During their stay in Caracas, and before the "Public Forum on Freedom of the Press in Venezuela", the IAPA delegation will visit the newsrooms of different local news media, and will hold meetings with politicians, the judiciary, and representatives from the Church and the press. The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has been invited to inaugurate the forum.
On Wednesday, February 20, the delegation, led by IAPA President Robert J. Cox, The Post & Courier, Charleston, South Carolina, is scheduled to hold a private meeting with the President of the National Assembly, William Rafael Lara, and members of the Permanent Committee on Science, Technology, and Communications. On Friday, February 22, the delegation will meet with the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Iván Rincón Urdaneta, and other justices.
On February 21, the IAPA will hold meetings with members of the National Association of Journalists and the National Union of Press Workers, Governor of the Archdiocese of Caracas, Monsignor Nicolás Bermúdez, and Attorney General, Isaías Rodríguez. They will also visit El Globo, El Universal, El Nuevo País, Publicaciones Bloque De Armas, and El Nacional newspapers.
On Friday, February 22, the public forum begins at Espacio OFITEL, where recognized experts will discuss press freedom and laws that contradict the principles of the Declaration of Chapultepec. These principles are considered necessary for the survival of democracy and were adopted by the IAPA during a hemisphere conference in Mexico City in 1994. The document has been signed by 22 Heads of Government, as well as representatives from a variety of international organizations.
Besides President Cox, the IAPA delegation will be comprised of former President Danilo Arbilla, Búsqueda, Montevideo, Uruguay; First Vice President, Andrés García Gamboa, Novedades de Quintana Roo, Cancun, Mexico; Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina Morillo, Ahora, Dominican Republic; Chairman of the Chapultepec Committee, Alejandro Miró Quesada C., El Comercio, Lima, Peru; Executive Director, Julio E. Muñoz; Press Freedom Coordinator, Ricardo Trotti; Chapultepec Project Attorney, Jairo Lanao; and Chapultepec Project Administrator, Sean Casey.
For more information about the forum, please contact Sean Casey at [email protected] or by telephone at 305-634-2465.
FUENTE: nota.texto7
