WHEREAS
press freedom has been tarnished in the past six months by repeated acts of intimidation and aggression against journalists and media outlets
WHEREAS
while these acts, from groups close to the government, and in some cases from the government itself, are not new, novel and more dangerous methods have been developed
WHEREAS
among these it is worth pointing out attacks on media outlets in large demonstrations, accusing them of being antidemocratic, and costly poster campaigns attacking newspapers and television channels
WHEREAS
also of concern are old and new activities that seek to interfere with or distort the relationship among the press, society and the government, such as repeated manipulation in the placement of government advertising and the appearance of measures and projects to adversely affect the media, when the government disagrees with them
WHEREAS
it is also worth mentioning the promotion of a media observation entity that, in the midst of the conflict, threatened to set itself up as the authority to evaluate news content, or the announcement of the amendment of the broadcasting law in a process started in a spirit of confrontation and in a climate of warning to the media
WHEREAS
these circumstances disclose a failure to understand the role of the press and scant tolerance for dissent and pluralism, situations that had been observed previousy but that have worsened in recent months
WHEREAS
principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says, No people or society can be free without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise of this freedom is not something authorities grant, it is an inalienable right of the people
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to express its concern for the cooling of the climate of press freedom in Argentina, expressed with attacks, threats and projects that could, directly or indirectly, intimidate or adversely affect journalists´ work
to warn of repeated conduct, such as manipulation of information, abuse of the placement of government advertising and promotion of administrative and legislative efforts that could control or weaken the media, both in their journalistic activity and their economic independence
to urge the branches of government in Argentina to consider these risks in their real dimension, to clarify and prevent repetition of acts such as those described, to review this conduct and confirm in this way its
commitment to the complete validity of press freedom in the country
to remind the Congress of the need for a freedom of information law.
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Madrid, Spain