THE PLIGHT OF JOURNALISTS IN LATIN AMERICA

What would you think if you found out your country's president plotted to
have a journalist murdered? Or that the president is using taxpayers' money
to finance newspapers and other media to discredit his critics?

Impeachment, a speedy trial and a stiff jail sentence probably would be the
president's fate were this to happen in the United States.

But not in Latin America, where the enemies of freedom of speech--including
current and former presidents--are on the loose and are enjoying all of the
privileges and rights of law-abiding citizens.

Why is this? Is freedom of expression deemed so unworthy in Latin America
that even those in high office do not hesitate to tamper with it?

In most Latin countries, governments simply pay lip service to these
fundamental liberties. Restrictive press laws are passed, and officials
turn a blind eye to the grossest of press freedom violations: the murder of
journalists.

The public often does not seem to miss free speech rights when they are
curtailed or tampered with--sometimes because of changing priorities in a
financially crippled environment, sometimes because of a not-so-distant
past that did not encourage the unobstructed advancement of these liberties.

This is why the role of the Inter American Press Association is twofold.

On one hand we fight the efforts of governments to undermine freedom of the
press through lobbying and pressure and on the other hand we try to raise
the public's awareness of their rights and the relentless attempts to quash
them.

This year we visited 12 countries, met with 100 government officials and
issued 150 communiques and protest letters.

This doesn't seem to be enough. As I was writing this commentary another
journalist was murdered in Colombia and yet another constitution--this time
in Venezuela--was trampled by politicians wary of the press.

In 22 Latin American countries there are laws restricting the media,
journalists still are being silenced through murder and many politicians
and judges use their offices to intimidate and punish the press.

Following are the countries requiring the most attention:

Cuba

It holds the worst press freedom record in the hemisphere. In the past six
months more than 70 journalists have been arrested, intimidated, threatened
and beaten up by government officials. Four are serving lengthy jail
sentences for "contempt of the state." A law recently was enacted under
which journalists can be sentenced to prison for up to 20 years for crimes
such as "working for U.S. media outlets."

Colombia

It is considered the most dangerous place for journalists. More than 80
newspeople have been murdered there in the last decade. Most of their
murderers still are at large. Journalists often are caught in the
cross-fire of drug lords or the Colombian civil conflict.

A recent IAPA investigation led to the arrest of a prominent senator said
to have ordered the killing of a reporter who disclosed the senator's
alleged links with local drug lords. IAPA investigators also are looking
into whether former President Ernesto Samper had any involvement in the
murder.

Three prominent journalists recently fled the country after receiving death
threats from paramilitaries.

Peru

There is a widespread campaign to discredit the independent media as the
April presidential election nears.

There are indications that government officials may be behind the smear
campaigns and death threats leveled against opposition journalists. The
attacks are made to appear as if they are coming from within the press
ranks. Peru does not have an impressive track record in abiding by the law,
domestic or international. The Peruvian government stunned the world when
it announced its decision to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This decision has tremendous
repercussions for freedom of speech in Peru.

Mexico

Journalists raising their voices to denounce corruption and the illicit
marriage of drug lords and government authorities have paid with their
lives here. More than five reporters were assassinated last year, and many
journalists have received death threats. A case illustrating the degree of
impunity is that of Tijuana publisher Jesus Blancornelas--a vocal critic of
the drug mafia from the pages of Zeta, the newspaper he owns.

Since an attempt on his life two years ago Blancornelas moves around with a
detail of 10 heavily armed soldiers. Intelligence reports speak of three
contracts on the publisher's life, totaling nearly $400,000. It's
interesting to note the Mexicans are happy to provide around the clock
security for Blancornelas but there has not been any vigorous attempt to
arrest the suspects.

Venezuela

Since President Hugo Chavez took office this year, Venezuela has been at
the center of a controversy about the limits of democracy and the rule of law.

Despite Chavez's assurances that he is a democrat, the degree of contempt
for the existing rules shown by the Constituent Assembly, controlled by his
party, belies this stance. Not only has the assembly attempted to shut down
congress and dissolve the judicial system, it also has attacked the fourth
estate by drafting legislation that would severely set back freedom of
speech. We should closely monitor President Chavez and his so-called
"peaceful revolution," in case it turns ugly.

This panorama of press freedom in Latin America is not encouraging. There
are other hot spots that we should watch more closely. In Panama, more than
80 journalists face criminal proceedings as a result of their reporting; in
Chile a book critical of the judiciary has been banned and its author,
Alejandra Matus, has just been given asylum in the U.S. on grounds she is
being persecuted at home. In Argentina, my own country, six journalists
have been sentenced to jail and have to pay hefty fines because they
criticized senior government officials, including President Carlos Menem.

These are the kinds of situations that we journalists have to face every
day in Latin America. I hope there comes a day here--just like in
America--when journalists don't end up in graves for doing their jobs.