PERU
Report to the Midyear Meeting
Quito, Ecuador.

Free speech and freedom of the press have been compromised during this period by the enthusiasm and tension of an intense presidential election campaign, with the first round of voting scheduled for April 9. The unprecedented number of candidates—22 for president and nearly 3,000 for Congress—has posed a challenge for news coverage.

Particularly significant are the results of the campaign by the Inter American Press Association and the Peruvian Press Council to see that the murder of journalist Alberto Rivera Fernández does not go unpunished. A joint mission by journalists from various media outlets arrived February 7 in the city of Pucallpa to attend the sentencing in the first trial in the Superior Court of Ucayali.

The prison sentences, which are considered severe, range from 25 to 30 years in prison for some of those implicated in the murder. Still pending is the second trial in the same case, which was restarted in March and is aimed at convicting the mastermind behind the murder. The trial involves the provincial mayor of Coronel Portillo, Luis Valdez Villacorta; the former chief judge and current member of the Civil Division of the Superior Court of Ucayali, Solio Ramírez Garay; middleman Alex Panduro Ventura, and hired killer Lito Fasabi Pizango.

In another trial, on December 14 the Superior Court of Ancash sentenced Amaro León León, the mayor of Yungay, to 17 years in prison as the mastermind behind the February 14, 2004 murder of radio journalist Antonio De la Torre Echeandía. The same sentence was handed down to his accomplices, Pedro Ángeles Figueroa and Antonio Torres Camones. Still pending is the sentencing of the mayor’s daughter, Emma León, and her accomplice, Moisés David Julio, who are charged with planning the murder. There is a warrant out for their arrest as well as an order forbidding them from leaving the country.

A case that is causing concern is that of journalist César Hildebrandt, host of the program “Hoy con Hildebrandt” on Channel 2, who said his sudden departure from the television station in early February was a result of internal pressure to favor the candidacy of Lourdes Flores Nano. The reporter repeated this claim before the OAS mission of electoral observers and stated that in late 2005 the Peruvian government had paid 20 million soles in compensation to the owner of Frecuencia Latina, Baruch Ivcher, in compliance with a ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This payment caused considerable controversy because of the amount involved and the secrecy with which government handled the situation.

The head of the advance mission of the OAS, Lloyd Axworthy, stated that representatives of civil society and presidential candidates claimed that some media outlets, especially television stations, exhibit favoritism for the campaign of Lourdes Flores Nano. Axworthy, who did not agree with these claims, said the interests of those involved in the election process should be taken into account.

Electoral authorities, private organizations, and the media—including the state-run television channel—have made significant efforts to disseminate the candidates’ election platforms, their background and track record, and the sources of financing for their campaigns. The major candidates have declined to face off publicly.

The Peruvian Press Council held a forum to get candidates to sign the “Lima Principles” to show their commitment to press freedom, the public’s access to information held by the government, and transparency in public administration. This document has been signed by 12 candidates.

The National Radio and Television Association, which consists of the main media outlets, issued a protest against Law 28094 on Political Parties and filed an appeal claiming that the law is unconstitutional. Law 28094 requires media outlets to set aside prime-time television time for presidential candidates. In the end, the government compensated the media outlets for these broadcasts.

The Peruvian Press Council went before the National Elections Board (JNE) to seek the amendment of regulations covering the dissemination of survey results in the media. The council felt that in adopting these regulations in December 2005, the electoral body had overstepped its authority by setting impractical guidelines for publishing results of opinion polls and correcting inaccurate information—guidelines which included the filing of criminal charges against an offending media outlet. The publication of the amended regulations is still pending.

Luis Iberico, chairman of the congressional Defense Committee, offered to fast-track a bill to amend certain provisions of the law covering the National Intelligence System (SINA) and the National Intelligence Bureau (DINI). This law is in conflict with Peru’s Freedom of Information Act, and the bill to amend it was introduced by Congressman Anel Towsend.

Other important developments during this period:

On October 11, unidentified individuals poured a large quantity of fuel on the door of Radio Panorama in the city of Andahuaylas, although they did not set fire to it. Station manager Ronald Ripa, who is also a reporter for Idéele Radio, said the incident occurred after he had reported on acts of corruption in the Apurímac regional government.

Also on October 11, Rolando Rodrich and Luís Bahamonde—the editor and publisher, respectively, of the newspaper Correo of Trujillo—were found guilty of libel by Judge César Ortiz of the Ninth Criminal Court in La Libertad. The two received two-year suspended prison sentences and were ordered to pay 30,000 soles. The journalists had published a number of accusations against Walter Benítez, adviser to the Chavimochic project and nephew of the chief justice of the Peruvian Supreme Court.

Also on October 18, José Calero, a cameraman for Antena 31, was assaulted by Marco Antonio Montalvo, head of the Decentralized Office for Election Processes (ODPE) in Huánuco. At the time Calera was accompanied by reporter Raúl Vela, also of Antena 31. The assault occurred on the premises of the ODPE as the journalists were trying to obtain information on the loss of electoral records from the regional referendum in the city of Huánuco.

On October 23, Julia Saldaña, a reporter for the newspaper La República in the city of Iquitos, said she had received a threatening phone call. Saldaña, who in September had received a death threat from unknown individuals on her father’s cell phone, reported that she had received several anonymous messages threatening to reveal details about her private life. Several of her acquaintances received similar messages.

On October 26, Róger Chávez Neyra, a journalist with Radio Solidaridad in Uchiza, in the San Martín region, reported that he was being followed by individuals both on foot and in unmarked vehicles. He said he was in the process of writing a story criticizing the mayor of Uchize when these incidents began.

On November 6, a group of taxi drivers with the company Habana Tours assaulted Diego Rojas Latorre and Ariana Rojas, reporters for Channel 35 in Trujullo, after they had filmed the arrest of a taxi driver accused of involvement in a car theft ring.

On December 1, Rocío Margot Paredes Matheus, a reporter covering the police section of the newspaper Correo of Ayacucho, reported that she had received threatening phone calls after the newspaper’s investigative reporting unit (which she is not a part of) published information on alleged improprieties by the head of the Anti-Drug Division of Ayacucho.

On December 2, Miguel Ángel Fernández Garagate, a reporter and on-air personality for Radio Amazónica in Satipo, Junín, was physically and verbally attacked by four unknown assailants, who said that the station’s journalists and their family members would also be assaulted if they reported on the incident. The radio station blames the attack on groups linked to the illegal lumber industry in the area.

Unknown assailants blew up the offices of the magazine Horas de Lucha in Ayacucho on December 15. The attack caused property damage, but no one was injured.

Rory Huaney Rodríguez, a reporter for Radio Órbita in Yungay, received a death threat on December 26 from Jean Carlo León Martínez, son of former Yungay Mayor Amaro León León, who in December was convicted in the murder of journalist Antonio de la Torre. Huaney said he had filed a police report for assault against León Martínez with the Criminal Investigation Division in Huaraz. The police investigation was never finished because the suspect was listed as a fugitive.

On December 28, Raúl Vela Carhuas, editor of the newspaper El Pregonero de Huánuco, received a death threat from the director of Pronamachs, Jonel Valderrama Medrano. The journalist had revealed that the head of the state enterprise in charge of food distribution faced criminal charges for falsifying signatures in favor of the government party.

On December 29, while covering a public works inauguration ceremony in Cuzco, photographers Leocadio Madera and Wilar Lazo Molina from the newspaper El Sol and El Compatriota, respectively, were attacked by members of President Alejandro Toledo´s security team,.

On January 6, while filming a prisoner protest in a high security penitentiary Miguel Castro Castro in Lima, Jorge Castañeda, cameraman for Panamericana Televisión´s news program “24 Horas,” was assaulted by a National Peruvian Police soldier.

On January 9, the Justice Ministry authorized the request to the Chilean government for the extradition of former Channel 9 owner, Julio Vera Abad, for maintaining illegal ties with former presidential advisor Vladimiro Montesinos.

On January 14, Panamericana Televisión cameraman, Edgar Prado, and a group of journalists were attacked while covering a demonstration by the Fujimori movement Sí Cumple, in response to the decision by the National Elections Board to reject former president Alberto Fujimori´s inscription as a presidential candidate in the April 2006 elections.

On January 19, the criminal division of the Supreme Court left standing the ruling confirming the five-year jail sentence against Moisés and Alex Wolfenson, former owners of the newspapers La Razón and El Chino, for crimes of embezzlement and illicit association as a result of having received bribes in exchange for favoring the re-election of Alberto Fujimori.

On January 23, reporters Yasmani Pocohuanca and Gilmar Inquilla from Radio Programas del Perú were assaulted in the city of Puno by Carlos Raffo, press spokesman of the movement Sí Cumple, and members of presidential candidate Martha Chávez´ security staff, as the journalists were trying to interview Chávez.

On January 24, Frecuencia Latina cameraman, Luís Marquina Bringas, was injured while covering a violent clash between 40 families who were attempting to camp on Chepeconde beach south of Lima and private security guards for the seaside resort.

On February 1, journalists Emerson Quispe from ATV, José Atauje from América Televisión, Enrique Vargas from Frecuencia Latina and Elías Navarro from the newspaper La República were physically and verbally assaulted by a mob in Huamanga, Ayacucho, during the inspection of a mass grave that judicial authorities were conducting near the Yanamilla Prison.

On February 5, Huaraz Special Electoral Board officials, Raquel Vírhuez Castillo y Aquilina Gladys Gonzáles, tried to keep ATV Channel 9´s program “Hora Clave” off the air, charging that Mayor Alfredo Vera, who was scheduled to be interviewed on the program, was prohibited from campaigning. However, the mayor was not running for office in the April elections.

On February 7, Luis Morón Palacios, a journalist of Cadena Sur Channel 15 in Ica, was physically and verbally assaulted by Carlos Falcón Guerra, brother of the director of Colegio Nacional San Luis de Gonzaga, Pedro Falcón Guerra, whose appointment was called into question by the journalist.

On February 8, Karina Chávez, a reporter for América Televisión´s program ´´Prensa Libre,´´ was attacked verbally and physically by a supporter of candidate Ollanta Humala during a political rally in Lima.

On February 12, Carlos Torres Caro, candidate for the first vice-presidency for the Unión por el Perú (UPP), announced that an eventual Ollanta Humala government would promote life imprisonment for journalists who commit libel. Later, the presidential candidate denied this stance.

On February 13, a sitting judge on the 35th Criminal Court of Lima questioned Ricardo Ramos Tremolada, a columnist for Perú 21 newspaper, for more than four hours. He was later set free. Ramos was detained the previous day in Jorge Chavez Airport on an arrest warrant from a libel lawsuit against him filed by former Justice Minister Diego Garcia Sayan,

The journalist was not advised in timely fashion by the judicial branch that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. In August 2004, Ramos Tremolada published a column in which he accused García Sayán of having favored pardons for alleged terrorists during Valentín Paniagua´s transitional government.

On February 13, Hermetes Gerónimo Córdova and Miguel Rojas Sifuentes, journalists for Radio Conchucos´ program ”El Equipo de la Noticia” in Ancash department, were verbally and physically assaulted by Yuri Rodríguez Apéstegui, employed by Mariscal Luzuriaga mayor Williams Álvarez, whose performance in office was questioned by the journalists.

On February 13, the official newspaper El Peruano threatened to sue Gaceta Jurídica for publishing legal regulations on its webpage. Walter Gutiérrez, editor of the Gaceta, declared that he would continue to publish the regulations until some administrative or judicial authority told him he could not do so, since the publicity was necessary for laws to have effect. In the same fashion, he pointed out that the publication of the laws in the official newspaper is—unlike that of the of Gaceta Jurídica webpage — late and not free, in spite of the fact that legal regulations are of public benefit.

On February 24, in the locality of Aucayacu, Alto Huallaga, a group of policemen, following the orders of a person identified as Captain Mendoza, asked for information concerning Radio Amistad´s broadcast license, as well as details about journalists and correspondents for the radio station. This happened a few days after the correspondent for the National Radio Chain (CNR) and journalist for Radio Amistad, Vladimir Angulo, broadcast the testimony of Sonia Figueroa, owner of the house where Senderista chief Héctor Aponte Sinarahua, alias “Clay,” had been shot dead.

On March 4, Alex Wolfenson, former owner of the newspapers La Razón and El Chino, was set free, after a criminal division of the Supreme Court reduced his sentence of five years in jail to four years of suspended sentence, for the alleged sale of the newspapers´ editorial policy to favor the government of Alberto Fujimori. A civil reparations fine of S/. 1’500 000 still has not been paid — a sum that Wolfenson must pay together with the other 15 co-defendants in the trial, among whom also figures Moisés Wolfenson, the businessman´s brother and co-owner of the newspaper, who did not receive the benefit of a reduced sentence.

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Copyright © 2003 Inter American Press Association. All rights reserved.

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58th IAPA General Assembly
JW Marriott Hotel & Stellaris Casino
Lima, Peru
October 26-29, 2002