Media Group Accuses Chavez Of Silencing Critics
Julie Farby - All Headline News Staff Writer Caracas, Venezuela (AHN)-A U.S.-based press freedom group, the Inter American Press Association, says that President Hugo Chavez is using the courts and legal reforms to weaken journalists critical of his leftist government. Wrapping up a three-day visit to Venezuela, delegates from the group expressed concern that threats to press freedom under Chavez could increase as Venezuela prepares for presidential elections in December. IAPA President Diana Daniels of The Washington Post Co., tells a press conference, "The different branches of government appear to have a strategy to weaken the work of the independent press. We are worried that, far from improving press conditions in the country, freedom could be further restricted before and after the election." Gonzalo Marroquin, head of the IAPA press freedoms commission, tells the AP the most serious threats were new laws allowing the government to close media outlets that violate strict broadcasting norms and reforms increasing prison sentences for libel and slander. Marroquin, who is the publisher of Prensa Libre of Guatemala, also says criminal investigations involving several Venezuelan journalists-most of them outspoken Chavez critics-seem aimed at intimidating the media. Several high-profile journalists, including newspaper editor Patricia Poleo and TV host Napoleon Bravo, are facing criminal charges for offenses ranging fro |
