Venezuela

WHEREAS the killing of journalists is still a concern for Venezuelan society with reports that criminals are hired to threaten and intimidate journalists and even cause their disappearance WHEREAS the verbal violence of President Hugo Chávez leads to actions of activists and other government agents to terrorize and intimidate owners of media companies and independent journalists WHEREAS President Chávez has ordered the Information Ministry, governors and mayors to draw up a “map of the media war” to identify independent media outlets throughout the country WHEREAS government representatives, chairmen of committees in the National Assembly, have recently announced new changes in laws to increase control of the media WHEREAS discrimination against independent media outlets in placement of government advertising is still occurring and the information minister has announce that this illegal procedure will be broadened WHEREAS the Inter-American Court on Human Rights of the Organization of American States declared that the Venezuelan government is guilty of attacks on journalists and executives of Globovisión and Radio Caracas Televisión for not fulfilling its duty to guarantee freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and right to physical safety WHEREAS the government of President Chávez is characterized more and more by dictatorial and totalitarian measures against press freedom, the media and independent journalists WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says, “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” 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” THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to condemn the crimes, harassment and violence against journalists , media outlets and their executives, which characterize the worrisome development in Venezuela of using hit men as form of execution to ratify the resolution of the Assembly in October 2007 that criticized the totalitarian and dictatorial nature of the government of Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez to demand that the government of President Chávez comply with the rulings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in favor of the journalists and executives of Globovisión and Radio Caracas Televisión to condemn the criminalization of dissent and the impunity that exist in Venezuela to denounce President Chávez’s government’s continuous practice of using placement of official advertising as a way to pressure independent media companies.