Video on Venezuela: HRF Marks Third Anniversary of RCTV Shutdown

NEW YORK (May 27, 2010) – On the third anniversary of the shutdown of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) released a video of Marcel Granier, RCTV’s general manager, speaking about attacks endured by the independent media in Venezuela under President Hugo Chávez. Granier’s presentation took place this past April at the 2010 Oslo Freedom Forum.

“The silencing of RCTV by the Venezuelan government three years ago was a devastating turning point for freedom and democracy in Venezuela. A comparable situation would be the US government deciding to shut down major television networks such as ABC, CBS, or NBC,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of HRF. “HRF wishes to remind the world of this unprecedented blow to freedom of expression in Venezuela by giving Mr. Granier an international platform,” continued Halvorssen.

“Everyone who disagrees with President Chávez is an enemy, is a criminal,” said Granier during his presentation, after showing footage of President Chávez calling independent media “poisoners,” “enemies of the revolution,” and “social degenerate media.” “Paramilitary groups identified with the government have thrown bombs at my home on two occasions and I have been personally threatened with death by one of those paramilitary groups. In one case, a burning truck charged the entrance of our main office building. On that day, there were more than 1,500 employees inside the building. It was very dangerous,” recalled Granier while showing images of the burning truck at RCTV’s doorstep.

RCTV Shut Down Twice

On May 27, 2007, the government of Venezuela canceled RCTV’s broadcast license, shutting down the nation’s most watched television station. RCTV had a long history of denouncing government corruption and was a fierce critic of President Chávez’s government. “[President Chávez] silenced our television channel from the air. So we created a new channel, a channel on cable and satellite. It became number one within one month,” said Granier.

“Several months ago, his government manipulated the cable and satellite providers and ordered them to take us off the air - without any judicial sentence, without any official procedure,” Granier continued.

Since 2007, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have repeatedly convicted the Venezuelan government of violating freedom of expression. Venezuela is the only state in the Americas to deny the Inter-American Commission access to its territory. In 2008, after disregarding various international rulings, the Supreme Justice Tribunal of Venezuela expressly called on the executive power to “denounce” the American Convention on Human Rights — a human rights treaty — so that Venezuela would no longer be bound by it.

“One day soon, all protests in Venezuela will be silenced. All dissidents, all political dissent, all opinions, all trade unions, all civil society, professional associations, popular associations that pretend to preserve a minimum of independence from the absolute power of the military regime, will be eliminated,” Granier warned the audience.

Since 2009, Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press Index has ranked Venezuela as “not free.” Other countries in this category include Burma, China, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that the Venezuelan government closed 34 private television and radio stations in 2009; it also threatened more than 200 radio stations with the same fate. In March of this year, Gustavo Azócar, a journalist known for his work revealing government inefficiencies and corruption, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after spending almost eight months in jail awaiting his trial’s conclusion. He was freed on parole, but the judge ordered that he show up in court every eight days. In addition to HRF, other human rights organizations such as CPJ, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Federation of Journalists have defended Azócar in the face of what is a deliberate effort by the government to silence his independent voice.

On May 7, 2007, only weeks before RCTV was removed from public airways, HRF launched the FreeRCTV campaign and website, aimed at raising international awareness about the grave situation of freedom of expression in Venezuela. On February 2, 2010, given the new attack on RCTV International, HRF re-launched the campaign and updated the website. FreeRCTV.com includes reports, articles, news, videos, and pictures about RCTV’s case.

Granier’s presentation was prepared exclusively for the 2010 Oslo Freedom Forum that took place April 26-29 in Oslo, Norway, and was organized by HRF. The Oslo Freedom Forum is committed to bringing together the world’s foremost human rights defenders to share their experiences and expertise with an audience of global leaders. It has included the participation of human rights heroes such as Václav Havel, Lubna al-Hussein, Anwar Ibrahim, Rebiya Kadeer, Greg Mortenson, Armando Valladares, Lech Walesa, Elie Wiesel, Lidia Yusupova, Harry Wu, and Leyla Zana. All videos from the forum can be now watched on the Oslo Freedom Forum’s YouTube channel.

HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights in the Americas. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF does not support nor condone violence. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Václav Havel, Mutabar Tadjibaeva, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

Contact: Javier El-Hage, Human Rights Foundation, (212) 246.8486, info@thehrf.org

See Marcel Granier’s full presentation here.

Visit FreeRCTV here.

See more Oslo Freedom Forum videos here.