Gag on Honduran media gets tighter in month since coup, critical media obstructed

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Newswatch

Gag on Honduran media gets tighter in month since coup, critical media obstructed
By admin
Created Jul 30 2009 - 17:11


The interim government in Honduras has been maintaining a selective censorship of news in the country since the June 28 coup d’état. Media regarded as critical of President Roberto Micheletti are being systematically obstructed.

The programming of Radio Globo, one of the few media still criticising the new regime, is often interrupted. Soldiers tried to force their way into its studios on July 25 before giving up because of opposition from demonstrators.

“Respect for basic freedoms, including freedom of the press, has been openly violated in the past month,” Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) said. “By suspending or shutting down the operations of certain local and international broadcast media, those who staged the coup have shown they clearly want to cover up what is going on. We urge all sides to respect press freedom.”

A plain-clothes police officer opposed to the coup warned Radio Globo on July 25 of an imminent raid. According to Radio Globo owner Alejandro Villatoro, the head of the National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL) had been threatening since July 5 to seize the station’s equipment without offering any clear grounds. Because some 400 people rushed to defend the station on July 25, following the warning, the police finally backed down.

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The first-hand testimonies of these people demonstrate a systemic pattern of violence and threats against journalists, media workers and human rights defenders, a highly polarised and divided media community, censorship by both State and non-State actors, and commercial pressures placed upon the pro-Manuel Zelaya camp, ARTICLE 19 said. The overall conditions for journalistic work and media reporting are deteriorating, while the number of social and political confrontations is increasing.


Read more: http://www.newswatch.in/features/4501