PRESS FREEDOM UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000357

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: PRESS FREEDOM UPDATE

REF: A. CARACAS 00169 AND PREVIOUS

B. CARACAS 00264

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Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR, ROBERT DOWNES
FOR REASON 1.4 (B)

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) This press freedom update comes in the wake of
President Chavez assuming the power to draft and promulgate
decree-laws via an Enabling Law passed January 31 by the
National Assembly (reftel b). We expect Chavez and the BRV
to continue employing a variety of mechanisms - legal,
economic, regulatory, judicial, and rhetorical - to harass
the private media, aggravating the already hostile BRV
attitude towards the free press. In this increasing
authoritarian environment, many independent media owners are
deciding to sell their outlets to pro-Chavez buyers --
including the daily of record, El Universal. Topics
addressed in this update include:

-- A contrite media is a happy media?
-- Legal shenanigans dog the media, still
-- OAS quarterly report
-- "Network cannibalism"
-- El Siglo offices raided
-- The media (literally) sells out

END SUMMARY

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Forgiveness Through "Actions of Contrition"
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2. (U) Chavista Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) deputy and
member of the Presidential Committee for Constitutional
Reform Carlos Escarra sharply criticized Radio Caracas
Television (RCTV),a major opposition television outlet, in a
January 23 interview with El Universal, but noted that
"forgiveness" is possible. Escarra said, "RCTV is exploiting
a public good and the State has the right and responsibility
to determine whether that concession is renewed or not." He
added that the BRV does not plan to revoke the concessions of
other private media sources. When asked to comment on
Venevision's actions during Chavez' brief ouster in 2002,
Escarra said that the "(Bolivarian) Revolution is based on
love...for some it is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
We believe in forgiveness when there are acts of
contrition." Referring to Venevision's change in its
editorial line, he added, "We believe in forgiveness when
forgiveness is asked for, when responsibility is assumed for
one's actions." (Note: Venevision, formerly staunchly
anti-Chavez, has watered down its editorial content to avoid
conflicts with the government. End Note) Escarra said that
the government was not encouraging self-censorship, but that
it was the responsibility of the private media to examine its
programming on a daily basis.


3. (U) In a possible response to Escarra's comments, RCTV
released a February 7 full page ad in El Universal appealing
to the Venezuelan public. The open letter noted that, to
date, RCTV has not been officially fined or sanctioned by any
BRV ministry. It also accused Chavez of aggressions against
the private media and of restricting the right of the public
to seek entertainment and information through the medium of
their choice. (Note: RCTV claims its licensing contract
expires June 12, 2022, not May 27, 2007 as Chavez has
repeatedly indicated. END NOTE)

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More Legal Tribulations
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4. (C) The BRV is also going ahead with a range of legal
actions against the media. Recent press accounts note that
the Supreme Court will hold hearings on whether TV outlets
RCTV, CMT, Globovision, and Televen violated the law
regarding "suitable children's content" during the 2002-3
general strike. Equally absurd is the conclusion reached by
the court in the trial of journal Tal Cual. In that case,
the court levied a fine of over USD 75,000 against owner (and
Chavez nemesis) Teodoro Petkoff and humorist Laurenco Marquez
for "violating the rights of children" by publishing a
satirical article in which Marquez asked President Chavez'
daughter if she might ask her daddy to fix a few things for

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Venezuela.


5. In January, the BRV also threatened "Ninos Cantores
Television" (NCTV),-- a Catholic Church network of three
stations which had run programming critical of the Chavez
administration - of their broadcast license. The lawyer
representing NCTV told PAS that only the intervention of the
Archbishop of Maracaibo and the mobilization of the Catholic
Church prevented the wholesale elimination of NCTV.
Nevertheless, the BRV did squeeze NCTV into "voluntarily"
surrendering frequencies it was not using, and
Telecommunications Minister Jesse Chacon made it clear to
NCTV management that "we'll be watching you".

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OAS
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6. (U) The Office of the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom
of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights presented January 29 its quarterly report on the
situation of freedom of expression in the region, covering
the last quarter of 2006. The Office, headed by Venezuelan
national Ignacio Alvarez, continued to monitor RCTV's
licensing case closely. The report referenced a July 2006
advisory note sent by the Inter-American Commission for Human
Rights to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminding the BRV
that the OAS Democratic Charter establishes that signatory
states refrain from infringing on freedom of expression by
indirect methods such as abuse of official controls or any
other actions that limit the free flow of ideas. The report
also expressed concern over incidents of physical assault and
threats against journalists in the region, particularly in
Venezuela.

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Network Cannibalism: Tapping into RCTV's Market Share
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7. (C) Far from engendering a "we must hang together or will
hang separately" attitude, the escalation of BRV pressure is
encouraging media cannibalism. Editorial breastbeating about
RCTV's plight notwithstanding, traditionally opposition print
media have not been averse to accepting the BRV's full page
ads attacking RCTV. In a discussion with PAS officers, RCTV
president Marcel Granier mentioned that "go along to get
along" TV network Venevision is keen to steal RCTV's market
share and actively recruiting RCTV employees. The lack of
solidarity within the media is taking hold in the public in
general. In PAS meetings with national radio network Union
Radio, executives noted that in 2002 Venezuelans took to the
streets by the thousands in response to government attempts
to intimidate the media; a recent march called in support of
RCTV drew a scant 200 demonstrators. The internecine warfare
is becoming petty: Venevision complained to Globovision about
the latter's supposed "unauthorized" use of footage from
Chavez' February 4, 1992 coup - in the face of a
long-standing practice of all television stations sharing -
and appropriately crediting - footage.

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Newspaper Offices Raided
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8. (SBU) Aragua state police raided the offices of the daily
newspaper El Siglo in Maracay, January 26, following a
dispute among the board of directors over the creation of a
pro-Chavez workers' union. According to Embassy's local
media sources, differences in the editorial line prompted
some members of the board to solicit the help of pro-Chavez
Aragua governor Dialco Bolvar. These same sources indicate
that El Siglo,despite its pro-government line, had become a
nusance for Bolivar. El Siglo remained closed for eeven
days, January 26-February 5, as a result ofthe police
takeover.

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The Media (Literally) Sells Out
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9. (C) BRV harassment hs led many media owners to decide
that there is o future in the business, and that the time is
rpe to rid themselves of vulnerable media enterprise. Late
last year national TV network CMT was puchased by Telesur to
enable this cable-only netwrk to have a free-to-air channel
inside Venezuel. Early in 2007, popular national radio
chain Rdio Rumbos was sold to Pedro Torres and Merinvest,

CARACAS 00000357 003.2 OF 003


bank with ties to the family of Telecommunications Minister
Jesse Chacon. Radio Rumbos owner Andres Serrano (Protect)
informed PAS that he was selling because his children were
not interested in running the station, and that the
government was refusing to advertise while waving off other
advertisers. He was also afraid that the government was
going to cancel his broadcast license in any event.


10. (C) The most significant sale is that of Venezuela's most
prominent daily, "El Universal." Owner Andres Mata informed
PAS that he has sold the business to a banker from Maracaibo
in a deal which should take up to six months to conclude,
implying that there was no longer any good fight to fight
against the BRV. Mata is already spending most of his time
outside Venezuela due to threats against his life. There are
also rumors circulating that major TV network Venevision and
leading national radio chain Union Radio will be sold soon.

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Comment
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11. With the ability to rule by decree for the next 18
months, we expect Chavez' repression of the press to only
increase. The well-publicized crusade to shutter RCTV is the
most prominent example of Chavez, and the BRV's ceaseless
efforts to slowly dismantle any semblance of free press in
Venezuela, also reflect the BRV's persistent efforts to
create a climate of self-censorship. RCTV's public appeal,
on the other hand, indicates that it plans to continue
fighting for its right to broadcast and that it refuses to go
away quietly. The status of freedom of the press is bleak
and getting bleaker in Venezuela. Post expects that Chavez,
emboldened by the Enabling Law, will seek to silence all but
the most marginal of private media in the short to medium
term.

BROWNFIELD