The Diplomat
The Association of Media Editors of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean, EditoRed, of which The Diplomat in Spain is a member, released a note yesterday in which it rejects attacks on the press during the electoral process in Venezuela.
The note says the following:
“Freedom of information, that is, the possibility for citizens to be informed from diverse sources on matters of public interest, is an essential part of democracy. This is how members of society can discern the historical moment in which they operate and make the best possible decisions for their well-being. This key principle has been systematically violated in Venezuela. Today, when a presidential election of great importance is approaching, such violations have worsened.
This Sunday, July 28, 2024, Venezuelans will go to the polls to elect the leader for the next six-year term. The electoral process has been full of attacks on the free exercise of journalism. Reports from journalistic union organizations and centers dedicated to the defense of the right to freedom of the press have revealed worrying figures:
The College of Journalists of Venezuela, District Capital Section, recorded 102 attacks against journalists and media outlets, only from January 1 to July 24 of this year.
The organization VE Sin Filtro denounced the blocking of at least 12 media outlets during the electoral campaign, adding up to 60 cases in the last 10 years.
The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) considered that this is “an escalation against freedom of the press, expression and information.”
The Argentine journalist Jorge Pizarro, assigned to cover the elections for Radio Rivadavia, was prevented from entering Venezuela.
The Association of Media Editors of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean, EditoRed, emphatically rejects these attacks on the right of the population to be properly informed.
EditoRed calls on the Venezuelan authorities to unrestrictedly respect the work of journalists and media outlets, local and foreign, which have now seen their guarantees for developing independent and professional journalistic coverage of the presidential elections reduced. The free work of communicators is vital so that on such an important day, certainties prevail, which lead to social tranquility, and not doubts that lead to confrontation between citizens. Safeguarding freedom of the press is equivalent to safeguarding democracy.
In this sense, EditoRed also advocates that the media and the journalists who represent them have free access to reliable results of the presidential elections next Sunday. Restricting the work of journalists on the scene, preventing or limiting access to and analysis of the election results, will only worsen the deterioration of international confidence in the handling of the electoral process.
This community of media editors also hopes that the next presidential election in Venezuela will take place in peace and that the same atmosphere will prevail in the days following the results. The Venezuelan authorities should not underestimate that, despite the difficulties, the world press is attentive to the events that occur before, during and after the elections and that, therefore, the international community will be informed and will know how to demand respect for the democratic principles that govern us.”
