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Alert

IAPA asks federal and state officials to guarantee the security of Oaxaca-based newspaper

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 23 June 2005 IAPA press release:

IAPA asks Mexican Federal and State officials to guarantee security for Oaxaca newspaper

Miami (June 23, 2005) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) requested today that Mexican State and Federal officials guarantee the security of the newspaper Noticias, Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca, whose headquarters was invaded. In addition, 31 of the paper's employees were held hostage, and the building's electricity and telephone lines were intentionally cut.

According to complaints by the newspaper, members of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC) had incited the takeover of the newspaper on the morning of 18 June, sparking a strike against the publishing company. However, according to the newspaper, those participating in the act had no connection to the newspaper and the newspaper management alleges that what happened was in retaliation for their editorial stance against the state government.

Despite the incidents, the newspaper continues to print out of a warehouse in a neighboring town. Newspaper executives complained that unidentified individuals have stolen some copies of the paper's 22 June edition.

In letters sent to the Interior Minister Carlos Abascal Carranza, and the Governor of Oaxaca, Ulíses Ruiz Ortiz, the IAPA warned them about the tense climate in this city and urged both officials to implement safeguards to prevent the current conflict from having more serious consequences.

The letters, signed by IAPA President Alejandro Miró Quesada, from the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, and the chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Gonzalo Marroquín, from the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre, provide background information on violent acts against the newspaper that "restrict press freedom and leave citizens vulnerable to the State by limiting their means of being duly informed."

The document sent to the Interior Minister stated, "On November 28, 2004, an alleged group of rebels invaded a property where the newspaper's printing presses are housed. A 19-year old boy was found dead on the premises. A few days later, on December 1, local storekeepers seized the building. On both occasions, the IAPA strongly requested immediate action to avoid greater consequences."

The IAPA also complained that despite requesting on "two occasions, on January 12 and April 4, that the Interior Ministry investigate the newspaper's complaints about the alleged pressures received from State officials in reprisal for their editorial position", "there continues to be a tense environment that limits the ability of the newspaper's employees, editors and owners, to continue to report the news."

On May 18, the case of Noticias newspaper was also presented by the IAPA delegation in Mexico during a meeting with Mexican Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca.