Closing of RCTV:

14 of June of 2007
Lic. Elena Belletich - Direction of Communication of the University of Piura

(Piura). - To defend the indefensible thing. It is what they have tried the chavistas before the measurement of the Venezuelan Government to close the RCTV, the call dean of the Venezuelan television, with signal abierta at national level for 53 years. The entire world has been pronounced, mainly, against the measurement that far from being an administrative act of justice is constituted still more, as they have called many it in a serious political error, an attack against the freedom of press and an undemocratic act, when instead of the RCTV signal is today elevated the signal of a public television transmitter.

It was Sunday 27 when it was silenced the voice and image of one of the few bastions of freedom that there is in Venezuela. Since then the most important international, defending organisms of the freedom and human rights have expressed their rejection before this measurement, like the Inter-American Commission of Human rights; the Senates of Latin American countries, the European Union; the organization Reporters without Borders; the Parliament of the European Union, the Inter-American Association of Press; the Human Rights Watch organization and hundreds of mass media.

The Pink doctor Z, professor of the University of Piura, specialist in History of the Communication, means Analysis and informative self-regulation thinks on the subject.

How she describes the measurement as closing of the RCTV in Caracas?

It is an undemocratic attitude, an attack against the freedom of expression. The renovation of a license to a television transmitter cannot be denied, only because it is against the turn president. The government must guarantee the freedom of expression, without censorship some, because thus it is predicted in the Constitution of 1999, signed by the Constituent National Assembly summoned by president Hugo Chavez and who he substantially modified the Political Constitution of Venezuela of 1961.

To what extent it affects this measurement the principles of the freedom of press in Venezuela and, generally, in Latin America?

The increasing intolerance of president Hugo Chavez against dissident opinions produces an unsuitable climate for the development of the freedom of expression within a plural democratic system and of respect to the public liberties. It is a bad art that it looks for to avoid the control of mass media and to benefit illegally from his use.

Although this situation directly affects Venezuela, we are conscious that “good” the relations of the Venezuelan president with those of Latin American countries like Bolivia and Ecuador, can become dangerous if these begin to implant the same strategies of governmental communication. Also it affects, essentially, to the public who will receive partial information, only the one that the government wants to give, according to his objectives.

Create you who the closing must only an expired contract, as Chávez uses?

I believe that no. Is truth that has overcome the period of its license, but what touched was its renovation and has not occurred, simply because it does not have an obliging position with the chavista regime; the interests are of political type

The Government must right to have governmental means and to express his ideas to resist there to the opposition; this is possible, is allowed and the President already does. If one demands those rights for his government, he cannot alienate them to other members of the Venezuelan society.

What instances are now to defend the information right (objective, plural…) that it has the Venezuelan user?
The Venezuelan society can invoke the defense of the informative plurality, and the complete, impartial right to information, that it requires to be an informed good citizen. It is more, to the governments (well-meaning) it interests to tell to them on independent means that they inform into the reality, but is no freedom nobody will inform into the frustrations that exist in the society, thus will not be able to effectively solve opportunely and the problems that can prevent their growth.

Which would be the measures to take before cases like the one from RCTV?

We do not think that these tensions finalize in the future near; but we think that there is to defend the freedom of expression to carry out a professional work of quality, to finish with the myth of the information like being able for controls that it and to affirm with Soria who the information more than a power, is a right and to have.

It is necessary to conquer this freedom every day. Being independent of the government, of the officials government, the political parties, the economic groups, the means will be able to be constituted in an institutional system of control, ethical and reliable, because it enjoys credibility; that is to say, of freedom with social responsibility.

Before what national or international organisms it is possible to be gone?

The attacks to the freedom of expression and the right to the information of the public are due to denounce, before the UN, OAS, Inter-American Society of Prensa (SIP), Reporters without borders  (RSF) and others.

In addition, although we must respect the principle of interventionism in the nations, is not possible to be informed public unjust situations that they occur to the rear area. In addition, it is necessary to exhort to the State to act his as in the informative scope: to guarantee and to respect the freedom of information, the access to the public information, to assume that the governors are subject to the social control and that the means play that role like mediators between the State and the citizenship. It must, therefore, maintain a relation abierta with means, without collusions nor agreement. This one is not a friendship relation: the means have the obligation to control it and to the Government they interest independent means to him that they inform to him into the reality.

Some of the documents that guarantee to RCTV

- From the Declaration of the rights of the Man and the French citizen of 1789 the first recognitions of the freedom of expression occur… From that moment the previous license and the censorship, when they occur, will mean state interventionism and political control.

 The Declaration of the Human rights of 1948 of already locates it to the United Nations like a human, universal right… Art. 19 says: “All individual has right to the freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the one of not being bothered because of its opinions, the one to investigate and to receive information and opinions and the one to spread them without limitation of borders by any means of expression”.

- The declaration of Chapultepec, concerning America. In its specific principle 6: “the mass media and the journalists do not have to be object of discriminations or favors in regard to which they write or they say”;   principle 7 refers that “(…) the granting of RF and TV (…) they do not have to be applied to award or to punish to means or journalists” and tenth “no mass media or journalist must be sanctioned to spread the truth or to formulate critics or denunciations against the public power”

- Article 58 of the Venezuelan constitution: “The communication is free and plural, and tolerates the duties and responsibilities that the law indicates. All person has right to the opportune, truthful and impartial information, without censorship, in agreement with the principles of this Constitution, as well as the right of retort and rectification when they are themselves affected directly by inexact or offensive information. The children, children and adolescents must right to receive information adapted for their integral development”.

He must know that:

Reporters without Borders have informed: “(…) The closing has been carried out violating all the rules of the right; the emission material has been obstructed to occur it to the new public channel. The invoked reasons - and among others, the support that RCTV provided, next to other mass media, to the attempt of coup d'etat of the 11 of April of 2002 - are not more than pretexts: the other television channels that had identical attitude at that time have suffered the same fate, because later they have adopted an obliging position with respect to the regime.”

Gentility of I supplement “Week” of the Time of Piura. Published the 3 of June of 2007