An IAPA international delegation, headed by former president Jorge Fascetto, traveled to Chile with the main objective of denouncing to the participating OAS member states violations of freedom of the press, particularly in Cuba and Venezuela. At the same time, the IAPA mission urged that the assembly in its final inter-governmental declaration refrain from including anything that could curtail the role that journalists and news media play in the community today.
The IAPA expressed satisfaction with a clause on press freedom contained in the document, titled “Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and the People’s Trust: A New Commitment of Governance for the Americas,” that said, “Recognizing that democracy is made stronger with full respect for freedom of expression, access to information and the free dissemination of ideas, and that all sectors of society, including the news media through the plurality of information that they disseminate to the people, can contribute to a climate of tolerance for all views, foster a culture of peace and strengthen democratic governance.”
The IAPA’s stance on Venezuela and Cuba was explained during a well-attended press conference held in Santiago on Monday, in which a number of Venezuelan reporters went so far as to question why the IAPA held that in Venezuela there is no freedom of the press.
While in Santiago, the IAPA delegation also met with foreign ministers Rafael Beilsa of Argentina, Alberto Tovar of Costa Rica, Carolina Barco of Colombia, Guillermo Pérez of Honduras, María Brizuela of El Salvador, Alan Wagner of Peru, Didier Opertti of Uruguay and Frank Guerrero of the Dominican Republic; deputy foreign ministers Miguel Haekim of Mexico and Cristian Barrios of Chile, and the United States permanent representative to the OAS, Roger Noriega.
In addition to Fascetto, of the Buenos Aires, Argentina, daily newspaper Diario Popular, the IAPA delegation was made up of Luis F. Etchevehere, El Diario, Paraná, Argentina; Bartolomé Mitre, La Nación, Buenos Aires; IAPA Executive Director Julio E. Muñoz, and several delegates from Chile.
Following is the statement that the IAPA issued during the June 9 press conference in Santigo:
“The Inter American Press Association, an organization of more than 1,300 print publications in the Western Hemisphere whose mission is the promotion and defense of press freedom, is confident that the discussions during this 33rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) being held in Santiago, Chile, lead to a formal commitment on the part of the governments of the region that freedom of expression and of the press as fundamental values to achieve peace and development.
“The OAS has given clear indications of its commitment to freedom of the press and of expression. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ 2001 Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression depicts the spirit that should be paramount in every society with regard to such rights and guarantees. Concern at violence and the murder of journalists has also been taken into account in an OAS General Assembly resolution adopted in June 1998, titled ‘Attacks upon the Exercise of Freedom of the Press and Crimes Against Journalists.’
“Nevertheless, the IAPA, as an organization devoted to the defense and promotion of press freedom, cannot fail to point out that there are numerous violations of such freedom in several countries where a shadow has been cast over the democratic values to which governments of the region have committed themselves through adhesion to the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
“The imprisonment of 28 independent journalists in Cuba following ‘summary trials’ in which due process was totally ignored, the murder of journalists in numerous countries, financial and legal pressure applied to individual journalists and news media are all a reminder that we are still a long way from being able to enjoy freedom of the press throughout the Americas.
“While the violations of press freedom are many, the IAPA would like today to give special emphasis to its concern at the lack of such freedom in Venezuela, due to certain legal and executive actions.
“The IAPA trusts that the recent electoral agreement between the government and the opposition in Venezuela, reached through the mediation of OAS Secretary General César Gaviria, will lead to an end being put to debate in the National Assembly there on the bill for a Law on Social Responsibility in Radio or Television, otherwise known as the Content Law, as its wording is contrary to Point 14 of the agreement, which states that ‘we are committed to freedom of expression, as is enshrined in our Constitution and laws, as well as in the American Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Democratic Charter.’
“This Content Law bill is of vital importance because if passed it will empower the government to exceed its authority, as it could go beyond dealing with merely technical matters in regards to broadcasting and interfere directly in the news media’s editorial policies, to the detriment of their independence and plurality – the basic underpinnings of freedom of the press.
“In light of the agreement between the government and the opposition, the IAPA also hopes that other legislative bills will be thrown out, such as the one for an Organic Law of Participation by the People, which would provide for the creation of a News Media Oversight Committee made up of community, neighborhood or parish leaders to be responsible for keeping an eye on the accuracy and impartiality of news items.
“In this context, the IAPA would also point out that government propaganda against journalists and news media is aimed at confusing the public about what their role is, attempting to impose sanctions or seeking the creation of codes of conduct. In view of such a situation, the IAPA recalls the wording of the Declaration of Chapultepec, which states that ‘respect for ethical and professional values may not be imposed. These are the exclusive responsibility of journalists and the media. In a free society, it is public opinion that rewards or punishes.’
“In general, the tense situation in which news media and journalists must do their job of reporting the news in being subjected to physical attacks, tax burdens, court rulings, administrative and financial orders, such as foreign exchange controls that in this case affect importation of newsprint and other supplies for the newspaper industry, has led us to conclude that there is no freedom of the press in Venezuela.
“The IAPA has for several years now been insisting – and this was
ratified in a resolution adopted in March this year during a meeting of the
organization in El Salvador – on the need to restore respect for free
speech in Venezuela. At that meeting the IAPA issued a call to the OAS to urge
the governments of its member states to denounce in the OAS the aggression unleashed
against the news media in Venezuela, calling on that country’s government
to restore respect for freedom of expression as a prerequisite for the legitimate
restoration of its democracy – a request that we reiterate on this occasion
to the prestigious inter-American body.”
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