Impunity - Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela

WHEREAS journalist Germán Antonio Rivas, reporter and managing owner of Corporación Maya Visión, Canal 7, in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras was murdered on November 26, 2003 WHEREAS journalist Carlos Guadamuz of Canal 23 in Nicaragua was murdered on February 10, 2004 and the killer was arrested and convicted WHEREAS journalist Samuel Román of Ñu Verá radio in the municipality of Capitán Bado, located in Paraguay on the border with Brazil, was murdered on April 20, 2004 WHEREAS in Peru, journalist Alberto Rivera Fernández of Radio Frecuencia Oriental in Pucallpa was murdered on April 21, 2004, and Antonio de la Torre Echeandía of Radio Orbita in Yungay was murdered on February 14 that same year WHEREAS Councilman and journalist Mauro Marcano of Radio Maturín in Maturín, Monagas, Venezuela was murdered on September 1, 2004, and there as yet has been no resolution of the murder of photojournalist Jorge Tortoza of the newspaper 2001, which took place on April 11, 2002 during a period of nationwide unrest WHEREAS Article 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states, “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly” THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to request Honduran authorities not only identify the killers of Germán Antonio Rivas but also capture and prosecute those who ordered the crime to welcome the sentencing of murderer of Carlos Guadamuz and to call for continuing the investigations to identify those who ordered the crime to urge the authorities in both Paraguay and Brazil to continue their inquiries until both the perpetrators of the crime and those who ordered it are brought to justice to request that Peruvian authorities pursue their inquiries into the murders of Rivera Fernández and Torre Echeandía until the killers and those who ordered them are brought to justice to call upon the Venezuelan authorities to continue investigating the murders of Marcano and Tortoza until the guilty are brought to justice.