Argentina II

WHEREAS the Argentine government extended the selective application of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law, administratively and judicially pursuing Grupo Clarín despite the existence of current legal proceedings that protect its situation until the claims of unconstitutionality made in court are resolved WHEREAS nevertheless other media groups with similar irregular situations in their structure and operation according to what is contained in this law are not suffering any kind of punishment even when they do not have any court rulings that contemplate these situations in their particular cases WHEREAS the government is continuing with a direct campaign of harassment of independent media in the country, with the sole aim of discrediting them so as to manage to silence society’s critical voices WHEREAS recently there has been an awareness of maneuvers tending to interfere in the judiciary, particularly regarding continuance in the post and the selection of judges that will have to resolve questions concerning the above-mentioned law WHEREAS on this same matter t the Executive Branch publicly and expressed suggestions about the manner in which the judiciary should act in regard to legal proceedings under way WHEREAS due to the difficult situation that Argentina is going through, the IAPA has been asked to send an international mission to that country. THE 68th IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES to ask the Argentine government to put an end to discriminatory treatment in regard to news media, in particular on implementation of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law and punishment by bodies of control to urge the federal authorities to respect the independence of the branches of government in all cases, and specifically in regard to questions referring to news media and freedom of expression to urge the highest authorities to promote the generation of conditions of institutional tranquility, necessary for the impartial resolution of legal conflicts to ask the federal government to abstain from favoring actions whose aim is the persecution and harassment of media and journalists and from anticipating measures and reprisals, such as those suggested in warnings and statements from officials in a tone called “7D To accept the request for an international mission and the president of the IAPA has been placed in charge of coordinating it.