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Submitting to the will of the President of the Republic, public powers were brought to bear to prevent citizens from expressing themselves freely, and to prevent them from receiving in a timely manner, without prior censorship, vital information concerning the realities of the country. A result of this has been the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Tribune´s decisions 1.013 and 1.942, the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, the reform of the penal code that now characterizes dissidence as criminal conduct. There are now as well new laws, decrees, rules and regulations, all of which make up a platform structured by the regime to carry out its actions restricting the media. Remarkably, no less than members of the judicial branch, of all officials, have carried out public demonstrations of giving in to the regime´s political project, characterizing dramatically the situation of insecurity about the judicial branch that prevails in the country. The Venezuelan Press Bloc,
the National Journalists´ Colegio, the National Press Workers´ Union,
the Radio Chamber, the Inter American Press Association, Reporters without Borders,
Human Rights Watch, the Institute for Defense of Journalists, the International
Association of Radio Broadcasters, the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights and other institutions have made specific statements in regards to the
repeated attacks against journalists and freedom of expression and information
in Venezuela. SENIAT officials, with military backup, closed the newspaper headquarters, as well as its offices and correspondents in Caracas October 25, 2005, evicting journalists and administrative employees and taking control of their workspace. The newspaper was not published October 26. The arbitrary measure that kept the newspaper from coming out that day was repudiated throughout the entire country. The regime has put pressure on independent radio by imposing new taxes, requirements, administrative measures on radio broadcasting—all with the attendant fines, seizing of space and closures. State agencies and businesses are assigning hefty advertising contracts to the ever-increasing numbers of print and radio media that are government-owned, while independent media receive little or no investment at all. On December 2, 2005, representatives of the television stations Globovisión and Radio Caracas Television were warned by the Directory of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television that “they would take the measures necessary as to have no misinformation in the broadcasting of the elections” of representatives to the National Assembly, to be held two days later. The towers and transmissions of these channels were occupied by regime forces, blocking the access of technicians until after the elections were over. Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez announced on January 19, 2006, a measure against newspapers, television and radio stations for alleged “obstruction of justice” and later asked a judge to issue an injunction on publishing or broadcasting information regarding a witness in the case of the murder of a prosecutor in the Public Ministry. A judge (from the so-called
Sixth Court of Control) prohibited the publication or broadcast of this information,
concurring with a request by the Attorney General, and thus constituting a case
of prior censorship, in violation of Article 57 of the Venezuelan Constitution
which guarantees freedom of expression “without the establishment of censorship.” The Information Minister made public its warning to the newspaper El Nacional, pointing out its supposed “coverup, simulation of a punishable act or slander” for having published an editorial February 21, 2006, regarding the President of the Republic´s raising of a “consultative referendum” for his indefinite reelection that criticized the National Electoral Council. The prosecutor of the Public Ministry made formal accusations against journalist Patricia Poleo and editor Nelson Mezaerhane and called for their incarceration on November 4, 2005, connecting them as “alleged masterminds” of the murder of a Public Ministry prosecutor. Both denied any connection with the crime. Editor Mezerhane, after having been held by the political police for 46 days after appearing voluntarily before a court, is now free on pretrial release and must appear before the court every 15 days. On Wednesday, March 8, 2006, the newspaper La Región of Miranda State was firebombed. Its news editor confirmed that the attack could have been motivated by the publication of numerous accusations. Other attacks against journalists: On October 25, 2005, photographers from the newspaper Notitarde were kidnapped, assaulted and threatened with death by a group of alleged students after the photojournalists took pictures of the explosion of a bomb in the University of Carabobo. Davíd Ludovic, a reporter for El Nacional, was attacked November 1, 2005, in front of the Presidential Palace in Caracas, as he was taking statements from two citizens. He was sequestered in a security office where he finally was forced to sign a statement saying that he had not been attacked. Journalists José Trovat and Francia Malavé were injured when a person set fire to the bureau of the newspaper Notitarde in the city of Puerto Cabello. On January 7, 2006, Globovisión journalist Gabriela Matute suffered insults and degrading remarks from the mayor of Caracas , while she was interviewing him about unwarranted invasions into private property. On January 31, 2006, a Public Ministry prosecutor in Maracaibo confiscated cameras and film from a photojournalist from the newspaper La Verdad. On February 9, the Prosecutor´s Office of the Public Ministry accused journalist Napoleon Bravo of being in contempt of the Supreme Court of Justice. On March 6, 2006, journalist Gustavo Azócar Alcalá was detained by police forces in Táchira State on orders from a prosecutor in the Public Ministry. A judge upheld his arrest, resulting in the journalist´s imprisonment. On March 13, 2006, a court, known as court 45 of control, brought journalist Marianella Salazar to trial for alleged libel in reference to the Venezuelan vice-president and the governor of Miranda State. On March 13, 2006, a warrant was issued for the arrest of journalist Ibéyise Pacheco under charges of making “false statements.” Pacheco turned herself in on March 15, and the judge placed her under house arrest and banned her from writing her column or broadcasting her radio program. She also must report to court every two weeks.
Copyright © 2003 Inter American Press Association. All rights reserved. . |
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