A video was shown during the last day of the International Press Institute's congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia last weekend. It contained a collection of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez¡¯s shivering, malicious verbal attacks on the press, all made in public settings.
"We will fight the media. Media owners can go to hell. They hold the mass media in their hands." "We have to identify who are the enemies of reform. The mass media is against society." "They spread their newspapers of lies to the people. They continue to propagate themselves. We are going to judge them. I am not going to tell you about what. You already know. We are going to put them where the sun don't shine." "No one has the right to manipulate the mass media to feed poison to the Venezuelan people." "The owners of the mass media hire reporters to fool and trample on the Venezuelan people. El Nacional [Venezuela¡¯s largest daily-ed] issues shameless lies in its editorials, articles, and headlines." "Some television broadcasters are claiming I ordered their broadcasts be collected as evidence, but if that were true I'd be filing claims before the people against the owners of those television stations, and I should say that if necessary, I will take military action in the name of national interest. I wish you (television stations) would realize that I could annul your broadcast permits at any time." "Today I ordered the head of the Office of the President to prepare legislation requiring the review of information furnished by the mass media."
In between his comments the video showed Chavez¡¯s supporters attacking reporters and cameramen with rocks and steel pipes, and the victims of this violence being carried away while bleeding. Then there's another scene where Chavez stops midway through a speech and looks at female reporter. "Let's listen to what this woman reporter has to say," he says as he agitates the crowd. "She was hired for money to spread lies," he then tells them. "You poor reporter. Look at yourself." It was the same kind of approach I'd seen elsewhere. The roughly 200 press workers from around the world held their breaths as they watched. You occasionally heard viewers gasp in shock. People shook their heads and felt for the harsh press situation in Venezuela. It was little more than a month ago when Chavez was removed from power in a military coup only to be reinstated two days later. His "war on the press" has cast yet darker clouds on the relationship between the state and the press.
Robert Cox, President of the American Press Institute, made the video and he explained that when newspapers that had been supportive or sympathetic to Chavez during the election started becoming critical of his government, he began to suppress them. "All the media have been quiet since his return to power," he says, adding that all the country's broadcasting companies now give Chavez however much time he wants at whatever hour, so that he can give live speeches, sometimes two or three hours at a time, and that Chavez is agitating his supporters to indiscriminately pressure those in the media. Indeed, his supporters have fabricated "tip-offs" that certain critical members of the press are drug users. The government no longer places advertisements with critical press organizations, which are suffering from financial difficulties.
One thing I felt at this latest IPI congress is that the world media has started to take full interest in protecting the lives and rights of journalists risking their lives in areas of conflict. In the midst of this, those of us in countries where the press still has to be concerned about press freedom and their very survival felt something of a gap. It was even sadder that Korea had to again enjoy the dishonor of being on the "IPI Watch List." And indeed, right when people were gasping in shock at Chavez¡¯s curses, we heard violent noise and curses about "organized crime" and "subscription cancellation campaigns" from back in Korea.
(Chosun Ilbo Executive Editor - May 18, 2002)
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"Press Under Siege."
