Venezuelan gov't is urged to respect free media

[naaman fletcher]

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), urged on Wednesday Venezuelan authorities to take the relevant actions to ensure free operation of media and respect for critical or dissenting expressions, in accordance with international treaties on human rights, to which Venezuela is a party.

In a press release, the Inter-American body expressed deep concern over a court ruling on provisional prohibition of editing weekly 6to. Poder, in addition to the capture and prosecution of the journal, Dinorah Girón and a bench warrant against Leocenis García, the journal CEO.

In the opinion of the Special Rapporteur, these events "are opposite to regional standards in the field of freedom of expression and have an effect of intimidation and self-censorship which compromises not only the people directly affected but also all media in Venezuela."

http://www.eluniversal.com/2011/08/31/venezuelan-govt-is-urged-to-respect-free-media.shtml

[Bacchus39]

1. here is the "illegal" cover of the news mag

[ocpagu]

2. So...

...when will the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urge the United States to stop using the "War on Terrorism" as a pretext for reducing civil liberties?

When will they express concern over the existence of 11 US government programs for monitoring its civilian population?

When will they state clearly that NSA electronic surveillance program is an inconstitutional (First Amendment Zones) domestic spying program?

How about labelling the Information Awareness Office as what it is today? An Orwellian mass surveillance system with no other intent than controlling regular Americans?

If I lived in a country where a PATRIOT Act was approved, I'd be far more worried about civil liberties in my own country than in Venezuela...

At least, Venezuela is not spying on their citizens...

[Bacchus39]

3. Phone taps target Chavez opponents in Venezuela

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGRWaeyEmi08IoNleskBUlZB7hfw?docId=db9418939de343cd9f696b023bf15cb2

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press – Aug 19, 2011
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez's political rivals are on notice that anything they say over the phone might be not only recorded by eavesdroppers but also played and flaunted on national television.

Though wiretapping without a court order is illegal in Venezuela, such recordings have been surfacing on state TV and radio and have become a standard tactic in attempts to ridicule and embarrass opposition politicians.

Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, a longtime Chavez adversary and a presidential hopeful, denounced what he called "dirty tactics" by the government after state media this month aired recordings of him and an activist gossiping over the phone and complaining about other anti-Chavez politicians.