604
defendants may appeal verdicts to higher courts.
g. Invasion of the Home
Under Paraguayan law, judicial warrants are necessary before security forces may enter private homes or businesses. However, under the state of siege, the police conduct searches, detain persons, and impound or expropriate personal property without judicial writ. Such actions were widespread in the aftermath of the Somoza assassination in 1980 and have continued intermittently ever since. Under the state of siege the Government also conducts warrantless house-to-house searches for "subversive elements" and impedes meetings of the officially unrecognized political opposition. Such meetings require police permits which are virtually impossible to obtain under the state of siege.
2.
Respect for Civil and Political Rights, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
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Freedom of speech is circumscribed. The print media operate with considerable freedom although they continue to exercise self-censorship, and the Government sometimes provides press guidance. Despite government pressures, the press in Paraguay reports independent and opposition viewpoints. While general criticism of government policies is tolerated, criticism of the President, the military, and key civilian leaders is not. Foreign press reports critical of Paraguayan politics and policies sometimes are published in local papers, but there have been cases where foreign publications containing critical articles have been confiscated or the offending material removed. The organ of the opposition Febrerista Revolutionary Party, El Pueblo, received Government permission to publish in 1982 after a hiatus of 21 months. However, the Government has not permitted the reopening of the periodical, La Republica, which was closed on December 30, 1981.
Domestic and foreign books which are considered immoral or disrespectful of the authorities are censored. Dissidents complain that their foreign correspondence is opened prior to delivery or often not delivered. Radio and television are controlled by the Government or its supporters. Reporting is less open than in the press. Television comments are always laudatory of Government leaders and programs. Opposition parties are not allowed access to television to air their views.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of assembly is circumscribed. Opposition political parties, whether recognized by the Government or not, frequently are denied the right to hold public meetings. Government permission technically is not required for recognized opposition parties, but parties routinely inform the authorities in order to reduce the chances of police interference. A meeting of the recognized Radical Liberal Party was suspended by the government in July 1982. In May 1982, the unrecognized Authentic Radical Liberal Party sought permission to hold its party convention in a private home but the Government prevented convention delegates from entering the house, thereby forcing the meeting to be held furtively in another location. On two other occasions, the police harassed small meetings of this party held in private homes.
There is no independent trade union movement in Paraguay. Organized labor accounts for only about five percent of the work force. The Federation of Paraguayan Workers, which represents over ninety percent of organized labor, is the only legal national labor organization. It is controlled by the Government and dominated by the Colorado Party. A few unions with links to opposition political parties belong to the Federation, but union officials who differ from its general
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