Venezuela

WHEREAS the government of President Hugo Chávez is continuing to impose laws and regulations denounced as violating the National Constitution WHEREAS these laws sponsored by President Chávez’s government and dictated on the basis of the powers-that-be’s control deny basic human rights such as freedom of expression and of information WHEREAS the grave political, social and economic situation of Venezuela and the consequent demands by the people are made known nationally and internationally only through the independent news media, and the President Chávez regime has made their elimination a priority WHEREAS the process of elimination of the independent news media has included in January the final definitive shutdown of broadcasting by RCTV Internacional, attacks upon and legal prosecution of journalists and thus a very dangerous official action of financial sabotage of the press, radio and television that are not subordinate to the regime THE IAPA MIDYEAR MEETING RESOLVES to denounce and repudiate the actions of the government of President Chávez against freedom of expression and the right to information enshrined in Articles 57 and 58 of the National Constitution and in Principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec to denounce and repudiate before the international community, the United Nations and the Organization of American States the actions that the President Chávez regime has been taking to eliminate independent news media through closure of radio stations and RCTV and financial sabotage of the press to ask the Organization of American States and its Secretary General to allow a visit to Venezuela by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for a just intercession concerning the closure of Radio Caracas Televisión and the situation of the independent news media.