IAPA accuses Caribbean governments of using advertising to silence media

LIMA, Peru, CMC – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) says Latin America and Caribbean countries continue to use official advertising to reward or punish news media as they seek to hinder the free flow of information of information.



In a statement issued at the end of its 67th General Assembly here, IAPA noted that in “Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela and some countries in the Caribbean, such as Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, the authorities seek to manipulate information and opinions disseminated by the press by using placement of official advertising to reward or punish”.



It said in three of those countries - Argentina, Nicaragua and Venezuela – these “governments have constructed a parallel network of state-owned and government-supporting media that mount campaigns to discredit the independent press”.



IAPA, which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defence and promotion of freedom of the press and expression in the Americas, also notes that Haiti, the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, is among several countries in the Americas where “there have been some serious difficulties in getting access to public information”.



“Access to information is a key point for transparency of government agencies, as well as for the proper performance of journalists and the media,” IAPA said in regard to those countries including Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.



IAPA also warned that attempts to silence the independent press in the region have continued to become more and more intense throughout 2011.



“The most serious danger for journalists is physical violence, crime, and the impunity surrounding such acts. Some organized groups of drug traffickers resort to these methods without hesitating to commit homicide, which has meant that 21 professional journalists have lost their lives over the past six months as a direct result of their work.



“Those governments that have the same goal of silencing the press have applied illegal pressures through court battles, arbitrary arrests, verbal attacks, restrictive laws or simple manipulation of government advertising,” he added.