PROPAGANDA WAR AGAINST PRESIDENTE HUGO CHAVEZ FRIAS

[Thanks to Toni for this post]

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) released a
statement today that criticized a recent decision by
the Venezuelan government not to renew the
broadcasting license of RCTV.

We strongly encourage you to email and call Speaker
Pelosi to set the record straight. Please contact the
following people:

Pelosi's Chief of Staff/Policy Adviser:
Terri.Mccullough@ mail.house. gov
Pelosi's Media Staff: Brenda.Daly@ mail.house. gov

Call Speaker Pelosi at 202-226-7616

When you call or email, feel free to use the following
TALKING POINTS:

1. There is no "Suppression of Media in Venezuela,"
nor was there a "closure" of RCTV. Instead its
license to broadcast on the public airwaves was not
renewed.

2. The non-renewal of the license prevents RCTV from
broadcasting on open access channels, but the station
will still be allowed to broadcast in Venezuela
through the internet as well as cable and satellite
TV. Neither does it affect the possibility of RCTV
producing material for domestic or international TV
programming. Moreover, RCTV may continue to broadcast
using their two radio stations.

3. The non-renewal is due to RCTV's failure to abide
by legal norms established by the Venezuelan
Constitution and the Law of Social Responsibility for
Radio and Television. The law forbids public airwaves
licensees from inciting political violence and civil
unrest. RCTV's violations involve conspiracy to bring
down the elected government of Venezuela during the
violent coup of April 2002 as well as the active
promotion of an economic sabotage later that year,
which cost the country more than US$10 billion in
losses. RCTV also has a long list of sanctions
imposed by previous governments for reasons ranging
from pornography, violations of laws prohibiting
publicity of smoking and alcohol drinking to
transmissions of false information.

4. The non-renewal of RCTV's broadcasting license is
not an example of censorship, nor is it a strike
against the private media in Venezuela. RCTV was part
of a majority; 79 out of 81 TV stations and all 118
newspapers in the country are privately owned. Most
are vehemently opposed to the democratically elected
government of President Chavez. RCTV is unique only in
its editorial excesses and its history of violating
legal norms.

5. RCTV's large share of the open-access airwaves was
assigned, upon expiration, to a public broadcaster
that is dedicated to presenting programming that
features independent operators and producers.

PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR NETWORKS.

Do your best to personalize your email, and make sure
to send it to your Congressional Representatives, as
well. To find out who your Representatives are, please
go to: http://www.house. gov/writerep/

Please read VIO's fact sheet on "Press Freedoms in
Venezuela: The Case of RCTV." For more information,
please call the Venezuela Information Office at 202
347 8081, ext. 603 or email natali@veninfo. org