2004 World Press Freedom Review_Overview of The Americas

By Michael Kudlak

Throughout the year, journalists attempting to investigate corruption and other illegal activities faced death threats and violent attacks, as well as legal, administrative and economic harassment.
Fifteen journalists were killed in the Americas in 2004. Four were murdered in Mexico, three in Brazil, two in Nicaragua and Peru, respectively, and one each in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela. Others were threatened, forced to go into hiding or exile, or assaulted by corrupt officials, organised criminals and others seeking to prevent the media from exposing their activities.

Journalists in many Latin American countries also had to contend with criminal defamation and insult (desacato) lawsuits, as well as excessive punitive damage awards in civil suits. Moreover, new legislation adverse to freedom of expression and press freedom were passed or under consideration by a number of legislatures.

Journalists also complained of government restrictions on access to public information, often the result of anti-terrorist legislation introduced in response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and the use of official advertising to either punish or reward media outlets for their coverage.

In some countries, excessive use of force by the police or army was a cause for concern.

In an encouraging development, Colombia witnessed a dramatic fall in the number of journalist fatalities. Only one journalist was killed because of his work, down from nine in 2003 and 15 in 2002. However, Colombia remains one of the most dangerous countries in the Western hemisphere in which to practice journalism. Particularly in the provinces, journalists who attempt to expose illegal activities and corruption, or report on the country's on-going civil war, faced death threats, kidnappings and physical attacks at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries, leftist guerrillas, drug traffickers, and corrupt officials. At least one investigative reporter was forced to flee into exile.

The persecution of Cuba's independent press by Fidel Castro's government and state security apparatus continued unabated in 2004. Of the 28 journalists jailed in a massive crackdown on dissidents and journalists in March 2003, six were released on medical grounds in 2004, although they were required to serve the remainder of their terms under house arrest. Several went on hunger strikes to protest appalling hygiene conditions, rotten food, beatings by fellow inmates and inadequate medical care. Throughout the year, police and state security agents continued to harass the 30-odd independent journalists not arrested in the 2003 crackdown. Many were summoned for questioning, temporarily detained, or threatened with prison sentences if they did not stop "distributing enemy propaganda."

In Argentina, the media were slowly recuperating from the country's economic collapse in late 2001, although the frequent use of criminal libel laws against journalists did not help to foster recovery. Threats and violent attacks against investigative journalists were also common. An access to information bill, pending in the Chamber of Deputies, was widely regarded as flawed and a threat to press freedom.

In Brazil, three journalists were murdered in 2004. Investigative reporters working outside the urban centres of Rio de Janeiro and Săo Paulo continued to face threats, harassment and physical violence at the hands of local power brokers, drug traffickers and other criminal elements. Brazilian journalists also had to contend with a barrage of litigation, censorship attempts and excessive damage awards.

Chile's media were generally able to operate freely, routinely criticising the government and covering sensitive issues, including human rights abuses under General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. A number of journalists faced criminal charges for their coverage of the so-called Spiniak scandal, a paedophile case that has sent tremors through Chile's political establishment. As a result, press groups called for the elimination of Article 161 (a) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the recording of images without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

Guatemala remains one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas in which to work as a journalist. In particular, independent journalists outside Guatemala City, who attempted to report on corruption and the abuses committed during years of civil war, continued to face death threats and physical violence.

In Mexico, the end of 71 years of one-party rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 2000 has led to an improvement in press freedom, although the media still suffer under criminal libel laws, which are frequently used against journalists, and frequent violent attacks on reporters, especially those investigating drug trafficking and corruption in the northern states bordering the U.S. After a year in which no killings of Mexican journalists were registered, four journalists were murdered in 2004.

In Nicaragua, where two journalists were killed in 2004, press groups expressed concern over a constitutional reform that would abolish the tax-exempt status of the press. They feared the reform would be used to punish newspapers for their critical stance.

The removal from office of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori and his intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos has led to a freer and more independent media in Peru. However, criminal defamation lawsuits were frequently used by public figures to harass journalists and media outlets. Two journalists were killed in 2004 and numerous others received death threats.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez's victory in the August presidential recall referendum left him stronger than ever, while the country's privately-owned media, which actively backed the campaign to remove Chávez, faced renewed verbal and physical attacks, as well as legal and administrative harassment. In December, the pro-government majority in the National Assembly approved legislation increasing criminal penalties for defamation and broadening the categories of government officials protected by insult provisions. Also in December, President Chávez signed the controversial Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, commonly known as the Media Content Law, despite widespread criticism from free press advocates that the law could be used to muzzle the private media. Among other things, the law gives the government the authority to penalise radio and television stations that promote "breaches of public order" or "threats to national security."

In Canada, journalists expressed concern over attempts to force them to reveal confidential sources and the increasing willingness of police to seize videotapes, photographs, notes and other material collected by reporters. Fears also persisted that anti-terrorism legislation would infringe upon basic civil rights, including freedom of expression and press freedom.

In the United States, at least eleven journalists were issued subpoenas in high-profile federal court cases around the country in an attempt to force them to testify about their confidential sources. Several were found in criminal contempt of court for refusing to reveal their sources and faced prison terms and stiff fines, setting a negative example for other countries around the world.

The detention of foreign journalists at U.S. borders and their forcible deportation to their home countries continued in 2004, with the detention and expulsion of British freelance journalist Elena Lappin, who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport without an I-Visa, which all foreign journalists are required to have. An international campaign to change the present rules for foreign journalists travelling to the U.S., launched by IPI in early 2004, met with some success when U.S. Customs & Borders Protection announced that it would give foreign media representatives a one-time entrance waiver and allow them to enter the U.S. even if they arrived with the wrong visa. Legislation was also introduced in the House of Representatives to permit foreign journalists from 27 "friendly" countries to enter the U.S. on short-term business without the need of an I-Visa.