January 31

Workers of banned TV station will continue fighting "and will not negotiate principles"
Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jewish joined on January 31 in an ecumenical ceremony to pray for private network RCTV Internacional, for its employees, for unity, reconciliation and peace in Venezuela. Venezuelan cable companies dropped transmission of the channel some days ago.

The ceremony, which took place at Brión Square in the Chacaíto area of Caracas, started at about 1 p.m. and lasted until 3 p. m.

Chants, prayers, and calls to maintain peaceful protests in the streets in defense of fundamental and constitutional rights were frequent in the event.

Journalist Pedro Beaumont, a worker of the popular Venezuelan channel, highlighted that after the closure of RCTV on May 28, 2007 the employees looked for alternatives to open a window to contact people. To this end, the owners of the station established a new TV network, RCTV Internacional, which was recently taken off the air by cable companies. Cable TV networks were forced to discontinue RCTV Internacional amidst threats of multi-million penalties by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel).

"The oppressive power of the government wants to stifle RCTV Internacional -and under orders countering the spirit of law and fundamental guarantees, including freedom of expression which is an essential principle of the democratic system, turned off the screen (of RCTV Internacional), closed the windows and cut the ties between people and authorities," said Beaumont.

He added that "the workers of RCTV Internacional, who are aware that they are facing imminent unemployment, do not intend to beg or offer a pitiful image."

After Beaumont's remarks, William Echeverría, the president of the Venezuelan Journalist's Association (CNP), urged people to pray for peace and to achieve peace in the South American country despite the differences, "without discrimination or grievances."

The student movement was also present in the ecumenical event. Adriana Mendoza represented university students and urged people to fight "for a country where everyone can speak without fear; wear one color or another without fear of causing troubles; can watch, read or listen to the media they want rather than the media imposed by the government; a nation where people save money to invest rather than to buy a one-way ticket to leave the country."

The ceremony was presided over by priest Honeger Molina, rabbi Iona Blickstein and pastor José Vergará, who prayed for RCTV and for the young people killed in the riots that took place in the state of Mérida.

Journalists of RCTV also prayed for political prisoners and victims of political persecution.

February 3

Communication expert: Chávez fears the media
Marcelino Bisbal, director of Graduate Studies at Caracas-based Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) and communication expert, said that President Hugo Chávez, "has a deep fear of independent media, those that are not part of his media system, because they show the incompetence and inefficiency of his administration."

"In this sense, the government needs to restrict freedom of expression and it also has to create mechanisms of fear and intimidation that ultimately result in self-censorship," Bisbal said.

RSF: Presidential speeches should be broadcast by just one station
Reporters without Borders (RSF), a nongovernmental organization based in Paris that advocates freedom of the press, considers that presidential speeches in Venezuela should be aired by only one network.

The NGO said that on the occasion of his 11th anniversary in office, delivered on February 2, President Hugo Chávez delivered his 2,000th mandatory networked speech. Overall, his speeches would amount to approximately two months of non-stop talking, RSF added. This does not include his weekly radio and TV show "Aló Presidente."

In a statement, Reporters without Borders questioned the Venezuelan government's determination to broadcast government messages nationwide on all free-to-air TV and radio networks. They referred to the renewed conflict between private TV station RCTV Internacional (RCTVI) and Chávez's government.

The journalist's organization claimed that only one station would be enough to broadcast Chávez's speeches, especially when he has the power to broadcast his messages whenever he likes and for as long as he likes. Under the Venezuelan laws, any TV station failing to broadcast the president's mandatory speeches is subject to sanctions.

February 4

Twitter becomes a protest tool in Venezuela
"Venezuela is living very hard times with Hugo Chavez Government. Venezuelans are suffering of political and economical crisis, and every day we can see how we have problems with water supply, electric energy, inflation, devaluation, homicides (sic)" This is part of the Twitter's hashtag #FreeVenezuela, a conversation topic which managed to reach one of the four most global commented topics, i.e. trending topics, in Twitter, according to measures made by the site wthashtag.com.

The hashtag was proposed last week by the Venezuela Journalists' Association (CNP) and the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) and the Association of Photojournalists, as a trade union measure to draw attention around the world about the continuance of freedom of speech in Venezuela. Since then, the hashtag has averaged more than 9,000 twitts per day, that is, more than 9,000 messages related to the topic in the popular social networking site.

People who have participated in this Web 2.0 social network come from different worlds. The American actress Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) - star of the TV series Charmed - has been active in this crusade. The salsa star Willie Colón (@williecolon) has also participated in the discussion. They are two celebrities who, apart from more than 12,400 contributors, have dedicated messages to the hashtag #FreeVenezuela.

RCTV's owners are trapped by their words, claims Telecoms director
Diosdado Cabello, the general director of the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), said on February 4 that so far the representatives of private TV network RCTV Internacional have not appeared before the telecoms agency and warned them that "it is getting late."

"If RCTV wants to get back on air, they should visit Conatel," he said.

According to Cabello, "they have a big ego, which prevents them from recognizing that they must respect the law. They are trapped by their words," state-run news agency Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) reported.

Cabello added that the doors of Conatel are open and he is willing to receive the representatives of the Venezuelan TV network. "People must know that RCTV has not been shut down because it is still on air in other countries," he said.

February 5

Special Rapporteurs regret mechanisms to control media
The Special Rapporteurs for Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN), and the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), as well as the Representative on Freedom of the Media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) complained of increasing violence against journalists and the use of "illicit mechanisms" by some governments to control the media outlets.

The warning was made in a joint declaration where the agencies mentioned the 10 key challenges facing freedom of expression in the next decade.

The international bodies highlighted the problems caused by "restrictive legal regimes," and the "lack of tolerance" of criticism by some governments.

They also questioned the existence of laws criminalizing criticism.

In Venezuela, the Criminal Code was amended in 2004 to stiffen penalties for crimes such as defamation and slander, infringing the recommendations made by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, which has requested to repeal these types of offenses.

The representatives of the international agencies also complained of the "disproportionate restrictions" to freedom of expression "on behalf of national security" and they disapproved the increasing violence against journalists.

According to Venezuelan NGO Espacio Público, more than 800 journalists, editors and columnists have been assailed in recent years.

The rapporteurs said that there are still political, trade, social and economic pressures on media outlets and journalists and deplored the lack of a legal framework to guarantee the existence and independence of public and community media.

In Venezuela, the state-run TV station Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the radio network Radio Nacional de Venezuela (RNV) and the newspaper El Correo del Orinoco depend directly on the Ministry of Information and are not subject to any control by the National Assembly.

Finally, the special rapporteurs and representatives on freedom of expression urged the countries to strengthen the right of citizens to have access to public information.

International Press Club condemns the closure of RCTV
The International Press Club (CIP) based in Madrid voiced on February 5 its "protest" and rejection with regard to the recent shutdown of private TV station Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional (RCTVI).

It was "a new attack on freedom of expression," the CIP lamented.

RCTVI was taken off the public airwaves "temporarily" on January 23 and removed from the programming of all Venezuelan cable operators, pending fulfillment of the Venezuelan laws, according to the official information disclosed at the moment.

In a statement released on February 5, the International Press Club expressed its "concern" over the measure and complained about its impact on free expression in Venezuela.

In addition, the CIP urged the government to "rectify" and allow that RCTV Internacional can "get back on air," Efe reported.