Miami, 26 de diciembre de 2013.- The president of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), Elizabeth Ballantine, The Durango Herald, Durango, Colorado, said today that 2013 “turned out to be deeply harmful to freedom of the press and journalism” and that no country in the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S., “was exempt from authoritarian action by those in government”.
The following is the full text of her year-end message:
2013 was a hard year for all of us. However, we welcome 2014, a year that marks the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of Chapultepec that since its adoption in Mexico in March 1994, has been instrumental in identifying attacks upon press freedom and promoting freedom of expression in the Americas.
In this spirit, commemoration of the 20 years of the Declaration of Chapultepec will form an important part of our next year’s General Assembly and Midyear Meeting. We will continue making awareness of the value of freedom of expression in democracy, whether it be inviting leaders and members of the public of each community to embrace it or educating them on the Declaration’s principles at seminars and conferences.
We will carry out these activities in order to leave behind 2013, which turned out to be deeply harmful to freedom of the press and journalism.
The problems will remain a memory that characterized the year that is coming to an end. Violence continues to be the principal scourge surrounding our problems, with 17 journalists murdered in Latin America. We will continue to urge governments to condemn and administer justice against all forms of aggression. While at the same time, we support the action plan drawn up by the United Nations to provide greater safety and protection for journalists throughout the world, and to fight against impunity.
We regret that laws were enacted against media activity, with Ecuador being the country where the situation escalated to extremes. The Organic Communication Law passed under the justification that information is a public service, makes gagging official and creates a series of press offenses that grant privileges to the authorities over members of the public. This legislation sets up new state bodies and makes official censorship legitimate, encouraging self-censorship.
In reality, no country was exempt from authoritarian action by those in government. In Venezuela they created a state body with the objective of censoring public information. At the same time, the government stepped up actions against newspapers through financial strangulation consisting of depriving them of acquiring foreign currency to purchase their production supplies.
In the United States, the government’s secret confiscation of the files of 21 telephone lines of Associated Press reporters, was a clear violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. At the same time, the government is continuing to obstruct and maintain greater control over information, which has given rise to recurring criticism over its lack of transparency.
Along with various press organizations we have asked the federal government, including Congress, to work on the enactment of a federal law that protects the news’ sources.
In Cuba, the authorities continue to maintain a monopoly of information and propaganda. At our recent General Assembly held in Denver, Colorado, we heard the complaints of our regional vice chair, Yoani Sánchez, who reported that attacks upon and repression of independent journalists have worsened.
All these developments, which are a brief summary of what has occurred in 2013, reflect the fact that the lack of access to public information continues to be a serious problem in the region, reducing transparency and accountability, essential elements to democracy. This is why, on repeated occasions, we insist on our call for compliance with the establishment of access laws, or that they be enacted, where needed, as in the cases of Argentina, Barbados, Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay and Venezuela.
In our constant intent not only to defend but to promote press freedom, we have dedicated a great deal of effort to the professionalization of media and journalists through seminars, conferences and webinars and by granting them scholarships and awards.
We have maintained fruitful relations with press associations throughout the Americas and in recent visits to Brazil and Colombia we have directly involved our members in the sustainable progress of our institution.
I take this opportunity to thank each one of our members and all journalists for their daily efforts on behalf of the public’s right to information. A well and freely informed public is a pillar of a solid democracy.
