Freedom of Expression

Guatemala

1.      During the year 2001 there were no major changes to Guatemala’s domestic laws or practices that would have led to greater respect for freedom of expression.  As was noted in the Rapporteur’s Annual Report for the year 2000, the existence of a de facto monopoly in the ownership of television stations is still a cause for concern.  This issue has been publicly denounced by Guatemala’s Attorney for Human Rights, leading figures within society, and nongovernmental organizations.[1] It was also described by the Special Rapporteur during his April 2000 trip to the country as a serious obstacle to Guatemalan society’s right of access to several sources of information reflecting a range of ideas and opinions.  The Rapporteur again notes that the existence of this de facto monopoly has a serious impact on the Guatemalan people’s freedom of expression and right to information.  Information received indicates that private monopolies follow policies aimed at shaping public opinion on behalf of government sectors, thus hindering the work of independent journalism.[2]

2.      Media monopolies are prohibited by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, Article 130 of which provides that:

Monopolies and privileges are banned. The state shall restrict the operations of companies that absorb or tend to absorb, to the detriment of the nation’s economy, the output of one or more industrial fields or of a single commercial or agricultural activity.

3.      In turn, Article 13 of the Radiocommunications Law states that:

The Ministry of Communications and Public Works shall be charged with preventing abuses in the granting of concessions for the commercial exploitation of radio and television stations, and it shall regulate the use of repeaters and link systems, in order to restrict the operations of those companies that tend to absorb this activity to the detriment of the state and of third parties.

4.      The Rapporteur points out that concessions for television channels and broadcasting spectrum allocations should take on board democratic guidelines to ensure that all the sectors that make up a society are represented.[3] Auctions that involve solely economic criteria or that award concessions without giving all sectors an equal chance are incompatible with democracy and with the right of free expression and information enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights and in the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression.[4]

Assassinations

5.      On September 5, 2001, Jorge Mynor Alegría Armendáriz was murdered. Unidentified individuals shot the journalist six times, killing him in front of his home.  Alegría Armendáriz hosted the program Línea Directa on Radio Amatique in the town of Puerto Barrios, Izabal, which he used to denounce cases of corruption and to criticize the authorities.  According to the information received, on several occasions death threats had been made against him, which he also denounced on his radio show.  The day after this assassination, another journalist with the same radio station, Enrique Aceituno, presented his resignation after receiving threats against his life.[5] In September 2001, the Attorney for Human Rights determined that this assassination was politically motivated and decided it was probably organized by local officials as a reprisal for the journalist’s reporting on corruption issues.[6]

Aggression and Threats

6.      In March 2001, the journalists Sylvia Gereda, Luis Escobar, Enrique Castañeda, and Walter Martín Juárez Ruiz of the daily El Periódico suffered threats and attacks after publishing stories about suspicions of embezzlement at the National Mortgage Credit Bank (CHN) in which the bank’s president was suspected of playing a major role. According to the information received, the journalists were followed and kept under surveillance by individuals unknown.  In addition, Juárez Ruiz was intercepted in his car and threatened by two armed individuals wearing masks who told him to abandon his investigations.[7]

7.      In June 2001, the Association of Journalists of Guatemala reported that several of its members were receiving death threats and suffering other forms of intimidation.  As examples, the Association described the threats made against journalist Julio César del Valle of the program Usted tiene la palabra on Radio Única and Marvin Herwing, director of the Regional Informativo newscast on Radio Novedades in the city of Zacapa.[8]

8.      On July 10, 2001, the Center for Informational Reports on Guatemala (Cerigua) received a telephone threat intended for its director, Ileana Alamilla.  Some days later, one of the center’s journalists received a similar call.[9]

9.      In July 2001, threats were made against the lives of the journalists Juan Carlos Aquino and Marvin Alfredo Herin González of the Regional Informativo newscast on Zacapa’s Radio Novedades.[10]

10.  On August 1, 2001, at least four journalists were physically assaulted by police officers while covering a street demonstration against tax hikes.[11]

Legislation

11.  As regards the adoption of progressive legislature measures for protecting and upholding full enjoyment of free expression, the Rapporteur notes with pleasure the decision taken by the Constitutional Court on January 23, 2002, provisionally declaring the Law on Obligatory Professional Associations to be unconstitutional.  The new law rules that membership in an association is obligatory for all professions except journalists.  As will be recalled, on November 30, 2001, the Guatemalan Congress approved the Law on Obligatory Professional Associations, requiring that all practicing journalists have a university degree and be members of the College of Journalists, provisions that were in contravention of the Inter-American Court’s rulings on free expression.[12] The Rapporteur hopes that in compliance with the inter-American system’s established standards, the Guatemalan State will embrace the Court’s resolution and make it permanent, thereby invalidating the requirement of obligatory membership in a professional association in order to pursue a career in journalism.

12.  Additionally, in April 2001 the Guatemalan State sent Congress a bill on information access, intended to regulate both the right to information held by the state and the right to pursue habeas data action.  Guatemalan civil society played a major role in drafting the bill, which arose from a commitment assumed by the state following the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Guatemala in April 2000.  Reports indicate that the bill is still with Congress pending its approval.  The Rapporteur hopes that a law respectful of the relevant international standards is enacted soon, thereby upholding the right of access to information.

1889 F St. N.W. Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20006 / E-mail: cidhoea@oas.org / Phone: (202) 370-9000 / Fax: (202) 458-3650