DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In this latest period, the print, radio and television media enjoyed a favorable climate in which it could conduct its work freely, shadowed only by occasional actions or statements by government officials or individuals in the private sector who fail to understand or accept the role of journalism. In a recent example, a series of articles in the newspaper El Caribe led the government to purge and restructure an entire system of criminal records. This system included files on renowned journalists who had simply been sued for allegedly violating Law 6132 on expressing and disseminating opinion. As for this archaic law, President Leonel Fernández appointed a commission to recommend ways to amend it. This commission is headed by Dr. Rafael Molina Morillo, IAPA president and editor of El Día newspaper. In three noteworthy cases that are not yet fully solved, journalists Julio Martínez Pozo of the morning talk show “El Gobierno de la Mañana” and Julián Herrera reported receiving death threats. Herrera said that he was being threatened and persecuted by members of the armed forces after he had reported on an alleged organized-crime network in certain areas of the military. And several months after unknown assailants fired shots on the newsroom of the television news show SIN, the authorities have yet to find the culprits. Justice has yet to be fully served for three crimes that remain shrouded in impunity. March 17 will mark the 32-year anniversary of the murder of journalist Orlando Martínez, who was shot to death in 1975. Though convictions were handed down 20 years ago, the final sentence is still pending appeal, and the masterminds are still at large. March 28 will mark the 34-year anniversary of the murder of journalist Gregorio García Castro, the editor in chief of Última Hora, a newspaper that also ran his column “En un tris.” This case remains mired in absolute impunity. In another crime that has gone unpunished, journalist and professor Narciso “Narcisazo” González disappeared thirteen years ago on May 26, after he had criticized then-President Joaquín Balaguer amid accusations of fraud during the 1994 presidential elections.