After meetings in which the situation of press freedom in the Americas during the last semester was discussed along with other issues, the IAPA ended today its activities that began on March 11 with the issuing of conclusions that are attached below.

CONCLUSIONS

Midyear Meeting

Panama City, Panama

March 11 – 14, 2005

With some notable exceptions, hopes for a fully free and independent press throughout the hemisphere appear to be dimming, according to a report issued by the Inter American Press Association on Monday, as several governments have turned openly hostile to media critics, and violence against journalists remains real, as five have been killed in the last six months. This trend makes more urgent the need for IAPA to continue to tirelessly uphold press freedoms.

Greatest concern continues to emanate from Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has consolidated his grip over much of the broadcast media through so-called “gag” laws, and from Cuba, where independent journalists remain jailed or muzzled by the Fidel Castro government, as they have for more than four decades.

President Chavez's consolidation of the courts under his control, along with a compliant National Assembly, had enabled him control the content of programs broadcast by television and radio. Meanwhile, his relentless attacks on the media have “chilled” the willingness of others to criticize.

The presidents of Argentina and Ecuador also have shown obvious antagonism toward the media in those countries and, in the case of Argentina, a willingness to discriminate against critics. Such actions have dampened the willingness of many newspapers and audio-visual media to pursue criticisms of those governments. For example, President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina uses government advertising to pressure the media and attempt to “chill” press criticism, while Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez has vilified the media and called press freedom “excessive.”

In addition, there are concerns about steps taken by authorities in the United States threatening journalists with jail and fines if they refuse to reveal the identities of some sources. Also of concern are admissions by the Bush administration that it had secretly paid three journalists to support its policies — an unethical practice called “payola” and possibly illegal under U.S. laws that prohibit the federal government from attempting to propagandize citizens.

There are some positive developments expanding press freedom. In Panama, newly elected President Martín Torrijos, on his first day in office, revoked the regulations of the Transparency Law, which had blocked free access to information. He pledged to the IAPA delegates that he would continue to reform Panamanian law to create more openness in government and to presumably discourage corruption. A free press, he said, is the best “antidote” to corruption. And finally he announced to the IAPA meeting that he would sent the Legislative Assembly a proposal to repeal laws that restrict press freedom, known as “gag laws.”

President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia told the same gathering that he remained fully committed to freedom of the press in his country despite the ongoing violence unleashed by paramilitary and guerrilla groups financed by the drug trade. It is important to note that fewer journalists were killed or injured in the past six months for their work.

And in Brazil, the government led by President Inacio Lula da Silva passed a law making attacks against journalists a federal crime, possibly helping to apprehend and prosecute those in rural areas of Brazil who would attempt to stifle the press through violence and threats.

IAPA welcomes steps taken in Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico, among other countries, on freedom of information laws, although some fall short of being ideal.

Cuba continued to be the most repressive government in the region, maintaining a monopoly on all information about government. Although the Castro government recently released independent journalist Raul Rivero from prison for health reasons, along with five other dissidents, at least 25 remain behind bars for their journalism.

Although journalists don't face obstacles by government, a lack of security caused in Haiti by political instability and in Mexico by drug trafficking, exposes journalists to extreme danger. And several countries continue to have so-called laws of respect that threaten journalists with jail or fines for criticizing the honor of elected officials, even if such reports are accurate.