A high-level delegation from the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) denounced before officials of the Joe Biden administration and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, the state persecution against independent journalists in Nicaragua .
The president of the IAPA, Jorge Canahuati, assured that there was “a good reception of our claims and concerns” in the meetings with senior officials of the Department of State, Congressmen, the General Secretariat of the OAS, permanent ambassadors to that institution, and the Office of the Special Rapporteur. Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
“We are very satisfied. We understand that several of the issues raised will be part of the agenda of the next Summit of the Americas, from the search for solutions to the serious media sustainability crisis that is creating large information deserts, elements that conspire against democracy,” Canahuati said.
Related news: The press in Nicaragua and Latin American countries are experiencing a “bleak panorama,” according to the IAPA
The IAPA delegation exposed to officials of the United States Government and the OAS the violence against the independent press that this year has already claimed the lives of 17 Latin American reporters, including 11 from Mexico, the imprisonment and persecution of journalists in Nicaragua and Cuba —which forced a total of 77 communicators and media directors into exile in both countries— and the lack of coherent and efficient public policies to prevent crimes and avoid impunity, according to a press release that includes the actions of the visit.
“In the Capitol, and in dialogue with advisory teams from Republican and Democratic senators, the IAPA was interested in the advancement of bills that support journalism. Among them, the “Competition and Preservation of Journalism” (JCPA) initiative, which enables and promotes mandatory negotiations between the media and the large global platforms so that they agree on a fair price for the news content they generate, as already It occurs in Australia and in several European countries,” reads the summary released by the organization.
The secretary general of the OAS was exposed the “confrontational tone that usually characterizes debates on social networks, and the smear government propaganda that is exercised through them.” The organization explained that Almagro was “concerned about what he considered to be the three fundamental attacks against democracy: the capture of judicial powers and constitutional reforms; attacks on electoral processes and attacks on freedom of expression.”
The agency reported that the Uruguayan ambassador to the OAS, Washington Abdala, asked the organization to propose concrete measures in terms of media sustainability, since he considered that these “play an unavoidable role for the democracy of our countries.”
