judiciary, not the executive branch.
On a positive note, IAPA indicated the interest that was shown in their description of the situation of journalists in rural areas. In this regard, because of the readiness they expressed to consider the specific cases, IAPA remarked them that the details of the cases can be found in reports by the Peruvian organization, Instituto Prensa y Sociedad.
Although the government officials insisted that the cases of Channel 2, Baruch Ivcher and Red Global 1160 were a matter for the judiciary, President Fujimori recalled that Peruâs return to the jurisdiction of that body was one of the agenda items agreed to with the OAS, and suggested the alternative of going ahead with IAPA’s idea of involving the Inter-American Human Rights Court.
During another interview, the IAPA delegation also had a full and frank discussion with Peruâs main opposition leader, Alejandro Toledo. IAPA welcomed Toledoâs statement that among the points to be discussed at any dialogue table are those concerning freedom of expression, as one can not speak of democratization if freedom does not fully exist.
He added that overcoming the current freedom of expression problems would enable the rest of the dialogue to take place with total transparency, and all the public to be fully aware of any agreements that were reached.
IAPA can only continue to hope, and express its desire for a successful outcome to arise from the current situation in Peru, so that press freedom can once again reign freely. The mission would be happy to know that its efforts have contributed to that end, and calls for a dialogue to take place without radical and orthodox positions being taken. As for freedom of expression, the IAPA mission looks forward to a return to the path laid down by international conventions such as the American Convention on Human Rights and the Declaration of Chapultepec.
The IAPA mission was led by President Tony Pederson, Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas. It also consisted of First Vice President Danilo Arbilla, of Búsqueda, Montevideo, Uruguay; Freedom of the Press and Information Committee Chairman Rafael Molina, from Ahora, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; former presidents Jorge Fascetto, from El DÃa, La Plata, Argentina, and Edward Seaton, from Manhattan Mercury, Manhattan, Kansas; Executive Director Julio E. Muñoz; and Press Freedom Coordinator Ricardo Trotti.
