THREATS TO PRESS FREEDOM IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE CONTINUE, IAPA WARNS IN QUARTERLY REPORT

MIAMI, Florida (Feb. 2, 2000).- The Inter American Press Associations Executive Committee at its quarterly meeting here contrasted the plight of the press in Venezuela - just one of the countries in the Western Hemisphere where journalists are under strong attack - with Panama, where the newly-elected president has thrown out a series of anti-press laws.

The comparison was made by the executive body of the Miami-based hemisphere free press organization its meeting in late January in which it reviewed the state of press freedom in the Americas.

Its review, which covered the period October 1999 to January 2000, made it clear that in Venezuela, the press has become the target of attacks by President Hugo Chávez and his officials, who lose no opportunity to brand the news media as liars, opening the way to greater attacks, such as for example the vandalism at the El Nuevo País newspaper just a week ago and the aborted bomb threats on El Universal in December. President Chávez himself has been the first to utilize the right of reply enshrined in the new constitution, to refute the newspaper and its editor. The IAPA said it felt cheated by the approval of the new constitution with provisions for a "right to truthful information" and a "right of reply," a matter that had led to a visit by the organization in November. On that occasion, the authorities had promised an unrestricted respect for press freedom and expressed their opposition to the proposed constitutional provisions - but the facts turned out to be quite different. The mission was made up of Danilo Arbilla, Búsqueda, Montevideo, Uruguay; Rafael Molina, Listín Diario, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Bartolomé Mitre, La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ricardo Trotti, El Nuevo Herald, Miami, Florida; Colin Phillips, Editor & Publisher, New York; Executive Director Julio Muñoz and Press Freedom Coordinator Carlos Molina.

Panama, by contrast, took a big step toward greater press freedom. The infamous "gag laws" that severely restricted newsgathering were struck down by action of the presidency and the legislature. This legislation allowed prior censorship and confiscation of the media, and set harsh prison terms for non-compliance. The IAPA gave its support to this initiative, sending to Panama its most senior officers, President Tony Pederson and Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information Chairman Rafael Molina.

Looking ahead, in Colombia the deterioration in the safety of journalists is incalculable. There have been four murders in the past three months and a similar number of news people have gone into exile after receiving death threats and actual attempts on their lives. At the risk of sounding repetitive, a mission to Colombia at this time is a must. Advantage should be taken of the launch of the Rapid Investigation Unit to arrange a meeting with senior Colombian officials to underscore the need to provide greater protection to journalists.

The difficult government-media relations in Peru have turned into an unending campaign of harassment and persecution of opposition journalists. Examples of this are a tightening of the police and legal siege of Baruch Ivcher, former owner of Channel 2 TV, the arbitrary legal actions against another television executive, Genaro Delgado Parker, and the campaign of attacks on journalists who are critical of the regime, among them the Free Press Group.

The state of press freedom in Cuba is extremely precarious, with a handful of journalists trying to maintain certain independence in reporting and survive the incessant persecution of the Castro regime. A new form of intimidation is to prevent journalists from leaving their home, in a kind of de facto house arrest. At least 10 journalists have been subjected to this tactic in recent weeks, with the authorities seeking to prevent coverage of any event seen as potentially contentious. The foreign press was also subjected to restrictions in December when the Cuban government denied entry visas to a group of American editorial writers belonging to the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW). Initially, a visa was denied only to The Miami Herald, but following a protest by the NCEW the action was extended to the whole group.

An initiative to repeal the insult and libel law is being pursued in Argentina by journalist Horacio Verbitski. In the past year, at least six journalists were sentenced under these laws. The IAPA has come out strongly against such legislation and applauds the initiative to overturn it, but it should also look for an opportunity to participate in this process or in the actual repeal, expected to take place in February-March.

In other developments, in Uruguay a regional precedent is being set on behalf of press freedom thanks to a thorough investigation carried out by the judicial authorities regarding the issue of discrimination in the placement of official advertising and government loans to news media. The probe took on new urgency in the wake of complaints being aired by the IAPA during the Houston General Assembly.

Guatemala saw a reappearance of the phantom of violence against the press a few weeks ago, following the murder of American correspondent Larry Lee, who was found dead at his home. The motive for the crime remains unknown.

In Brazil, the bill for a new press law that would restrict news gathering came closer to enactment when the lower house of the federal legislature passed it and sent it on to Senate for approval in December.