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Ecuador readies witch hunt against certain journalists, claims NGO Fundamedios

Wednesday, January 29th 2014 - 20:37 UTC
Full article 3 comments
Correa describes himself as a victim of private media persecution and dismisses media watchdog groups as stooges of corporate enterprise Correa describes himself as a victim of private media persecution and dismisses media watchdog groups as stooges of corporate enterprise

Ecuadorean non-governmental organization Fundamedios claimed that President Rafael Correa is trying to stop it from operating normally after the government announced that the “administrative control” of the NGO would be transferred to the national Communications Secretariat.

 Fundamedios has frequently criticized the government for restricting freedom of press in the country and is integrated by several well-known journalists and receives funding from US government agencies.

On Tuesday NGO’s director César Ricaurte gave a press conference in which he showed documents sent by the Communications Secretariat and said that he was informed that Fundamedios “would be put under the administrative control of its main aggressor, the state’s institution (the Communications Secretariat) that has designed, produced and ordered huge propaganda campaigns against many Ecuadorean journalists and the institutions they defend, with Fundamedios among them.”

Ricaurte said that the move “marks another step forward in the government’s campaign to harass and stigmatize.”

Correa has often described himself as a victim of private media persecution and dismisses media watchdog groups as stooges of corporate enterprise.

He has slammed critical Ecuadorean newspapers: El Comercio, El Universo and La Hora, among them, as “informative mafias” and moved to create Ecuador TV , the first state-owned channel in the country, with the announced intention of producing television with better quality standards than the private channels.

Newspaper El Telégrafo also became state-owned under Correa.

Correa didn’t comment on the Fundamedios news on Tuesday but headed a rally in Quito’s Plaza Grande during which he warned the country’s doctors that they could be replaced by foreign professionals if they don’t go back to work.

Ecuadorean doctors have been protesting against plans to penalize malpractice in the country.

Correa warned doctors that if they act on their threat to massively resign from their posts at public hospitals, he would call on foreign doctors to fill the open positions.

The president criticized the doctors for “putting peoples’ lives at risk” and said that his government is already working on bringing 750 foreign professionals.

“We’ve talked with the ambassadors of various countries and we already have a group of specialists that will be coming to the country to lend their support,” Health Minister Carina Vance said.

Cuba has been providing significant number of doctors to Venezuela and Brazil, and also but in smaller numbers to other countries from the region.

Categories: Politics, Latin America.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules
  • Britworker

    Pot and kettle springs to mind. It seems the media is ok so long as they are saying what he wants hear, infact Assnanges livelihood depends on it.

    Jan 29th, 2014 - 09:04 pm 0
  • ilsen

    Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.... another ALBA puppet under control of the Havana-Caracas Axis, using the same methodolgy of repression of the media etc.
    Odd thing that the Ecuador currency is the USD... How do you like them onions?

    Aside from that; Is the SUCRE still in existence? Is Uruguay still using it to trade with Vnzla? I know Almagro was saying last year that Uruguay was closer to ALBA than the Pacific Alliance, anything come of that?

    Currently Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda and San Vicente & the Grenadines, St. Lucia are all ALBA members. Nicaragua only joined because Chavez 'forgave' a $31 Million debt and Honduras left after Chavez threatened an invasion of Honduras to restore Manuel Zelaya to office...

    Jan 29th, 2014 - 10:29 pm 0
  • GFace

    @1 Ah yes.... Assange and his friends are very careful what they “leak”. Stuff that damages the west? Sure. Speaking truth to power that doesn't shoot back. Awesome! Stuff that hands the democratic movement in Belarus over to Lukashenko, Heck Yeah! Say anything about the press in Ecuador? To borrow from Winston, we all determined what Assange is... and the price he haggled with his John in Quito is pretty obvious for all to see. What a lie they live!

    I DO feel sorry for the people in the london consulate though. The fly on the wall begins at around 5m:10s in...

    https://soundcloud.com/ribbit-starr/penn-12-08-19-ss-squid-sperm

    Jan 30th, 2014 - 02:09 pm 0
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