[CubaNews] Venezuelan TV station begins broadcasting on cable

[Walter Lippmann <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Venezuelan TV station begins broadcasting on cable, satellite after being forced off air

The Associated Press
Monday, July 16, 2007
 

CARACAS, Venezuela: An opposition-aligned TV station forced off the air by President Hugo Chavez began broadcasting on cable and satellite television on Monday.

Employees and actors sang Venezuela's national anthem as Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, made its first broadcasts since May 27, when Chavez granted the network's open airwaves signal to a state-controlled channel.

"We were prevented from being together with you, for showing that we are independent and free," RCTV President Eladio Lares told viewers said during a brief address. "We will always be standing, never on our knees."

RCTV's executives argue Chavez's decision not to renew RCTV's broadcasting license was illegal. The station, which has remained highly critical of the president while other privately owned TV channels have toned down their criticism of the government, is waging a legal battle to regain its license so it can once again reach a nationwide audience.

Cable and satellite television cost roughly US$20 (â14.50) a month â more than many Venezuelan families can afford â and reach only 30 percent of households.

Government opponents argue Chavez forced RCTV off the airwaves to muzzle his most outspoken critics and they have staged numerous street demonstrations to protest the measure.

International press freedom groups, the European Union, the U.S. government, Human Rights Watch and others have expressed concern that the move against RCTV threatens press freedom.

Chavez, however, denies his government has limited freedom of expression, arguing that his decision to turn RCTV's signal over to a public-service channel was part of a wider effort aimed at democratizing the airwaves.

Justice Minister Pedro Carreno said RCTV's move to cable and satellite television was "a clear demonstration that Venezuela's government does not infringe on any right."

"The Venezuelan government always guarantees freedom of expression," he said.
 

================================
WALTER LIPPMANN
Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
writer - photographer - activist
http://www.walterlippmann.com
================================


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