Freedom of Expression

Honduras

1.      The Rapporteur again expresses his concern about a series of circumstances that are endangering the journalism profession and the right of free expression in Honduras.  According to reports, over 2001 several journalists have suffered reprisals for pursuing a journalistic line that is independent and critical of the authorities.

2.      In February 2001, the IACHR held a hearing for a group of independent Honduran journalists, accompanied by the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH).  At that hearing, the journalists made allegations regarding threats, intimidation, and legal action taken against them in order to silence their investigations and keep them from publishing allegations in the press.  In November 2001 the Commission held another hearing for other members of the same group of Honduran journalists and human rights workers, who again expressed their concern about the state of freedom of expression in their country.  On that occasion they submitted a report describing instances in which journalists have been threatened, intimidated, and dismissed because of their independent journalist activities and their criticism of irregularities in the public administration.  According to this information, among the journalists fired from their jobs were at least four who had helped prepare the February 2001 hearing at the IACHR. According to the report of the National Commissioner on Human Rights, Leo Valladares, who is recognized as an independent authority on the reporting of violations of human rights in this country:

(...) in the year 2001, what had appeared to be isolated incidents against the Right to Information became systematic. It was an unusual year for the Honduran press, the anonymous harassment of 1999 gave way to direct harassment and dismissals, with full names. This report states that during the year 2001 there were at least eight direct dismissals of journalists and three pre-notifications followed by reintegration in the communications media and three actions of direct harassment against freedom of expression, directed towards an equal number of journalists, by the College of Journalists of Honduras (CPH) (...)[1] 

3.      In this context, the Office of the Special Rapporteur was informed of the concentration of ownership of the media and the “existence of an oligopoly that exerts control over news policies and advertising budgets” and constitutes “a key part of the country’s political and economic power.”[2]

4.      Another issue raised at the hearing with the IACHR was the incompatibility of some domestic laws with international free speech standards.

           Intimidation

5.      The Rapporteur notes his concern at the fact that several of the journalists who attended the hearings at the IACHR and gave their opinions about freedom of expression in Honduras have since lost their jobs.

6.      On April 15, 2001, the journalist Thelma Mejía, chief editor of the daily El Heraldo, was fired.  According to the information received, the journalist was forced by management to tender her resignation.  She contacted the Rapporteur’s office and reported that the company had asked for her resignation, claiming that she was not in tune with the paper’s editorial policies.  “They accused me of defending freedom of expression and denouncing censorship,” said the journalist.  “They told me that the paper’s owner did not like the fact that I did not showcase official news from the government on the first page.” The journalist had participated in drawing up the report submitted to the Commission in February 2001.[3]

7.      In early May, Manuel Torres Calderón, opinion page chief of the daily El Heraldo, was dismissed by his employers.  Like journalist Thelma Mejía, Torres had helped draw up the report submitted to the Commission in February 2001.

8.      In early October 2001, Renato Alvarez, the former director of Centro de Noticias de Canal 63, was dismissed, presumably because of political pressure from the government party.  Alvarez had attended the Commission hearing in February 2001 to denounce the state of free expression in Honduras.  The background to his dismissal from Canal 63 was the a story broadcast about the warrant issued for the arrest of businessman Victor Bendeck, a liberal deputy in the Central American Parliament and owner of the Canal 13 television station and the Radio Reloj radio station.  Bendeck had been accused of fraud.[4]

9.      In late October 2001 Félix Antonio Molina, a news editor and presenter with Canal 63, was fired.  He had attended the Commission hearing in February 2001.[5]

10.  The Rapporteur’s office has also been informed about public persecution and smear campaigns against other independent journalists and even representatives of United Nations agencies: these campaigns have been carried out through the “Pildoritas” column in the daily La Tribuna—which belongs to the President of the Republic—and through other media outlets and publications with ties to government employees.  The journalists targeted by these smear campaigns include Thelma Mejía, Manuel Torres Calderón, and Félix Antonio Molina, who are accused of having informed the office of the Special Rapporteur in February 2001 about the state of free expression in Honduras, with funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an agency of the United Nations in Tegucigalpa.  According to the information received, the aim of these smear campaigns is to undermine a journalist training program and a Permanent Forum for Strengthening Democracy that the UN agency is promoting.[6]

           Legislation    

11.  In July 2001 the National Congress introduced a draft bill for a new Criminal Code containing provisions that could subvert freedom of expression and information. Article 372 provides for a prison term of between four and seven years for any person who “reveals facts, reports, or documents that refer to political affairs or state economic, military, security, or defense matters and that as such should remain secret.”[7]

12.  In early May 2001, the College of Journalists of Honduras (CPH) presented Congress with a draft bill that would abolish the requirement that all journalists belong to a professional association.  The president of the CPH, Elán Reyes Pineda, explained that the proposal was drawn up after a group of journalists, in February 2001, informed the Rapporteur’s office of violations of free expression in the country and denounced the practice of requiring obligatory membership in a professional association.  However, the final version of the draft as adopted on May 17, 2001, did not eliminate the compulsory membership requirement; instead, it eliminated the requirement that journalists belong to the CPH.  As a result, journalists not affiliated to the CPH have to belong to another professional association in order to practice journalism legally.[8]

13.              The Report of the National Commissioner on Human Rights states:

(...) in Honduras the governments have maintained two basic attitudes with respect to the functions of the press: one of a restrictive character, centered on the promulgation of laws aimed at regulating and controlling its functioning; and another, characterized by alignment with journalists most supportive of their political positions. Relations with the press have been more restrictive than tolerant in nature (...) [9]

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