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[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 609 Introduced in House (IH)]

105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 609

Expressing concern over interference with freedom of the press and the 
      independence of judicial and electoral institutions in Peru.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 1998

 Mr. Gilman (for himself, Mr. Hamilton, and Mr. Lantos) submitted the 
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Expressing concern over interference with freedom of the press and the 
      independence of judicial and electoral institutions in Peru.

Whereas the independence of Peru's legislative and judicial branches have been 
        brought into question by the May 29, 1997, dismissal of 3 Constitutional 
        Tribunal magistrates;
Whereas actions related to efforts to authorize President Alberto Fujimori to 
        seek a third term in office have raised questions about the independence 
        of the National Council of Magistrates and the National Election Board 
        in Peru;
Whereas the Department of State's Peru Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
        for 1997, dated January 30, 1998, found that ``[i]ncidents of harassment 
        of media representatives increased to such an extent as to create the 
        perception of an organized campaign of intimidation on the part of the 
        Government, specifically, on the part of the armed forces and 
        intelligence services'';
Whereas the Department of State's Peru Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
        for 1997 states that Channel 2 television station reporters in Peru 
        ``revealed torture by Army Intelligence Service officers; the systematic 
        wiretapping of journalists, government officials, and opposition 
        politicians; and the income tax return of Vladimiro Montesinos, 
        President Fujimori's senior intelligence adviser'';
Whereas on July 13, 1997, Peruvian immigration authorities revoked the Peruvian 
        citizenship of the Israeli-born owner of the Channel 2 television 
        station, Baruch Ivcher;
Whereas Baruch Ivcher subsequently lost control of Channel 2 under an 
        interpretation of a law that provides that a foreigner may not own a 
        media organization, leading the State Department's Report on Human 
        Rights Practices to conclude that ``the Government's action in this case 
        was widely interpreted as an attempt to prevent the station from 
        broadcasting any more negative stories about the regime'';
Whereas the Peruvian Government empaneled a special court to prosecute Baruch 
        Ivcher for alleged tax offenses employing judicial procedures described 
        by Peruvian legal experts as completely irregular and as constituting 
        political interference in the independence of the judiciary; and
Whereas the Peruvian Government has issued an INTERPOL warrant for Baruch 
        Ivcher's arrest and has initiated investigations aimed at prosecuting 
        members of Baruch Ivcher's immediate family: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the erosion of the independence of judicial and 
        electoral branches of the Government of Peru and the blatant 
        intimidation of journalists in Peru are matters for concern by 
        the United States; and
            (2) the United States should seek an independent 
        investigation and report on threats to press freedom and 
        judicial independence in Peru by the Inter-American Commission 
        on Human Rights of the Organization of American States.
                                 <all>
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