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From: IFEX "COMMUNIQUE" # 7-33                 1 September 1998

ARGENTINA: THREATS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION PERSIST

More subtle threats to freedom of expression now face journalists in
Argentina already suffering from traditional attacks such as physical
assault, warns the Association for the Defence of Independent Journalism
(Periodistas) in its biannual 1998 report, "New and Old Threats to Freedom
of Expression." The report, presented on 29 July at the Freedom Forum Latin
American Centre in Buenos Aires, says that in the last year, these "more
subtle, yet no less insidious" threats to freedom of expression have
multiplied.

The report details several new draft laws sent to Congress which have
implications on freedom of expression. One is a proposed reform which would
impose new taxes on the media, in particular on magazines, cable television
and advertising. The other is a bill to repeal the statute which regulates
the profession (the "Estatuto del Periodista Profesional.") The final draft
law would add an article to the penal code to establish a sentence of one
month to two years in prison for anyone who records sounds or images without
the consent of those involved. Periodistas says, the proposal uses the
excuse of protecting the privacy of telephone conversations. But, according
to Periodistas, "this article is designed to avoid any illegal actions by
public functionaries from coming to light by means of investigative
techniques such as hidden cameras."

In its report, Periodistas also highlights the new threat to press freedom
wrought by "the accelerated process of concentration of media ownership" and
denounces the use of the judicial system "as one of the methods of stopping
the free flow of information." The report also includes an update on the
investigation into the 25 February 1997 assassination of photojournalist
JosÊ Luis Cabezas, and reports on 78 cases in which freedom of expression
has been abused in Argentina in the first half of the year.

The biannual report is available on-line in Spanish on the Periodistas Web
site at  www.netizen.com.ar/periodistas. Previous reports are also available
in English and Spanish. For more information, contact Iv�n L'Estrange
Wallace at Periodistas, Sarmiento 1334, (1041) Capital Federal, Argentina,
tel/fax: +54 1 372 6201 / +54 1 371 5053, e-mail: periodis@netizen.com.ar.

** ** **

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