ECUADOREAN PRESS GROUP FACES CLOSURE

[Zorro]

A press freedom group in Ecuador that has criticized restrictions on the media by President Rafael Correa’s government may be closed after a government agency accused it of being “political.”

Fundamedios, Ecuador’s sole independent press freedom group, was notified Sept. 8 that it faced dissolution by the South American nation’s National Communications Secretariat, known as Secom.

“Fundamedios has published messages, alerts and essays with indisputable political overtones that make clear the position of this social organization,” the government media regulator said in a 70-page notice to Fundamedios. Secom was referring to content critical of the government that the Fundamedios website promoted from the blogs of independent Ecuadorian journalists José Hernández and Roberto Aguilar. Fundamedios was given 10 days to respond to the allegations.

Fundamedios has been critical of Correa’s use of state media to laud his administration and attack his critics in the press. He has used his weekly show on state television to tear up copies of newspapers he dislikes, has regularly filed lawsuits against journalists and cartoonists who have criticized his administration. Founded in 2007, the group has registered 1,310 “aggressions” against press freedom in Ecuador and 128 government sanctions against journalists and media outlets.

http://globaljournalist.org/2015/09/ecuadorean-press-group-faces-closure/

[Zorro]

1. Ecuador Fundamedios Media Watchdog's Impending Closure Creates International Backlash

Ecuador is drawing condemnation from human rights and free-speech advocacy groups around the world for its decision this month to initiate the closure of Fundamedios, the South American country’s last remaining independent media watchdog. But so far, the government of President Rafael Correa is not backing down. While its latest move against Fundamedios marks a harsh blow to Ecuador’s media landscape, it also caps off a larger crackdown on hundreds of news outlets that has continued since Correa took office in 2007.

Fundamedios was founded that year to help keep tabs on the state of free press in Ecuador. It regularly issues reports on threats or attacks against journalists and government efforts to censor publications. Ecuador’s secretary of communications issued a letter to the organization Sept. 8 saying it would be dissolved for violating a statute barring social organizations from getting involved in “politically partisan activities.” The missive pointed to several posts on Fundamedios’ Twitter account that linked to articles critical of the Correa administration as evidence of the violation.

The group has until Thursday to appeal the decision, but there are no expectations that such a move would be successful. The notification was meant to "put our head on a silver platter into the hands of our main aggressors," César Ricaurte, Fundamedios' executive director, told Ecuador’s El Comercio newspaper last week. “It’s evident that [the secretary of communications] is the operator and executor of a curtain of constant harassment against independent journalism.” It is unclear if there have ever been any successful comparable appeals.

International rights groups including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have criticized the decision in recent days. “The Correa administration wants to punish an organization for tweeting articles with news and opinions it doesn’t like,” Daniel Wilkinson, Human Rights Watch’s managing director for the Americas, said in a statement. “This is an egregious abuse of power and a clear example of this government’s authoritarian practices.”

http://www.ibtimes.com/ecuador-fundamedios-media-watchdogs-impending-closure-creates-international-backlash-2095694

[Marksman_91]

2. When right-wingers close indepedent press, leftists go wild. When left-wingers do it,...

leftists stay oddly silent.

Why no condemnation for this blatant act against free speech? Oh right, 'cause Correa doesn't like the mean old US and capitalism.

Hypocrisy just keeps getting more and more evident in this forum.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Ecuador Media Outlet Funded By USAID, NED Closed

Ecuador Media Outlet Funded By USAID, NED Closed
By TeleSurTV
September 14th, 2015

. . .

Fundamedios has received tens of thousands from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy, two U.S. government institutions that have been accused of funding opposition groups in Latin America.

Secom’s action has been deemed controversial by local opposition members and the U.S. State department, who have deemed it an “attack against the press.”

More:
https://www.popularresistance.org/ecuador-media-outlet-funded-by-usaid-ned-closed/

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Funding right-wing "news" organizations in Latin American countries with leftists as presidents is an old routine. They've been doing it forever, as so many of us know.

The U.S. Policy of Democracy Promotion in Latin
America
Steven Gilbert

. . .

The U.S. initiated a massive propaganda campaign against Allende, providing
funding to El Mercurio, a staunch right wing newspaper. The propaganda of El Mercurio
played an important role in setting the stage for the military coup. The paper ran
continuous articles to invigorate the opposition against the Allende government, accusing
his administration of attempting to nationalize banks, violating freedom of the press, and
land seizures. El Mercurio exposed every possible tension between the government and
the democratic opposition and emphasized the problems and conflicts developing
between the government and the armed forces. When El Mercurio faced bankruptcy in
1971, Washington even came to its aid. An initial $1 million was provided by the CIA to
keep the press running and another $965,000 was provided seven months later to repay a
loan and to cover monthly operating deficits (Kornbluh 94).

More:
http://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=honors