During the meeting in Vienna November 21-22 of nine international organizations devoted to the defense of free speech and freedom of the press throughout the world, various press freedom issues and the status of news media and journalists were discussed, following which resolutions were adopted, among others, on Cuba, Venezuela and the murder of journalists.
Following is the text of the resolutions on Latin America adopted by the organizations
attending the Coordinating Committee meeting - the Committee to Protect Journalists,
Commonwealth Press Union, Inter American Press Association, International Association
of Broadcasting, International Federation of the Periodical Press, International
Press Institute, North American Broadcasters Association, World Association
of Newspapers and World Press Freedom Committee:
RESOLUTION ON CUBA
The members of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations present at the meeting on 21 November 2002 in Vienna, Austria, issued the following resolution on harassment, the lack of freedom of expression and freedom of the press that affects independent journalists in Cuba.
WHEREAS
as a result of this project, the Cuban government called an emergency plebiscite
to incorporate a text declaring socialism "irrevocable" in the Constitution,
and the state media unleashed an intense propaganda campaign in favor of it,
even as the government blocked all possibility of spreading news about the Varela
Project
WHEREAS
independent journalists Bernardo Arévalo Padrón, Léxter
Téllez Castro, Carlos Brizuela and Carlos Alberto Domínguez are
still in jail and many others are systematically harassed with searches, intimidating
calls, temporary detentions, warnings, fines and forcible expulsions from places
where they go to do their professional work
WHEREAS
the Cuban government prevents independent journalists from traveling abroad
to get training or exchange ideas and opinions freely, and denies them access
to the necessary tools to disseminate their news, ideas and opinions inside
and outside the island
WHEREAS
the Declaration of Chapultepec and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom
of Expression declare that freedom of expression and of the press are severely
limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment
of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity
for perpetrators and that restrictions to the free circulation of ideas and
opinions, as well as the arbitrary imposition of obstacles to the free flow
of information violate the right to freedom of expression
The Coordinating Committee resolves:
to condemn the violation of the Cuban peoples right to obtain information about matters that concern them and to protest the openly propagandistic conduct of the government media
to demand the release of independent journalists and an end to harassment of their colleagues
to demand that independent journalists be given access to the tools they need to disseminate their ideas, opinions and news throughout the country and abroad as well as the possibility of traveling to other countries without government restriction
to demand the free and unrestricted practice of independent journalism in Cuba.
RESOLUTION ON VENEZUELA
The members of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations present at the meeting on 21 November 2002 in Vienna, Austria, issued the following resolution on the situation on freedom of the press in Venezuela.
WHEREAS
violations of, affronts to, and various forms of threats to freedom of expression
and press freedom continue in Venezuela through the actions of all the branches
of government
WHEREAS
in an October 23, 2002 press release addressing the severe political crisis
in Venezuela, Secretary General César Gaviria of the Organization of
American States noted that "now, more than ever, there is an urgent need
to overcome… the limitations placed on freedom of expression through threats
and harassment"
WHEREAS
the joint mission of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and International
Press Institute (IPI) to Caracas in September 2002, as well as recent missions
by the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB), the International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ), and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), observed
and concluded that there are threats to, and systematic violations of, the exercise
of freedom of expression and press freedom in Venezuela
WHEREAS
in addition to Ruling 1013 of the Venezuelan Supreme Courts Constitutional
Division, which restricts rights of free expression and the publics right to
be informed, government officials are now pushing for enactment of a Content
Law that would sharply curtail the free exercise of expression and press freedom
WHEREAS
Venezuelas National Assembly recently opened debate on a draft Citizen Participation
Act that would create a National Mass Media Oversight Council with the power
to impose penalties on media outlets that fail to report in a "true and
impartial" manner
WHEREAS
The Venezuelan Government has not complied with the measures adopted by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requiring protection of the rights
to life and personal integrity, and the right of freedom of expression and of
the press, of publishers, editors and journalists of Venezuelas mass media
outlets
WHEREAS
news photographer Jorge Tortoza of Bloque de Armas was murdered on April 11,
2002, and physical assaults and abuse of various journalists by the "Bolivarian
Circles" - irregular street shock troops under the political control of
government supporters - have increased several times over in the months since
then; specifically, the following journalists have been injured or received
specific death threats: Gabriel Osorio of Revista Primicia; Olivia Ojeda and
Winston Duran of Yaracuy Hoy; Antonio Monroy, David Pérez Jansen and
Argenis Uribe of RCTV (Canal 2); José Angel Ocanto of Diario El Impulso;
Roxana Díaz, Felipe Lugo, Ana Karina Villalba, Aymara Di Lorenzo and
Martha Palma Troconis de Globovisión (Canal 33); Carlos Briceño
and Eduardo Sanchez of Diario El Carabobeño; Jairo Altuve, Dorian Esteves
and Diosirys Obregón of Notitarde; Mauro Acosta and Luis Alfonso Fernández
of VeneVisión; Leslie Pedreañez, Elianta Quintero and Johan Merchán
of Televen (Canal 10); Alicia La Rotta and Gustavo Rodríguez of Diario
El Universal; Omar Veliz of El Siglo; Maria Alejandra Monagas and Carlos Meza
of Ultimas Noticias
WHEREAS
Venezuelas president is still making direct threats to permanently suspend
the transmission signals of private radio and television media outlets, because
of disagreement with their news content
WHEREAS
the Declaration of Chapultepec and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom
of Expression declare that freedom of expression and of the press is an inalienable
right of the people and it is an indispensable requirement for the existence
of a democratic society; and that both documents establish that prior censorship,
restrictions on the circulation of the media or dissemination of their reports,
forced publication of information, the imposition of obstacles to the free flow
of news, directly contradict freedom of the press
The Coordinating Committee resolves:
to roundly condemn the conduct of the administration and other branches of Venezuelas government for systematically violating the freedom of expression and of the press within the meaning of the Declaration of Chapultepec and the OAS Declaration of Principles on the Freedom of Expression
to urge the administration and other branches of Venezuelas government to conduct themselves with greater regard for such freedoms, and to provide such protections as are indispensable for the exercise of press freedom in that country
to demand that the Government of Venezuela comply with the measures adopted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect publishers, editors and journalists
to respectfully recommend to the Government of Venezuela that it seek an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Human Rights Court on the draft Content Law and Citizen Participation Act, to determine whether they are compatible with the rules of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights.
RESOLUTION ON IMPUNITY
The members of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations present at the meeting on 21 November 2002 in Vienna, Austria, issued the following resolution on the murder and violence against journalists.
WHEREAS
there are areas where illicit groups operate, where the practice of journalism
is most risky and, therefore, new and more effective measures should be established
to guarantee freedom of expression
WHEREAS
governments have the obligation to provide the greatest security for the free
practice of journalism, since true democracy cannot exist without a free press
WHEREAS
the Inter American Press Association has been stressing concrete aspects of
the murders of journalists since its hemisphere-wide meeting Unpunished Crimes
Against Journalists held in Guatemala in 1997, and ratifies during the conference
Drug Traffic: Journalists at Risk, organized by the IAPA in Tijuana, Mexico,
last August
WHEREAS
the Declaration of Chapultepec and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom
of Expression declares that murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, threat,
violence, the unjust imprisonment of journalists and the destruction of facilities,
restrict freedom of expression and freedom of the press and the States should
investigated promptly and punished harshly such acts
The Coordinating Committee resolves:
to urge governments to consider the murders of journalists as federal crimes or crimes that can be handled with a change of jurisdiction to special courts as a way to guarantee greater clarity in the trials and to prevent impunity for this type of crime
to request that the governments establish special prosecutors offices to investigate attacks on journalists and the media more efficiently and quickly
to encourage legislatures to amend procedural and criminal codes so an attack that harms a journalist will be considered an aggravating circumstance
to insist that international organizations consider press freedom a condition
for granting financial or economic aid to nations in the hemisphere.
FUENTE: nota.texto7
