Paper fights junta Opposes Sandinista censorship By Debbie Howlett Of the Emerald Emerald editor Debbie Howlett recently returned from an 11-dav trip to Nicaragua. This is the final story in a series of five. For all of the support the Sandinistas are able to show visitors, opposition to the government is easy to find in most areas, and especially from one newspaper. In an effort to prove the Sandinista government is a repressive regime, people point most often — and most noticeably — to censorship of the media, especially the opposition newspaper, La Prensa. La Prensa was, during the Somoza regime, the Sandinista's biggest voice of support. Just prior to the revolution, Somoza had Pedro Chamorro, then editor of La Prensa, gunned down in the street. The killing, which outraged the Nicaraguan people, also left the door open for Chamorro's family to take over publication of La Prensa. But the family became divid ed, and three members of the family could not agree on the editorial stance the paper should take. So they started their own paper. JOINT JOURNALISM Chamorro's brother Xavier edits El Nuevo Diario. Chamarro’s two sons, Pedro Jr. and Carlos, run La Prensa and Barricada. After the Sandinistas took control. La Prensa drifted away from its support of the revolutionaries and is now the only Nicaraguan newspaper to oppose the government. But just how much opposition actually comes out through the newspaper is a sub ject for debate. Roberto Cardenal, assistant editor of La Prensa, says up to 20 percent of the news is censored. He holds a manila file folder, about three inches thick, full of Xerox copies of censored articles. WE GET DISCOURAGED' "We get discouraged," Cardenal says. "I used to write editorials. Now I don't. They get censored." But editorials are not the only things cen sored by the government. Several reporters from Oregon watched as the communiques from the Communica tions Ministry came back to the editorial of fices. An editorial column, written by Tom Wicker for the New York Times News Ser vice, received minimal changes. The words anti-Sandinistas and insurgents were ordered changed to contra-revolutionaries. Three photos and captions were banned altogether from publication. Two of the photos were of busses — one of which showed too old a bus, the other, too crowd ed a bus. Cardenal says the Sandinistas are definitely "interested in keeping (La Prensa) alive" so that the government can point to the paper as an example of their tolerance for opposition. But Cardenal says the paper always has the option to run a different news story. "If the meaning of the article is changed we will scrap the whole piece," Cardenal says. SANDINISTA CONTROL And Cardenal has, like most editors, strong political opinions about the government. He believes there is a tremendous power struggle going on in the Sandinista junta, the official body of Nicaragua. "I'd pay to be in a meeting where they are close together and making a decision," Cardenal says. Cardenal is also concerned about the veracity of the elections. The Sandinistas own and control both television stations operating in Nicaragua. The government also provides a large amount of financial backing for both the Barricada and El Nuevo Diario. "What kind of election can you have when the media is in the hands of the FSLN?" Cardenal asks. PRIVATE CONCERNS If freedom of the press is not allowed, freedom of speech is guaranteed, accor Continued on Page 8 CARLOS f. CHAMORRO B. Swb-Director XAVIIR RCYIS A. 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