Venezuela - After closing RCTV, Chavez goes on offensive against sole remaining opposition TV station

    MONTREAL, May 31 /CNW Telbec/ - Reporters Without Borders today accused
President Hugo Chavez of aiming to eliminate all the opposition press after he
publicly threatened independent TV station Globovisisn and CNN, claiming they
were instigating a "vast destabilisation plan," just two days after the
closure of Radio Caracas Televisisn (RCTV).
    "By calling Globovisisn's staff "enemies of the motherland" and by
clearly threatening participants in its broadcasts "if they don't calm down,"
President Chavez is displaying paranoia and intolerance," the press freedom
organisation said.
    "Unfortunately, there is no longer any doubt about his goals," Reporters
Without Borders added. "RCTV's closure was just the prelude to the progressive
disappearance of all the opposition press. Media that criticise the government
will be snuffed out one by one until only the pro-government media are left."
    Communication and information minister William Lara brought a complaint
against privately-owned Globovisisn on 28 May, accusing it of broadcasting
content "inciting violence." The station broadcast footage of the 1981
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul at a time when Chavez was criticising
Pope Benedict. Lara said this was tantamount to calling for the president's
assassination.
    The station's director, Alberto Federico Ravell, and the host of its
programme "Als, Ciudadano" (Hello Citizen), Leopoldo Castillo, have received
judicial summonses and face criminal prosecutions.
    The continuing demonstrations by students, journalists and opposition
activists against RCTV's closure, in which several members of both opposition
and pro-government press have been injured, have been branded as a "fascist
attack" by Chavez. The president continually likens the present situation to
the April 2002 coup in which he was ousted for 48 hours. Thousands of students
demonstrated on 29 May against RCTV's closure and around 200 were arrested.
    Reporters Without Borders also condemns the activities, reported by the
Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, of a group of pro-Chavez journalists called
"Periodistas por la Verdad," who have been trying to get people to believe
that two supposed Reporters Without Borders members - Enzo Pierini et Carlos
Folchi - were distributing leaflets containing hate messages targeted at
President Chavez.
    These allegations are unfounded and ridiculous, and the press freedom
organisation does not know these two people.
    "It is easy for the authorities to condone this kind of slur while
refusing our requests for a meeting during the fact-finding trip we made to
Venezuela from 24 to 28 May," Reporters Without Borders said. "And it seems
they did not agree that the news conference we gave on the last day should be
broadcast live and in full by Globovisisn."

    Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press
freedom throughout the world. It has nine national sections (Austria, Belgium,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). It has
representatives in Bangkok, London, New York, Tokyo and Washington. And it has
more than 120 correspondents worldwide.

For further information: Emily Jacquard, Canadian office representative,
Reporters Without Borders, [phone], Cell: [phone], Fax: (514)
521-7771, [e-mail]