MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Press Association Faults U.S. Restrictions

The Inter-American Press Association criticized the U.S. government on Sunday for placing restrictions on foreign journalists' travels and for recent court rulings ordering reporters to reveal secret sources.

The Miami-based umbrella group of nearly all the newspapers in the Americas issued its remarks during an annual review of press freedoms.

Rafael Bonilla of the Dominican Republic and chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press noted a "disquieting wave of physical, economic and legal attacks against the media and journalists," including slayings of those collecting the news in Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

Bonilla said the July 16 ruling by the State Department that requires foreign reporters to leave the country to renew their visas is "a violation of freedom of the press."

Most countries do not have such a requirement.

"Court orders infringing on the confidentiality of journalists' sources also represent a serious risk to freedom of the press in the United States," Bonilla said in the report submitted to the organization. "More than once, judges have declared journalists in contempt and jailed those who have declined to reveal their sources. The IAPA has vigorously protested each incident."

The report said unfair restriction of and attacks on the press continue "often under the indifferent nose of governments."

In Cuba, the report said, "some 30 journalists remain in prison for attempting to freely exercise their right to inform and be informed." Among those behind bars is Raul Rivero, a member of the IAPA board of directors.

The association also noted positive developments, including freedom of information laws passed in Mexico, Panama, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, among others