Nadaa en 3ornig 4dehees umnu orchuulaad ugch tus bolooch. Enenees gadna angliar biy daalt hiijiij 4dehed shalgaltandaa oroh gd bdag
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Yaraltai tus bolooch
Uruguay (2008)
Uruguay’s media environment remained relatively free in comparison with those of other countries in the region. While the government took positive steps to legalize community broadcasting, the use of defamation laws to prosecute and intimidate journalists continued to hinder press freedom in 2007. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respects these rights. Access to public information remains a problem, however. In September, the Uruguayan Press Association (APU) brought a denunciation against the state to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The complaint was triggered by the rejection of a journalist’s request for information from the city of San Jose concerning statements made by the general accountant regarding the city’s budget. Other cases that exemplified obstacles in accessing public information included a judge’s decision to reject a petition filed by journalists to attend a legal hearing on the situation of street children, and the rejection of the APU’s request to the National Telecommunications Agency for information on official advertising. However, on a positive note, a bill to legalize community media, originally drafted with the help of press associations and civil society groups, was passed into law in December. The law established that one-third of available broadcasting frequencies will be granted through “open, transparent, and public” competition to community media, mainly small radio stations, of which there are an estimated 200 in the country.
Defamation laws also create persistent troubles for journalists. In April, the Supreme Court upheld the 2006 criminal libel conviction of journalist Gustavo Escanlar Patrone of Canal 10 television, which carried a three-month prison sentence for “insulting” a media proprietor during his talk show. In a separate case, Maria Celeste Alvarez, niece of former military president Gregorio Alvarez, brought a lawsuit against Canal 5 journalist Ana Maria Mizrahi for statements made by Jose Luis Rodriguez, whom Mizrahi interviewed in May. Rodriguez, a former member of Tupamaros (the leading guerrilla movement in the 1970s), stated during the interview that Maria Celeste Alvarez’s father (brother of Gregorio Alvarez) assassinated one of his comrades in prison. Journalists are not legally responsible for declarations made by third parties. In addition, the defamation case that condemned journalist Carlos Dogliani to five months in prison in 2006 continued to attract a great deal of debate and concern as it was presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in February 2007. The APU and the Uruguayan Institute for Legal and Social Studies submitted a draft law to Congress in October that would eliminate desacato offenses (contempt of a public official) and amend defamation definitions; at year’s end, the bill was under review by the executive branch.
Uruguayan journalists expressed concerns over several incidents of censorship and interference in the work of the media by political and economic actors. Journalists accused the leading daily, El Pais, of censoring an investigative report on the company that controls the television rights for soccer games. They also denounced pressures placed on a journalist by the local mayor and the owner of a radio station in reaction to derogatory comments made about the mayor by a city council member whom the journalist had interviewed. Another journalist received death threats for reporting on untruthful advertising for a chat and e-mail service. Government officials such as Vice President Rodolfo Nin Novoa and the mayor of Rio Negro were critical of the media and launched numerous verbal assaults against journalists and the press.
While Uruguay has a diverse media environment, with more than 100 privately owned papers, media ownership is relatively concentrated. There are over 100 private radio stations and at least 20 television stations, as well as a state-owned radio station and a television station that are run by the official broadcasting service, SODRE. Discretionary allocation of official advertising discourages news organizations from producing reports critical of the national and state governments. There were no government restrictions on the internet, which was accessed by about 32 percent of the population in 2007.
Bolivia (2008)
Heightened political tensions and the president’s antipress rhetoric continued to promote a climate of hostility and violence toward the press from both government and opposition supporters, as press freedom remained compromised by inadequate legal guarantees and the increasing polarization of media outlets. While the constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, Bolivia’s penal code allows for journalists to be jailed for one month to two years if found guilty of slandering, insulting, or defaming public officials. When the infractions involve criticism of the president, vice president, or a minister, the sentence may be increased by half. Nevertheless, few have been prosecuted under these laws in recent years. The legal norms that will govern the press under the new constitution—should it enter into force—remained unclear at year’s end; draft articles included strong language protecting press freedom but also used ambiguous terms such as “veracity and responsibility” when describing media duties. At several points during the year, the ruling MAS party also called for an ombudsman to monitor media content. In May 2006, several journalist groups combined to form a National Ethics Council to act as a self-regulator, but it has so far proven ineffective.
Bolivia’s journalists continued to face the challenges of reporting on their country’s volatile politics. President Evo Morales repeatedly criticized opposition media outlets during the year, contributing to a permissive atmosphere for attacks against journalists. Media watchdog group Reporters Sans Frontieres reported an estimated 60 physical attacks on journalists throughout the year. In a continuation of the previous year’s trends, 2007 began poorly, as at least 11 reporters were harassed and injured by protesters and security forces while covering unrest in Cochabamba in January. In October, at least six journalists were injured by police and soldiers as the government tried to retake Santa Cruz’s main airport, which had been occupied by opposition protesters. In late November, rioting in Sucre accompanied the controversial preliminary approval of the draft constitution; during the turmoil, at least five journalists were physically assaulted by the police, while some members of the media were reportedly attacked by demonstrators. The opposition was responsible for several incidents of violence, including on November 27 in Cobija, when protesters threatened journalists of radio stations Digital and Pando, stoning the stations’ headquarters for their supposed negative portrayal of the regional protest against the new constitution. Impunity for such attacks is the norm. In September, Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana suggested that some opposition journalists were in the pay of the U.S. government, though no proof was provided.
Print media are privately owned and diverse in their editorial views, though many newspapers follow a strongly antigovernment editorial stance. The television industry is privately owned except for one government-run network. Broadcast outlets express a variety of political views, but stations have been criticized for their overt partisanship in news coverage, with outlets from the eastern department of Santa Cruz among the most hostile to the new president; some media owners themselves are active in the political opposition. The government has been criticized for allegedly withholding advertising from pro-opposition media. Radio is the major news source in the countryside, with an estimated 800 stations nationwide. With Venezuelan financial support, the government established a new set of over two dozen community radio networks. One of the largest national networks is Radio Erbol, operated by a consortium of 70 churches. In recent years, Bolivia has experienced a growth in alternative media along with new internet news operations, but very few media of any type are profitable. Less than 7 percent of the population was able to access the internet in 2007. According to the U.S. State Department, the president issued a decree in June to increase telecommunications technology to better serve rural areas; however, the decree prohibits the transmission of any partisan messages by stations not affiliated with the government.
Cuba (2008)
Despite significant government restrictions and the continued imprisonment of 24 journalists, there was a slight decrease in the governmental harassment of journalists, and the growing number of blogs in Cuba provided some new space for free expression. Nevertheless, Cuba continued to have the most restrictive laws on free speech and press freedom in the hemisphere. The constitution prohibits private ownership of media and allows free speech and press only if they “conform to the aims of a socialist society.” Cuba’s legal and institutional structures are firmly under the control of the executive. The country’s criminal code provides the legal basis for the repression of dissent, and laws criminalizing “enemy propaganda” and the dissemination of “unauthorized news” are used to restrict freedom of speech under the guise of protecting state security. Insult laws carry penalties of three months to one year in prison, with sentences of up to three years if the president or members of the Council of State or National Assembly are the objects of criticism. The 1997 Law of National Dignity, which provides for jail sentences of 3 to 10 years for “anyone who, in a direct or indirect form, collaborates with the enemy’s media,” is aimed at independent news agencies that send their material abroad.
While there was a decrease in governmental harassment of journalists, state security agents continued to threaten, arrest, detain, imprison, and restrict the right of movement of local and foreign journalists throughout the year. Media watchdog group Reporters Sans Frontieres reported an estimated 80 physical attacks, threats, arrests, and unannounced searches of journalists in 2007. During the year, 2 journalists were freed from prison, but 2 more were imprisoned, resulting in a total of 24 journalists remaining in long-term detention. In January, Ramon Velazquez Toranso, of the Libertad agency, was sentenced to three years in prison under a criminal code provision that allows Cuban authorities to imprison any citizen deemed a potential danger to society, even if they have not committed a crime. In April, Oscar Sanchez Madan, correspondent for the Miami-based Cubanet website, was sentenced under the same criminal code by a court in Matanzas province and received the maximum penalty of four years in prison for “social dangerousness.” Sanchez had questioned governmental figures on the actual size of Cuba’s sugarcane harvest in his reporting. On September 27, 6 journalists were arrested along with an estimated 30 activists at a peaceful demonstration in support of political prisoners staged in the capital, Havana; they were released the next day. Three foreign journalists were forced to leave the country in 2007. Gary Marx, the Havana correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, and Cesar Gonzales-Calero, correspondent for the Mexican daily El Universal, had their press cards cancelled in February and were told to leave the country. British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Stephen Gibbs was denied a visa to reenter the country the following day and was forced to leave his post.
The government owns all media except for a number of underground newsletters. It operates three national newspapers, four national television stations, six national radio stations, and one international radio station, in addition to numerous local print and broadcast media outlets. All media content is determined by the government, and there is no editorial independence. The Catholic Church weekly Vitral, which had a reputation for being one of the only periodicals to offer independent opinion and critical commentary, suspended publication in April, citing lack of resources. The paper resumed publication in June, but under new editorial management and with a much less critical focus. Cubans do not have the right to possess or distribute foreign publications, although some international papers are sold in tourist hotels. Satellite television is forbidden. Up until legislative changes on June 1, it was a criminal offense to possess a DVD player.
Cuban officials strictly regulated and monitored internet use, with the threat of 5 years in prison for connecting to the internet illegally and 20 years for writing “counterrevolutionary” articles for foreign websites. Many websites were blocked during the year. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the general population could access the internet from hotels or government-controlled internet cafés by purchasing expensive and difficult-to-obtain voucher cards, while others purchased passwords on the black market for a high price that allowed them less restricted access. On a positive note, the growing number of blogs allow Cubans to more freely express their opinions; according to the U.S. State Department, these are posted mostly under pseudonyms and contain “confident and caustic references about today’s situation in Cuba.” Less than 2 percent of Cuba’s population accessed the internet in 2007.