Miami (April 8, 2013)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today denied having anything to do with a controversial ceremony of the Mexican Newspaper Publishers Association (AME) paying homage to the governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz, where since 2010 there have been nine murders and there continue to be attacks on and threats to journalists.
The IAPA publicly stated that it had taken no part in the AME’s decision to praise Gov. Javier Duarte de Ochoa for what the Mexican organization regarded as his actions in favor of freedom of expression and the integrity of journalists.
Representatives and members of the AME who attended the IAPA Midyear Meeting in the Mexican city of Puebla March 8-11 held, within the framework of the IAPA event, a private meeting of that organization in which they were understood to have taken that decision, which has given rise to strong criticism.
The IAPA had no responsibility and completely separates itself from the decision taken autonomously by the AME. In fact, in its report and two resolutions approved at that meeting concerning Mexico the IAPA complained of the impunity existing there and criticized the Veracruz state government, as well as those of Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Chihuahua, where “there exists a serious and worrisome situation of attacks, abductions and threats to journalists, news media and social network users, and in every case neither federal nor state authorities have acted,” so it would have been a contradiction to praise any state government in Mexico.
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.