Nicaragua

WHEREAS in the past months the Administration has escalated hostility towards Nicaraguan independent media outlets and journalists; the highest Nicaraguan authorities from the national government have deteriorated relationships by making accusations, threats and verbal abuse WHEREAS Governmental institutions and members of organizations which are linked with the Administration guidelines systematically file lawsuits to constrain the free practice of journalism WHEREAS measures of harassment encouraged by the government are increasing, such as that against journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro who is being investigated for agreements signed by his nongovernmental organization and other foreign institutions WHEREAS the Administration has specifically campaigned to defame and denigrate independent media outlets and journalists WHEREAS there is a pending ruling about an appeal on the constitutional grounds of the tax law reform, presented by several media outlets which consider that this law, on the pretext of regulating, does change the constitutional order that exempts media outlets from taxes on newspaper print, machinery, equipment and supplies WHEREAS a National Assembly Committee is dealing with a bill which would regulate Nicaraguan media outlets’ exonerations WHEREAS principle 7 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says: “Tariff and exchange policies, licenses for the importation of paper or news-gathering equipment, the assigning of radio and television frequencies and the granting or withdrawal of government advertising may not be used to reward or punish the media or individual journalists” WHEREAS principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says: “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, 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 urge the Nicaraguan Supreme Court to make a final ruling on the appeal made on the constitutional grounds of the special tax legislation concerning the media to exhort the National Assembly to pass the law which regulates the media outlets constitutional exonerations with no limits to exhort Nicaraguan courts to be impartial when dealing with media outlets and journalists and intellectuals such as the cases of the journalists Jaime Chamorro Cardenal, Eduardo Enríquez, Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios and the poet Ernesto Cardenal to denounce the disproportionate advertising campaign to discredit journalists and independent media outlets and to urge the Nicaraguan government to normalize its relations with the press in order to support the practice of journalism in democracy to urge the IAPA President to spend a special mission in Nicaragua to investigate the conditions of the freedom of expression in the country.