Attacks on the Press - Committee to Protect Journalists

attacks on the press in 2009americas: ecuadorcontinued to express their dissatisfaction by posting messages online that at timeswere heavily critical of the Castro regime. The case of Juan Carlos González,known as Panfilo, a Havana man who was caught on tape screaming that theCuban people were dying of hunger, gained international attention after his videoreceived thousands of views on YouTube. In August, a Cuban court sentencedPanfilo to two years in prison for “social dangerousness.” He was released threeweeks later after a rare successful appeal.ECUADORRe-elected by a landslide in april, president rafael correaintensified his attacks on critical news media, calling them ignorant and deceitful.As Correa used his weeklyradio address to assail thepress, his administration singledout critical outlets forregulatory action. Legislatorswere debating media legislationthat would restrict freedomof expression, and twojournalists were imprisonedduring the year on defamationcharges.So focused was Correaon disagreements with the»»Correa assails news media, andregulators target critical outlets.t o p developments»»Media legislation would restrict freedomof expression.key statistic3Days that regulators orderedTeleamazonas off the air.press that he added a segment, “Press Freedom Is Now for All,” to his Saturdaymorning address in order to air his disputes. Among the outlets mostfrequently targeted were the national dailies El Universo, La Hora, El Comercio,and El Expreso, and the television network Teleamazonas. The president describedsuch news outlets as “a sewer,” “ignorant,” “trash talking,” “liars,” “unethical,”“mediocre,” and “political actors who are trying to oppose the revolutionarygovernment.”Teleamazonas, a Quito-based private broadcaster and harsh critic of theadministration, became the focus of government regulators. In late December,regulators ordered Teleamazonas off the air for three days after finding the stationhad “incited public disorder” with a May story exploring the potential effectthat natural gas exploration off southern Puná Island would have on thelocal fishing industry, according to news reports.The National Council of Radio and Television (CONARTEL) had citedthe network twice earlier in the year. After Teleamazonas aired a bullfightingcommercial during an 8:30 p.m. slot in February, CONARTEL cited the stationfor violating a 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ban on bullfight broadcasts, according tonews accounts and CPJ interviews. When Teleamazonas aired a news story inMay that questioned the legality of a vote-counting facility in the coastal cityof Guayaquil, regulators said the station violated Article 58 of the BroadcastingLaw, which prohibits airing “news based on unfounded allegations that couldproduce social unrest.” The station was fined only nominal amounts in the firsttwo cases. But by building a record of supposed violations during the year, regulatorswere able to invoke the late-year suspension.In his public comments, Correa had fanned the regulatory flames. In August,the president called for regulators to shutter Teleamazonas after the stationaired an audio recording of a 2008 presidential palace discussion aboutconstitutional changes, according to local news reports.César Ricaurte, executive director of the local press freedom group Fundamedios,said the president’s verbal assaults created a climate for physical attacksagainst the press. In May and December, unidentified individuals tossed homemadeexplosives outside the Quito offices of Teleamazonas, press reports said. Noinjuries were reported. In February, unidentified assailants in Guayaquil fired 12gunshots at the offices of the weekly Mi Pueblo after the publication of a series ofarticles criticizing Correa’s administration.In late year, a legislative committee drafted a repressive communications billthat would set educational requirements for journalists, stiffen criminal penaltiesfor press offenses, and allow some government censorship. The bill drewstrong public and news media opposition, prompting the National Assembly inDecember to postpone action and pledge revisions. The communications bill isamong legislation intended to implement a new constitution adopted by votersin 2008. The constitution itself contains provisions troubling to press freedomadvocates, including Article 19, which states that the government “will regulatethe prevalence of informational, educational, and cultural content in the media’sprogramming and will promote the creation of spaces for national and independentproducers.”The regulatory system itself underwent an overhaul. In August, Correa signeda decree creating the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information, which,among other things, took over the regulatory activities of both CONARTEL andthe National Council of Telecommunications.The government retained control of two television stations, TC Televisiónand Gamavisión, that it had confiscated in 2008. The government alleged that thestations’ owners had ties to a business conglomerate accused of causing the 1998collapse of the Ecuadoran banking institution, Filibanco. The stations’ owners8 28 3