The Ministry of Culture, with Francesco Petrozzi in charge, has issued today, Sunday, December 1, the resolution in the newspaper El Peruano that admits the cessation of functions of the journalist and writer Hugo Coya as president of the Institute of Radio and Television of Peru (IRTP). In the words of the communications professional, the act has been «untimely».
However, the holder of the Culture portfolio has told a local newspaper that the event had been «discussed and agreed upon.» He also stated that the former owner of the IRTP was traveling through London when, by the same statements of the journalist, he had refused to travel. So he let him see on his Twitter account.
Ante mi cese intempestivo, informo que no iré a Londres, pues se trataba de una invitación oficial del gobierno británico al presidente de #IRTP. Ese es un cargo que ya no ejerzo debido a la resolución suprema publicada hoy. Agradezco a todos las expresiones de solidaridad.
— Hugo Coya (@Hcoya) December 1, 2019
«Before my untimely cessation, I inform that I will not go to London since it was an official invitation of the British government to the president of #IRTP. That is a position that I no longer exercise due to the supreme resolution published today. I thank all expressions of solidarity.» – Hugo Coya (@Hcoya)
On the other hand, according to the writer, in a conversation with the Minister of Culture, he had no apparent reasons for the reason for his dismissal.
«When he called me at his office, the minister told me that unfortunately he had to ask for my resignation and I asked why, what had happened. At that moment he told me that he would never sign a resignation, he would not ask me to resign, that I was the best president that had had IRTP, but he said to me: <<unfortunately, the president has been poisoned, two officials have poisoned the president>>. Then I told him, I didn’t understand what this means and then I no longer travel to London», the journalist said to a local newspaper.
In the words of the minister, he has affirmed that everything has a beginning and an end. «Both orchestras and choral groups, television channels and different areas of communications sometimes need a breeze of fresh air,» he said. However, the facts could be highlighted as a conflict of interest after the transmission and coverage of the Keiko Fujimori case.
The journalist said that the former Fujimori supporter would have felt uncomfortable with the coverage made. «[the minister called me] claiming me for allowing the transmission of Mark Vito’s reaction on the day of the Constitutional Court ruling,» he said. Also, as the writer mentions, «there was a constant request from Petrozzzi to cover himself as a minister», he said.
Given this fact, the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) said that Coya’s dismissal «is due to the government’s disagreement with the informative plurality displayed by the journalist», through a press release.
“The state media, in particular, TV Peru, must follow a pluralistic line, especially at the current juncture, which corresponds to an electoral period in which there is no Congress in office. This principle has been relatively respected by the last democratic governments, and has been a characteristic of the interrupted management of the last IRTP president.», they continued.
Currently, it is known that the new president of the IRTP will be the journalist Eduardo Guzmán, who has worked for Panamericana Televisión and Latina. Changes in the direction of the media at the national level are carried out within the framework of a political crisis evidenced since the closing of the Congress, the release of the opposition leader (Keiko Fujimori), as well as the arbitrators in the Odebrecht case and the investigation by influence-peddling of former congressman and prime minister Cesar Villanueva who allegedly would be involved with President Martín Vizcarra.