Miami (January 11, 2011).— The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said today it trusts that Panama’s President Ricardo Martinelli will not endorse but rather veto a bill under debate in the National Assembly aimed at making it a criminal offense, punishable by up to four years in prison, to “offend, insult or show contempt for” the head of state or other public officials.
IAPA President Gonzalo Marroquín declared, “We are surprised that having thrown out making contempt a crime in Panama now a boot is being given to the democratic trend that has been witnessed in recent years in Latin America towards abolishing this offense. To pass an insult law would be a setback for press freedom not only in that country but throughout the region.”
Referring to statements made yesterday by Martinelli about his disagreement with the draft bill, Marroquín, editor of the Guatemala City, Guatemala, newspaper Prensa Libre, said he hoped that the Panamanian president would keep his word not to pursue such a measure and to veto it should it be passed in the legislature. He added that the IAPA would continue to keep a close watch on how the matter progresses.
National Assembly Speaker José Muñoz, of the governing Cambio Democrático (Democratic Change) party, and Representative Agustín Sellhorn had on January 5 introduced in Congress draft bill number 105, which seeks to add a clause to the Penal Code setting a two- to four-year prison sentence or its equivalent in fines or weekend incarceration of those who offend the president or other senior officials.
The chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News, Texas, said that the mere consideration of again making contempt a criminal offense implies creating privileges for public officials and goes against the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression, which establishes that these officials should be subject to greater scrutiny by the people.
Other countries that have repealed insult laws in recent years include Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica (partially), Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org; http://www.impunidad.com
