Venezuela

VENEZUELA WHEREAS the threat to the media and free exercise of journalism has worsened under the government of President Carlos Andres Perez, in flagrant violation of the nation's constitution and laws the Venezuelan government has tried to hold the media responsible for outbreaks of violence in the country in order to intimidate them and discourage them from denouncing acts of corruption the Congress is discussing a constitutional reform bill that limits freedom of expression and of the press in its articles 25 and 26 these governmental actions have been reinforced by decisions of the legislature, such as the Telephone Espionage Law, which outlaws taping of private conversations and restricts press freedom by imposing penalties on journalists for divulging the contents of these conversations the President of Venezuela, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has resorted to the use of military tribunals to open legal process against newspapers and journalists, in flagrant violation of constitutional measures which establish that civilians can be tried only in civilian courts The 48TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to urge the government of President Carlos Andres Perez to cease and desist from the persecution of journalists and the media and to respect constitutional guarantees concerning freedom of expression and thought to demand that the Venezuelan government respect the life and property of its citizens in general and in particular that of media professionals, upholding law and order to call upon the legislature to strike down measures that reo. strict the media and keep the public from full access to information, and to ask it to eliminate from the constitutional reform bill those items which are harmful to freedom of the press and freedom of thought.