US Press Group Says Fear, Intimidation Silencing Some Latin American Media

US Press Group Says Fear, Intimidation Silencing Some Latin American Media
By Margaret Besheer
Washington
14 February 2006

A report from a U.S.-based press freedom group says self-censorship is
growing among journalists in parts of Latin America. Threats and
intimidation are silencing many Latin American journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says self-censorship is not a new
problem in Latin America. But what has changed, is that it has become so
widespread. CPJ says fewer journalists are now willing to take personal
risks to report on sensitive subjects, such as human rights, drug
trafficking, organized crime and corruption.

CPJ Americas Coordinator, Carlos Lauría, says in Columbia, reporters
censor themselves because of fear of reprisal from all sides in the
civil war - rebels, the army and pro-government paramilitaries. "The
reality is that in the last decade almost 30 journalists have been
killed for their work in Colombia, and the overburdened justice system
has been incapable of solving any of these murders, creating a climate
of impunity which finally leaves the media open to attacks," he said.

Mexico is another country where the press group says self-censorship is
rampant because of the physical dangers to journalists.

Northern Mexico is especially dangerous for investigative journalists
reporting about smuggling and drug trafficking. Lauría says that region
has become one of the most dangerous areas for journalists in Latin
America. "More journalists have been killed in Mexico than in any other
Latin American country in the last few years," he said.

In Venezuela, the challenge to reporters is legal rather than physical.
In late 2004, President Hugo Chavez signed into law a measure that CPJ
says severely limits freedom of expression. At the same time, the
congress approved amendments to the penal code imposing harsher
penalties for violators. "In order to comply with this law on social
responsibility in radio and television, many media outlets have had to
alter their programming, fearing that if they don't do it they will be
sanctioned," he said.

Lauría said that since this law was enacted, television stations in
Venezuela have dropped half of their opinion programs. "The reality is
that these opinion programs are the ones that criticize President Hugo
Chavez, so some say this is an example of how restrictive this law that
was passed by the Venezuelan government is," he said.

Elsewhere, CPJ found that Cuba is the only country in Latin America that
jails journalists for doing their jobs. "Cuba, unfortunately, remained
one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, second only to
China," he said.

Two journalists were imprisoned last year in Cuba, joining 22 others CPJ
says have been jailed since a crackdown on the press began in March 2003.

CPJ says fewer journalists were killed last year in Latin America, but
the press group attributed this decline to media self-censorship.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-02-14-voa79.cfm