IAPA to sponsor a free-speech conference p.

By: Robert U. Brown

March 9-11 meeting will develop a Declaration of Free Speech for the Western Hemisphere sp.

THE INTER AMERICAN Press Association will sponsor a Hemisphere Conference on Freedom of Speech in Mexico City March 9-11. The purpose of the conference is to explore, explain and promote a public understanding of the role of free speech in a democracy. From the conference will emerge a Declaration of Free Speech for the Western Hemisphere.
Javier Perez de Cuellar, former secretary-general of the United Nations and now president of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Culture and Development Committee, a strong advocate of the right of free expression for all people, will be the general chairman of the conference.
James McClatchy of McClatchy Newspapers, Sacramento, former president of the IAPA and chairman of the organizing committee for the conference, said the goal of the conference "is to unify the free societies of this hemisphere in support of the cornerstone of democracy ? the right of free expression or free speech."
McClatchy continued, "In some of our Latin American countries, there is no accumulated experience of free speech. In some, it is a new event, a new privilege. It can be intoxicating, but its operation can also be misunderstood. Because the press is now probing in places it never could before, the public is learning about corruption. The result is a growing and unwelcome belief that democracies bring corruption. We know that democracies do not bring corruption. The simple truth is that corruption is now more visible than it used to be, and more questions are being asked as a result. Public and private industry officials with something to hide are uncomfortable when the press asks embarrassing queries. Officials then start looking for ways to restrict the exercise of free speech."
The IAPA will bring together 45 world-respected hemisphere leaders who know the value of free speech ? distinguished political philosophers, editors, law school deans and others ? who will examine the legal, cultural and historical backgrounds of free speech; the attitude of the Latin American public toward a free press; current trends in restrictions and repressions; and ethics and responsibilities of a free press. The importance of a free flow of information in developing a nation's social, economic and political health will be explored.
Nine research papers will be prepared and discussed; the first five will cover dangers to the press: violence, legislative and financial pressures, abuse of authority and other legal issues, censorship, and imposed duties.
Others will concern broadcast, responsibilities and ethics, right to access, and why a free press is essential to a functioning democracy. They will form the basis for the final Declaration of Free Speech for the Western Hemisphere.