Hugo Chavez talks press freedom, allegations of closing TV media

President Hugo Chavez used his United Nation press conference last week to defend his reputation on freedom of speech in Venezuela.

In a packed UN media room, Chavez blamed television station’s ‘oligarchs’ and newspapers owners for not defending freedom of expression. And urged journalists and reporters not to be ‘fooled’ by what he calls ‘a tremendous media campaign’ to smear Venezuela’s freedom of the press. “Freedom of speech is flourishing in Venezuela,” Said Chavez, who earlier in the day delivered a speech to UN Security Council summit at the United Nation. “Heads of the media, they are the one who violate freedom of press,” Chavez said, “Journalists who behave the way TV and newspaper owners don’t want, they are thrown out,” he added. Opposition, United States and other western countries often accuse Chavez of cracking down on dissent by silencing the media. “There’s a clear strategy to control the flow of information and restrict criticism,” said Carlos Lauria of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. “It’s aimed at building a communicational hegemony for the state.” However, Chavez defended his government’s refusal to renew broadcast licenses for some TV stations citing that priority is to stations that air more cultural programming. He also challenged reporters to name one TV station that has been barred from broadcasting in Venezuela. “That is a lie, we have never shut down any TV stations,” Chavez told reporters. “Never before did we have in Venezuela so much of freedom of expression that we have it now.” Chavez then went on to commented on Gaddafi’s speech a day earlier, to 192-nation General Assembly, in which the Libyan leader blasted the big powers holding a veto power on the Security Council as the equivalent of terrorists and called for UN reform. “Inshallah (God willing) I hope that Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and African Union (AU) when are join together we will earn our respect (at the UN) so there will be a balanced world,” he said. Chavez was speaking with journalist at the United Nation in New York, where the world leaders are attending a historic UN Security Council summit – only the fifth in the Council’s history to be held at the heads of State and government level.