SPEECH
OF IAPA PRESIDENT ALEJO MIRÓ QUESADA
HONORABLE PRESIDENTS, OFFICIALS, AND ESTEEMED COLLEAGUES:
I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to President Martín
Torrijos of Panama and President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia for their presence
at this table. These two leaders, without a doubt, are firmly committed to the
goal we work so tirelessly to pursue: to keep the people well-informed. That
sounds easy and simple, but believe me, your Excellencies, it is neither. We
know that upholding freedom of the press is an unremitting struggle. We know
that keeping the people informed comes at a terrible cost. Proof of this cost
can be found in the 280 colleagues who have been murdered in the Americas in
the past 17 years — a tragic average of 16 journalists killed each year.
So I would
like to thank you for being with us, and for joining us in this daily battle
against thuggish criminals, unscrupulous mercenaries and tyrannical politicans
— some of them plotting to rid themselves of the watchful eye of the press,
and others attempting to derail the press from its mission to their own benefit.
The struggle we are waging, your Excellencies, is arduous yet glorious.
In keeping
with protocol, I am now going to address the meeting of the IAPA and review
the significant events that have taken place during the past six months.
As a matter
of order — and I will always be reluctant to let this become routine —
we should begin by honoring those who are no longer with us. Since our last
meeting in Guatemala, five journalists have been murdered:
Hernando Marné Sánchez Roldán and Julio Palacios of Colombia,
Abdias Jean of Haiti, Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández of Mexico,
and María José Bravo of Nicaragua.
These are
not just names. They were people with wives and children, with dreams, with
their futures ahead of them. They were distinguished men and women of the press
— that is why they had to be silenced. They were journalists who, through
their sacrifice, embody the struggle I referred to moments ago.
A delegation
from the Press Freedom Committee traveled to Argentina in early March.
We discovered
a troubling climate, where the arrogance of the administration has led it to
adopt an unfriendly stance toward the press. Specifically, it does not accept
the press as a valid liaison between the people and the government. The media,
with a few admirable exceptions, may have been too passive, thus enabling the
administration’s authoritarian stance.
The response
of the administration to the IAPA’s conclusions — which were reported
yesterday during the meeting of the Press Freedom Committee — allowed
us to confirm for ourselves the regime’s arrogance toward the press. In
fact, President Kirchner has issued harsh insults and accusations against members
of the IAPA, including our former President Danilo Arbilla. We reject those
statements.
But we also
have good news from this committee: Raúl Rivero, our regional vice president
for Cuba, was released after about two years in prison. Five other journalists
were released along with him. However, another 25 remain imprisoned, and we
will not rest until they are freed.
The IAPA
also went to Mexico as part of the Impunity Project. We reviewed the records
in the case of Víctor Manuel Oropeza, who was murdered 14 years ago.
I am pleased
to inform you that, as a result of that meeting, a document was signed in which
the Mexican authorities agreed to reopen the case. We are currently monitoring
more than 50 cases in nine countries. Nineteen of them are under review at the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, after our complaints and investigations
were admitted by that organization.
As part
of the work of the Chapultepec Committee — which fights on the legislative
and judicial flanks in our daily battle — we visited Haiti, the Dominican
Republic and Venezuela. From the Dominican Republic came the encouraging pledge
to amend the Law on Expression and Dissemination of Thought and to issue regulations
to implement the General Law on Freedom of Information. And we have more good
news: these regulations were passed two weeks ago.
In Haiti,
where freedom of the press is in an abject state, an agreement was reached to
form a permanent solidarity forum among Haitian journalists. We also agreed
to hold training seminars. This task will be taken on by the Press Institute.
In Venezuela,
where the press finds itself increasingly under attack every day from the enemies
of freedom, we held an emergency forum to denounce the restrictions created
by the Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, better known as
the Gag Law — an appropriate nickname, because that’s exactly what
it is. But the question of Venezuela takes on even greater importance with President
Chávez’s announcement of his intention to export his revolution
and, with it, his assault on the free press.
Among our
future activities, the Chapultepec Committee has scheduled an emergency forum
for April 12 in Washington. This forum will take up the sensitive issue of journalists
who have been jailed for refusing to reveal their sources. All of you are invited
to attend.
Last November
the IAPA Scholarship Fund celebrated its 50th anniversary, and it did so by
holding an interesting colloquium that generated valuable ideas for the future
of the scholarship program.
As part
of our international work, we attended the meeting of the World Coordinating
Committee of Press Freedom Organizations in Geneva. There the IAPA sought —
and secured — support for the cases of Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. This
serves to reaffirm the world’s support for these causes.
In Washington
we met with the interim secretary general of the OAS, Luigi Einaudi. We requested
that, in these times of change, the status of the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression be maintained.
We also expressed to him, among other matters, our concern over the situation
in Venezuela.
In Switzerland
we continued to monitor the preparatory meetings for the World Summit on the
Information Society.
I have some
more breaking news: last Friday marked the first meeting of the newly created
Electronic Media Committee. This committee has big plans, such as holding discussions
on ways to achieve better, more profitable operations. Send your editors; it
will be a productive trip.
Meanwhile,
the Press Institute has given seminars in seven cities in our hemisphere, with
the participation of more than 200 journalists.
We are continuing
to work on the financing of the new Institute of Investigative Journalism, which
will bring together members and independent journalists who are devoted to this
challenging work.
As for our
organizational tasks, this year we developed our first Annual Plan for the committees
of IAPA.
Each committee chair approved the mission statement, responsibilities and composition
of his or her committee. Each of them also submitted an action plan for the
next 12 months.
Under the leadership of Diana Daniels, we are making progress in the development
of our Strategic Plan.
We want
to know the views of our members so that we can make better decisions. We haven’t
carried out an exercise like this since 1988. I will appreciate it very much
if each of you fills out the questionnaires that we will be sending you by e-mail.
Finally,
what projects are we preparing for the more distant future? For one, we would
like to take up the question of ethics.
To this
end, Jack Fuller will be chairing an initial meeting in a few hours so that
we may begin considering this issue with all due care. If all goes according
to schedule, we should be holding a hemispheric meeting in the latter part of
next year.
The past
six months have been extremely busy. So I would will conclude by calling on
those who would like to become more involved in the IAPA. You can speak to me,
Julio Muñoz, or the chairs of whichever committees interest you. First-time
attendees can speak with Nélida Rajneri, who chairs the New Members Orientation
Committee. Make no mistake about it: when it comes to working for freedom of
the press, there is plenty of work to go around.
Thank you.
